Free Part-Time Wife by Susan Mallery Page B

she wasn't comfortable with snooping.
    Ben pitched again.
    "Keep your eyes open," Jill called.
    Danny swung hard. The bat cracked against the plastic ball and sent it sailing toward the heavens.
    "You did it!" she said and clapped her hands. Danny tossed off his hat in celebration.
    Ben jumped to snag the ball, but he missed.
    "Jeez, fatty, can't you do anything?" C.J. said as he raced toward it. He caught the ball in his glove, went down on one knee, rolled onto his back and came up, still holding the ball in his glove. "Craig Haynes, Jr., wins the national championship." He bowed to an imaginary crowd.
    Ben threw off his glove and started for the house.
    "Ben," she called.
    The boy kept walking. He stalked through the garage. She ran after him. "Ben, wait. I know C.J. is being a pain, but you're doing great. Please don't leave."
    In the background, she heard a car pull up at the curb.
    Ben turned to look at her. Tears swam in his eyes, but he blinked them back. "Go back where you came from. We don't need you here. We don't like you." With that, he opened the door to the family room and stepped into the house. The door slammed shut behind him.
    "Daddy, Daddy!"
    She turned and saw C.J. and Danny running toward their father. She hadn't seen Craig since Saturday night. He was gone when she woke up Sunday morning and didn't come home until after she went to bed.
    He wore his uniform, but he'd left his hat inside his car. The sunlight caught the dark wavy hair. He was tall and broad, and for some reason, her heart began fluttering foolishly in her chest. She told herself it was just the uniform, or the strangeness of the situation. Maybe it was a bit of indigestion. Maybe she'd eaten her slice of prune bread too quickly.
    The two boys embraced their father. He squatted down and hugged them. She liked the way he touched them so easily. Some fathers had trouble showing affection. A hug went a long way toward making many problems right. After all, Craig had made her feel better, just by holding her in his arms.
    She didn't want to remember that. Nor did she want to remember how good she'd felt sitting on his lap. It hadn't seemed to matter that they were practically strangers. It wasn't like her to expose her emotions like that. She wasn't sure what had happened. Better that it be the late hour of the night and not the man. She knew the danger of getting involved.
    "How's everything going?" Craig asked as she approached.
    "It was going fine until a couple of minutes ago. We're helping Danny so he'll make a good Pee-Wee team."
    "I don't want to be with the babies," his youngest said loudly.
    "You won't be," Craig said. He glanced around. "Where's Ben?"
    "He went inside," Danny said. "He got mad when he couldn't catch a ball."
    "That's not exactly what happened," Jill reminded him.
    C.J. stepped away from his father and shuffled his feet. "He is fat."
    Jill dropped to her knees and took C.J.'s hands in hers. He had his father's eyes and hair, too. Both the older boys definitely took after their dad.
    She stared at the boy. "Ben knows he's overweight. I think it bothers him. What do you think?"
    C.J. shrugged uncomfortably. "Why does he have to be like that? It's gross."
    "Don't you think he wants to change? But it's hard. When you make fun of him, he feels bad. When he feels bad, he eats. I'm not saying this is your fault, because it isn't. But you're not helping."
    C.J. drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
    "Maybe you should apologize to your brother instead of me."
    "Jeez, do I have to?"
    She smiled. "Yeah, you do."
    "Bummer." He gave her a quick grin and started for the house.
    Jill sank onto the grass and buried her face in her hands. "Maybe we should have kept that one-week trial," she said. "After all this, you're going to be the one wanting me to leave."
    "Don't go, Jill," Danny said and flung himself at her.
    She caught the young boy and pulled him onto her lap. His sturdy arms wrapped around her back and he hugged her