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voice.
    “Yeah, Terri told him. Talk about making a bad situation worse.” She couldn’t blame Terri for spilling the beans. Her assistant knew nothing about her relationship with the All-Star pitcher. “Now Tyler is bugging me about meeting Zach. Any idea how I handle that?”
    Jackie laughed. “You better not introduce them. Zach would take one look at my nephew and know that was his kid.”
    “Don’t say that.” Fear rose up to choke off Rennie’s air supply. “I told him Tyler was eight. He assumed I met Nathan shortly after I left town.”
    “Oh what a tangled web we weave,” Jackie said in a sing-song voice.
    “Would you stop? This is serious.” Rennie felt terrible lying to her parents and Zach, but she didn’t feel she had a choice. She didn’t want her son to feel the sting of rejection anymore than she wanted Zach to feel some sense of obligation to her or their son. They’d been doing just fine without him and would continue to survive on their own. He could give Tyler anything money could buy and seasons tickets to watch his favorite baseball team in action, but he could never love Tyler more than Rennie did.
    “I know it is, hon. I’m sorry.” Jackie sighed. “I know how much you hate lying, not to mention the fact you’re a terrible liar.”
    “If that were true, Mama and Daddy would’ve caught on by now.”
    Jackie snorted as though she was trying to suppress her laughter. “Oh please, you don’t think they know? Need I remind you that our mama and Mrs. Foster have been friends since they were in high school?”
    “So?” Rennie’s eyes were fixed on the field as her son tried to throw his third strike. She’d always believed her parents bought her story about the rebound guy. If they knew the truth…
    “So Mama saw Zach when he was Tyler’s age. They must have looked exactly alike.” Jackie’s voice softened. “I’m sorry, sis, but every time I look at your little boy, he reminds me of Zach.”
    “Don’t say that,” she whispered, slipping her sunglasses in place to hide her tears.
    “It’s true, and you know it.”
    “Then why haven’t they said anything to the Fosters about Tyler?”
    “Because you’re their baby just like Tyler’s your baby. They would do anything to protect you just like you’d do anything to protect your son.”
    Rennie hated to think she’d put her parents in the impossible position of hiding the truth from their close friends. She thought about the people she used to consider her second parents. Zach’s parents were wonderful people, and she knew they would adore her son, but she could never give them the opportunity to meet. Like Jackie said, they would take one look at him and know the truth. “God, Jack, this is such a mess. Maybe coming back home was a mistake. Maybe I should think about moving—”
    “Don’t even say it,” Jackie cut in, using the voice she reserved for one of Alyson’s temper tantrums. “You belong right here with your family. Besides, isn’t your therapist always telling you that Tyler needs stability in his life right now? He has that: a school and friends he loves, sports—”
    “Okay, fine. I won’t mention it again.” Rennie was smart enough to know she’d lost the battle. “I gotta go. I have to call Zach before the game ends.”
    Jackie giggled. “I have to admit, I never thought I’d hear you say that again. ‘I have to call Zach.’”
    “Would you stop?” Rennie rolled her eyes. “You sound like a tweenie, for crying out loud.”
    “You can’t deny he’s still hotter than hell, sis.”
    No, she couldn’t deny that, but she damn sure wouldn’t admit it. “I’ll call you tomorrow, let you know how the lunch thing goes.” If she didn’t, her sister would be on her doorstop demanding a play-by-play.
    “You better. Give my nephew a kiss for me.”
    “Will do.” Rennie gave her son a thumbs up as he walked back to the pitcher’s mound. “Give my gorgeous niece a kiss for me too,