Read Online Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page B

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