BEVERLY BARTON - His Secret Child

“Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Sheila rested her elbows on the desk and cradled her chin in her cupped hands. If Tallie hadn’t been Caleb’s sister, she would have told her the truth twelve years ago. When she had discovered she was pregnant, she’d gone straight to Susan Williams, who had been the third member of their friendship triangle. Sheila hadn’t wanted to keep the truth from Tallie, but she had convinced Susan and herself that if Tallie knew the child she was carrying belonged to Caleb, then Tallie would tell her brother. And the last thing she’d wanted was to ruin Caleb’s big chance to play college baseball.

She might have felt differently about things if Caleb had loved her. But he hadn’t. He’d taken her out on graduation night and she’d suspected all along that the date was a repayment for her valuable assistance in helping him pass his final exam. What had started out as a pleasant evening spent with a friend had turned into a passionate night that she had never been able to forget. She had lived off the memory of that one night for twelve years. She had lain in Dan Vance’s arms during the intimate moments of their marriage and thought about the night another man had made love to her. And she suspected that Dan had known and had forgiven her for being unable to forget the man who had fathered her child.

A gentle tapping on the open door alerted Sheila of a potential customer. She looked up to see Caleb Bishop poised in the doorway, his long, lean frame silhouetted by the afternoon sunlight behind him. Her heart skipped a beat. Her stomach fluttered. Damn him for still having such a potent effect on her. Damn him for coming back into her life and unsettling her peaceful existence. And damn him for unwittingly putting Danny’s security at risk.

“Hello,” he said. “Have you got time for me?”

She wanted to scream no loud and clear. She wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone, to stop sending her into turmoil with his nearness. But she couldn’t say or do anything to alert him that she was afraid of him, that his presence in her life was a danger to both her and her son.

“Sure. What do you need?” She whirled the swivel chair around, shoved it back and stood to face him.

I need you, honey, he wanted to say, but didn’t I need to set you up on that old desk of yours, spread your legs, unzip my jeans and. . . His thoughts wreaked havoc on his body. His sex enlarged and tightened uncomfortably.

He removed his cap and fiddled with it in his large hands. “I, er, I thought maybe you and Mike could find me an old hot rod to restore. I couldn’t do all the work myself—” he raised his limp right arm “—but I thought I might keep the car here and y’all could help me fix it up. It’d give me something to do to pass the time.”

“What’s the matter? Have you gotten tired of holing up at the farm and feeling sorry for yourself?”

He grinned, that devastatingly cocky grin that countless female fans swooned over. Sheila wanted to shout to the world that he had bestowed that special smile on her years before he’d become a baseball star.

“Yeah, something like that.” He took several tentative steps into her office. “So, do you think you can find me a car?”

“I’m sure Mike can, if you tell him what you’re looking for. He’s working on a van right now. Why don’t you go on out to the garage and talk to him?”

“Do you still tinker around on cars yourself?” he asked. “I remember you were almost as good a mechanic as Tallie.”

“Occasionally I get my hands greasy,” she said. “If Mike needs my help. But mostly I handle the office and take part of the tow truck calls.”

“I remember when Gramps and Dan first went into business together. It was right after Gramps’s first heart attack and the doctor told him he couldn’t work at the factory any longer. Dan had been recently widowed and left his job in Chattanooga to come home to Crooked Oak and put his life back together. Sure never thought he’d wind up marrying one of Tallie’s friends.”

“Dan was a good man and we had a good marriage, despite the difference in our ages. I still miss him terribly.”

“Yeah, I guess you do.” Caleb’s body relaxed enough that he felt comfortable moving in a little closer to Sheila,. “But at least he left you with a child. I imagine having Dan’s son makes living without him easier.”

Myriad emotions tightened Sheila’s chest. For one brief moment she couldn’t breathe. Her instant reaction to Caleb’s comment was fury. She wanted to pound his chest with her fists and tell him that her child was his son, not Daniel’s.

A long, seemingly endless moment of silence strung out between them. Say something, Sheila told herself. Say something before he wonders why you’re reacting this way. But before she could think of an appropriate response, a woman’s soft voice called from the doorway.

“Hi.” Smiling directly at Sheila, Donna Fields curled her small hand and waved her fingers in greeting. “I stopped by to see if my car’s ready.”

Glad for any interruption, Sheila breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, Donna, come on in.”

The elegantly slender woman, a mane of mahogany red hair falling around her shoulders, entered the small office. She halted beside Caleb, who had turned and openly admired the woman’s physical beauty.

“Hello,” Donna said. “I don’t think we’ve met Are you a customer or a friend?”

Caleb reached out and took Donna’s hand, gave it a lingering squeeze, then grinned devilishly, flirtatiously. And the Green-eyed Monster soared inside Sheila like a jet plane in flight. Did the man have to try to charm every woman he met?

“I’m an old friend and a potential customer,” Caleb replied. “Caleb Bishop, at your service, pretty lady.”

“Caleb Bishop?” Donna practically gushed with enthusiasm and pleasure. “Tallie’s brother. The baseball player.” She pumped Caleb’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about the Bishop brothers from Tallie that I feel as if I know all three of you.”

