Strike Out (14 page)

“That’s nice,” Rennie said. She gestured to Zach. “Shelley, Manny, I’d like you to meet my friend, Zach Foster. Zach, these are Sheldon’s parents, the Griffins.”
Friend
. The non-descript word couldn’t explain a lifetime of history, but it was the only one that seemed appropriate under the circumstances.

“It’s great to meet you,” Zach said, smiling at the couple.

“Sorry about your injury,” Manny said, gesturing to Zach’s injured shoulder. “You think you’ll be back in the game by the playoffs?”

“That’s the hope, but it’s too soon to tell,” Zach said.

“It was so nice of you and your partners to offer to let us have the fundraiser here,” Shelley said. “It’s really lovely.”

Shelley was right about that. High Rollers didn’t look like any of the sports bars Rennie had ever been to. With muted neutral shades and lots of crystal and glass, it looked more like a high-end restaurant than a place where sports fans came together. They catered to a different clientele: professional athletes and successful business men. If the rumors were true, they hosted weekly high stakes poker games in the back, and the winner often walked away with a new sports car or vacation home.

“It’s our pleasure.” Zach looked around at the crowd. “We put the word out, and it looks like a lot of our buddies came together to support the cause, so we should have no problem exceeding the goal for tonight.”

His
buddies
consisted of other professional athletes Rennie recognized from TV and a few well-dressed men she couldn’t identify. The flashy jewelry and expensive clothes reminded her that Zach wasn’t the same kid she’d fallen in love with, the boy hoping to play in the big leagues. He was running in circles she couldn’t mix in, not that she would want to. Just because she was the mother of his child didn’t mean they would ever have reason to socialize… except maybe with Tyler.

“I saw the list of auction items,” Manny said, gesturing to the covered tables. Burly men with black security shirts were on either end of the display to keep an eye on the merchandise, and Rennie was grateful. She didn’t want to see anything ruin the night for the Griffins. “Pretty impressive.”

“Zach deserves a lot of the credit,” Rennie said. “He and his friends really stepped up when they heard about what we wanted to do for Sheldon.”

“We can’t thank you enough.” Manny offered Zach his hand. “We know how busy you must be, how many requests you must get to help kids like our boy…”

Zach smiled and shook Manny’s hand. “Rennie and I go way back,” he said, winking at her. “If she needs something, she knows she can always count on me.”

That had been true once, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. Could she still count on Zach? Looking at him, she met his smile with one of her own. She hoped she could. In spite of the way their relationship had ended, she was beginning to like the
new
Zach.

“Great party, don’t you think?” Jaxon asked, leaning against the bar with a highball of scotch.

“Yeah, great.” The more time Zach spent with Rennie, the more he realized their time apart had been a mistake. Taking his eyes off her was a struggle. He still had feelings for her. Even though he wasn’t ready to define them, he knew he’d never felt that way about anyone else. He’d been angry with her, but countless hours on planes and in hotel rooms had given him a lot of time to think. He couldn’t blame her for doing what she felt was best for the person she loved the most.
Their
son.

“Man, you’re pathetic,” Jaxon said, rolling his eyes. “Could you be any more obvious?”

“About what?”

The cute little waitress who’d made a play for him earlier squeezed in next to Zach. “Can I get you a drink, Zach?”

He pointed at his ginger ale. “I have to stick with the soft stuff tonight, Annie. The doctors put me on some serious pain meds.” He’d only been taking half the recommended dose though. He hated the way that stuff made him feel, but he had to admit it took the edge off the pain.

“You don’t need pills,” Annie said, bumping his hip with her own. “You just need a good woman to take your mind off the pain.”

Zach smirked. Annie was a shameless flirt, which was part of the reason they kept her around. She was a knock-out, and their regulars loved her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Too bad he’s already got somebody lined up, Annie,” Jaxon said, grinning.

Zach narrowed his eyes, hoping his friend would get the message and shut his mouth. Until he and Rennie re-established their friendship and were back on solid ground, he didn’t want to announce to anyone that he still had feelings for her.

“Who?” Annie asked, looking around.

“That hot little blonde talking to Andy.”

“Hmm.” Annie eyed Rennie up and down. “She doesn’t look like your type, Zach.”

