Horatio Caine's Family ~ New Beginnings

 

CHAPTER SIX

June 21, 3003 (Saturday)

HORATIO'S FIRST VISIT TO JULIE'S PLACE

HORATIO MEETS HIS SON

It had been a very busy week for Horatio and his team, trying to wrap up one Carl Anderson burglary case, which had kept Horatio and his team puzzled for several weeks. The string of burglaries had occurred in the Star Island vicinity, and all had the same M.O. A suspect had finally been identified, and the individual, Carl Anderson, who had acted alone, was now in custody.

Horatio tried to keep his mind on his work, but thoughts of a certain little boy in Lakeport kept invading his thoughts. By the middle of the week, he wanted to drop everything and head for Lakeport as fast as he could. But, of course, duty called, plus the demands of his team, and these responsibilities kept him in Miami.

Horatio found Julie's phone number in the manilla envelope she had given him, so on Wednesday evening he called her, hoping he was not disturbing her so late in the evening. He wanted to talk to his son, but the boy was already in bed asleep for the night, and Julie didn't want to disturb him. Horatio wanted to come on Saturday, and she encouraged him to do so, although she had some errands to run Saturday morning, so if they happened to be gone when he arrived, he could wait a little while. He was quick to discover that the best time to call Julie was later in the evening, as he had previously tried to reach her in the mornings and afternoons, and never had any luck.

Horatio had never been to Julie's place before, so he encountered some difficulty in finding it, but he had the map that she gave him, so was able to locate her small farm after spending some extra time searching for it. She certainly had been right about the swamp--there was a lot of marsh here. It was about 10:45 AM when he finally found her front gate. He sat in his car, in the driveway outside the gate. It didn't look like anyone was home. He wondered if he had even come to the right place. Before him stood a neat smallish white house with clapboard-like exterior, sitting inside a woven wire fence, and an old, rusty wire gate. The house sat off the ground about three feet, and was supported by what looked to be concrete pillars all around the bottom. Surrounding the house was a very well-kept yard. On the north side of the yard sat two sheds, perhaps tool sheds, or storage facilities, and right next to them was a large propane tank. He was almost certain this was her place. It just seemed to fit her, somehow.

He didn't see the yellow pickup truck anywhere. He left his car parked, got out, cautiously opened the gate, and went inside the yard, careful to close the gate behind him, and hoping there was not a dog in the yard to bite him. Climbing up the front steps, he knocked, but got no answer. He walked around the south side of the house, until he came to the back yard. Across the yard, he could see three horses in their paddock, and beyond that, the swamp.

Walking around the north side of the house, he couldn't help but inspect it with the eye of a detective who was always looking for detail. He took his sunglasses off, and held them in his hands. He saw lots of room for improvements. He took a closer look at the concrete pillars supporting the house. He noticed the array of solar panels set in a neat row just to the south of the house. He also saw two animal cages stacked by the back step, and figured they might be used in Julie's animal rehabilitation program. He stopped short when he saw a child's bicycle right next to the animal cages. He stared at that little red bike. His son's, perhaps? A smile crossed his face.

He noticed the well-worn path from the back door step down to the stable area, a trail that led directly into the shelter area where a three-sided structure was up, to provide shade for the horses. Immediately next to the three-sided shed was a small shed with a door--a storage room, perhaps. In the paddock, three horses meandered lazily around, searching for extra tidbits of grain or hay on the ground.

Putting his sunglasses back on, he walked back toward the front of the house and stood in the front yard, looking off into the distance. About a quarter of a mile away, he saw a yellow pickup truck approaching on the road. He stood with his hands on his hips, watching that pickup. As it drew nearer, it sure did look like her truck. It stopped at the gate, next to his car. She got out, glanced briefly at him, waved, opened the gate, drove in, and parked next to the house. He followed the truck, and stood next to the side door of the house, as she got out of the truck. She made no move to close the gate.

She acknowledged him again, this time with a nod. "Good morning, Horatio Caine."

"Hey, Julie MacGyver."

She looked him up and down. "What a nice surprise to see you."

"As I recall, you invited me." His voice sounded a little terse.

"So I did."

She opened the cab of the truck, and pulled a furry canine out with a leash. "Come on, Charlie," she said to the animal.

"What have you got here? A wolf?" His hands were on his hips again. He looked around, and didn't see a child anywhere.

"He is a coyote. I raised him from a pup. Speaking of which--" She turned her head back toward the cab.

"Here is ours." Holding the leash with one hand, she opened the door wide with the other, to reveal a child, who had been sitting on the floor on the passenger's side. "Tommy," she called out softly. "There is someone I want you to meet."

Horatio's eyes were riveted on that child. He took off his shades, and his breath caught in his throat. For a full minute, he couldn't speak. Sitting in the truck before him was a mirror image of himself, only in miniature.

Julie led the little red-haired boy out by one hand, and father and son saw each other for the first time in their lives.

On the little boy's red teeshirt was a silkscreened horse, and the boy's finger traced over the design. He stared at Horatio with a timid curiosity, then lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Hello, Tommy," Horatio finally squeaked.

Julie asked, "Tommy, do you know who this is?"

The child looked up at his mother, hesitantly. Then, looking again at Horatio, he nodded.

"Tell him who YOU are."

"Horatio Thomas MacGyver."

Horatio crouched down to Tommy's level, and his smile grew wider. He took in the sight of the lad in his teeshirt, clean but faded blue jeans, and white sneakers. Never had he seen anything so beautiful before.

"Who is in that picture that sits by your bed?" Julie leaned over and prompted her son.

"My daddy." Tommy moved a step closer to his father, but he was wary.

"Come here, son." Horatio held out his hand to the boy. His shades were in his other hand.

Tommy looked up at Julie uncertainly as he fondled the upper tooth in his mouth, moving it back and forth.

"It's okay, Cowboy," His mother reassured him. "You can go to him. Go say hello to him. That is your daddy. Give him a big hug."

The little boy stepped closer, and went into his father's arms, and Horatio hugged him. With a loud sigh, the father stood up, his son still in his arms, and held him, his face buried in the boy's neck, his hand around the boy's head. He kissed the child's hair.

Tommy looked into his father's eyes, and said, boldly, "This is my house, and I'm gonna own it some day." He then moved his tongue over the loose tooth, so that it wiggled noticeably back and forth.

"That's good, son."

"I want down now." Tommy felt a little overwhelmed by this unaccustomed attention from someone who claimed to be his father, but whom he had never met.

Horatio, his emotions still reeling, put his son down.

Julie just smiled, happily. Well, so far, so good, she thought.

Horatio continued to stare at Tommy. "Julie--he's--he's beautiful."

"Aye. Thank you for giving him to me."

"Well, thank YOU, mama." Horatio's voice was full of emotion.

Tommy looked up at his dad with disapproval. "She's not your mama. She's MY mama."

Julie explained. "He is very--uh--he speaks his mind."

"Uh--huh. Like someone else I know."

Julie turned back to the truck, to get some groceries out of the back. With a sack of groceries in one hand, she fumbled the keys out of her pocket, unlocked the side door to the house, opened it, and sat the sack of groceries inside, on the floor.

"Tommy, here." She handed the child a box of Cheerios that had fallen out of a sack. "Thank you."

Charlie peed on a cement block next to the step, then bounded into the door when Julie unsnapped his leash from his harness.

"Is he one of your wildlife rehabilitation animals?" Horatio's eyes took in the lively coyote.

"He is not. He earns his keep as a therapy animal. Possibly, the first of his kind to do so, in the United States."

"What kind of therapy?" Horatio followed Tommy, Charlie, and Julie into the house. He picked up a sack of groceries, and followed her into the kitchen, his eyes looking around. He noticed the large rectangular table in the center of the kitchen. There were eight chairs scooted up to the table, three on either side and one on each end.

"I take him to nursing homes and hospitals to visit the elderly patients, and the children. They are always glad to see him."

"What exactly does he do?"

"He lets them pet him. They lay their hands on him."

"Everybody likes Charlie," Tommy volunteered.

The coyote sniffed Horatio's pants legs, expecting to be petted. "Charlie, that is Horatio. Leave him alone." Julie admonished the animal, but not very strictly.

"Hey, Charlie," said Horatio, looking down at the coyote. He placed the sack of groceries down on the large table.

"Many of them are elderly people, who do not have anyone to care for them, and some are children from broken homes, and--uh--" Julie took some items out of the grocery bag and sat them on the table.

"--some of the children are abused, and so I take Charlie to see them. Many times, the children will communicate with an animal before they will with a human." She emptied the sack, and folded it up, and laid it to the side, on the kitchen table.

"There is such a program in Miami," said Horatio. "I understand they've had a lot of success with it."

"But, unfortunately, there are not enough therapy animals to go around. Charlie and I do the best we can." Julie put a carton of butter and some cottage cheese into the refrigerator as Horatio observed.

"There is something very calming about touching an animal. It is good for the spirit, and for the soul." She paused for a moment to look at him. "Horatio."

He looked at her in response.

"Holding you is good for MY spirit."

Julie moved to Horatio to give him a hug, and he responded.

Tommy stared at them, dumbfounded. He wasn't sure he liked this at all. He moved to his mother's side, and stared up at Horatio with a mixture of shock and surprise, and a little trace of suspicion. His dark blue eyes darted from one parent to the other. This caused Julie to laugh. "Well, little one, this is just something you will have to get used to seeing."

Horatio laughed softly.

Charlie jumped up on the sofa in the living room, and lay down.

"I have to take his harness off," Julie said. She removed his red leather harness, and hung it on the wall above the sofa.

Horatio trailed Julie into the living room, followed by Tommy, who was still wiggling his tooth back and forth with his finger.

"Looks like a music store in here," Horatio said, looking around. "A piano. Do you play, Julie?" He had noticed the piano in one corner of the living room.

"Aye."

"A lot of musical instruments. I know you can play the violin. How many of these DO you play?" He couldn't help thinking that there must be thousands of dollars worth of musical instruments sitting here in the living room, in plain sight.

"My mom plays accordian--and--and--" Tommy answered, trying to be helpful.

"I play them all, Horatio." Her eyes swept over the array of instruments sitting around the living room, and even on the sofa. "I once made my living by singing and playing professionally, and I leave these out here, so I can get to them easily, still."

His eyes took in the many photos on the wall above the sofa, above the doors, and in frames on the butcher block shelves.

He discovered that Julie liked simple but functional furniture, and he perused the overloaded bookcase behind the piano, as well as the western and Native American Indian artwork all over the house. He thought it had the look of a museum.

"Julie, where are your other children? Do they live with you?" Before she could answer, he spotted a box of toys in one corner. He leaned over to get a better look. "Are these their toys?"

