Free Baby Kisses by Verna Clay Page B

to him, elation and sadness—elation that it was finally done, sadness that his time in Colorado was almost over. Face it, you've grown fond of Tooty and Harris and this ramshackle house.
    Rolling to his bedroom window he watched Harris pushing a Tonka truck around a dirt road he'd carved out and Tooty hoeing weeds in her small garden. He smiled remembering the excitement on her face when she'd plucked her first ripe tomato.
    A swirl of dust indicated the approach of a vehicle. A big monster truck made the curve and stopped at the back of the drive. Rarely did anyone come to the house and this certainly wasn't Tooty's mother or father, or Sage or Sarah Tanner, or Jacob or Julie Hackstetter. He watched Tooty's stance turn from one of welcome to one of out-and-out hostility. She rushed and bent over Harris, saying something and motioning him toward the house. He said something back and pointed to his toy truck. She admonished him and he walked toward the porch sulking. A tall guy wearing a cowboy hat got out of the truck.
    Miles decided it was time to make an appearance. When he rolled into the living room, Harris was peeking out the window and asked, "Mister Brightperson, who is that man?"
    "I don't know, Harris. Hey, you know those Legos we started making a castle with…"
    "Yeah?"
    "Have you finished?"
    "No. Not yet."
    "I'd love to work on it with you. Why don't you run to your room and see how much you can get done? After I check on your mom, I'll come back and help you finish it."
    Already, Harris had his mind on the project. "Okay. I'll do it right now." He ran toward his room.
    Miles rolled onto the front porch, down the access ramp, and onto packed earth toward the truck parked behind his van. He could see from Tooty's expression that she wasn't happy to see this guy.
    "I just want to see the kid," the tall cowboy said, leaning against the fender of his truck.
    "No way. I want you off my property."
    Miles saw the cowboy's eyes shift to his approach and Tooty turned around. "Tooty, is everything okay?"
    "Is this your boyfriend?" the cowboy smirked.
    Before she could answer, the jerk said, "Howdy, I'm Lucky Larry, Harris' father. And you are…"
    "A friend of Tooty's."
    "Well, 'friend of Tooty's', like I was tellin' her. I'd like to get to know my son."
    Tooty rounded on him, "To hell you would. You just want to check out my good fortune in inheriting my own place. Now that you've seen it isn't much. You can leave."
    The insolent cowboy dismissed Miles' presence and turned back to Tooty. "You're right about it not bein' much, but looks like you've had some expensive repairs done. So you must've got some money in the inheritance, or…" he looked at Miles, "…lover boy has some money."
    Miles reached for his cell phone and dialed 911. The operator immediately answered. "Please send an officer to 722 Wild Tulip Drive. We have an intruder."
    Lucky Larry scowled at Miles and said to Tooty, "I think I need to see my attorney about visitation rights with my son, unless, of course, we can come to some kind of agreement. I've had a slow season on the circuit and just need a little something to tide me over." He jerked the door to his truck open, jumped inside, and looked from Miles to Tooty, and winked. "You were a real sweet ride, baby. Give me a call later." Jamming the truck into gear he peeled out in a cloud of dust.
    Miles dialed 911 again and canceled the emergency. He looked at Tooty. Big tears rolled down her cheeks.
    "Aw, honey." He didn't know what else to say.
    She blinked rapidly and swiped at her eyes. "I-I'm really sorry you had to witness that."
    "I'm glad I witnessed it so I could help."
    "I just feel…so embarrassed."
    Miles didn't know what to say, so he reached and grasped Tooty's hand. Gently tugging, he pulled her onto his lap and she turned her face into his neck, sobbing. "He makes me feel so dirty. I can't believe I fell for his line. What if he does what he threatens and tries to get parenting time with