Annie was right. Rennie was a natural beauty who didn’t have to try to be stunning; she just was. “I don’t have a type.” Zach shot daggers at Jaxon when he threw his head back and laughed.

“Man, you’ve been going for the B-rated version of Rennie ever since she left your sorry ass at the altar.”

Annie’s hazel eyes widened as she looked at Zach. “You were engaged to her? And she left you… on your wedding day? I thought shit like that only happened in the movies.”

“Yeah, me too,” Zach muttered.

“You poor guy.” Annie rubbed his back. “Trust me, she doesn’t deserve a second chance.”

“It’s a long and complicated story.” Zach wished he could give his friend a swift kick for bringing up the subject.

“Take it from someone who knows. If they hurt you once, they’ll do it over and over. Take my ex Fab. He was all sweet and nice ‘til he got what he wanted, then he was gone.”

“I thought you two we’re getting back together,” Jaxon said, winking at Zach over the rim of his glass.

Jaxon knew Zach hated it when he insinuated himself into their employees’ personal lives. If Zach’s father had taught him one thing about running a business, it was that the owner drew the line between employees and friends. Of course, his father had also advised him against going into business with his five best friends. Since they were getting ready to open their fiftieth bar, he was confident he’d proven the old man wrong on that front.

“That’s what I thought too,” Annie said, rolling her eyes. “But he stood me up again. Can you believe that?”

“Guy’s obviously an idiot.” Jaxon grinned as he took a moment to appreciate her obvious assets. “Sounds like you’re better off without him.”

“I know, right?” She flicked her long blond hair over her shoulder. “Since this guy’s already spoken for”—she inclined her head toward Zach—“you and I should hook up later.”

Jaxon was in the midst of swallowing a mouthful of scotch, and Zach enjoyed watching his eyes water as he tried to refrain from spraying it all over the bar. They were all used to aggressive women who wanted a go-round with a rich guy, but their employees had always drawn the line at harmless flirting.

“Uh, I’m busy later,” Jaxon said, smoothing a hand over the buttons lining his custom shirt. “Looks like that guy’s trying to get your attention, Annie. Maybe you should see about taking his order. He looks like a big tipper.” With a dramatic sigh, she spun on her heels, flattening her tray against her chest as she made her way through the crowd. “Man, what is it with some of these women? They think throwing themselves at a guy will turn him on?”

“Don’t know,” Zach said, lifting a shoulder. He didn’t much care about women at large. His attention was fixed on one woman. The one who got away. He wouldn’t let her make that mistake the second time around. His gut told him he and Rennie may have been too young before, but things were different. They were older and more mature. They shared a son; that had to count for something.

“So you and Rennie?” Jaxon propped his elbows on the bar and watched Zach’s ex. “You decided what you’re gonna do about the husband?”

“Don’t be an ass,” Zach said, insulted that his friend would even think he could stoop so low. “How’d you know she was married anyways?”

“She told me her last name is Alexander now. The gold band on her finger is a dead giveaway too.”

“And of course you always look for that before you—”

“I do now,” he said, laughing as they remembered the angry husband who came into the bar looking for Jaxon after his one-night stand with a woman who’d told him she was divorced.

“Yeah, well, Rennie’s husband was killed in a fire last year.”

“Jesus. That must have been rough on her.”

“Yeah, I guess it was.” Zach couldn’t think about Rennie’s husband without jealousy rearing its ugly head. He knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help the way he felt about the man who took his place in Rennie’s life, and in Tyler’s too.

“Zach, a year’s not that long. Maybe you should think twice about getting mixed up with Rennie again. I’d hate for you to be her rebound guy.”

“Her rebound guy?” Zach could barely suppress his laughter. “Are you serious? Rennie and I were a part of each other’s lives for so long that—”

“Yeah, and then she moved on,” Jaxon said quietly. “I know that’s hard for you to accept, I’d feel the same way in your position, but that’s the way it is. She found someone who could obviously give her something you couldn’t.”

“I don’t need to hear that.”

“Too bad. I’m your best friend, so it’s my job to make you face reality whether you want to or not.”