"They are Chandra's. My daughter Aimee has two girls. Chelsea is sixteen, and Chandra is two. These are her toys."

"You have a sixteen-year-old granddaughter?" He looked up at her from his crouched position.

"I was very young when Aimee was born," she answered philosophically. "And Aimee was very young when Chelsea was born. They live in Brighton."

"This is Aimee and Chelsea. And this is Chandra." She indicated two photos, side by side, on the ledge between the kitchen and living room.

"Cute kids," Horatio observed. He could see the resemblance to Julie in all three faces.

"I did my very best. And here is your son--our son, Tommy." This picture was on the wall above the sofa, next to Charlie's harness.

On the other side of the harness, was a photo of a small baby, about five months old. Horatio looked at it closely. It looked a little like Tommy. "And who is this child?" he asked, thinking it might be one of Tommy's baby pictures.

"That is my son Brian. He died when he was almost five months old." Julie turned away, obviously not wanting to linger before this picture.

"I'm sorry."

"So was I."

Julie directed his attention away from the photo of Brian, to the other side of the living room.

Horatio felt a tug on his hand, and looking down, realized that little Tommy had latched onto him, and had his small fingers wrapped around one of his father's bigger fingers. Horatio felt another tug, this one at his heartstrings, as he looked down at his son. He squeezed the little boy's hand affectionately, and smiled down at him. Tommy looked up, solemnly, then lowered his head. Horatio couldn't help thinking of the way that Tommy's mother always loved to hold hands. Apparently, she had passed the trait on to her son.

As they moved around the room, Horatio maintained his hold on Tommy's hand.

"This is my son Sammy, and these are the oldest ones, Sean and Lisa." Julie waved her hand at three black and white photos on the wall over the coffee table. "I showed you them when I stayed at your apartment."

Horatio nodded, remembering.

Julie continued, "Sean lives in Oklahoma now, and Lisa is in Pennsylvania. I wish they were closer." She nodded toward Sam's photo. "That one--Sam--he is something of a free spirit--like his mother. I am not sure where he is. I think he might be hiking somewhere in the mountains, in Washington--or maybe Oregon."

Tommy refused to leave his loose tooth alone, and while his left hand was in his father's, his right hand was busy with that tooth, moving it, tugging at it, as though it was the most important thing in his world.

"You know, son, whenever I had a loose tooth, I would put a string around it, and pull it out."

"Huh UHH!" resounded Tommy, his sapphire eyes growing big, as though this was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard.

"Tommy will not leave his tooth alone. He is giving it as much attention as he gave his penis when he discovered it."

Horatio smiled, blushed a little, and looked away. She realized she had caused Horatio some discomfort, and this caused her to blush too, and she moved her hand to her mouth and stared up at the ceiling with a fixed intent.

Next to the lamp on an end table were two color portraits in plain wooden frames. In an effort to change the subject, and ease his embarrassment and her own, Julie continued, "And this is my daughter Linda, and her family, and Pamela, the youngest, besides Tommy. She was the baby before he came along."

"That's--that's quite a family," said Horatio, as he looked at a framed piece on the coffee table. The people in these two frames were definitely Native American in appearance.

"Linda and them, they live up in Minnesota, and Pam has her own place now, in Coral Springs. She comes home when she gets hungry."

Following his gaze to another picture, Julie told him, "This is Danny. He is Lisa's boy."

"So--you have--six grandchildren?" Horatio mused, trying to get it all sorted out.

Julie did not feel the need to answer him, so she continued, as they strolled back toward the kitchen. "Aimee is Tommy's favorite big sister, and she adores him. Aye, we are a rather large family, and you, Sugar Caine, can be a part of it if you want to be." She gave him a quick little smile. "You always were a part of it, you just never knew--until now." Her eyelashes fluttered as she nodded.

Horatio was trying to process all this new information. It was a bit overwhelming. He had longed for a family of his own for such a long time, and now, suddenly, he had one--a very large one, apparently.

"Some would say we are a little bit off-center, and maybe somewhat loony at times, but we love our children, and we are happy. We laugh a lot, and we do not care what other people say. Tommy gets a lot of love, from all around. Ever since the day he was born."

They paused between the living room and kitchen. "Music is the center of my universe, still." They looked at all the musical instruments strewn about the living room. "And I want my grandchildren to have music in their lives. So when they come here, and they see all this, many times they will pick something up and start to play it."

"Sounds like a good idea," Horatio answered. He noticed something that resembled a stage in one corner of the living room, opposite from the piano.

"Who's Julie Davey?" he asked suddenly.

She looked at him with an element of surprise. "That is me. I do not use that name anymore. Not for years." Then she asked, "Where did you hear that name?"

"Oh--uh--from someplace--so, MacGyver your married name?" He curled his brow, trying to remember. "Refresh my memory."

"It is the name of my second husband. I never changed it back."

"You divorced, as I recall."

"From my second husband. My first husband died." Julie inclined her head toward the back of the kitchen. "That is his picture there, in the canoe, next to the bookcase."

Horatio inspected it closely. "Yes, the one who left you his plane."

"Mama, can I have some candy?" Tommy begged, still gripping his father's hand.

"No, Tom-Tom," she answered, heading toward the refrigerator. "You know we are going to eat now. Why don't you show daddy where to get washed up for lunch?"

Daddy. Horatio had wanted to hear that word for years, and Julie said it like it was an everyday occurrence in her home.

Tommy led Horatio into the bathroom, while Julie took stock of what they could have for their noon meal. Something simple, but nutritious, she decided.

In the bathroom, Tommy watched as Horatio washed his hands, and leaning over the sink, he looked up, into his father's face seriously. Horatio smiled at him, and the little boy smiled back broadly for the first time. The father was amazed that he could form an attachment so soon, to a little guy who looked so much like himself. His heart swelled again. He lay his hand on the boy's head, as they headed back out, to the kitchen. DNA test or none, he had no doubt this child was his own flesh and blood.

The large butcher-block style dining table sat in the middle of the kitchen. Tommy went to a shelf, and pulled out a large paperback book, and lay it on the table. Julie was trying to clear off one end of the table, which doubled as a work area. She noticed Tommy's actions, and said, "What are you doing, little one?"

Tommy didn't answer, but he looked up at his mother, and then at his father, and he pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of the large book, and opened it.

Horatio observed.

"Sweetheart, it is Saturday. You do not have to study today." Tommy again looked up at his mother, then over at Horatio with a frown, idly turning some pages, as though he were confused about something. "Put your book away. Tomorrow is Sunday. This is your time to play." Julie's voice was soft and kind. "You will not have your lessons again until Monday."

"Oh--okay." Tommy took his book and replaced it back onto the shelf.

"Horatio?"

"What is it, sweetheart," he responded, head tilted down toward her.

"If you like turkey, we can have sandwiches for lunch." She opened the fridge door and took out a packet of sliced turkey, and one of what looked like a leafy green in a zip-lock bag.

"Turkey's good. That's fine. Thank you." He peered into the fridge, taking notice of what was in there. "Do you have any milk?" he asked.

"Try this." She handed him a half-gallon carton.

"What is this?"

"Rice milk. I do not drink milk from cows."

"You just don't like the taste?"

"I am lactose intolerant."

"You mean you can't have anything with milk in it? No dairy products?"

"Well--I have to be very careful what I eat or drink." She explained further. "I do not have the enzyme in my body, that would allow me to digest lactose, the sugar that is found in milk. The enzyme lactase is produced by the cells lining the small intestine. Since I do not have that enzyme, I do not have the ability to break down the lactose into glucose or galactose, so they cannot be absorbed into my bloodstream. So, it just sort of lays there in my gut, and ferments."

"What are the symptoms?"

Julie curled her lip, as she found the subject distasteful. "Severe abdominal pain, gas, nausea, heartburn, and not very often, I throw up. My stomach swells up. It is not a pretty sight."

"You take medication to counteract the symptoms?"

"No. I just have to let it run it's course."

"So you have to stay away from cheese, milk, and all other dairy products?"

She didn't answer right away, but brought three tin graniteware plates out of the cabinet over the sink, and put them on the table. She lay two slices of wheat bread on each plate. "I can eat yogurt, or cottage cheese, or even some cheese, for it is cultured." She smeared some mayonaise on the three slices of bread. "I have to pay particular attention to my diet. If I get an upset, I can drink baking soda in water, or antacid pills. Or gingerbread. I have not found anything that works as good as that."

Horatio took a seat at the table. He put the carton of rice milk off to the side.

He watched as she prepared the meal. He thought about all those children whose pictures were in the living room. His look swept up and down her willowy frame. He felt it was pretty amazing that such a smallish woman as she had given birth to all those children, including his, and still retained her slender form, and her youthful countenance. She still looked like she was in her mid-thirties. He wondered how she did it, and he admired her for it.

Julie continued, after adding the turkey and watercress to the sandwiches. "The key is, to stay away from the foods that are going to make me sick, and that is not always easy." She had not been unaware of his glancing, and she gave him a quick smile.

"When were you diagnosed?" He saw a small green ball on the table. Reaching for it, he wrapped it up in his hands, and played with it.

She turned to the fridge, and pulled out a large bottle of apple juice, then got three glasses off a rack on the counter, and sat them on the table. She began pouring the juice into the glasses.

She answered, "About three years ago. I kept getting sick, and they put me through all their tests, and finally discovered I was lactose intolerant. Since I now know what is wrong, I have a much better time of it, and hardly get sick at all, now."

Julie returned the bag of greens to the fridge, along with the sliced turkey and jar of mayonaise.

"I would like to go sit on the back step." She handed Horatio his plate and his glass of juice, and moved toward the door, carrying her own plate and Tommy's. "Come on, Tom-Tom." They all headed for the back step.

Charlie was off the couch like a bullet, and into the kitchen. He knew it was lunch time. He got his own piece of turkey.

As they sat on the back step and ate their lunch, Horatio noticed that the grounds needed some work, and he wanted it child-safe for the boy. "Did you think of having this step repaired? This is hazardous." He noticed that one of the step boards was loose, and a nail was sticking out of the side. "You need to keep it safe for the little boy."

"I did, Horatio. One thing at a time. It is on my to-do list." She lay her hand on the board. "I have nailed this twice, and the board keeps splitting. I am going to have this replaced." She looked behind her. "One day, I want a deck to run the full length of this, and after it is done, I intend to put a screen around it, so everyone can sit on the deck, without being consumed by the maraschinos--uh--"

"The--what?"

"Mosquitos, Horatio." She slapped at a bug on her arm. "Like right now."

"Do you want to see what else I plan to do?"

"I would love to."

"Eat first." She looked at Horatio's nearly-finished sandwich. "And then, I will show you."

"Tom-Tom, leave that tooth alone," she admonished the boy, but only in a half-exasperated tone. "Eat your sandwich."