“I’m sure she told you that I’m the handsome one.” Caleb’s smile widened. “By the way, how do you know Tallie? You weren’t one of her high school friends. Believe me, I’d remember if you were.”

Oh, yeah, Sheila thought, Her he would remember.

Donna laughed, obviously charmed by the man who still held her hand. “Actually, I met Tallie when I was dating Peyton.” She chucked at his puzzled expression. “Oh, there wasn’t anything serious between your brother-in-law and me. We were just friends.”

Sheila rose from the chair, squared her broad shoulders and stood beside Donna. Might as well let Caleb get a good look at the two of us, side-by-side, get the comparison over with and come to the conclusion that any man would—that Donna Fields was a beautiful desirable woman and Sheila Vance was a big, plain country girl.

“Your car’s ready,” Sheila said. “I’ve got your bill.”

Donna rummaged in her purse, pulled out a credit card and handed it to Sheila. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have an evening class, so I have to rush back to Marshallton for a dinner date with a colleague.”

“We’ll have to get together soon.” Sheila processed the bill, then returned the card to Donna. She pulled a set of keys off a nearby hook. “Here’s your keys. Your Corvette’s parked in the side lot.”

Donna took the keys, gave Sheila a quick hug and whispered in her ear, “Is Susan pregnant yet?”

“Not yet,” Sheila replied softly. “Keep your fingers crossed. She and Lowell are going in for some tests next week.”

Donna shook her head, then turned to Caleb. “Nice to have finally met one of Tallie’s brothers.”

“Would you be interested in seeing more of one of Tallie’s brothers?” Caleb asked.

“Oh, that’s a tempting offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. You see, I’m taking a group of my students from the junior college to England during spring break and I’m going to be terribly busy from now until we leave.”

“Maybe when you get back.”

“Maybe. If you’re still in Crooked Oak.”

Caleb watched the strikingly lovely redhead’s departure, every male instinct within him admiring the sway of her shapely hips.

“Donna’s a beautiful woman, isn’t she?” Sheila commented.

Caleb suddenly realized that Sheila had witnessed his practiced come-on to Donna. Damn! When it came to pretty women, he seemed powerless to stop himself from flirting. Sometimes the flirting led to other things, but more often than not, it didn’t. However, Sheila would probably judge his actions as those of a philandering jock. After all, he did have the reputation, didn’t he? And if he were completely honest with himself, he’d have to admit that the reputation had been fairly earned.

“Yeah, she is beautiful,” Caleb said, then turned his attention to Sheila. “So. . .do you think I should ask her out when she gets back from England?”

“That’s entirely up to you,” Sheila said.

“What kind of woman is she?”

“A very nice lady.”

“Too nice for me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Do you think we’d make a good pair?” he asked.

“In some ways,” Sheila said. “Just like you, Donna isn’t interested in a commitment. She dates, but she never gets serious about anyone.”

“A woman after my own heart.” Caleb chuckled. “So Donna likes to play around and—”

“She’s a widow who’s still in love with her husband. She dates, but she doesn’t play around, so if you want a sex partner—and I’m sure you do—then Donna’s probably the wrong choice.”

“What about you, Sheila? Are you a woman who’s still in love with her husband?”

I was never in love with Daniel Vance. But I can hardly tell you that fact, any more than I can tell you that Danny is your son or that you’re the man I fell in love with when I was just a foolish teenage girl.

“A part of me will always love Daniel.” And I will always be grateful to him for marrying me and giving your son a father. “But, no, I’m not in love with him.”

“Mmm. So, if Mike can find me a car, would you be interested in helping me fix it up?”

“Me? I don’t think so. But I’m sure, if the price is right, Mike will help you.”

“Why not you?”

Caleb studied Sheila Vance closely. A slight pink flush stained her cheeks. He grinned. His blatant survey obviously embarrassed her.

She was as different from Donna Fields as an oak tree from a red maple. Donna was breathtaking, colorful and delicately feminine. Sheila was strength and simplicity and looked like the type of woman who could plow a field, fight off a band of renegade natives and give birth—all in the same day.

“Let’s just say that I’m not interested, okay?” She had no intention of being one of Caleb Bishop’s pastimes while he was visiting Crooked Oak. She wasn’t going to volunteer to amuse him for the next couple of weeks, until Donna got back from England or until some other pretty girl caught his eye.

“You’re a hard-hearted woman, Sheila Vance.”

“I’m a—”

“Hey, Mom. Practice was great. Pat said I’m going to be the Bulldogs’s star pitcher this year.” Danny Vance raced into the office, a wide, warm smile, identical to his father’s, spread across his face.

Sheila’s heart missed a beat. Damn, she’d lost track of time. Why hadn’t she remembered that Pat Lawley was going to drop Danny by the garage after Little League practice today?

“Did he? That’s wonderful, Danny.” Sheila forced a smile to her lips. Well, the inevitable had happened. Caleb and Danny were in the same room together. And strangely enough, the world hadn’t come to an end. Yet.