She stared down at the black-and-white photo of the two of them. Jake sat behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. She leaned against him, a broad smile on her face, a laugh on her lips. She looked much younger, far more animated and relaxed than the woman whose face she’d seen in the mirror a few hours earlier. Jake also had a carefree sparkle in his eyes and a sexy grin on his lips. “We look . . . happy,” she said.
“We were happy, until you ruined everything.”
His voice was rough with emotion, and as their gazes met she felt the stirring of something deep and painful, a powerful connection between them. Love? Hate? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t look away. Neither could he.
Manning faded into the background. It was just the two of them locked in a silent battle that she didn’t begin to understand but could feel down to the tips of her toes.
“Why did you have to take away every single detail of Caitlyn’s existence, Sarah?” Jake asked her, still holding her gaze. “You stripped her bedroom. And ours. You took everything—the photographs, the toys, all the things we’d bought together. Cait-lyn’s crib, her blankets, and the rocking chair I’d made for you. It was as if you wanted me to believe neither one of you had ever been there. Why?” He shook his head in bewilderment. “Did it make it easier for you to leave once you’d destroyed the home we’d made together? Did you think I could forget you? Did you think I could ever forgive you?”
Sarah bit down on her bottom lip, tasting blood, almost relieved to have a physical pain to go with the emotional ache in her heart. Why had she done the things he accused her of doing? He must have hurt her or Caitlyn. It was the only thing that made sense. What kind of woman erased her very existence from a person’s life?
Only a woman who was afraid of something or someone. Only a woman who was desperate to disappear without a trace.
He had to be the reason for her fear. Otherwise she would have turned to him instead of running away. “You did something,” she said. “I don’t know what, but you must have done something.”
“I never gave you a reason to leave me.” Jake dragged his hand through his hair in frustration, his green eyes widening in disbelief. “Is that the way you’re going to play it now? Make up lies about us? It won’t work. I never hurt you. And I never hurt our baby.”
“I wouldn’t have taken our child and left you without a good reason.”
“How do you know that?” he challenged. “You said you don’t remember anything. Yet your memory is suddenly returning—just in time to paint me as the bad guy? I don’t think so.” He glanced at Officer Manning. “You can check me out. I’m an architect. I work in San Francisco, and I’ve never gotten so much as a parking ticket. I’m not a dangerous man. My slate is clean. I have nothing to hide.”
“I hope that’s true,” Manning replied.
“It is. Right now my main concern is finding Caitlyn. How can I help?”
“I’d like to take the photograph of the child with me, so that we can broadcast a description of your daughter. If anyone saw Ms. Tucker with her child before the accident, that would give us a fixed time and location to work from.”
“That picture is old. It was taken a couple of months before Sarah left,” Jake said, his voice laced with bitterness. “Caitlyn would be much bigger now, sixteen months and a few days. She’d be talking and walking.” His voice faltered as he drew in a sharp breath. “I missed a lot of her firsts, but I won’t miss any more, Sarah. No more. I want my daughter back.”
Sarah swallowed hard, his raw, painful words cutting her to the core.
Jake turned back to Manning. “The only reason I have that picture is because it was in my wallet. Sarah took the other photos with her when she left, or she destroyed them. If I hadn’t had that one, I would have been left with nothing.”
Officer Manning cleared his throat, breaking the thick tension in the room. “I’ll give this back to you when I’m done.” He took the photo from Sarah’s hand. “We’ll have to sort out the rest later. Why don’t you come down to the station with me, Mr. Sanders? I can fill you in on our investigation, and you can tell me more about your relationship with Ms. Tucker.”
Sarah wanted to protest. Who knew what lies Jake Sanders would tell the deputy? Then again, she didn’t want to be left alone with Jake. Maybe it was better if he went down to the station. She would have some time to figure out what to do next.
“All right.” Jake sent Sarah a meaningful look. “But I’ll be back. We have a lot to discuss.”