Horatio looked at his son, then down toward the stable where the horses were moving about. "The boy needs milk in his diet, Julie," he quietly said.

"He gets it. I forgot to get milk this morning. It serves me right for not taking a grocery list with me." She lay her sandwich down on her plate. "Just because I cannot have milk, does not mean I keep it from him."

"Does he get it every day?"

"Every other day."

"He needs milk every day, sweetheart."

"I beg to differ. He likes rice milk, too. Also, soy milk. They also have calcium in them."

Horatio nodded his head.

"Do you see this watercress?" She indicated the green leaves in Tommy's sandwich. "It has more calcium in it than a six-ounce glass of cow's milk."

"Did you give him infant formula?" His eyes gazed into hers intently.

"When he needed milk, I gave him my own." She took a bite from her sandwich and laid it on her plate. She took a sip of her apple juice.

He looked at Julie for a long moment. "How long did you nurse him?"

"Until he was--about two--two and a half years old."

"You nursed him that long?"

"I did," she answered. "Until about the time we moved here, to Florida."

"He only bit me once," Julie commented.

"Ah." Horatio's eyes traveled down to the little boy again.

The child said nothing. He was fully into his lunch and his apple juice.

"You're really off the beaten path, aren't you." Horatio observed, looking around at the open fields surrounding the house and yard.

"Well--we like our privacy here, and it is quiet."

"Ah, country living--the simple life, sounds of nature to wake up to, huh."

She gave him a stern look. "I prefer the sounds of nature to car horns, big buses, and people yelling."

"Do you still have your airplane?"

"I do, Sugar Caine."

She admitted, "I've not been flying a lot now, with so many other things going on." She thought of her deceased husband. "But I will always have it, for it keeps his memory alive for me, like that picture of him in his canoe."

Horatio realized that Julie was referring to her late first husband, whom was pictured in his canoe in the house.

"I would like to start flying again, for Tommy. I know he would like it." She looked at the boy with affection.

"I can fly, mama." Tommy said, trying to hold his sandwich together.

Horatio wondered, "Where is it? You keep it in Connecticut?"

"It is over there, at that little air park in Moore Haven." Julie helped Tommy put his sandwich back together.

"Would you like to see it?" she asked.

"Sure would. Like to go up in it, too."

Julie stood up and left her plate and empty juice glass sitting on the step. Horatio and Tommy followed her. Charlie moved in to lick the plates clean.

"Well, we will drive over there one day, soon." She walked to the middle of the back yard, and looked around.

They strolled around the yard, past the three horses to the new alligator fence, down to the swamp, and finally, back up toward the house. Julie had a lot of enthusiasm about what she had already done with the place, and was going to do in the future.

"I still have a lot to do here, as you can see. The inside of the house is finally livable, after four years, now I need to give more attention to the outside."

"Do you have anyone helping you keep this place up?" His gaze traveled over the yard, his hands on his hips.

"Much of it, I do myself. The man who lives down the road helps out." Her head nodded vaguely toward the south.

"The man down the road?" Horatio's eyebrows lifted.

"He brings me the Sunday paper, sometimes, he brings me pieces of wood, and two by fours, so I can build things--he helps me haul horse manure. He helped me get started on my compost pile. I let him have some, and he uses it to fertilize his garden. He grows corn, and tomatoes, and occasionally, lettuce. Then, in the season, lovely tomatoes and lettuce, and other stuff, appears on my front porch, for our dinner."

"An even trade," he remarked.

She waved a hand toward the solar panels. "I could never have put up my solar panels correctly, until he showed me how."

Tommy found his soccer ball lying in the grass, and he picked it up and carried it around, as his parents watched him.

Horatio was wondering just to what extent this neighbor was 'helpful.'

"My place is dirty enough to be happy, but clean enough to be healthy," she declared.

"Ha! Ha! Mama! You're it!" Tommy hit his mother in the leg with his soccer ball.

"Oh--" Julie shouted, taking off after Tommy. "I'm gonna get you!"

Tommy screamed with delight, and Charlie joined in the chase.

Horatio watched as the ball flew around, and then he joined in the fun, when the ball connected with his left ankle. They kicked the ball around for a few minutes.

Soon, Tommy and Charlie took off alone to play soccer, leaving the two adults alone.

Horatio and Julie sauntered up the driveway toward the front gate.

"You do not have to leave now, do you?" she asked, hopefully.

"No." He responded, as she swung the gate closed. It made a creaking noise as it closed. His car was still parked outside the gate.

"It is my intention to replace this gate, as well," she told him, as she finished latching it. "It is the original gate that was here when I bought this place."

They went back up the front steps, and into the house, leaving the boy and coyote to play in the yard. They made their way back into the kitchen, and Julie kept an eye on Tommy and Charlie through the back door. They talked about the weather as they stood in the kitchen. The day was hot, but a gentle breeze was blowing from the north.

She impulsively picked up a tin whistle from off a shelf to the side of the table, and played "Maire's Wedding" for him. He tilted his head to listen. Afterward, she blushed, and lay the tin whistle back on the shelf. This was the first time he had ever heard her play the whistle, and he liked it.

He had already noticed she had no television set. Glancing back toward the living room, he remarked, "Either you don't have a tv, or you keep it hidden in a closet." He waited for her response.

She sighed deeply, as though this was an age-old question that she was weary of, "I do not feel I need one, although I might get one for the children, as an incentive to visit me. They seem to like it. I do not feel it is really necessary for a child's proper upbringing."

"Does he like basketball, or video games, or anything like that?"

"Tommy has lived seven years without video games. I would never allow him to play those games without supervision. From what I have seen, they are much too violent, and very poor babysitters."

Julie clarified. "Children need to be outside, getting physical exercise, not languishing in front of a box with moving pictures."

"Absolutely," Horatio agreed. In truth, he had never thought about it much, not having children of his own. (until now.)

"As for basketball," she continued. "I have never gotten around to putting up a hoop. I am not sure where I would put it. He seems to like soccer. We play basketball by throwing the ball into a bushel basket." She grinned at Horatio teasingly. "That is why it is called basketball, and not hoopball."

Horatio's lips curled up a little, and they stood for a moment, neither one sure of what to say next.

Horatio broke the silence. "How would you feel about going somewhere tonight? Take the boy to a movie? Out to dinner? Just the three of us? Hm?"

"I would feel very good about that." She looked at him impishly. "Who will buy?"

"I will."

"Then I would feel even better about it." A certain little twinkle appeared in her eye.

Horatio glanced over toward the book shelf. "May I see that, please?" He pointed to the book that Tommy had earlier. "That--book?"

 

She took it off the shelf and gave it to him. He stood, quietly thumbing through the pages.

"That is his workbook for his geography and math lessons." She indicated a number of additional books on the shelf. "These are his other books here, if you want to look at them."

"Does he have his classes all day, every day?"

"From 8:30 to 12:30, every day, except weekends."

A loud scream from Tommy shattered the air. "MAMAAA! HUH HUH! MAMA!!"

Both parents whirled around toward the back door.

Julie looked at Horatio, her eyes wide. "That is Tommy's distress cry!" She flew out the back door, followed by Horatio, who threw the book down onto the table.

Tommy was crouching on the ground, searching through the grass frantically with his hands.

"Tommy! Tommy! What is it?" Julie was full of apprehension.

"Son! What's wrong?" Horatio strode toward the boy with concern.

"I lost him! He's--he's GONE!" The boy turned a tearful face to his mother. His little face was a mask of despair and hopelessness.

"Who's gone?" asked Julie, kneeling down to her son.

"Who did you lose?" echoed Horatio.

"My caterpillar!" he wailed. "He's--gone!"

"Your--caterpillar?" Horatio looked to Julie in puzzlement.

Tommy had apparently lost a caterpillar he recently found, and was terribly upset, sobbing, his eyes full of tears.

Julie helped Tommy hunt for his caterpillar, and so did Horatio. They crawled around on their hands and knees, poking through the grass.

Horatio wondered what his CSI team would think about this, their staid leader and boss crawling around in the grass on all fours, looking for a lost caterpillar.

"I did not know he had a caterpillar," Julie said to Horatio.

After a few minutes of searching, Julie stood up on her knees. "Hey, Cowboy, is this him?" She picked up a little green worm about two inches long, and held it up for Tommy to see.

Tommy rushed over to her and examined the bug in the palm of Julie's hand. "Yes, mama, that's my caterpillar. That's him."

"You need a box to keep him in, don't you," said Horatio.

Julie transferred the worm into Tommy's palm, and with one hand, he dried his tears and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

They walked back to the house, and Julie emptied a matchbox to put the bug into. "Here, put him in this, but you better put the lid on it. Sadie might want to have him for supper." Charlie came in, too, not knowing what was wrong with his buddy.

Julie was concerned that Sadie would eat the worm, if Tommy let it get away in the house. Sadie, it turned out, was their in-house praying mantis. They also had one that stayed in Julie's bedroom, she told Horatio.

Tommy wandered closer to Horatio, pressing against him, and the father put his arm around his son. Encouraged, Tommy tried to get onto his father's lap, and with Horatio's help, he made it. Horatio kissed the back of Tommy's head, and Julie smiled, looking on approvingly.

Together, father and son took the lid off the matchbox and looked at the caterpillar, then Horatio helped Tommy put the lid back on the box. They sat it next to Tommy's lesson book on the table.

Still in his father's lap, Tommy turned his head to the side, and up toward Horatio, and said, "I love you, Daddy."

Horatio grinned broadly and answered, "I love you, too, son." He kissed the boy's hair, then exchanged glances with Julie.

"He has loved you ever since I told him who you were. About seven years ago."

The parents visited for awhile, sitting at opposite sides of the table.

Tommy slid off of Horatio's lap, and moved around the table, to his mother's side. She told him they were going out to eat tonight. They discussed where they would go, just the three of them.

"Keynote, mama. We can go to Keynote," Tommy advised.

Tommy was tired. He lay his head down on the table. Julie did too, and talked to him. He reached his hand out to her face, and stroked her cheek and forehead.

Horatio was witness to this, and he was already forming the opinion that Julie was a very good mother to his child.

"Do you want to take a nap, Cowboy?" Julie whispered to the boy. She made an effort to pick him up and settle him into her lap, but he twisted away from her.

"Huh-uh. No, I do not." He ran over to the toy stack in the living room, and started playing with a dump truck on the floor.

Horatio and Julie could hear him while they talked at the table. She asked Horatio about some of his cases, and he told her about a few of them--how hectic they could be, how sometimes it was like taking two steps forward, and three steps back, when trying to solve a tough case, like the Carl Anderson case he was just now finishing up with.

"Do you hear that?" Julie realized she could no longer hear Tommy."

