Strike Out

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Just how productive was it, sis?” Jackie asked, grinning.

  Rennie rolled her eyes behind her dark sunglasses. Her kid sister always said what she thought, no matter the consequences. Rennie had always envied that about her. “We did what we set out to do.” She led the way up the stone path. “Don’t say anything to Mama and Daddy. I’m not ready for them to know I’m seeing Zach again.”

  “Ah hah!” Jackie’s bright blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “You said it yourself. You two are seeing each other.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Rennie smiled at her sister’s single-mindedness. She was like a pitbull when she went after something she wanted. “Zach and I are not getting back together, so don’t get your hopes up.”

  “You don’t know that for sure,” Jackie said, looking dejected.

  Rennie had almost forgotten how difficult it had been for Jackie to accept that the man she viewed as the epitome of male perfection had deceived her sister. “I know you’re a sucker for a happy ending, but it’s not going to happen.”

  “What do you think will happen?” Jackie asked.

  “I don’t know.” Rennie saw no point in worrying her sister with worst-case scenarios.

  “Does he know about Nathan yet?” Jackie’s big blue eyes filled with the same sympathetic look she always got when talking about Rennie’s husband.

  “No.” She knew she should tell Zach the truth, but his not knowing she was a widow provided a buffer she desperately needed.

  “Wait ‘til he finds out.” Jackie nudged her hip as they walked up the stone path to the backyard. “Then it’s really gonna be game on.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Rennie said, trying to ignore the flutter in her belly when she thought about going out on a real date with Zach again. It could never happen, but thinking about it was kind of nice. They’d had a lot of great years together, and time had softened her anger over the way things had ended. She just had the aching reminder that their relationship had been like no other. Not even her marriage could compare to the intense years she’d spent loving Zach. “For all we know, he could have a girlfriend. I saw his picture in the paper with some girl the other day.”

  Jackie threw her head back and her long blond ponytail struck Rennie in the face. “I saw that too. It didn’t look like he was all that into her though.”

  “How can you tell? They were smiling.” She’d studied that picture for longer than she was willing to admit, trying to decipher Zach’s mood. Was he faking it for the camera or was he genuinely happy to be with the beautiful woman on his arm?

  “I know Zach, and so do you. The guy reads like an open book.”

  “Do you, uh, see him very often?” Rennie asked. She had purposefully avoided asking her sister about Zach over the years, knowing it was best to avoid the subject.

  “Just at the club once in a while.” Zach’s parents still owned the golf course, and since Jackie, her husband, and their parents were all avid golfers, they had a family membership.

  “He still plays?” Rennie knew she shouldn’t try to glean information about her ex if she wanted to stay out of his life and, more importantly, keep her son out of his sight.

  “Yeah.” Jackie laughed. “Mason’s even played a few rounds with him over the years. He always comes home grumbling about how unfair it is that Zach’s not only one of the best pitchers in the league but a hell of a golfer too. He says it makes it real hard to like him.” Jackie giggled. “Of course, he can’t wait to go in to the office and tell everyone he played a round of golf with Zach Foster.”

  “Does he think name dropping will help him make partner faster?” Rennie couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice. Rennie knew how anxious her brother-in-law was to make partner at his law firm, but for reasons she didn’t want to analyze, it still bothered her when people used their association with Zach to make themselves look better. He was a great guy… who’d broken her heart… who didn’t want their baby… who lied to her about wanting to start a family. She had to keep reminding herself of that, or she was at risk of falling for him all over again.

  Jackie shot her a sidelong glance, barely able to keep the smirk off her face. “Who made you Zach’s protector, sis?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Zach doesn’t need me or anyone else to defend him.”

  ***

  Zach was surprised to see the Baldwins’ home number flash on his call display just after his game ended. “Hello?”

  “Zach, is that you?”

  He immediately recognized the little voice he’d heard on the phone the other night. “Hey, Tyler. What’s up, buddy?”

