Baby Kisses (4 page)

I am writing this letter to offer my condolences on the death of your distant relative, Beatrice Shipley. Our firm was retained by Ms. Shipley a few years ago to prepare her will. It was Ms. Shipley's desire that when she died, you would inherit her ranch house, outbuildings, and associated twenty acres. Said property is located in the County of La Plata in Colorado.

Tooty dropped the pages in her lap.
Huh?
She grabbed them back up and reread every word. There were attachments to the letter: a copy of the will, deeds, map, surveyor descriptions, and other documents having to do with the property. The letter ended by asking her to call and make an appointment with the attorney to sign documents and pick up her key.

Tooty drove home in a daze. She only remembered meeting Beatrice once, shortly after Harris was born. The old woman had come to her parents' house explaining that she was distantly related to them. She'd crooned over Harris while holding him in her bony arms. As she was leaving, she'd hugged Tooty and whispered, "You're the one." At the time, Tooty hadn't understood what she'd meant. She'd figured the woman was just old and her mind wandered. Now she understood.

The stop light turned red and she braked suddenly. Across the intersection, Billy Bob Reid in his police car wagged a finger at her. She grinned sheepishly and slowly drove past him when the light changed. A couple of minutes later she pulled into her driveway and grabbed the papers. Stepping out of her truck, she looked at the beautiful blue sky and shouted, "Yes!"

Miles made a last minute change to the manuscript Tooty had criticized two days previous. She'd called him the morning after and explained that she needed the day off because of an out-of-town emergency. When he'd asked if everything was alright, she'd laughed, "More than alright." After hanging up, he'd continued writing the scene that had kept him up half the night. He couldn't believe he was writing a love fest in a dilapidated warehouse that might be the last act of passion his hero and heroine ever experienced.

That evening he'd reread what he'd written and smiled. It was good—really good. Tooty had been right.

Now he showered and shaved and nervously wondered what her reaction would be. Precisely at nine, she tapped on the door with a patterned knock. Tap
–tap tap tap tap tap–tap tap. He opened it to one of the happiest faces he'd ever seen.

"Hello Miles," she said gaily, and skipped past him, heading to the bedroom office.

Something's up.
He rolled his chair behind her and watched from the doorway.

She glanced up. "Do you need something?"

"About that scene in my book we were discussing…"

"Oh, maybe I was wrong. You're the author, you
–"

"I rewrote it."

Her eyes got big. "You
rewrote
it? Because of what I said?"

He didn't respond directly to her question. "Do you want to read it?"

"Does a cow give milk?"

Miles grinned. "Come back in the living room."

After Tooty settled on the couch, he handed her the pages. "Read it aloud so I can judge the effect and decide on any changes."

"Okay."

Grabbing Anja's hand, Mac pulled her into the dark, dank, and musty room. Sunlight barely filtered through years of buildup on the one window. Pulling off his jacket, he placed it on the floor for her. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

"No. I'll go with you."

"I'm only going to barricade the door. I'm not leaving." Gently, he pushed her to the floor. In the dim light he could see lines of worry furrowing her brow and he had an overwhelming desire to fan his hand over her forehead, making the lines disappear like a magician. Instead, he left her and scanned the room for something to block the door. Finding a rusted pipe, he shoved it under the handle and then pulled an empty barrel and dilapidated office desk in front of the entrance.

He returned to Anja. "We're safe for now. No one knows to look for us here. But, just in case, we can leave through the window if someone tries to come through the door. And, I have this." He pulled his Glock from his shoulder harness and set in on the ground in front of him when he sat beside her. "We'll leave at nightfall and cross the river. The border's about twenty miles." He was hoping his words would encourage her. Maybe speaking the words would encourage him, too. He'd been in tough situations before, but this was one of the worst."

Tooty looked up. "I really like this!"

He nodded and she continued reading.

Anja gave him a weak smile and seemed to relax a little.

 "Lay your head on my lap and get some sleep." He patted his thighs.

After a second's hesitation, she moved closer and lowered her head. In the dim light, he watched her hair flow out—strawberry blond hair that curled around his legs. Unable to stop himself, he touched her beautiful tresses, smoothing the back of his fingers across their silkiness. Her eyes never left his. Slowly, she lifted her hand to touch the stubble on his jaw. He couldn't breathe. Never had he felt such passion, such desire.

Slipping his arm under her shoulders, he lifted her to his mouth. Her lips were sweet and warm and she was the only person who existed in his world. He had to have her—all of her.

Tooty stumbled in the reading and turned pink.

Miles felt her unease and said, "Uh, guess you can read the rest of it to yourself and let me know what you think."

"Oh, okay."