"Hear what?" Horatio wondered.

"The sound of silence." Julie explained to Horatio that anytime you could no longer hear the child, he was either asleep, or up to no good--into something he should not be. Both parents stood up and walked into the living room.

Tommy was sound asleep on the couch, with his blue stuffed dog under his arm.

His parents stood, watching him for a time. She wasn't sure she should let him sleep, for he might not sleep tonight. She wanted to get ready to go out to eat. Horatio thought it was still a little early. She said that when one has children, it takes one twice as long to do everything that one could do before in half the time.

Julie sat down on the couch, and Horatio went down on one knee beside the couch, to get closer to the boy. She gently woke Tommy up.

"Hey, Cowboy," she whispered.

"Hmmm??" Tommy opened his eyes, saw both parents looking at him, smiled, stretched, and lay quietly.

She pulled off his shoes and socks, and then his jeans. He was wearing his favorite Spiderman underwear. She checked him for rash and bug bites, looked at his feet and legs, then sat him up, and took his shirt off. She inspected his arms, hands, chest, back, and sides. She found a red rash on his right wrist. Next was his face, ears, neck, and scalp.

She returned to the rash on his wrist, and explained that Tommy often suffered from heat rash during the hottest months. Tommy smiled at his father, and Horatio smiled back at him. Time for a bath, and to get ready to go out for dinner.

She carried him to the bathroom, and turned the faucet on, and plopped him down into the tub. His father stayed with him, while his mother went to his room, and returned with clean clothes, which she laid on the toilet seat. He noticed that the boy was uncircumcised, just like him, and it pleased him. He wasn't sure why.

Horatio and Julie were in the kitchen, when through the open bathroom door, came Tommy's distress call. Both went into the bathroom to see what was wrong. Tommy had squirted the wet cake of soap across the bathroom floor, and couldn't reach it. Julie retrieved it, and gave it back to him, and he shot the soap across the floor again, laughing. This went on for two or three more times, with Tommy laughing, and Julie trying not to, and Horatio retrieving the wet soap. The last time, the soap flew out of Tommy's hand, and flew through the air, and skidded up, over the top of his mother's head, leaving a soapy trail on her scalp, and onto the floor behind her. She scooted backwards about three feet, laughing, and Tommy was beside himself with humor. Horatio captured the soap again, and this time, kept it away from Tommy.

Julie advanced on Tommy, and pulled him up to stand in the tub, tickling him until he screamed with laughter. She lifted him out, and wrapped a towel around him, dried him off, and left him to get dressed in the bathroom. Horatio had not seen such a happy, active child for a long time, and seeing his son like this made him happy too.

It was Julie's turn to shower. Horatio and Tommy were in the kitchen, talking, when Julie emerged, with wet hair, and a clean blue floral blouse, tan pants, and moccasins. She went outside to feed the horses, and put Charlie in his pen. After she came back into the house, they once more discussed where they would go to eat. Julie knew of a place, so that was where Horatio decided to take them. It was the Keynote Lounge, Tommy's favorite, in Moore Haven, small, intimate, but good food, and excellent service.

***********************************************************

On the way there, with Tommy in the back seat, Horatio mentioned, but not in a derogatory way, how primitive Julie's place was.

She told him about how her ex-husband taught her a lot about living simply, and how to fix things herself; she had learned a lot from him, but that was not to say she would not add some of those past luxuries back into her life. With most of her children gone, except for Tommy, and having their own families, she might need some enticements, to lure the grandkids into staying with her sometimes--things like a pool table, pinball machine, a swingset with a slide, maybe even a large life-size fiberglass horse in her back yard.

Horatio asked her about the split with her ex, and she looked away from him, and got very quiet. She obviously didn't want to talk about it, and he respected that. She told him she would probably tell him sometime in the future, when he started to open up more to her, about his OWN past. He nodded, knowing he would have to be satisfied with that. It was true, he realized. She had told him a lot about her life, but he had told her very little about his. He was afraid to tell her some things, fearful that she would turn away from him.

Walking into the restaurant, Julie was a few steps ahead of the other two, and she gave an impromptu little dance, just before entering through the door. He wondered what that was for, and then he remembered her doing something similar eight years before, on the beach with an old inner tube she had found. They took a booth, with Tommy and Horatio on one side, and Julie on the other. But for the boy, the adults would have been sitting together on the same side of the booth.

Tommy obviously knew this place well, and the waitress knew Tommy. He began to act up a little, because his parents wouldn't let him out of the booth. The boy wanted to go to the bathroom, but wanted Julie to take him, not Horatio, even though his father wanted to.

When Julie and Tommy returned from the restroom, the child bounced up to Horatio, and climbed over him to sit down, smiling.

The child decided to test his mother. He kept trying to slither under the table. Both his parents told him to stop. Julie raised her voice. Tommy stopped for a few minutes. Then, he leaned back, and started pushing on Horatio's leg with his feet. Julie snapped her fingers loudly, and pointed to the seat. It brought instant obedience, along with pouting.

"Thomas!" Julie looked very stern.

Tommy began to sniffle. Then he spilled the salt shaker. Julie waggled her finger at him, and then the flood gates opened, and tears flowed from Tommy's eyes.

"I love you, mama."

"I love you too, baby, but you still have to behave."

Tommy was quiet after the food came, and while the adults were talking, he was busy with his macaroni and vegetables.

"Horatio, don't you sometimes get cases that involve abused children, or women?" Julie put some honey into her cup of tea.

"Sometimes. But those cases--most of them--are turned over to Social Services. Why do you ask?"

"I am concerned about my eldest daughter, Lisa. She is in a violent relationship, and I am afraid for her." Julie's frown creased her face.

Horatio gave Julie his full attention, and he waited for her to continue.

"It is very hard for her. He is a cop, and nobody thinks he is doing anything wrong. He is a racist, and abusive, and he hides behind his badge."

"Where does she live?" Horatio moved his water glass away from Tommy's reach. "--Pennsylvania, wasn't it?" he remembered.

Julie's head nodded affirmatively. "Pennsylvania."

"How long has she been with him? In this abusive relationship?"

"Off and on, about five years, I believe."

"He put her in hospital once. I tried to help her, but she went back to him." Julie shook her head in despair. "It is very frustrating."

Horatio clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and said, "The longer she stays with him, the harder it will be for her to leave."

"He may kill her one day, and if he does, that puts me in the awkward position of having to kill HIM." She put her hands over her eyes.

"Sweetheart, you don't want to go down that road. Revenge is not the answer."

"The one I am really concerned about is Danny. My grandson. He is thirteen. He wants to stay with his mom, to protect her. I want him with me. I need to protect HIM."

"Danny's my cousin," Tommy proudly proclaimed before scooping up a spoonful of macaroni into his mouth.

"I do not know why I am telling you this. You probably do not understand."

"Honey, I DO understand. Believe me, I really do."

Horatio leaned back in his seat. "So he's not the child's father?"

"He is NOT Danny's father. He never adopted him."

"Are they married?"

"They are not." Julie shook her head. "She has been pregnant twice, by him. Both times, she has lost the babies. I blame HIM for that. He is killing my grandchildren, before they even have a chance to be born."

Julie's statement hit home with Horatio. He knew exactly how she felt. His own thoughts flashed back to his first marriage, and a wife that aborted his children before they had a chance to really live.

Horatio said, "She might consider checking into a safehouse with the boy. Has she taken out a restraining order against him?"

"She has done that. He always gets past it. And she always goes back to the slug."

"She needs to be willing to leave him."

"There was a time when Lisa would have stood up to the likes of him. He wore her down."

"That fire in her spirit, that light, has gone out. The spark is gone from her." The sadness showed in Julie's eyes.

"Did I understand you to say he is a police officer?"

She nodded. "He hides behind the judicial system, because he is a slimy, rotten, piece of crap."

Tommy interjected, in a small voice, "Mama, I'm done."

"You have not eaten your green beans, laddie."

"Son, clean up your beans," Horatio told him. He speared a bean with Tommy's fork, and held it to his son's mouth. "Here."

Tommy hesitated to eat the bean off the fork. He looked at Julie slyly. "Mama, I'll still grow."

"I'm sure you will, but maybe you will grow faster if you eat your green beans."

Tommy ate the bean off the fork, and made a great show of distaste.

Horatio speared another bean and urged it toward the boy's mouth. "One more."

Tommy took the bean, chewed slowly, and swallowed it. He grimaced, as though he was being poisoned. "Ahm--ich--"

"What a face," his mother commented.

"Last one." Horatio was getting a kick out of this, as he forked two beans, and held them in front of Tommy's mouth.

"Unnnn--oh---oh---" Tommy sputtered, but he ate the beans off the fork Horatio was holding.

"Good man," Horatio praised Tommy, as he dropped the fork back onto Tommy's plate.

He played his fingers through the hair on the back of Tommy's head before turning his attention back to Julie. "Can you bring her and the boy here?"

"Lisa and Danny?" Julie took a last bite of her meatloaf and laid her fork down on her plate. "What can YOU do to help?"

"I can help, but Pennsylvania is out of my jurisdiction." He leaned forward, toward her. "If you can get them down here, I have a contact in Social Services. He owes me a favor. Let me see if I can reach out to him. Okay?"

Julie nodded yes.

"Mama, can I have some ice cream now?"

"Yes, you can."

Tommy ate half of his ice cream, and began to get restless again. He spilled his water glass, and said he was sorry. Julie was very patient with him.

Tommy managed to elude both Horatio and Julie by sliding off the seat, under the table, and she made a grab for him, but she missed and he ran toward the stage, where he wanted to play. This was a stage where Julie sometimes sang and played her music. She kept an eye on him while she and Horatio were getting ready to leave. They stood up, he left a tip, and they went to the cashier to pay. Julie went up onto the stage to walk around with Tommy, and Horatio joined them for a few minutes.

"Come on, Tommy. Let's go home." Julie clapped her hands together sharply, and Tommy flew over to her at a dead run, and threw his arms around her waist.

"Grrrr!" Tommy growled, in the manner of a playful seven-year-old who imagined he was a tiger.

"Come on, son." Horatio reached for Tommy's hand, but the boy twisted away from him.

Tommy growled gutterally, bouncing and running, as he led the way back to Horatio's car.

"He's lively, isn't he," remarked Horatio.

"He is that." Julie agreed. "Sometimes I wonder if he has brain damage."

"Oh, I don't think so." Horatio answered in a clipped tone.

Horatio had only known his son for less than a day, and Julie warmed to the way he was already defending the boy. She knew he was going to be a good father; indeed, she had known it since the first week she had met him so long ago.

With Tommy settled into the back seat, Horatio drove back to Julie's place. They sat for a moment in the car, just looking around outside the closed gate. He sneaked a glance in her direction.