“You don’t know the whole story.” Jaxon didn’t know about Tyler. The factor that changed everything. The bond that would always hold them together, that no one could break.

“Look, when a woman loses her husband like that, she romanticizes the way things were. She makes him out to be some hero when a lot of the time he was a big, fat zero.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.” Zach knew his friend was referring to his parents. His old man had killed himself when Jaxon was eleven. He’d been the one to find him hanging from a tree on their property, and it messed him up in ways Zach couldn’t imagine. Jaxon was guarded and jaded about love and relationships. He refused to let anyone outside of his circle of friends get too close. Zach knew telling Jaxon the truth would be the only way to make him understand that he had good reason for wanting to get back what he and Rennie had. “We have a son.”

“What did you say?”  Jaxon shook his head as though to clear it. “’Cause I could’ve sworn you just told me—”

“I did. We do.”

“Oh my God. Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“When did you find out?” Jaxon asked.

“Just a few days ago.”

“Why the hell didn’t she tell you?”

Zach knew he would tell his friend the whole story over a beer one day, but that wasn’t the time or place to get into it. “Let’s just say she had her reasons.”

“Jesus, the kid must be—”

“Ten. He just turned ten.”

Jaxon ran a hand over his dark cropped hair, heedless of messing it up. “I can’t believe this. How do you feel about it?”

Zach could only think of one word to describe how he felt. “Psyched.”

Jaxon chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me. Your family’s like the goddamn Cleavers. Why wouldn’t you want a brood of your own, right?”

Zach couldn’t miss the flash of pain in his friend’s eyes. He wished he could tell Jaxon the past didn’t have to dictate his future. Jaxon could find a woman who loved him, who made him want to be a stable parent who loved his kid and wife, but Zach knew he hadn’t met
the one
yet. Until he did, he wouldn’t entertain the possibility of a happy ending. “I didn’t ask for this, but I’m not gonna lie—I can’t wait to get to know Tyler.”

“That’s his name?” Jaxon smiled wistfully. “Tyler?”

“Yeah.” Zach couldn’t wipe off his silly grin when he thought about that kid. Getting to know his son would be the highlight of his life.

“Does he know about you?”

“We’ve met, but he doesn’t know I’m his… dad.” Zach could hardly wait to hear Tyler call him that. He wouldn’t rush it, but when the day finally came, he knew he would feel ten feet tall.

“Sorry,” Jaxon said, shaking his head, “it’s just hard to believe. You and Rennie have a kid.”

Outside of Kevin, only Jaxon knew how wrecked Zach had been after Rennie left. His family knew he was trying to track her down to get answers, but they didn’t know about all the tears he shed when no one was looking. They didn’t know the hole in his heart got bigger instead of mending. They didn’t know every woman he’d made love to since she left only reminded him she’d taken more than his baby when she left. She took his will to love again. “Yeah, I know.”

Zach watched Rennie cross the room. Some guy he didn’t recognize grabbed her wrist as she walked past him, and Zach pushed away from the bar, ready to intervene if she was uncomfortable with the attention. Old habits may die hard, but it seemed his need to protect Rennie would never die.

“What the hell?” Jaxon asked when he spotted the murderous look on Zach’s face. “Oh no, don’t even think about going over there. You can’t rescue her from every guy who shows an interest in her. Face it, she’s even hotter now than she was in high school. If y’all are gonna be a couple, you’ll have to get used to guys coming on to her.”

“Yeah, well, if you recall, I don’t do too well with that,” Zach said.

Watching Rennie chat up some stranger made him want to go over there and…
Do what?
Make a damn fool of yourself by trying to lay claim to a woman who hasn’t shared your bed in more than a decade?
Rennie was a single woman, and he had to deal with that… at least until he could figure out a way to remind her that being a couple was a hell of a lot more fun.

Rennie recognized that look in Zach’s eye. She’d seen it dozens of times. He was jealous because she was talking to some other guy. Someone was showing an interest in her, and he couldn’t stand it. Well it may have been her job to soothe his ego once, but the rules of the game had changed. She intended to make sure he understood that she could talk or dance with anyone she chose. Just because she was the mother of his son didn’t mean he had the right to decide how she lived her life. The sooner he realized that, the better.