When she turned it toward the Salt Pond, Dan exhaled a deep breath that made his ribs burn like a mother.

“What’s gotten into you?” Kara asked.

He moved to her at the helm, wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her back to rest against him, his head dropping to her shoulder.

“You’re kind of freaking me out.”

Since there was no easy way to say what he needed to tell her, he went with quick and dirty. “Kelly and Matt are here with the baby.”

Her entire body went rigid with shock. “What? How do you know?”

“Grant and I were in the diner for our weekly meeting, and we heard them talking about you and how they’d come to clear the air and to introduce you to the baby.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was. Their plan was to force you to deal with them by showing up with the baby.”

Because he was holding her so close to him, he felt her begin to tremble, which enraged him. Hadn’t they gotten enough from her already? “I called Tim. He’s coming in to drive the other boat.”

“Wait… You called Tim?”

“If they can’t find you, they can’t force you to do anything.”

“We can’t stay out here all day.”

“I don’t have anything else to do. Do you?”

“You do have other things—such as a book that’s due after Labor Day and is still not finished.”

“I’ll get it done. This is far more important.”

“What about food?”

“I’ll call Mario and have him deliver to us in the pond.”

“He only does that at nine, noon and six. We missed the noon run.”

“If I pay him enough, he’ll do it.”

“So we’re really going to hide out for the day?”

“Either that or we can go back to the dock and let Kelly try to blindside you.”

“Won’t I have to face her eventually?”

“Possibly, but this way you give her a very long and miserable day of waiting for you in the broiling sun with a newborn and a reluctant husband along for the ride.”

“Why do you say he’s reluctant?”

“Because I heard him tell her he thought it was a bad idea to show up unannounced and force you to deal with them.”

“I’m glad for Connor’s sake that one of them has a bit of sense left.” Clearing the anchorage, Kara slowed the boat, shifted into neutral and turned to him, sliding her arms around his neck. “My hero.”

“Hardly.”

“Did you or did you not come running, with broken ribs that aren’t entirely healed, when you heard what my sister planned to do? And did you or did you not have the foresight to call in another driver so I could actually run away for the day?”

“I might’ve done those things.”