"I can hardly believe this is my place," she said, and then added, "Well, it does not look too bad, for having been living here for only four years."

Horatio nodded, thinking it might be kind of hard for Julie to keep the ten acres up all by herself, while trying to raise a child--his child. Still, she seemed to have done alright during the last four years, he surmised. That was not to say he was going to let her continue running it by herself. Now that he knew about Tommy, and felt closer to Julie because of the child, he had every intention of helping her, any way he could.

"Tommy and I need to water the horses, and take our night walk, and feed Charlie, before it gets too late in the evening."

"Time to feed Charlie," Tommy echoed from the back seat.

She turned to Horatio. "You look tired, and it is a long way back to Miami."

Horatio licked his lips, and showed his top row of teeth, rubbing them against his lower lip. "You know what, Julie, I could still be here in the morning." He glanced at her again, and looked away, rather like a shy little boy. "I wannu spend some more time with the boy--and his mother." His eyes fixed on a distant cloud and held it.

She didn't say anything for a minute. She appeared to be in deep thought.

"Julie, what do YOU want?" He still studied the cloud.

"I want you to stay, Horatio. More than anything." Her face was hopeful, yearning. "Wait here." She opened the car door and went to open the gate.

He drove through, and parked his car next to the house while she closed the creaky old gate for the night.

"Come on, son." Horatio turned to Tommy. "We're home."

"Yes, we are," she smiled.

They all went into the house through the side door, after Julie unlocked it.

"Horatio, you are welcome to sleep in my room this night, if you want to. Or on the sofa, if you prefer."

He nodded, looking at her.

She added, "My bed is big enough for two. I will not turn you away." Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked at the wall.

While Horatio was in the bathroom, Julie and Tommy went outside, to check on the horses and to visit and feed Charlie in his pen. After Horatio came out of the bathroom, he stood at the back door, watching them until they returned to the house safely. He noticed they were both carrying flashlights.

Back in the house, the three relaxed, and Horatio rolled up his shirt sleeves, pulled his shirt out of his pants, and spent some time looking at Tommy's other lesson books, while Julie picked her guitar for half an hour. Tommy was drumming on the arm of the couch with Julie's drumsticks. By now, the darkness had set in, and there was no outside lighting anywhere. The exterior of the house and the stable were in total blackness. Horatio noticed this, and remarked, "You need some external lighting here, don't you. Motion sensors would be good."

They exchanged looks with each other, and he smiled, but she got a puzzled look on her face, as though she wasn't sure what he was talking about. She seemed a little tense, especially after his comment about the external lighting, but he couldn't figure out why.

Horatio joined Julie and Tommy in the living room, and Julie gave him her guitar to play on. He hadn't played a guitar for a very long time, and he tinkered with it for some time, before he put it down. When he did, she picked it up again, and sang "Over the Rainbow" for Tommy.

She sang the song in its entirety, and when she was finished, the little boy applauded and jumped up and down, exclaiming, "This is the Grand Ole Opry!"

Julie graciously took a bow and smiled at him. "Thank you--thank--thank you so much. Always be as happy as you have made me tonight."

And Tommy laughed loudly.

Julie sang and picked another song for Horatio. She sang the song of the sea, "Threescore And Ten," and he was entertained with his own private concert. He wanted her to keep singing and playing, but she was a bit tired, so she put her guitar down.

Tommy was exploring his mother's drum set, sitting on the throne, tapping the sticks on the snare, tickling the cymbals, and somehow, in sliding off the throne, he managed to fall over one of the cymbals, causing it and himself to go crashing to the floor, making a lot of noise. The loud disturbance from the corner of the stage captured his parents' attention.

"Tom-Tom, what are you doing?" from his mother.

Tommy lay on his stomach, the cymbal lying next to him, his face almost crying, as he looked up at his parents, first one, and then the other, with a guilty, solemn look. He was ready to break into tears.

"Son, are you okay?" Horatio started to move toward him.

Seeing he was alright, Julie laughed and said, "Cowboy, that is not the way to play the drums."

Tommy smiled when he saw his mother's laughter, and his dad picked him up off the floor.

Thus, Julie was able to turn his sadness to a smile just by not getting angry with him.

After closer inspection, he was found to be alright, and Julie patted his bottom vigorously with both hands, and sent him elsewhere.

Horatio was sitting on the couch, and Julie knelt in front of him, putting one arm on each of his knees. She smiled up at him, and he couldn't help smiling back at her. Tommy was at the couch like a magnet, extremely interested in what his elders were doing.

"Mama, what are you doing?"

"I am--being close to your father."

"Mm hm," agreed Horatio.

"Why?" demanded Tommy.

"Why not?" countered Julie.

Julie told Horatio about her solar panels, and how she was planning to get a bigger converter, to handle a television, more lighting, and other things. She was using propane for heat, but did not really need it in the summertime, which was just about all of the time in Florida. She felt the propane tank was a little too close to her tool shed, so she wanted to move it as soon as possible.

"Tommy, don't you think it is time for you to get ready for bed?" She hinted at him.

"No."

"You do not have to go to bed yet, but I want you to get ready for bed."

"Tommy, do what your mother says."

"To be continued," said Horatio to Julie.

Julie got the child dressed for bed, and made sure he brushed his teeth, and she brushed her own, too.

Horatio meandered around the living room, looking at more of the pictures, and perusing some of the titles of Julie's books. There were some horse books, but also volumes of poetry and European and American History as well. She seemed to like history.

Tommy, dressed in his nightshirt with Spiderman on the front, played with his toy road grader until he began to get very quiet again.

Julie carried Tommy to his room and tucked him into bed. Then she shut his door after she came out. She and Horatio went back to the couch, and commenced where they had left off before.

"Have you brought any clothes, to spend the night?"

"Nope." He chuckled. "I didn't know I was going to."

"Well, I have an extra toothbrush I found. It is clean. If you want to brush your teeth, you can use it. I laid it on the sink in the bathroom."

"Okay. Thank you."

They heard Tommy's bedroom door open. He was standing in his nightshirt. "Mama, can I have a drink of water?"

"No. Go to bed."

The child returned into his room and Julie closed his door again. Count of three minutes, and out came Tommy again. "Mama, will you clean my toes?"

"Clean your toes?"

"Yes. They are dirty."

"To be continued--again," she said to Horatio.

She followed Tommy into the bathroom, and with good humor about it, cleaned his toes with a washcloth dipped in warm water.

Horatio laughed to himself as he listened to Julie in the bathroom, washing the boy's toes. Afterward, she chased Tommy back to his room, both laughing. She shut his bedroom door once again. Both his parents were getting a kick out of him, and both were on to him. He was thinking of ways to find out what his elders were doing together.

Five minutes later, standing in front of the couch, Horatio had his arms around Julie, when they heard Tommy's door open again. They stood watching him. He had his small blanket in one hand, and his blue stuffed dog in the other. Not coming any closer, he spread his blanket out in his doorway, and lay down on it, so he could watch his parents like a hawk.

They sat on the couch, talking quietly, watching Tommy, and ten minutes later, he was asleep. Horatio got up to take him to bed, and Julie followed. They both tucked him in, and closed his door.

Back on the sofa, as before, Julie removed Horatio's shoes, inching herself ever closer to him, until she was pressed to him, kneeling, with her arms tight around him. She had not lost the ability to flirt with her eyes, her words, and her body. How could he resist? He pulled her closer with a passion.

 

Then, she issued him a challenge he could not refuse, when she said, "Sugar Caine, I bet you think you can beat me at wrestling, but I can whip your ass, and I can do it without waking Tommy."

"We'll see about that, won't we." His arms encircled her, and he rubbed her back vigorously.

"Is that the best you can do? You wrestle like a woman." She laughed at him, pulling away, but only in a half-hearted way.

"Haha, I'll show you how I can wrestle." he grabbed her, and embraced her in a firm hug.

Julie laughed, making a mock attempt to get away. "You are a fairly good wrestler for such an old man."

"You're not too bad yourself, for such an old lady." He wrestled her onto the floor, carefully, so as not to hurt her.

She laughed silently, remembering the sleeping boy in the next room.

Suddenly, it became more serious, and his expression changed. He gazed into her face for a long minute. Intensely, his face lowered to hers, and his mouth intruded onto hers, his tongue forcing her lips apart, his hands around the back of her head. He pushed her down onto the floor on her back, and he went down with her, his body covering hers. His hand unsnapped her shirt desperately, and she was successful in getting him to slow down a little.

"If we keep this up," he rasped, "we're gonnu give Tommy a brother or sister."

To which Julie replied, "Well, we might get a result, but right now, can we just enjoy the pleasure? We can let Tommy think it runs in the family."

Their clothing came off in record time, and was thrown around the room, until they both were in a state of excited frenzy.

And then, with a sudden move, he was inside her, shoving in and out with a vengeance, opening her, lubricating her, and they ended up completing their union there, on the floor in front of the sofa, until he groaned loudly at his own explosive release, hers coming just a moment later. Both were surprised it happened this way, especially with their son sleeping in the next room. Afterward, they lay for a long time in each other's arms, just snuggling together, and caressing.

"Well--wow--that was a surprise."

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes."

"We are like two weasels in the heat of passion."

"Uh-huh," he agreed. "Like two fishing worms tangled up on a line."

"Let's do it again."

"Honey--" Horatio laughed. "I'm an old man."

"I am only kidding."

Julie wanted to check on Tommy, so she went into his room to see him. He was still sleeping soundly. She came back out to Horatio, and he was still lying on the floor on his back, naked, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for her to return.

She knelt beside him, and kissed him goodnight, and told him she was going to bed now. He just wanted to lie on the floor for awhile to rest and think. She retired to her bedroom and did not close the door completely, but left it ajar.

He didn't go to bed for another half hour. He thought about all these sudden changes in his life. He considered the condom he had brought, which was still unopened in his pants pocket. While he brushed his teeth, he considered taking a shower, but he was weary--so tired.

He remembered her saying her bed was big enough for two, so he soon made sure all the doors were locked, turned out the lights, and went into her room. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, thinking with some awe, that just one week ago, he had no family of his own, and now suddenly, he had a ready-made one, and it was all his own. It was mind-boggling.

And then, there was Dale--his lover, his friend, his companion, whom he had barely thought of at all today. Dale, who knew nothing about Julie or Tommy. Horatio was in a dilemma. What was he going to do?

Julie was vaguely aware of his weight on the side of the bed, and then of his body, as he slid into bed beside her. She muttered, half-asleep, "when to say you are your own ain't quite enough to keep you going--" He looked at her with his eyebrow raised, then he snuggled up next to her, and they slept.

