Free Stand-In Father (Intimate Moments) by Pat Warren

frustration, “where in hell are the bandages?”
    “Coming right up,” Grace said, moving to the cupboard. She’d seen Megan Delaney through thick and thin, through sad times and fun days. But she’d never seen her unnerved or flustered by a man yet, guest or not. There was only one reason Grace could think of for her friend’s odd behavior.
    Megan was attracted to Alex Shephard and it scared her mightily.
    Yes indeed, it was going to be an interesting barbecue.
     
    Stretched out on a lawn chair he’d found in the side yard, Alex had his briefcase on the grass and a pile of papers he needed to go through on his lap when he noticed that the sun was moving into his eyes. Rising, he decided to shift the angle of the chair just as Ryan Delaney came into sight. The boy was wearing a baseball mitt that nearly swallowed his small hand and smacking a softball into it as he cautiously walked over. Alex settled back into the chair.
    It was nearly four, so Alex guessed that the bus had dropped him off a short time ago. “Hi, Ryan. How’s it going?”
    “Okay.” Slam went the ball into the mitt.
    “Uh-huh. What grade are you in? Second? Third?”
    “Third.” Two more slams.
    “Uh-huh.” What in the world does a grown man talk about with an eight-year-old? He glanced around the yard, remembered the day they’d met. “No puddles to jump in today, eh?”
    “Nope.” Ryan dropped the ball, picked it up, kept his eyes averted, wondering how to talk to this guy. He wished he’d had more practice with grown-up men. Maybe he should’ve brought him a cookie. He’d been real happy that time in the kitchen. Maybe he was pretending to impress his mom like that creep, Eddie Jenkins, who came around to fix the washer and didn’t really like boys.
    Alex looked down at his papers, knowing he should get back to work, but it was hard to ignore Ryan thunking his ball into his glove. He searched his mind for a kid topic. “You like to read?”
    “Not much.” He glanced toward the kitchen window. “I’m not allowed to annoy the paying guests,” Ryan quoted, sounding as if the warning had been drummed into him. But his blue eyes were hopeful.
    “Is that a fact? Then I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m annoyed.” He smiled, suddenly anxious to put the boy at ease. He nodded toward the ball and glove. “Are you a ballplayer?”
    Pleased not to be sent away and because his mom wasn’t at the window, Ryan plopped down on the grass next to Alex’s chair. “I’m on a Little League team. The Marlins. I’m the shortstop.”
    Impressed, Alex raised his brows. “Hey, great. Why’d you pick shortstop?”
    “’Cause you get more chances to get the ball, to make outs.” His young face grew cloudy. “Only I don’t get to play that much. Coach said I need more practice.”
    A by-now familiar guilt swept over Alex. “I guess your dad used to help you practice, eh?”
    “I’m not supposed to talk about my dad.”
    More no-no’s. “Why is that?”
    “Mom says if you can’t say something nice about someone, you should keep quiet.”
    Alex mulled that over, thinking that Megan had revealed a great deal by giving that warning to her son.
    Squinting up at him in the sun, Ryan wondered if this guy knew anything about baseball. He seemed neat enough, but maybe he was too busy, like his dad had been. “You like the Dodgers or the Padres?”
    “I’m from San Diego. The Padres, of course.”
    Ryan grinned. “Me, too. Only I’m about the only one on my team who likes them. Most everyone likes the Dodgers.” He pounded the ball into the glove. “We had pizza day at school today. You like pizza?”
    “Who doesn’t?”
    “Yeah. I build model cars. Neat ones like yours.”
    “Really? Takes a lot of patience.” Alex watched the boy chuck the ball and decided to climb out on a limb. While it was true that he didn’t know much about kids, he remembered feeling like Ryan when he’d been a boy, wanting to connect to another