Dee exhaled, surprised how hearing what she already knew still sucker punched her. A baby. A child. Son or daughter. She squeezed her eyes shut for three calming breaths.
She opened her eyes and found Jacob’s hands clenched by his sides. She should have prepared him for this. It hadn’t been fair to surprise him, but how could she have slid it into polite conversation? By the way, I have this nifty scar on my belly that leads me to believe I’ve had a baby or two. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget the sexy stretch marks.
Jacob cleared his throat. “Any idea when?”
“Not recently, judging by the incision. Again, I’m sorry I can’t do more for you than that.”
Jacob pivoted on his boot heels toward Dee, and she turned away. She couldn’t face any more questions from Jacob, not yet. “Thank you, Doctor. At least I know I’m not dying or crazy. That’s something, right?”
“Yes, it is.” The doctor squeezed Dee’s arm.
But it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t content to let time take its course and hope someone might be looking for her. She had a child to find.
She’d also started a new life, a life rapidly filling with people, responsibilities and debts to repay. Emotional as well as financial. To do that, she needed to hop off the gurney and stop feeling sorry for herself. She pulled her attention back to the doctor’s words.>“Okay. Model? Make?”
She grappled for the memory. She should have chased the thought while it was fresh.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “It’s gone now.”
“That’s all right.” His hand cupped her shoulder. “You did well. Don’t force it. It’s a positive sign you’re remembering bits and pieces.”
“I hope so.” The weight of his hands reassured her enough to push out the question she’d been afraid to ask but had to have answered. “Did you see Mr. Smith’s car when he checked in?”
Jacob’s broad hand cupped her shoulder. “White Suburban. I checked my files this morning, and he had dealer plates, in-state.”
“Not great, but maybe the police can still track him.”
She looked up into those wolflike eyes, eyes that had greeted her hourly during the night.
With a final squeeze, Jacob’s hand fell away. “Emily’s got the front desk until Grace arrives in another half hour. Let’s hit the road.”
Her shoulder felt bare without his comforting touch. She hadn’t known to miss that comfort three seconds ago. How silly to mourn its loss now.
“Are you ready, Dee?”
“What?” Dee roused herself from a blatant stare at his bare head with its beautiful hair and reddened ears. “Yeah, just let me grab one more thing from inside.”
Dee gripped the rail for balance as she dashed up the steps. Without giving herself time to think why, she headed straight for the coatrack and snatched Jacob’s hat.
Chapter 6
“W ho’s your doctor friend?” After over a half hour of ten-ton silence, Dee tried yet another attempt to jump-start a conversation. This guy had pensive down to an art form, and she needed a distraction from the nerves eating up her stomach lining.
“What?” Jacob glanced from the road to Dee sitting in the truck cab beside him. The knit cap lay between them on the tan tweed seat.
“Tell me more about the doctor I’ll be seeing.” She shifted to face Jacob.
Jacob hooked his wrist over the steering wheel. For a moment, it seemed he wouldn’t answer, merely let the telephone poles whiz by at a monotonous pace. A toolbox in the backseat rattled in the silence. “Like I said before, she’s the wife of an old crewmate from South Carolina. He’s stationed here at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma now. Actually they both are since she’s a military doctor—Kathleen Bennett.”
From the solemn set of his jaw, he probably wanted to drop her and all her problems. Although it stung being considered little more than a nuisance, she couldn’t blame him for not wanting to chat it up with his annoying amnesiac tenant. “I’ve imposed on you enough. Let’s go straight to the police station.”
His gaze slid from the road to her with the slow shake of his head. “Your health comes first.”
“I’m tired of waiting for answers. I need a name, a real name.” She couldn’t stop the notion that she wanted to meet Jacob on a more even footing, as an independent woman meeting an intriguing, sexy man, rather than the whole dependency scenario. “Besides, I won’t have insurance until we know who I am.”
“Doc Bennett won’t charge you anything. I already called ahead.”
Frustration made her want to clench her fists and pitch an unholy tantrum. “While I appreciate your help, I should have some say in my own life.”