***********************************************************

Early the next morning, Sunday, Julie was woken up by Horatio's caresses, and she tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't seem to get him to leave her alone.

She finally started returning the attention by giving him gentle kisses on the corners of his mouth, chin, lips, and nose. She made it clear to him how happy he made her, how good she felt just being around him.

"I bet you say that to all the men you know," he teased her.

She giggled and mussed his red hair. "That may be true, laddie, but never the same line twice."

She flirted with her eyes, whispering softly to him.

He looked at her with wonder. She was so loving and gentle with him, and he with her. This time, she took the lead, and showed him what she wanted him to do. She loved deep penetration, so he gave it to her, but when she flinched a couple of times, he remembered he needed to be more careful. He was as gentle as he could be, and not as desperate this time, because of the sleeping child in the next room. He tried to hold back, but he felt her spasms pulling at him, and it brought on his own release.

He fell back into sleep with his head on her shoulder, his arms around her.

Later he woke slowly to her kissing his hair. She started playing with him, tweaking his stomach with her fingers until he retaliated, and both tried not to laugh out loud, as they thought of their son Tommy sleeping in the bedroom next door.

"That tickles." She tried to squirm away from his hands.

"Heh-heh-heh--" He laughed gutterally. "P-chu. P-chu. P-chu," he teased, as his fingers gave her ribs gentle nips.

"Hah-haha-hah--" Her knees folded up on her chest.

"P-chu." His hand slid down her back, and he tickled her with his fingertips.

Her laughter rang out. "You sound like an electric stapler." She rolled onto her back, and exposed her chest and stomach to him.

"P-chu. P-chu. P-chu." His playful fingers continued to assault her skin, and he got a big kick out of her laughter and gyrations.

"Hahahaha--"

"You're killing me, Sugar Caine!" She tried to laugh silently. "We are going to wake Tommy!"

His hand brushed against her rib cage, and she flinched. "Ah hah--someone is ticklish." There was a devilish look on his face, and his eyebrows shot up.

"No I'm not! Indeed I'm not!"

"P-chu. P-chu. P-chu. P-chu." He was relentless, his hands traveling all over her body, lightly pinching her.

"I'm going to get you for this, Caine!"

"I'm counting on it." His lips pulled back wolfishly from his teeth.

"That's it! You are going to be sorry now!" Her arms surrounded his chest, and she snuggled closer to him, and crawled onto his chest. "We are too loud. Tommy needs his sleep."

He suddenly got very still, and with an intent gaze, swept her face to his and dove for her mouth, pulling at her lips, nibbling, refusing to relinquish his hold. He held her in a breathless embrace with his mouth, until they were forced to come up for air.

She murmured, "Sweet kisses."

"Oh, Julie--Julie--my little girl--" He held her closely.

After a moment, Julie fought away from him and sat up in bed, looking at the closed bedroom door intently.

"Whatsa matter?" He snapped to attention.

"Someone is coming!" She glanced quickly to Horatio, and then back toward the bedroom door.

"Tommy?" He propped himself up on one elbow, rather unexcitedly, his hand supporting his head.

She shook her head, listening intently.

There was the sound of a vehicle engine outside the gate, and a loud knocking at the back door. A female voice called out, "Julie! Are you here!?"

Julie turned to Horatio with a panicked look. "If I do not say something to her, she may try to come in here!"

"Who is it?" Horatio remained calm. The intrusion seemed not to bother him at all.

"It is my neighbor from down the road." Julie reached down beside the bed and caught up her bath robe from the floor. She slipped it on and stood up. She stepped to her bedroom window, slid the glass up and shouted out, "I'm in the bedroom! STOP! Do not come in!"

"What are you doing?" came the curious inquiry from the back step.

"I am busy!"

There was a moment of silence, and Julie kept looking out the window, her face pressed against the screen, although she couldn't see the back step from this angle.

"Did you get a new car?" from the one outside.

"It is not mine!" Julie shouted back out the window.

There was silence for a long moment, and then, "I brought you some tomatoes!" Said the other female voice, as it moved away from the step and closer to the window.

"I will be right there!" Julie wrapped her bath robe tighter around herself.

"Do you need any help?!" came the voice from outside, now ever closer to the window.

"NO!!" shouted Julie, and she whispered, almost to herself, "I am doing just fine." She was still standing before her open bedroom window, her hands leaning forward against the sill.

From the bed, Horatio's eyes swept up and down her body, knowing well what she looked like under that lightweight bath robe, but still enjoying the unseen delights that her robe was hiding.

Julie yelled out toward the back step, "I am making love to a crime scene investigator from Miami! With red hair!"

Horatio's eyes flew open wide.

"Oh!! Okay!!" There was a shuffling from the back step, that Horatio could hear.

Horatio thought the guest had gone, but soon he heard her cheerful shout.

"Where do you want me to put the tomatoes?"

"Leave them on the step!" Julie shouted back.

"Oh! Okay!" More shuffling, and a thump from in back of the house. It sounded as though a bushel basket had been dropped on the step.

"Need to fix your step!" Shouted the other woman from outside.

"Yes, I know!" Julie returned, still leaning on the sill, her nose pressed into the screen.

"See you later!" The other voice was retreating.

"Bye!" answered Julie.

They listened to the sound of the footsteps receding, the creaking of the front gate, a slamming car door, and a revving motor, and the car noise slowly faded into the distance.

"Smooth move," Horatio remarked casually. "Tomatoes on the step."

"She never believes me when I tell her the truth." Julie walked back toward the bed with a smug look on her face.

"Does she believe you when you lie?"

"Always."

Tommy slept on in his room next to his parents'. Julie tightened the belt on her robe and went to check on him. From there, she went into the bathroom, and Horatio soon joined her. They had been quite exuberant in their early morning romp in the sheets, and she told him it hurt to pee. He had really stretched her open. They took a shower together, and returned into her room.

Julie suddenly remembered she had a riding lesson to give this morning at 9:00. She glanced at Horatio's watch, and saw that it was 8:35. She had to feed the horses, and get them ready. She told him, bacon and eggs for breakfast. She blew him a noisy kiss with her lips, got her hairbrush and went into the bathroom again.

Horatio went into Tommy's room to see him, but the child wasn't there. He noticed a snake cage with it's occupant in one corner of the boy's bedroom, and went for a closer look. The snake languished in it's cage and flicked a lazy tongue toward Horatio.

After a brief search by both parents, Julie shouted, "Tommy! Tommy! Where are you?"

And a little voice answered, "Mama! I am here!"

It came from Julie's bedroom, on the floor, between the bed and the wall.

They didn't know how long he had been there, or exactly what he might have heard or seen. Julie lifted him onto her bed and told him to go back to sleep. They surmised that he must have slipped into her bedroom while she and Horatio were taking their shower.

"Maybe we should consider putting a lock on the bedroom door," Horatio suggested.

Julie gave him a look of puzzlement, and said, "Why?" and then, "Oh," as his meaning dawned on her. She proceeded to get ready for the riding lesson.

Tommy didn't want to go back to sleep. He wanted to get up to go to the bathroom, and he needed his Cheerios. Julie continued to get dressed, and suggested that perhaps daddy could help him with his Cheerios. Tommy was reluctant at first, but he showed Horatio where the Cheerios were, in a zip-lock bag in the cabinet above the bathroom sink, and what they were used for.

Julie finished dressing, and went outside, down toward the stable.

Horatio heard a car pull up outside the front gate, at the entrance to the driveway. He peered out the window and saw a teenage girl of about thirteen or fourteen years get out carrying a riding helmet. The woman driving the car backed, turned, and drove off the same direction from which she had arrived. The young girl opened and closed the gate, walked beside the house, across the back yard, and down toward the stable. Horatio noticed that she was dressed in beige riding pants, black boots, and a yellow teeshirt.

Horatio turned back to Tommy, who was asking for his help. By now, Julie was at the stable, with Rain and Feather both tied to the fence.

Tommy said he was hungry for some cereal, but since Horatio didn't see any drink but rice milk and apple juice in the fridge, he made toast for himself and for the boy. He found a banana, sliced it, and put it on the toast, and they found it to be quite enjoyable, in spite of the fact that Horatio didn't particularly care for bananas. Tommy admitted that his mother had never made toast with a banana on it before.

Horatio made a mental note to speak to Julie about getting some whole 'proper' milk for the child to drink, as well as more groceries. (He did not yet know about the stash of canned goods and nonperishables that Julie kept outside, in one of the storage sheds.)

From the back door, Horatio could see Julie and the young girl, and the horses in the paddock, so he and Tommy strolled down that way. He leaned his arms on the fence and observed, while Tommy put his hands on the pole gate, and climbed onto the bottom rail. Julie told Tommy to stay right where he was.

Julie was having the girl ride with her arms out, balancing, her feet out of the stirrups, while Rain trotted around Julie on a long rope. The girl's face was taut with concentration as she tried to balance.

"That is good, Jennifer. Balance--heels down--put your tongue back in your mouth--arms out--good--good--and halt." Julie gave her student some tips on how to balance, how to keep her heels down, how to lean back more in the saddle for better balance.

Julie told the girl to turn Rain in reverse, to apply the lesson in the other direction. Julie believed everything should be taught from both sides. "Tongue in mouth, Jennifer--arms out, level--heels down--that is very good--whoa."

Then, Julie told Jennifer how to hold the reins, elbows in, hands steady, straight line from elbows to end of reins. They worked on their walk and trot, and their halts, from both directions, always with Julie on the end of the line.

With the lesson over, Julie and the girl groomed Rain, which Julie considered to be part of the lesson itself. Jennifer untacked the mare and put the English saddle, pad, and bridle away. Julie emphasized how important it was to keep the tack clean, and in proper order. Jennifer lifted the mare's front feet and cleaned them, gave her a brief petting, and then took her outside the paddock to release her into the north pasture, removing her halter. They chased the horses away from the gate, but the horses came back, so they let the horses back into the paddock again. Jennifer gave them some treats from the tack room as Julie gave them their hay, and checked their water buckets.

Horatio watched the proceedings in the paddock with great interest, as it was all new to him, this being around horses at such an intimate level, and he was truly interested in getting into Julie's life, and sharing it with her. He didn't realize it at the time, but he was already picking up pointers that would help him in assisting Julie and Tommy with the horses in the future.

All four people left the stable and walked back toward the house, visiting, and went through the back door into the kitchen.

"Well, Jennifer," Julie said. "Horatio, Tommy, and I are having bacon and eggs, sort of a late breakfast and early lunch. Would you like some, too?"

"Yes, I would." The girl's face broke into a smile, and her brown eyes lit up.

While Julie cooked breakfast, Jennifer took a horse-racing game off the shelf and brought it to the table. She got the game out, and started to play it. Horatio and Tommy joined in.

