Operation Cowboy Daddy

“I went to Kansas.”

“Oh.” Mary blinked in surprise. Normally Halena dream-walked to strange and foreign places she didn’t recognize. “Hang on and you can tell me more.”

She turned back to the eggs and scooped a portion out on each plate that waited with bacon and toast already on them. She carried the plates across the room and joined her grandmother at the table.

“Okay, now, what did you find in Kansas?” Mary asked.

“A tornado and a tin man.”

Mary thought back over the past week and tried to remember what movies her grandmother might have watched. A month ago she’d gotten up early one morning and had announced that robots would soon be taking over the world. That had occurred after the previous night’s Terminator marathon.

“So you dream-walked in a terrible storm and met a heartless man,” Mary replied.

Halena nodded. “The tornado is a portent of great change coming and we have to beware of the tin man who comes. Now, let’s eat.”

Mary picked up a piece of bacon and chewed thoughtfully. She didn’t have to beware of any man. Her future had no place for a man and at thirty-two years old she’d come to terms with the fact that she would live her life alone, without a husband...without a family.

She was fulfilled by her work, by the friendships she shared and with the often amusing and always wise company of her grandmother. That was enough for her. It had to be enough.

“What’s on your agenda for today?” Mary asked after they’d eaten and as they cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

“I’m going to try to finish up that turquoise skirt so I can get started on another one. I’d like to sew at least ten more before the craft show,” Halena replied.

Despite her advancing age, Halena still made beautiful skirts with beaded detail that was stunning, along with the more traditional Choctaw dresses. They always sold well at the annual Oklahoma Days Craft Fair.

“Ten skirts in two weeks, that’s a pretty tall order,” Mary replied.

“The more skirts, the more new movies I can buy,” Halena replied.

A year ago, when Halena had been recovering from a mild heart attack, a friend had given her a DVD player and a handful of movies. Since that time she was movie-obsessed.

“And I’m going to work on some baskets out on the back porch. It’s going to be such a beautiful day,” Mary replied.

Halena nodded. “It’s always good to have a plan. And now I think it’s time to get to work. I need to get these skirts done as quickly as possible.”

As Halena headed to her bedroom, Mary smiled in amusement. Her grandmother was an amusing blend of old tradition and new-world savvy. She was often a guest speaker at the Durant Indian Nation grade school, where she spoke about the history and culture of their people, and she also had a blog with tons of followers, where she talked about everything from how to properly fold a bath towel to sex and love tips.

The screened-in back porch was Mary’s work space as long as the weather allowed. When it got colder or was too rainy, she moved inside to the spare bedroom, but today was positively gorgeous.

She stepped outside to the musical sound of wind chimes dancing in the light breeze. The scent of autumn was in the air and the river cane she used to make the baskets she sold tickled her nose.

She’d built a successful business for herself, selling baskets and pottery and other items not only at craft fairs, but also through her internet site.

As she sat at the long worktable, it didn’t take her long to lose herself in the artistry of weaving. She worked here most mornings and then after lunch her grandmother often joined her. The two would work and chat until dinnertime and then move back inside for the evening. After supper, Halena worked on her blog or watched movies, while Mary checked in with the two people who helped her with her web-based business.

“It’s going to be a long winter,” Halena said as she settled into the cushy porch chair after lunch. The skirt she was hand-sewing was a beautiful spill of turquoise in her lap.

“And how do you know that?” Mary asked.

“The leaves in the trees have whispered to me that the snow will come early and stay late,” she said.

“Last year didn’t the leaves in the trees whisper to you that we’d have an unusually wet summer?” Mary asked in amusement. It had been the driest summer on record.

Halena smiled with a glint in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll admit that sometimes the leaves lie to me.”

Mary laughed, but her laughter was cut short by a loud knock on the front door. “I wonder who that could be,” she said. She got up from the table and hurried through the house to answer.

She opened the door and stared at the man on her porch in stunned surprise. “Tony,” she said in shock. The last time she’d seen the handsome cowboy had been a little over a year ago, when he and her friend Amy had come to visit several times.

He held on to a baby car seat with a bright-eyed, chubby-cheeked infant tucked beneath a blue blanket. Tony was not only clad in jeans, a white T-shirt and a brown cowboy hat, but he also wore an air of utter desperation.

“Mary, can I come in?” he asked.

“Of course.” She stepped aside and as he swept past her to enter the living room, he smelled of not only sunshine and fresh air, but also a woodsy cologne that was instantly appealing.

She hated the way her heart beat just a little faster at the mere sight of him. The very first time she’d met him her heart had reacted the same way, and it had shamed her, since he was her friend’s boyfriend.

She closed the door behind him and motioned him to sit on the sofa. What was he doing here? And why did he have a baby, who cooed softly as he set the carrier on the floor next to him?

“Have you been in touch with Amy lately?” he asked as she sat in the chair opposite the sofa. He took off his hat and placed it next to him.

“No. The last time I spoke to her was about six months ago. Why?”

“She came by the ranch last night and said she was in trouble.” He glanced down at the baby and his jaw tightened. “She told me the baby is mine and his name is Joey, then she jumped into her car and drove off. I need to find her.”

Oh, Amy, what kind of trouble have you found this time? “I’m sorry, Tony, I don’t know what to tell you. The last time I talked to her she was living in Oklahoma City with a man she met not long after the two of you went your separate ways. I tried to call her a while ago, but the phone number I had for her was no good.”

Tony’s eyes bored into hers with intensity. A woman could fall into those dark depths. “Do you remember the name of the man?”

Mary frowned thoughtfully and tried to remember the last conversation she’d had with her friend. “No, I don’t think she mentioned his name to me.”

Her gaze drifted down to the baby. He smiled and cooed to her and a wave of unexpected anguish swept through her, an anguish she’d believed she’d made peace with a long time ago.

“Did you know she was pregnant?” Tony asked.

Mary nodded. “She told me she was pregnant with your child when she first took a test.”

Tony’s strong features expressed bewilderment. “Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she come to me?”

“I don’t know, Tony. I certainly encouraged her to do so at the time.” But there was no telling Amy anything when she didn’t want to listen. “Besides, she made me promise I wouldn’t tell you.”

He leaned back against the beige sofa, his disturbed energy filling the air. “Do you know for sure that he’s mine?”

Mary’s heart squeezed tight as she thought about her troubled friend. “I can only go by what she told me at the time, but I know when she did tell me she was already living with the other man.” She knew that Tony probably understood as well as she did that Amy wasn’t always a reliable source of truthfulness.

He remained silent for several long minutes, his gaze directed someplace over her shoulder. Tony Nakni obviously had Native American blood. His skin tone was a warm bronze and his straight black hair was a thing of glory, falling to the middle of his shoulders.

And those broad shoulders accentuated his slim hips and long legs. Physically he stirred something in Mary that had been dormant for a very long time.