  “We’re… uh… having a party over at my Grandad and Nana’s house, and I was wondering if you could come?”

  Zach smiled. He had the feeling Tyler was issuing the invitation without his mother’s knowledge. “What kind of party?”

  “It’s my birthday party.”

  “Cool, how old—” Zach stopped talking when he realized Tyler was talking to someone in the background. He hoped it wasn’t the boy’s father, who would no doubt question why his son was talking to his wife’s ex.

  “My nana’s here. She wants to talk to you.”

  “Great.” Zach had always had a great relationship with the Baldwins, even after their daughter left town. “Hey, Marian,” he said, chuckling when she greeted him. “Your grandson is quite the character.”

  “Isn’t he though? It seems there’s nothing he won’t do to meet his baseball idol.”

  “How did he get my number?” One thing was certain: Rennie wouldn’t have given it to him.

  “He went through his mother’s phone and found it.” Marian cleared her throat delicately. “I had no idea you and Rennie were still in touch.”

  “We just reconnected a couple of days ago, actually. I’m helping her with a couple of projects she’s working on for Sky’s the Limit.”

  “Is that so?”

  Zach heard the smile in her voice, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why she would welcome him back into the fold when her daughter was happily married. “Yeah, it’s been nice catching up with her.” The gold band on Rennie’s hand prevented him from telling Rennie or her mother how he really felt.

  “I’m sure she feels the same way.”

  Zach had gotten the impression she was softening toward him, not that he knew what he’d done to make her so angry she’d leave him at the altar. Maybe one day he’d convince her to tell him. Not that it mattered anymore. She’d moved on with her life, and maybe he could start to move on too. “Tell Tyler I’m sorry I can’t make his party.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” Marian sounded genuinely disappointed. “Meeting you would make his day.”

  Zach thought about how much it would have meant to him as a kid to meet a real professional baseball player. “Do you think his parents would mind if I just crashed the party?”

  “His parents?” Marian hesitated. “Uh, no. You’re welcome here anytime. In fact, I think I’ll ask your parents to stop by too. They’ve been after me to meet Tyler ever since he moved to town. I think this would be the perfect time. Half the town’s already here. What could a few more hurt, right?” She laughed.

  “If you’re sure?”

  “I am. I know Chuck would love to see you too, hon.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

  Chapter Five

  Rennie couldn’t figure out why her mother, who’d been the perfect hostess when they arrived, was shooting daggers at her from her post at the beverage station. Approaching cautiously, Rennie held out her plastic cup. “Can I get a refill of your sweet tea, Mama?”

  “Jackie, come over here,” Marian said, crooking her finger. “You take over. I need to have a word with your sister.”

  Uh oh. Rennie didn’t like the sound of that. “Is there a problem?”

  Marian grabbed her daughter’s elbow and steered her into the kitchen. She locked the door and lowered the white wooden
shades. With a hand fisted on her hip, she said, “You care to tell me why you led Zach to believe your husband was still alive?”

  Rennie snapped her mouth shut when she realized it was hanging open. “I didn’t tell him anything about my marital status because it’s not any of his business.”

  “When are you going to get tired of living this lie, girl?”

  After her recent chat with Jackie, Rennie feared the day would come when her mama would call her out about Tyler’s birth father. She never expected it to be at her son’s birthday party. “Can we talk about this another time?” She slid her damp palms down the sides of her shorts.

  “No, we need to talk about it now ‘cause Zach and his parents are on their way over.”

  Rennie gripped the back of the high-back oak chair. She wished she could blame the spinning room on heat exhaustion or dehydration, but she knew she was in full-blown panic. “What are you talking about? They can’t come here.”

  “They surely can. Your son invited Zach, and I extended the invitation to my good friends. They’re real excited to meet my grandson.”

  Rennie sucked in a breath as one horrible scenario after another flitted through her mind. Zach and the Fosters would take one look at Tyler and know the truth. How could she get that runaway train of a situation back on track? “Then we’re leaving.”