Breakfast was ready, so everyone washed up, and began eating.

Jennifer talked about going to school in the fall. She would be starting the eighth grade, and she was excited about it, in the giddy manner of teenage girls. Julie and Horatio got a kick out of talking to her.

They discussed the horse-racing game they had been playing. Horatio remarked that the game was for eight years and up, but Tommy seemed to understand it perfectly. Julie thought she detected a note of pride in his voice. When they were nearly finished eating, Jennifer's mother returned to pick her up. The woman came in for a short visit, and to pay Julie for the riding lesson, then they took their leave.

Julie immediately started washing the dishes, while Horatio visited with her and their son. One thing he noticed, was that Julie still had the tendency to stand on one leg like a stork, and brace her left leg against her right knee and stay in that position, as though her legs were locked into place. He remembered this stance from their time together in 1995. He had never seen anyone else do this.

Julie told Horatio about the five children and two adults who were currently taking horsemanship and riding lessons from her. Jennifer's lessons were on Sunday mornings. One was a little boy, ten years old, and his lessons were on Thursdays, in the evening. She commented that she wished Jennifer would not try to balance with her tongue.

Horatio could tell that Julie was enthusiastic about the lessons, and very fond of the children, and apparently she made good money doing it. She mentioned to him that she had cleared over $300 the week before, just on riding lessons alone.

After the dishes were put away, Horatio approached Julie for another embrace, and a kiss. Tommy got a big kick out of this, and was very curious about it, and his parents grinned down at him. Horatio wanted to see some more of the property, so all three took another walk around the place. She pointed out the stable in more detail, the buck and rail fence, and her plans to have more gates added, and some v-mesh wire fencing. After making a circle around the yard, they ended up at the solar panels.

He thought about the time he and Julie had spent together in 1995. He had been quite attached to her--no, it had gone beyond attachment--he had fallen in love with her, and loved her deeply for two weeks, until she had to leave, and he wanted desperately to stay with her now, since they had found each other again. And, he realized, they had a son in common, so they would be seeing each other anyway.

"Sweetheart, what if--what if we didn't end it this time?" The words were difficult for him to get out. "What if we--um--stay together? um--more--permanently?" He asked her plaintively, like a little boy asking permission to buy a stick of candy. He acted embarrassed, and his head bobbed down, but he continued to look at her.

Julie considered this, but she didn't say yes or no. He was so shy and sweet in his demeanor, that Julie was drawn even closer to him. But instead of giving him a definite answer now, she had some more questions for him. About his other lover, and where Horatio stood with him.

"What is his name?"

"Who?"

"The other--the man you are with."

"Well--um--his name is Dale."

"How will I fit into all this?" She turned to face him. "How will Tommy fit into all of this?"

With a confused twist of his eyebrows, he admitted, "I'm really struggling with this, Julie." He rubbed his forehead with his palm.

"I have my own opinion on this. Do you want to hear it, 'Ratio?"

"Lay it on me."

She lay her hand on the railing of the step and braced her foot against the bottom step. She considered her words carefully. "I have been giving this a lot of thought, my love. I do not know if you will agree with what I say."

Horatio waited for her to go on, his curiosity piqued. He stood with his feet apart, toying with his sunglasses in his hands.

"Keep him, Horatio. If you love him, and your feelings for him are deep, do not let him go. Keep him in your life."

"But--but--you--and the boy--I can't--" He paused to take a deep breath. "I can't--I won't--give you up. Not--not now." His voice was low and gentle, but resolute.

"Then keep me, too. Keep us both." Her face was honest, and the sincerity showed in her eyes.

Horatio was speechless. There seemed to be no jealousy on Julie's part. He was trying to grasp this concept of having two lovers at the same time. This was contrary to all he had learned, the way he was raised, what he had been taught. And yet, she made it sound so simple, so natural.

"Well--um--I don't know--how can we--"

"You have strong feelings for me, and I can tell you feel strongly about him as well. And as for me, I just know you are the most wonderful thing to come into my life since chocolate ice cream. And Tommy feels the same way, after so long without you. I see no reason why you cannot have both Dale and me."

"But not at the same time," she added, as an afterthought, as she waved her index finger at him.

Before he could say anything else, she continued. "You need us both, and I know I need you. And Tommy needs his father. It would mean a lot to me. It is important, and having feelings for both of us would not make it any less so. Because you care for both of us--me and Dale--for very different reasons."

"I'm--um--I'm not sure he would agree."

"If you are not sure--then ask him, Horatio. At least, find out how he would feel about it. And--and then, it will become more clear to me, and to you, about how far we want to go, or if we would feel comfortable continuing with the relationship--with our own relationship."

They stood silently for a minute, watching Tommy and Charlie across the yard, as Tommy picked up grass and threw it into the air, checking the wind currents.

"And, if he does not agree," Julie continued, "you will have to decide what you want to do--what you NEED to do. But one thing is certain now, Horatio, and I do not want it to change. Whether or not you and I stay together, you are now a part of our child's life, and I do not want you to abandon him, or leave him now."

"Now that--that is not going to happen," he emphasized.

Inwardly, Julie was happy for Horatio. She remembered how springy his step had been when they met at the library only weeks before. She had also seen how happy he was after the two of them made love--in the hotel room, and this weekend, at her house.

"But I think you need to tell him. He needs to know about me."

"You really think so?"

"I believe you should, my love, but that is YOUR decision. I have told you what I think. You know I do not have a problem with it. But ultimately, you need to decide--for yourself."

Julie emphasized, "Let Dale decide if he wants to stay with you, but to not tell him, is a lie, and good relationships are not built on lies."

Julie's voice had a tone of finality when she spoke. "I do not want to be your dirty little secret, and I do not want to be kept in the closet--not between you and him."

Horatio merely looked at her, as though waiting for her to continue.

Julie explained further. "What--what I mean is, Sugar Caine, if I wanted to spend some time with you, and you had a previous--engagement--with Dale, it would be alright--I would want you to tell me so, instead of making up some flimsy, lying little excuse. I would be okay with that. Or, if Dale wanted to spend some time with you, you would need to tell him you had a prior engagement with me, and not lie to him."

"But--" she swallowed and looked up at Horatio. "I do not know Dale, and I do not know if he would agree to any on this, or not. That would have to be between you and himself."

Julie leaned over to pick up Tommy's soccer ball, and she threw it toward the paddock. Tommy was on the other side of the yard, so he didn't see her throw it.

Horatio grew extremely quiet, and he nodded thoughtfully as they stood in the yard, watching their son at play.

"But--in the meantime--" she looked up at him, "I am not leaving--not this time. This is where I will be. And you are welcome here at any time." She smiled.

Horatio had never met a woman like Julie before, who would talk candidly about this subject with him, especially as it pertained to their own lives. It was a revelation. She was actually willing to share a mate with him? He didn't know what to make of it. She didn't seem to think it would place any less value on their own relationship. He wasn't so sure. This was a whole new area for him.

They strolled toward the front gate, just walking, no particular place to go.

He brought up the subject of getting Tommy's DNA.

"Why do you need it? I have told you, he is your baby. Can you not see that he is yours?"

"Yes, I can see it."

"Oh, yes, you told me once, many years ago, trust, but verify."

"Exactly."

Julie thought that didn't make much sense, because if you trusted, why would you need to verify? Well, if it made Horatio happy, she wouldn't have a problem with it being done. He could take a hair sample, saliva, urine, or blood--whatever he wanted.

Charlie, who had been following his three humans around the yard, decided it was time for a romp, so he jumped on Julie, Horatio, and Tommy, until Julie took off, with Charlie in pursuit. He jumped on her again, and they rolled over and over in the grass, joined by Tommy. Horatio remembered the loose dog in the park just one week ago, the one in whose collar she had gotten her finger caught. Her finger was still bruised, and the nail had turned black. It would probably fall off.

The day was turning hot, and they headed back into the house for some herbal iced tea.

Julie asked if Horatio would like to go for a drive with the windows down, and meet Aimee, Tommy's big sister. He answered affirmatively. Julie explained that Tommy had a crush on Aimee, and she was very protective of her little brother. Julie took Charlie and put him back into his pen. She locked up the house, and they got ready to leave. Julie was going to drive the truck, but Horatio wanted to drive, so they used his car. Julie closed the gate after they went through, and they drove away.

Horatio turned on the air conditioner in his car, and Tommy liked it. As it turned out, Julie's air conditioner in her truck had stopped working, and she had more important things to spend the money on than that luxury.

During the drive, Horatio mentioned that Julie should get a dog. She had been thinking along those lines, but she was undecided about the breed. Horatio suggested a watchdog, and mentioned the isolation of Julie's place. Julie said she liked Siberian Huskies and Basenjis. Julie told Horatio that Isis had been a Basenji--the dog who had bitten her assailant during the attempted rape. They were easy to take care of, they didn't bark, but they could be very stubborn sometimes, and rather hard to train. Horatio was not familiar with the breed. Living as he did in his apartment, and his long hours at work, Horatio couldn't have a dog, but his choice would be a German Shepherd or a Collie.

Julie believed Tommy was old enough to have a dog, but he wanted every dog he saw. At the age of seven, he was old enough to show the responsibility for it, she felt. He was already good with the horses. She wanted something medium-sized, not too big or too small. Sturdy enough to play with him, and loving enough to be a good companion to the boy, and also be used as a therapy dog. Julie mentioned getting a cat, and Horatio said he was allergic to cats. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. She never knew this about him.

Julie told Tommy about the dog daddy used to have, that lived under his back step. She had puppies one day, and daddy fed them, but they had disappeared, and he never knew what happened to them.

Tommy decided right then and there, that they should start looking for a dog for daddy.

Horatio smiled, as he remembered telling Julie this story many years ago, in Miami. He had always suspected his own abusive father had a hand in the mother dog and her puppies' disappearance.

From out of the blue, Tommy suddenly said unexpectedly, "Mama, I like my penis."

Without missing a beat, she responded with, "I should think you would, laddie." She rolled her eyes at Horatio, and looked away.

Horatio only smiled, and looked down in his beguiling way. He kept driving.

They stopped in Brighton to put gas in his car. She paid for it, of course. Her thought was why should he always have to pay for the gas, driving so far? He appreciated that.

They arrived at Aimee and DJ's house, and Horatio pulled into the driveway. Julie knew immediately that her daughter and son-in-law were not home. She was disappointed, and regretted not calling first. They stayed there for about half an hour, and while there, looked at DJ's old classic black Ford pickup in the back yard. DJ had bought it a couple of years ago, and was trying to get it fixed up to enter into competitions. They visited the four horses in the paddock behind the back yard. Tommy explained that two of them--the black Patonia, and the medicine hat mare Pale Flower--belonged to his mother.

