His Secret Child

“How about tonight?” Danny lifted his head and Sashed Caleb a brilliant smile. “You could come to dinner. Tonight’s pot roast Mom put it in the Crock-Pot early this morning. She’s a great cook and—”

“Danny!” Sheila cautioned him again. “Mr. Bishop. . . Caleb may already have plans for dinner.”

The boy gazed pleadingly at the man and Sheila’s heart ached for her son. A boy who missed the only father he’d ever known. A boy who had found a role model in a star athlete.

“Sorry,” Danny said.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t have any plans.” Caleb clasped the boy’s shoulder and smiled down at him. “And I’d love to eat some of your mama’s pot roast tonight.” He glanced over Danny’s head and made eye contact with Sheila.

“We eat a little later, now that Little League season has begun,” she said. “Come by around six-thirty.”

“Thanks,” Caleb said. “I’ll go talk to Mike about finding me a car.” He focused on Danny momentarily. “See you tonight, slugger.”

The moment Caleb left the office, Danny jumped up and down, screeching the way only an eleven-year-old boy could.

“Caleb Bishop is coming to my house for dinner tonight! The Caleb Bishop. Holy cow, Mom, I’m going to be the envy of every guy at school tomorrow.”

Yes, Caleb Bishop was coming to their house for dinner tonight. And she would have to watch them together—Caleb and Danny, father and son—and pretend that everything was normal. Right or wrong, no matter what, her first obligation was to her son. She had to protect him at all costs. Caleb didn’t matter. She didn’t matter. And any feelings she still had for the man were unimportant.

She could not allow Caleb to become a part of their lives and then walk away from them, as she was sure he would do. She might be willing to risk her heart again for the pleasure of being with Caleb one more time. But she would never put Danny’s security and happiness at risk. Not even for Caleb.

Three

“You really didn’t have to agree to Danny’s request to invite Tanner and Devin over here to meet you tonight,” Sheila said, placing the iced tea glasses in the top compartment of the dishwasher.

“I know I didn’t.” Caleb handed her the stack of dirty dishes he had removed from the kitchen table. “But why shouldn’t I? I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and I think it means a lot to Danny.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” She arranged the plates neatly in a row in the bottom compartment. “My son is one of your biggest fans, and that’s saying quite a lot, considering you’re the idol of every male in Crooked Oak—boy, teenager and man.”

“Did I thank you for the delicious dinner?” he asked.

Caleb moved in behind Sheila as she leaned over the sink and filled the Crock-Pot with warm, soapy water. She felt him, although he didn’t actually touch her. The heat of his body. The power of his masculinity. The strength of his presence. When she turned to face him, he was close. Too close. She stepped back in an effort to escape his nearness. Her hips pressed into the counter edge.

“Yes, you thanked me,” she said. “Twice.”

“Just shows how much I enjoyed having dinner with you. . . and your son.”

“I imagine it’s a new experience for you, having dinner with a woman and her child.” Sheila took a deep breath and sidestepped Caleb, moving to his left.

He grabbed her arm, his hold tight but gentle. “You didn’t want me here tonight, Sheila. Why?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re Tallie’s brother and Danny’s idol. Why wouldn’t you be welcome in my home?”

“That’s what I’m asking you.” Reaching out with his fingertips, he smoothed back an errant strand of hair that had fallen over her right eye.

Their gazes met and locked for a brief moment and Sheila prayed that what she felt didn’t show plainly in her eyes. Caleb was right. She hadn’t wanted him in her home tonight, or any other night for that matter.

She pulled out of his grasp, hurried out of the kitchen and into the hallway. If she didn’t give him an answer to his question, he was going to wonder what she was trying so hard to hide. And what reasonable explanation, other than the complete truth, could she give him for not wanting him in her life?

The sound of Danny’s voice jerked her quickly from her thoughts.

“Yeah, Tanner, he’s here right now and he’s going to stay until my bedtime,” Danny said. “He’s going to autograph my baseball and if I ask him to, he might sign yours and Devin’s, too.”

Sheila paused outside her son’s bedroom door. It had been a long time since she’d seen Danny so happy and excited. How could she run Caleb away without breaking Danny’s heart? But if she allowed Caleb to become Danny’s buddy, what then? The potential for disaster was too great. Sooner or later, Caleb might figure out the truth. All he had to do was ask Danny when his birthday was.