  “No, you’re not.” Marian grabbed her daughter’s wrist when she tried to walk past. “You’re going to stay right here and do what you should have done years ago. You’re going to tell Zach he has a son.”

  Rennie felt the tears welling in her eyes, blurring her vision. It was worse than her worst nightmare. She’d never imagined dozens of people, including Zach’s parents, would be around when her world came crashing down. “You can’t make me stay.”

  “Doesn’t Tyler deserve to know the truth? How can you sleep at night knowing you’re keeping your son from his father, especially now when it’s so painfully obvious he needs one? Why do you think he reached out to Zach? He’s missing Nathan so damn much.”

  Rennie sank down in a chair, tears falling down her cheeks as she bowed her head to pray for understanding and forgiveness. She prayed that her baby wouldn’t stop loving her when he found out what she’d done.

  Marian sighed and stroked her daughter’s back gently. “I don’t know why you did what you did all those years ago, honey. All I know is that it isn’t right. No matter what Zach did, it couldn’t have been bad enough for you to decide he didn’t deserve to be a father to his son.”

  “He didn’t want Tyler. He said so himself,” she said, sobbing. “I was just trying to protect my baby. I didn’t want him to grow up trying to earn his father’s love or feeling as though his dad resented him. I had to think about what was best for Tyler.”

  Marian ran her daughter’s long blond ponytail through her hand. “You told Zach you were pregnant, and he said he didn’t want the baby? That doesn’t sound like him.”

  “No, I overheard a conversation he and Kevin had.” Rennie reached for a paper napkin in a ceramic holder on the table. “It was the night before the wedding.”

  “I see.” Marian claimed the chair next to her daughter. “That’s why you ran away.”

  “I didn’t think I had a choice. I was angry with Zach at first. Maybe a part of me left because I wanted to hurt him.” She brushed away her tears with the napkin and toyed with the edges to avoid looking at her mother. “Eventually, I had to let go of the anger because I saw so much of him in our son. I knew I couldn’t love our son as much as I did and hate his father.”

  “Yet you didn’t tell Zach, not even after Nathan died. Why?”

  She knew Zach would ask that question, so she decided to practice her response on her mother. Maybe if she could make her mother believe that her heart had been in the right place, she could make Zach believe it too. “Tyler was such a happy baby. He was so well-adjusted, and he and Nathan developed this wonderful bond.” Rennie knew she couldn’t share that part with Zach. “Zach wasn’t ready for a family, so I thought I was doing what was best for everyone by raising Tyler with Nathan. My husband got the child he’d always wanted, I had the love and support I needed, my son had a father who adored him, and Zach was free to live his life without raising a child he didn’t want.”

  “Oh, honey,” Marian said, reaching for her daughter’s hand. “I can understand why you did what you did, but you had to know the truth would come out eventually. Especially when you came home. Richland Hills is a small town. It was only a matter of time before Zach’s parents ran into Tyler somewhere and put the pieces together.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole story before.” Rennie felt a little better after coming clean with her mother.

  “It’s not me you should be apologizing to,” Marian said, patting her hand. “Zach and his parents have missed out on the first ten years of that little boy’s life. I can’t imagine how they’re going to feel.”

  “Neither can I,” Rennie whispered. “Neither can I.”

  ***

  Zach managed to get all of his teammates to sign a jersey and ball for Tyler before he left the stadium. He knew that’s exactly what a baseball fan his age would want, but he was still nervous when he walked into the Baldwins’ large backyard. He’d spent half his life there, but everything was different. He felt like an outsider intruding on Rennie’s family’s party.

  Chuck spotted him right away and made his way toward him with a cold beer. “Hey, your parents said you were stopping by.” He pressed the bottle into Zach’s hand. “Too bad you guys weren’t able to score a win today. You pitched a hell of a game.”

