Free Route 66 Reunions by Mildred Colvin

him with one hand and glanced at the watch on her left wrist. “We’ve got exactly twenty minutes. Plenty of time for me to change.”
    “You look real pretty, Mom.” Derek followed her inside with a hopeful expression on his face.
    Tessa held her laughter in check. “Thank you, sweetheart, but flattery won’t work this time. I refuse to wear pantyhose to your practice in this heat. Why don’t you and Seth load your gloves and drink containers in the car?”
    “Oh, I forgot the water.” Derek took off at a run for the kitchen, yelling for Seth, and Tessa did laugh then.
    Twenty minutes later, dressed in cutoff jeans, a T-shirt, and her comfortable athletic shoes, she parked at the ball field. The two younger boys scrambled from the car with Rob following at a slower pace. Rob wouldn’t be playing this year, but he expected to find some friends to hang out with. He said they planned to heckle their younger brothers, and he might as well do the same.
    Tessa shoved her keys into her pocket then locked and closed the car doors. A small playground with swings, teeter-totter, and slide sat just inside the grassy area between the parking lot and the ball fields. Several children swarmed the equipment with parents moving among them. As Tessa walked past, she spoke to or waved at people she recognized, but she didn’t stop to talk. She headed toward the west field where her boys would be.
    Two ball fields had been constructed side by side with a twelve-foot chain-link fence surrounding and separating them. Tessa passed the concession stand and started toward the bleachers. She rounded the seats and started to step on the first rise when she froze in place.
    From the corner of her eye, she saw Blake.
    With her hand on the railing and one foot lifted, Tessa turned and stared through the mesh fencing at the tall, dark-haired man with his arm draped across Derek’s shoulders. Whatever was he doing here? Especially inside the fence as if he belonged. She planted her foot back on the ground and stomped to the fence.
    “Blake.” She clung to the wire and called to him. “Hey Blake.”
    Blake turned and a wide smile covered his face when he saw her. “Hey Tessa.”
    He jogged over to where she stood. “We’re going for ice cream when practice is over. Will you sit with me?”
    “Blake Donovan, what are you doing here?”
    He chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were angry. But since I’m the new coach’s assistant, I know you can’t be. Hey, someone has to do the job.”
    The grin on his face didn’t make Tessa feel any better. When she didn’t respond to his joking, he patted her fingers still wrapped around the wire fence. “Why don’t you sit back and watch practice? I’ve got to help the boys now. We’ll talk later.”
    Tessa didn’t move while he ran back and started organizing the boys into two parallel lines. She watched as he tossed a ball to the first boy. That boy threw the ball to the boy across from him, who threw it to the next boy in the opposite line. They continued to toss the ball in this way until each boy had a turn both catching and throwing the ball.
    By the time they reached the end of the line, Tessa felt as if her mind had bounced along with the ball, going from one problem to another, all centered on Blake Donovan. She released the fence and returned to the bleachers. She sat well away from the scattering of spectators and hoped no one would engage her in conversation while she watched Derek and Blake.
    What would she do if someone noticed their similar coloring? What would she do if Blake noticed? She should pull the boys from playing. That would be the perfect solution. If they stayed away from Blake, he would never need to know he had a son.
    Is that fair to Blake? He is Derek’s father after all
.
    Of course it wasn’t fair. Robbie’s father knew about him. He’d almost killed her and Robbie when he found out. Seth’s father had wanted nothing to do with her or