Free Shoe Strings by Christy Hayes

her name.   “Won’t you stay and have some with us?”
    She smiled and waved the thought away with her hand.   “I’ve had plenty, believe me.   Besides, my creative juices are flowing
and I’m knee deep in designs right now.   I’d better get back to it.”
    Cal gave Ty another quick swat to the head, prompting the
boy to speak.   “Thanks for the cookies,
Lita.”
    She smiled over her shoulder and the two of them watched her
retreat.  
    “Wow,” Ty whistled through his teeth.   “Dad’s right.   She is hot.”
    “She’s too old for you, son…and unfortunately, too young for
me.”   Whoops, did he actually say
that out loud?  
    Ty laughed like a hyena and fell back into the rocker.   “Jeez, Granddad.   Wait ‘til I tell Dad.   He’ll flip.”
    Cal sat back down and grabbed a cookie from the tray.   “I may be old, but I’m not dead.”
    “Well,” Ty said around a big bite of cookie, “if she’s too
old for me and too young for you, that should make her just right for Dad,
huh?”
    “Son, a lady like that is no match for your father.   And frankly, I don’t think he’d even
know what to do with someone like her.”
    Ty laughed.   “I’ll bet he does, Granddad.   I’ll just bet he does.”
    ***
    Lita flipped the sketchpad closed and lightly strummed her
fingers over the top.   She’d spent
all morning and half the afternoon working on the fall line and couldn’t have
been more pleased with the results.   She didn’t know if it was the mountain air or the fact that no one was
breathing down her neck for her to produce, produce, produce, but she hadn’t
been this productive in months.  
    She couldn’t wait to show Sophie the designs and get her
input on some of the materials she’d suggested using, particularly for the
boots.   Sophie had taken over
completely since Lita had basically dropped off the face of the earth.   Each time they talked, Lita could tell
Sophie was under a lot of stress, handling the press, the customers, their
vendors, not to mention sidestepping questions from Lita’s father.   Thank God she hadn’t given him her cell
number.   Presenting Sophie with a
dozen designs would ease some of her pressure and Lita’s guilt at the same
time.  
    Now she needed to find a scanner so she could scan her
drawings and then e-mail them to Sophie.   She fished her car keys out of the bowl by the door, shooed away one of
the cats that lingered near the entrance waiting for any chance to break into
the cabin, and jogged down the steps to her waiting SUV.  
    She’d just rounded the bumper when she looked down and saw
that the left back tire was flat.   “What in the world?”   She
crouched down to get a look, hoping to spot something that could have caused a
brand new tire to deflate.   She didn’t
see anything, couldn’t go anywhere, and didn’t have the slightest idea how to
change a tire.   She stood up, put
her hands on her hips, and let out an exasperated breath.   That’s when she heard the rumble of an
engine charging up the drive.
    Lita didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed that
Jesse, with a cloud of dust in his wake, came to an abrupt halt not five feet
from where she stood.
    “Uh-oh, looks like somebody’s got a flat.”   He jumped out of his Scout, not hard to
do considering it didn’t have doors, and sauntered over to where she
stood.  
    “You’re a master of the obvious.”   She quickly changed the sarcastic tone
of her voice.   If she wanted his
help, and she sure couldn’t fix the tire without it, she’d better watch her
mouth.   “Have you ever changed a
tire?”
    Jesse laughed and, since it appeared to once again be at her
expense, she felt miffed.   “About a
million of them.”   He leaned on the
bumper and crossed his arms.   “Would
you like me to walk you through it, Angelita, or would you like me to change it
for you?”
    He was mocking her and enjoying the hell out of
himself.   “I know