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“Don’t I know it.”
    Annie left before her mom decided to suggest she tag along, as she had the last time the Sweet Magnolias had gotten together. She knew she’d be welcome, but it would be way too awkward being there with Maddie with the one subject on everyone’s mind suddenly taboo because of her presence.
    It really was too bad, though, because a lethal margarita and the oblivion that was bound to follow sounded really good about now.

3
    T he last place in all of Serenity—in all of the universe, for that matter—that Annie wanted to be was the local ball field by the high school. And yet, here she was, walking along the perimeter of the parking lot, far enough from the field itself not to be spotted by her dad or Cal, but close enough to maybe catch a glimpse of Ty’s little boy.
    Though she’d seen plenty of images in the tabloids, Annie had never seen Trevor in person. She hadn’t wanted to, because then he’d be real, a flesh-and-blood preschooler, whose mere existence had torn her life apart. Tonight, though, after leaving Sullivan’s, she hadn’t been able to shake off the sudden yearning to see the little boy who might have been hers. Yes, she might have been the mother of a three-year-old, if things had turned out the way she’d always thought they would.
    At first, as she skirted the field, Annie thought the trip was probably wasted. The area was crowded with kids of all ages. The sidelines and bleachers were jammed with families. She could smell hot dogs and popcorn, even from where she was standing on the opposite side of the street. The noise of all that cheering was deafening, butit wasn’t loud enough to drown out Cal’s shout to his pitcher or her dad’s startled cry when a dark-haired boy darted away from him and headed straight for the street, apparently chasing one of the ducks from a nearby park. The loudly quacking duck was trying to get away from all the frenzy and back to his more peaceful habitat.
    Seeing the child toddling straight toward danger, Annie’s protective instincts kicked in without a single thought, she made a mad dash into the street and gathered the boy up before he could get a half foot away from the curb.
    “Duck!” he cried mournfully, pointing to his rapidly fleeing target.
    “The duck’s going to find his family,” Annie assured him. “Ducks need their families just like we do.”
    When she finally looked into the boy’s startled gaze, she saw Ty’s eyes. No question about it. Stunned, she set the child on his feet and hunkered down in front of him, suddenly shaking over how quickly the incident might have turned into a tragedy.
    Before she could utter a word, her father was beside them, kneeling down. “You okay?” he murmured, the comment meant for her, since it was obvious that the boy was just fine beyond being startled to have been plucked up out of the street by a stranger.
    Tears stung Annie’s eyes. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked her dad, her voice barely more than a choked whisper. “This is Trevor.”
    The boy’s eyes brightened. “Me Trevor,” he confirmed. “Who are you?”
    Completely captivated now and unable to look away, she said, “I’m Annie.”
    “Annie’s my daughter,” Ronnie told him.
    “And I know your daddy,” Annie said before she could stop herself.
    “Daddy plays ball,” Trevor said with obvious pride. “But not now. He hurt.”
    “That’s what I hear,” Annie said. Suddenly unable to bear it another minute, she stood up. “I have to go. Bye, Trevor. See you, Dad.”
    “Annie!”
    The worry in her father’s voice stopped her. She forced a smile. “It’s okay. Really.” She turned her gaze to Trevor. “No more running into the street, okay? You need to be very, very careful.”
    “Trust me, he won’t get away from me again,” Ronnie said grimly. “I’d forgotten how fast these little guys could move. I blinked and he was gone. I thought he was fascinated by the ducks.”
    “He was,