Julie wanted to leave a note for Aimee, so she rummaged through her purse until she found a notepad and a pencil, and left the note on the back door. 'Sorry we missed you. Will call, but you can call first. xoxoxo Mom'

Horatio backed out of the driveway, and wanted to take a drive toward the lake, so they started east to Okeechobee, then back toward Lakeport, stopping to eat dinner at a Wendy's. They sat in the restaurant, visiting.

Julie showed Tommy how to wrap his paper around the hamburger, to keep the ketchup from dripping on his jeans. She twisted around in the seat to demonstrate with her own cheeseburger. "Look here, Cowboy, wrap it like this."

Back in the car, and driving south, Horatio didn't say much, as he was thinking about what she had told him about her and Dale.

He had something else on his mind, too, so he asked, "What's with the Cheerios in the toilet? Am I missing something here? He seems to like it."

"It is to keep him focused, and to help him improve his aim."

"Hm. I never had Cheerios to piss on when I was a kid." Horatio took on a look of mock sadness.

"I am so sorry, 'Ratio. Some children grow up less fortunate."

"It is a skill he must learn, rather like--uh--learning how to shoot a rifle, or--" she hesitated.

He finished for her. "--learning to hold a fork in his hand?"

Her head bobbed up and down.

"Pretty slick." Horatio chuckled. "He does better than I do."

Julie explained. "I started him off with a red rubber ball. Now he can hit three out of four Cheerios. And I find there is less cleanup on the toilet rim, and the wall. It is the holes in the Cheerios he is aiming at. Otherwise, he would be using Kix."

"Oh, so next week you can start him on banana seeds, huh."

Julie laughed. "Of course."

"He does better than you?" she asked, one eyebrow curled up.

"Oh, yeah."

"Maybe I need to get you your own Cheerios."

"I think a red rubber ball would be okay." He glanced at her, his tongue tucked into his cheek.

They finally arrived back at Julie's front gate around 7:00 PM. They sat in the car for awhile, visiting. Horatio knew he would have to leave soon for Miami, but decided to come back into the house for a little extra time with his newfound family. The dusk would be settling in soon, and Julie mentioned getting a sample of Tommy's DNA to humor Horatio. Trust but verify, she smirked.

All three settled around the big rectangular table in the kitchen, which Horatio was coming to believe was the center of family activities.

Tommy had become very quiet on the way back from Aimee's, and during supper at Wendy's, and Julie knew he was tired, and overwhelmed, and processing all that had been happening since yesterday morning.

Julie looked down at the top of her son's red head and said conversationally, "Tom-Tom, Daddy wants your DNA."

"I don't have any," the boy answered, not looking up.

"No?" Julie feigned surprise.

"Should we go to the store and get some?" the little boy asked innocently.

"That might be kind of expensive," Julie said with a straight face.

She plucked a pair of scissors out of a cup sitting on the bookshelf opposite the table. "Will you give me a lock of your hair?"

"No." He raised his arm and ducked his head away to block her from his red thatch.

She put the scissors back into the cup. "Okay, how about a Q-tip? Will I take a swab of saliva out of your mouth?"

"No."

Horatio sat at the table to observe the exchange going on between his girlfriend and their son.

"Like this. See?" She swabbed a Q-tip inside her own mouth to show Tommy how it worked.

The boy wasn't interested. He stood beside the table, and lay his head down on it, wearily.

She looked at Horatio, and he looked at her.

"Want to pee in a cup?" she asked the little boy.

"No."

It has been a long weekend for you, hasn't it." She gently stroked his ginger hair.

No answer. He kept his head down on the table.

"I think someone is getting cranky and tired," she observed.

"Who, mama?"

"You, Cowboy."

"No, I'm not!" he argued.

Horatio lay his hand on Tommy's back and rubbed him affectionately. Tommy jerked up and moved away from his father's hand.

"Tommy," Julie scolded. "Be nice."

There was a box sitting under the table that had been kicked to the side, causing it to stick out a little from under the table. Tommy tripped on it, banging his already-loose tooth on the side of the table. The child had played hard all day. Meeting his father had exhausted him. He was stressed by the idea of this new person in his life. He had seen this "stranger" kiss his mother in a way that had always been reserved for him, and he knew they had shared the same bed. A bed that had always been reserved for him, and no one else. He was cranky, and just looking for an excuse to blow. The box and the stumble against the edge of the table offered him that excuse.

"Oww!" Tommy wailed, clutching at his mouth.

"Stupid box!" Julie kicked the box back under the table.

"Stoopid box!" Tommy agreed, his little face scrunched up into a pout, and his hand over his tooth protectively.

Julie tried to tease him out of his mood. It didn't work--not this time.

"That tooth was loose. Now it is even looser." She grinned at him, which only seemed to make him angrier and more fussy.

It bled, and the red liquid oozed over his lip and down his chin. He vented his pain and displeasure vocally.

Horatio pulled two tissues out of the box sitting on the counter next to the sink. He dabbed at Tommy's lip with his hand.

Tommy pulled away from his father with a wail of protest.

"Tommy, it is so loose I can probably pull it with my finger." Horatio offered.

"No! Mamaaaa!" Thommy moved closer to Julie.

Horatio relented. "Well, alright."

Tommy began to cry in earnest, his voice reaching a crescendo, the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Horatio looked at his son. He wondered what had happened to the sweet little boy he had met yesterday morning.

Tommy's actions were threatening to turn into a tantrum. He slung his head around, and tried to pull away from his mother's touch.

"THOMAS!" Julie's voice rang out like a steeple bell, and it stopped Tommy in his tracks. It even startled Horatio.

"SETTLE DOWN!" She banged the table with the palm of her hand. Tommy, startled, did settle down, but he continued to sob.

She pulled him into her lap, and she held him until he became quiet, with an occasional sniffle.

"Shhh--" she soothed him, her cheek to his, her hands around his head.

"Calm down," she whispered into his ear. "You're alright," she soothed. "You're alright, baby."

His head sank down against her chest, and he began to relax.

"There, that is better." Her voice was like soft satin as she spoke to the boy.

"How often does he get like this?"

"Hardly ever." Julie kissed her son's forehead. "He--has had a stressful weekend.

Her hand touched his forehead. "You're hot."

Horatio knelt beside Julie and lay his hand on the boy's arm.

"Relax, son," Horatio tried to calm him.

Horatio got a paper towel and moistened it under the faucet, gave it to Julie, and she wiped it over Tommy's face, neck, and arms.

The cool water felt good to him.

Horatio was a silent witness to this performance. Not having much experience with children, he preferred to let Julie handle it. But he was learning.

She reached for the Q-tip that was lying on the table.

"Let me see if I can wipe some of that blood off," she said quietly.

"Easy, son," Horatio soothed him.

Tommy opened his mouth and allowed his mother to swab the tooth and gum thoroughly.

Tommy was quiet now, so she stood him on the floor and went to the bookcase next to the table. She brought out a plain white envelope for Horatio to take back to the lab for testing. With the blood from the Q-tip, and the tissues he had used to dab Tommy's mouth and chin, he had plenty for testing.

Julie dropped the Q-tip into the envelope, put the flap down, and passed the Q-tip and envelope to Horatio.

"Thank you." He put the envelope into his shirt pocket.

They all went outside and stood next to Horatio's car.

Tommy began to get upset all over again, as it dawned on him his father was really leaving. Julie told Horatio not to leave until she and Tommy had gone back into the house and turned the lights out. Horatio agreed.

The boy who a short time ago acted like he wanted nothing to do with his father suddenly became very clingy, grabbing onto Horatio's pants with his little fists.

Tommy began crying again. He thought his daddy was leaving for good. Horatio picked him up and gave him a hug. He clung to Horatio with all his might.

Julie's eyes began to moisten. Horatio tried to reassure his son that he would see him again, that now he had found him, he would never leave him. Tommy didn't believe him.

"I'm sorry, daddy!" Tommy's hands were circled around his father's neck. "I'm sorry! I was bad!"

"Son? No. You're not bad."

Julie tried to reassure her son. "It's not your fault daddy has to leave."

"Don't go!" Tommy fought to maintain his hold around Horatio's neck as the father attempted to disengage his son's body from his own.

Tommy hugged him tighter. "Daddy! Daddy!" he protested. "Come in the house!"

"Daddy has to leave." Julie tried to pull Tommy away from his father.

"No! Daddy can stay here!" Tommy began to cry louder.

"Not tonight, son."

"Why?" The child insisted.

"He has to go to work, son." Julie rubbed Tommy's back.

"How about if I call you on the phone? How would that be?"

"No," Tommy's head shook vigorously. "No, Daddy. Don't go away!"

Horatio and Julie exchanged glances, and she shook her head, with a combined look of puzzlement and concern. Tommy had never behaved this way before.

"Son, I'll be back. I'll come back to see you. I'm not leaving you--not ever. I have to work tomorrow. I'll come to see you again--I promise."

"You can work here," declared Tommy, his little face obstinate. "Like mama does." He pointed his finger at his mother.

Julie turned to Horatio, perplexed, and said, "He is tired. He has had a busy weekend."

Horatio nodded his head in agreement. "He is on overload."

"He has had a lot to process. Finding his father, going places, playing hard--his tooth is bothering him--he is just really wiped out. He--is afraid you will leave him."

"Son--how about--how about I come back in the house, and stay with you until you fall asleep? Would you like that?"

The little boy nodded, and finally released his hold around Horatio's neck. Tommy wiped one hand over his tear-streaked face, and Horatio wiped his son's tears away with his finger.

So Horatio stood Tommy on the ground at his feet, still holding his hand. They came back into the house, Horatio helped Tommy get dressed for bed, and he stayed by the child's bedside, holding his hand, until the lad was asleep.

The goodbye parting between Julie and Horatio was very affectionate, and held the promise of good things to come.

Horatio was able to keep his composure until he was back on the highway, driving south toward Miami. He thought about the love from his child--unconditional love. All the more amazing, because this was the first time Horatio's child had ever seen him. The bonding had occurred almost immediately, and had grown stronger throughout the past two days--thanks to Julie, who had set the stage, and groomed her son for the day when he would eventually meet his father. She apparently had never said an unkind word to Tommy about his father. She had taught the child well. He had grown to love Horatio from the way his mother had talked about him, the stories she had told about him, and the pictures she had shown him, so that by the time he had actually met Horatio, the little boy already loved him.

Then Horatio began to sniffle, and it gave way to tears of emotion. He was already thinking about when he would see his son and girlfriend again.

The next day, Julie began a heavy period, with abdominal cramps--probably triggered by the vigorous love-making that had ensued over the weekend. She went to the doctor for a physical. She did not have cancer. She was just going through menopause.

END OF CHAPTER SIX

 

THE END