  “Thanks.” Zach tipped the bottle back, enjoying the refreshment after a hot day in the sun. He had to fly out later for a game the next day. He would have to stop at one beer, so he intended to savor it. “But weren’t you supposed to be supervising your grandson’s birthday party?”

  Chuck laughed and slapped Zach’s back. “Don’t tell my wife, but I snuck inside every few minutes so I could see what was happening.”

  “I won’t tell.” Zach grinned until he spotted a little boy with dark-blond hair playing with a man in the pool. He couldn’t see the kid’s face, but they reminded him that some other man had stolen his life with Rennie. Coming there was a bad idea…

  “There you are,” his mother, Lenora, said, coming up behind him. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Nice game today.”

  “Thanks.” Zach smiled when she slipped her arm through his. He and his parents had always been close, which was why he was happy he’d gotten traded to the Rangers. He hoped to finish out his career at home.

  “I have to run back inside and grab some more burgers,” Chuck said. “It looks like this party isn’t winding down anytime soon.” He winked at his old friend. “We’re getting too old for this, aren’t we?”

  Lenora slipped her sunglasses up on her head, securing her artfully highlighted blond hair. “Speak for yourself, old-timer. I’ve never felt younger.”

  Chuck was still laughing when he walked away, making Zach smile. They were his people in the place he’d always felt he belonged. He hadn’t even realized how much he’d missed it until he walked through the back gate. His mind flooded with memories of some of the best years of his life.

  “Have you met Tyler, Zach?” Lenora watched the children taking turns diving off the diving board.

  “No. Why?”

  Her grip on his bicep tightened. “Do you know how old he is?”

  “He must be turning nine, right?”

  Lenora glanced at a buffet table where a half-eaten birthday cake rested. The beer bottle nearly slipped from his hand when he zeroed in on the rainbow-colored candle in the shape of a number ten. What the hell? “He’s ten?” Zach could barely breathe as reality closed in on him.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?”

  “You don’t think…” He could barely say the words. “Do you think Rennie cheated on me?” The
fierce pain in his stomach told him he knew better than to question her fidelity, but surely she wouldn’t have left town if she’d been carrying his baby.

  Lenora’s eyes filled with tears. “No, honey. I just met Tyler. There’s no question he’s your son.”

  “But how do you know for sure…” He saw a little boy jump out of the pool and make a beeline for him while Jackie yelled at him to stop running near the pool. One look at Tyler answered his question. Zach hadn’t seen it in the picture on Rennie’s desk because the little boy’s eyes and hair had been hidden by a baseball cap. Looking into his eyes… He was his son. “Oh my God.”

  “I know,” his mother whispered. “He looks just like you did at that age.”

  Zach stared at the little boy running toward him, and he saw himself reflected in those dark eyes. Dropping to one knee, he knew onlookers would think he was meeting the child at his level, but in reality, his legs couldn’t have supported his weight if his life depended on it.

  “You made it!” Tyler cried, halting mere inches from Zach.

  The pull was magnetic, and Zach knew Tyler felt it too. The boy couldn’t possibly understand what he was feeling. The urge to swoop Tyler up and hug him was almost impossible to ignore, but he didn’t want to scare him or set off a series of questions he couldn’t answer. Zach said, “Of course I came. I promised I would, didn’t I?” As long as he lived, he would never break a promise to the kid.

  “Yeah, but my mom is always telling me how busy you are,” he said, shrugging. He looked down at his bare feet. “She’s gonna be real mad that I called you.”

  Zach had never been so furious and hurt. How could Rennie have done that? What possible reason could she have had for keeping him from his child? He knew he needed to cool down before he faced his son’s mother. He couldn’t trust himself not to make a scene, and he didn’t want to ruin Tyler’s tenth birthday party. Ten. His son was ten, and Zach had to come to terms with the fact that he’d missed out on so much… because another man was raising his son. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he needed to tell his son, but he couldn’t. They would have to break it to him gently, but a part of Zach resented waiting another minute to let Tyler know he was his. “I’ll handle your mama. Are you having a good party so far?”