The relief in her voice spoke volumes. She might have a four year old son, but he had a feeling she was as innocent as a babe. He rolled to his desk, but kept a surreptitious eye on her. When she turned crimson, he knew she was reading the consummation of the love scene.

She put the pages down and sighed.

He waited a few seconds and then asked, "Better than before?"

She turned luminous eyes on him. "Oh, yes. This book is going to sell like hotcakes. Women, young and old, rich and poor, are gonna buy the book just to read that scene." She paused and then said, "OMG, and this is gonna be made into a movie. There'd better be smelling salts handy."

"Tooty, you are so funny. I appreciate the praise, but I hardly think that's going to happen."

"Ha, then you don't know women very well. Actually, after reading that scene, I take that back. You
do
know women."

Miles choked. Now it was his turn to blush. Changing the subject, he asked, "Are you going to tell me what that big grin was all about when you walked in?" She got that grin again.

"Okay. I've just got to share my news. I got this letter from an attorney. You'll never guess what happened…"

He waited.

 "I inherited a ranch house and twenty acres from a distant relative! Now Harris and I will have our own place!"

"Tooty, that's wonderful. Have you seen the house?"

"Not yet. I just got the key yesterday. That's why I couldn't come to work. I had to go to Denver and meet with an attorney. I'm going there after I leave here. It's about thirty minutes away in the next county. Just think, I had this relative living so close and never knew it. My father said he'd heard of her but never met her because she was a recluse."

Miles steepled his fingers. "Why don't we go now? I can drive you in my van. We can pick Harris up and take him with us."

"Really?"

"Sure. I'd like to see your place anyway."

"Okay, let me call Sarah." She reached for her cell phone and made the call while Miles shut his computer down. He heard her say, "Are you sure you don't mind keeping him? We may not be back until noon." She listened. "Thanks, Sarah, you're the best." She disconnected. "Sarah said she'll keep him while we go look. I already shared my good fortune with her."

Miles grabbed his keys. "Okay, let's go. Do you have directions?"

"Yep, they're in my purse."

Miles followed the directions Tooty gave and turned off the main highway onto a gravel road. Dense trees grew on either side of the narrow drive and they had to stop once so Tooty could remove dead limbs blocking the road. It took about ten minutes to reach the ranch house. At first glance it appeared rather pathetic. The windows were partially boarded, the porch sagged, and the roof was in need of repair. The old siding didn't have much paint left. Miles glanced sideways at Tooty expecting her to look crestfallen. She looked radiant. You would have thought she'd inherited a palace instead of this ramshackle home.

"It's all mine," she breathed.

Miles didn't have the heart to burst her bubble. There was no way she could live in this house without major repairs. He'd barely stopped the van before she was out the door and wrestling with her purse to find the key. While she ran to the porch, he lowered himself on the mechanical lift. The ground was rough and he had to use some muscle to skirt weeds and uneven terrain.

Tooty unlocked the door and turned around. "Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry. I should be helping you."

"You're fine." He opened the back of the van. "I have a lightweight metal ramp that telescopes. He slid the ramp out. "Do you think you can drag it to the porch while I maneuver around this rough ground?"

"Sure." She pulled the ramp the short distance.

"Is it too heavy?"

"Nope." She followed his instructions for sliding it open and positioning it where he could gain access. In a few minutes he was on the porch. At the doorstep she paused and looked down at him. "I feel like its Christmas and I'm about to open the best present ever."

Miles still didn't have the heart to destroy her illusion. She pushed the door open. "I love it," she breathed, and then turned to help him over the door jam and into the front room crowded with antique furniture. He figured maybe she could sell the stuff and make some money for repairs.

"My own home," she whispered.

Together, they pushed furniture out of the way so he could follow her throughout the dimly lit house and listen to her plans for improvement. He started mentally calculating dollar figures.

Off the living room there were two hallways opposite each other, with one leading to two bedrooms on one side of the house, and the other to the only bathroom and another bedroom on the other side. The living room opened into a small dining room with a door leading to the kitchen. Basically, the house was a rectangle. When he followed Tooty into the kitchen, he had to stifle a groan. It looked like it was a castaway from the 1940s and never remodeled. The refrigerator even had rounded corners. He wondered if the place was a fire hazard.

Tooty exclaimed, "I can't wait to move in! Some elbow grease and this place will be spit shined. I can come here in the afternoons after working for you and bring Harris with me. He's going to be so thrilled. I haven't told him anything yet because I didn't want him to get his hopes up in case things took a dive. Believe me, I know about things taking a dive."

"Tooty, how can you work here and then go to work cleaning Boot Bustin' Barn at night. When are you going to sleep? Besides that, look how far you are from your family, not to mention work. Can you drive that every day?"