Covering her mouth with her hands, Sheila bit back a cry of despair. What was she going to do?

Caleb followed her out into the hallway, halted at her side and glanced into the bedroom where Danny lay sprawled out on the bed, the telephone glued to his ear.

“He thinks my mom is a great cook,” Danny said. “He ate second helpings of everything. And guess what? Bread pudding with sunshine sauce is his favorite dessert just like it is mine!”

“You’ve got a great kid there,” Caleb whispered as he lowered his head enough so that his lips almost touched her ear.

She closed her eyes, praying that when she spoke her voice wouldn’t quiver. Her heart beat rapidly. Her stomach fluttered wildly. It just wasn’t fair that Caleb could make her feel this way when no other man ever had.

“Yes, I know. Danny is a wonderful boy.” She tried not to notice that Caleb had slipped his arm around her waist or that her traitorous body tingled with excitement. Oh, dear God, all he had to do was touch her and she went weak in the knees.

And weak in the head, too! she reprimanded herself. Get a grip, girl. Don’t let him do this to you. Hell, don’t do it to yourself. You know better.

“Caleb, I appreciate your being so nice to Danny and accepting his invitation to dinner and—” She glanced over her shoulder and the moment he smiled at her, the bottom dropped out of her stomach. “And signing autographs for him and his friends, but. . .well, I just don’t want Danny to think. . .to assume—”

Caleb pulled her to the opposite end of the hall, near the living room, then gently eased her up against the wall. His big body hovered over hers. She swallowed hard.

“You don’t want Danny to think—to assume—what?” Caleb asked.

“He lost his father five years ago and even though Mike and he are pals, what Danny wants more than anything is a dad of his own.” She hesitated momentarily, allowing Caleb to absorb her words and hopefully come to the right conclusion.

“You think Danny might see me as a father figure? Is that what’s got you so worried? You don’t want Danny getting too close to me and maybe trying to emulate me? You really don’t approve of me, do you, Sheila?”

Oh, great! Hunky-dory great! Typical man, he’d misunderstood.

“I don’t approve or disapprove of you. That’s not what I was trying to say.”

“Then maybe you’d better spell it out for me.”

“All right.” She squared her shoulders and glared directly into his dark brown eyes. “I don’t want you hanging around so much that Danny becomes too attached to you, that he starts thinking of you as a substitute dad. Somebody who’ll be in his life for the long haul. If he becomes too fond of you, it’ll break his heart when you leave Crooked Oak.”

Caleb took a step backward, putting a couple of feet between them and allowing Sheila to move into the living room. He stood there in the hallway and thought about what she’d just told him. If for one minute he’d ever really thought about Danny’s situation, he would have realized the danger in spending too much time with the kid. He’d been a fatherless boy himself once. And although his cold, stern grandfather had tried to be a supportive parent, Gramps hadn’t been his real father. Hell, he couldn’t even remember what his own father looked like. Jake and Hank had been old enough to retain memories of their parents, but he’d been a toddler and Tallie an infant when they’d lost their folks.

Danny barreled out of his bedroom and down the hall, screeching to a halt right in front of Caleb. “The guys will be over in a few minutes. Tanner’s dad is going to bring them. Mr. Finch is dying to meet you.”

Caleb ruffled Danny’s wavy black hair and grinned. The last thing on earth he wanted to do was hurt this boy, to disappoint him in any way. Strange thing was, that for some reason he could see himself in Sheila’s son. Danny was tall and lanky—all arms and legs—the way he’d been as a kid. And the boy loved baseball with a passion that bordered on obsession, just as he did. And Danny was a fatherless boy in need of a role model. He’d been there himself and had experienced every aspect of being the only kid on the team without a dad. His grandfather had been an old man with a bad heart, and although he’d come to all the games, he’d never coached or managed one of Caleb’s Little League teams the way so many fathers did. Caleb could remember being Danny’s age and promising himself that when he had a son, he’d coach the boy’s team.

“Danny, you know that I’m going to be in Crooked Oak for just a few months, don’t you? I’m not moving back here permanently. Once I sort out what to do with my life now that my major league career is over, I’ll be leaving.”

Danny stared at Caleb with wide, expressive blue eyes identical to his mother’s. “Yeah, sure. I know.”

Caleb glanced over Danny’s shoulder, into the living room, directing his gaze at Sheila. She smiled weakly and nodded her head.