RECLAIM MY HEART(29)

“I didn’t go back to school,” she said. “As a last resort, my mother begged me to come home. She said she would watch Zach while I attended classes.” Tyne’s mouth flattened momentarily. “But I wasn’t going to do that. I wanted to break free. Make my own way. And I did. Well, mostly, anyway. They did help me, at first. Sent me a little money, and paid for a couple of Zach’s doctor visits. But only for a while. I was determined to become independent.” She lifted her gaze to Lucas’s face. “I made the right choice, didn’t I? Not going home? I couldn’t subject Zach to that, you know? To them.” She moistened her lips and swallowed.
He wanted to tell her she’d done the right thing keeping Zach away from his grandparents, but instead he said, “I wish you would have called me.”
She moved then, shifted from the easy chair to the couch, sitting close to him and gathering one of his hands into both of hers.
“I know I should have, Lucas.” Her blue eyes pleaded. “I should have contacted you. I should have told you about the baby. You had a right to know. But I couldn’t.”
His blood froze. That wasn’t what he’d meant…?wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. She didn’t know. How the hell could she not know?
“That last time we were together you’d been so excited to have saved enough money for your first year’s tuition. Then my father told me you’d been offered a full scholarship. I knew you must have been deliriously happy.” She bit her bottom lip, her brow furrowing. “He said a baby would ruin your future just as much as it would mine. Dad wasn’t right about much in this whole situation, but I believed with all my heart that he was right about that.” She closed her eyes a moment. “After I’d decided to keep Zach, I was too ashamed to call you. I couldn’t admit to you that I’d considered giving up our son.”
She leaned in and hugged him then, resting her head on his shoulder. “I hope you can forgive me, Lucas.”
He hadn’t prayed in a very long time, but at that moment he thanked The Great One that she wasn’t looking at him because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that guilt was etched in every crevice of his stony expression.
Her arms drew him tighter to her, and he smoothed his hands up her back, her skin hot against his cold palms, his icicle-stiff fingers.
“What am I going to do?” Her breath was warm against his neck. “I’ve got to keep Zach away from my parents. How will I ever explain it to him, Lucas? He’ll never understand. How can I tell my son that his grandfather is a bigot?”
CHAPTER NINE
A loud crack ruptured the air as the bat made solid contact with the ball. The crowd on one side of the field cheered for the batter who raced toward first base while the people on the opposite side shouted at the short stop to throw the ball to the first baseman. Tyne loved the fact that the teams were co-ed. Everyone who wanted to play was invited. Boys and girls in a wide range of ages from tweens to teens, some even in their early twenties, had arrived late that Friday afternoon at the ball field.
Some of the players’ families had turned up with lawn chairs, blankets to spread on the grass, picnic meals and drinks or snacks to share. A wonderful camaraderie danced among the laughing, chatting spectators, proof that the Friday ballgame was a popular community event.
Zach was barely speaking to her and Lucas. He’d spent another whole day with Jasper, but he’d come home for something to eat before the game. The air was tense as the two of them sat at the table together, and Tyne had been relieved that her son hadn’t brought up the subject of her parents. When she asked him where he was going and found out he was off to the Community Center for ‘the big game,’ she’d expressed an interest in coming along to watch. He’d shrugged and told her it was a free country. So after he left, she’d slathered on some sunscreen, grabbed her sunglasses and an aluminum lawn chair from the shed in the back yard and walked to the sports field behind the community building.
“And where’s my nephew?”
Tyne smiled a hello at Jasper as he unfolded his chair and nestled it next to hers. “Lucas is meeting with a man who lives here. The guy called yesterday looking for some legal advice, so Lucas went to his house today after lunch.”
Jasper nodded his approval.
“I’m surprised he wasn’t back before I left the house.” Tyne adjusted her sunglasses. “I texted him, and when he didn’t respond, I left a note at the house. Just in case there’s something wrong with his cell. I’m hoping he’ll show up here. Eventually.”
“I’m sure he’ll be along. Who wants to miss the big game?” Jasper scanned the field. “I wasn’t able to close my shop until five-thirty, and then I had to return a few phone calls and grab some dinner. What did I miss?”
“Not much. Bottom of the first. Zach is out in left field.”
He gazed toward the outfield and lifted his hand to acknowledge Zach’s wave.
“I want to thank you for spending so much time with him,” Tyne said.
“No thanks necessary. He’s family.”
She brushed the toe of her sandal across the grass. “We’ve been having some…?problems lately. Zach and I.”
Jasper watched the young man who stepped up to the plate. “I know.”
His reply surprised her. “He’s told you?”
He shook his head. “Not outright. He’s keeping secrets; an old man can see these things. I can also tell from what he has said that he’s upset about something. Angry. Bitter, really. And worried.” Jasper shrugged. “About something.”