His Secret Child by Beverly Barton Read Free Book Online Page B

pitch, striking out the batter. "Danny Vance is a damn good pitcher for a boy his age. Are you telling me the other teams didn't want him?"
    "Not until recently," Pat said. "Once his mother's best friend became first lady of the state, the other teams were interested, all right. But Sheila and Danny told them no thanks, that if he wasn't good enough for their teams before, he still wasn't."
    Caleb snorted. "Dammit! Things are even worse now than back when I played. Believe it or not, I know what it feels like to sit on the bench, to be a kid without a dad coaching or rooting from the sidelines. I didn't get my real chance to be a star pitcher until I played high school baseball."
    "Danny's good. He's a natural, and I give him every opportunity I can to show his stuff."
    "You're fond of him, aren't you?"
    "Yeah, I like the kid, and I like Sheila, too. Guess you can say that I've been using the kid to get to his mom." Pat grinned shyly.
    "Are you and Sheila—?"
    "No, we're not, but I'd like for us to be," Pat admitted. "We've dated a few times, but she doesn't feel what I do. I never figured she'd be mourning Dan Vance after all these years, but I can't figure out what other reason she'd still be single. Sheila would make some man a good wife."
    "You're right," Caleb agreed. "Sheila's the wife and mother type, isn't she?"
    "Yeah, she's dependable and loyal and caring. And I've never seen a woman love her child more. She'd do anything for Danny. That's why I can't understand why she hasn't remarried and given him a father."
    "Who knows," Caleb replied.
    Caleb had wondered why Sheila was still single, why she hadn't found herself a husband and given Danny a father. Had she loved Dan Vance that much? Somehow he couldn't picture Sheila and Dan sharing a passionate love affair. The guy had been twice Sheila's age. Caleb hadn't thought much about it when he'd heard the two had married not long after he'd gone off to college. A few times the thought had crossed his mind that Sheila had married Dan on the rebound. Caleb knew she'd thought she was in love with him after their one night together, and he'd regretted hurting her when he told her that he couldn't return her feelings.
    "Take a break, Danny." Pat Lawley's strong voice echoed across the field. "We'll let Tanner pitch for a while." He turned to Caleb. "Stick around awhile, will you? I need to get back to business, but we'll be finished up here in a few minutes."
    Danny came off the field, hiked his glove up under his arm and headed toward a large cooler. He flipped open the lid and retrieved an iced bottle of water. When he took the first sip, he glanced out toward the makeshift parking area and saw Caleb. The boy threw up his hand and waved, then came racing out to meet his idol.
    "Hey, Caleb! I knew you'd come. Man, this is great. Come on over and meet the rest of the team. We're about through for the day." Danny grabbed Caleb's right hand and tugged.
    Caleb flinched. Instinctively he jerked free from the boy's hold. No one touched his right hand and arm. Most people tried not to even look at it.
    "Sorry," Danny said. "That's your injured arm, isn't it?" Without another thought, Danny took Caleb's left hand and led him toward the field.
    Caleb slowed his pace, causing Danny to stop and look up at him. "What's the matter?"
    "Hadn't we better wait until the guys finish up?"
    "I told you that practice is about over," Danny said. "Didn't you notice how many cars have shown up? It's parents and grandparents coming to pick us up."
    "Is your mother picking you up today?"
    "Yep. We're going to Pete's Café for supper and then we've got to shop for some new jeans for me. These—" he pointed to the pair he wore "—aren't worn out or anything. But see how short they are? Mama says I've got to stop growing sooner or later."
    There was something about Danny's smile that affected Caleb in an odd way. Something familiar. Maybe he had Sheila's smile. He certainly had her big, blue eyes.