Operation Cowboy Daddy

His gaze returned to her and he leaned forward. “I need your help, Mary.”

At that moment Halena came in from the back porch and stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. “Grandmother, do you remember Tony Nakni? He came to visit a couple of times with Amy.”

“I don’t remember what we had for breakfast this morning,” Halena replied as she eyed Tony with a touch of suspicion. “Is that your baby?”

Tony hesitated a moment. “I don’t know,” he finally replied. “What I do know for sure is that I need help.” He looked back at Mary.

“What kind of help?” she asked.

“I’ll pay you whatever it takes if you’ll take care of Joey just until I can find Amy,” he said. She stared at him in stunned surprise and he quickly continued, “I know you’re a good woman, Mary. I wouldn’t trust him with anyone else, but I have to work during the day and I don’t live in a place that would be healthy for a baby. Besides, I don’t know what I’m doing. I know I’m asking a lot, but I don’t have anyplace else to turn. It should only be for a couple of days or so.”

Mary was speechless. In a million years she wouldn’t have been able to anticipate a visit from Tony, let alone the favor that he asked of her. He had also just spoken more words than he had during all the visits when he and Amy had been here before.

She didn’t want to get involved with this. Anything that had to do with Amy always wound up to be a big mess. Besides, he was talking about her taking on a huge responsibility.

Still, as Joey cooed and waved his hands in the air as if catching imaginary butterflies, myriad emotions surged up inside her.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she heard herself say.

Tony jumped up off the sofa. “Thank you so much,” he said fervently. He picked up his hat. “I’ll just head into town and get some things for you that you’ll need.”

“Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t heard my terms,” Mary replied. If the baby was Tony’s, then he wasn’t going to get off so easily. She wasn’t just going to take care of little Joey without him being a part of it.

“Terms?” He looked at her warily.

“Joey can stay here with us, but when you get off work in the evenings, you need to be here with him.” All she was thinking of was what was best for the child. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was intensely attracted to Tony.

“That’s not a problem,” he replied. The darkness that had filled his eyes dissipated somewhat for the first time since he’d walked through the door. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

He began to inch toward the front door. “I’ve got a suitcase full of stuff that Amy left with him. I’ll go get that now and then I’ll pick up some more things in town and be back here later this afternoon.”

“I’ll walk out with you for the suitcase,” Mary replied.

They left the house and headed toward his black king-cab pickup parked in her driveway. “It’s possible Amy will show up in the next day or so,” he said. He pulled the suitcase out of the pickup bed and then frowned. “She didn’t look good, Mary. I think she’s back on drugs.”

Mary’s heart sank, although she wasn’t surprised. Amy had fought addiction issues for years. “Let’s just hope whatever is going on with her life, she gets it together soon and comes back for her son.”

“This arrangement isn’t going to cause issues with your boyfriend or a significant other, is it?” he asked worriedly.

“Since I don’t have a significant other or a boyfriend, there’s no problem,” she replied.

Moments later she watched as Tony’s truck disappeared in the distance. She gripped the suitcase handle tightly and wondered what she had just gotten herself into.

She should have never agreed to this. The last thing she needed was to have a baby in the house to remind her of all her inadequacies. But Tony had looked so desperate.

It’s going to be just fine, she assured herself. It was possible Amy had already returned to the Holiday ranch looking for Tony and her baby.

With this positive thought in mind she headed inside. Halena remained standing in the same place she’d been during the conversation with Tony, only now she had deep lines etched across her forehead.

“Big changes,” she said. “And a tin man... You’d better guard yourself, my Mary. The leaves are whispering to me that this is not a good thing.”

Mary released an uneasy laugh. “But, Grandmother, sometimes the leaves lie to you.”

Halena’s eyes remained dark and troubled. “And sometimes they don’t,” she replied.

Chapter 2 (#ulink_8226b697-e204-508c-ab21-15da90db8bd0)

Tony had forgotten about Mary Redwing’s beauty. Of course, the last time he’d seen her he’d been completely besotted by Amy’s curly blond hair, bright blue eyes and infectious giggles.

He’d been relieved when he’d thought about Mary that morning. She was not only an old friend to Amy, but also a woman who had given him the impression of great stability and strength on the few times he’d seen her.

Still, he’d never really noticed the richness of her long black hair in the single braid down her back, or her beautiful doe eyes, or her full lips and high cheekbones.

She’d been clad in a pair of tight jeans that showcased her long legs and her brown T-shirt had fit perfectly across her breasts and slender waist.

He was just so glad she’d agreed to take care of the boy. Before he’d thought about Mary, Tony had spent the morning not just worried about what he was going to do, but concerned that he might do something wrong, or not do something at all that Joey needed.

The first thing he intended to do before he did any shopping was get a quick bite to eat at the Bitterroot Café. His nerves had been so shot that morning he’d barely eaten any breakfast and lunchtime had already come and gone.

His stomach gurgled in anticipation as he pulled into the café parking lot. He frowned when he saw two familiar pickups also there. The men from the Humes ranch must be having a late lunch, too.

As far as all the cowboys on the Holiday ranch were concerned, all the men who worked on the neighboring ranch were lowlifes and creeps. One of them was now in jail, looking at plenty of prison time for kidnapping Trisha Cahill, who worked here as a waitress and who was the love of Dusty’s life.

Tony got out of his truck and walked through the café door. He immediately spied Lloyd Green, Zeke Osmond and Ace Sanders from the Humes place seated in a booth. He headed for an empty stool at the long counter, pleased to see Trisha working that area.

She greeted him with a huge smile. “A little late for you today, Tony,” she said.

“I had a few other things to attend to this morning.”

“Clay and Sawyer were in a little while ago and filled me in on the latest news. Where is the baby now?”

“Do you know Mary Redwing?” he asked.

Trisha nodded. “A nice woman. Her grandmother is definitely a pip.”

“They’re going to take care of the baby until Amy shows back up again...hopefully in the next day or two. How are you and Dusty doing? I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to him the last couple of days. You still like living with that crazy cowboy?”

She flashed him a bright smile again. “He’s wonderful, we’re wonderful.”

“When are the wedding bells going to ring?”

“We’re not having a real wedding. We’re just going to sneak away one of these weekends and get married at city hall. We’re already married in our hearts.”

“He’s a lucky man, Trisha.”

“And I’m a lucky woman. And now, what can I get for you?”

He ordered a hamburger and fries and ate quickly as he mentally tried to make a list of what Mary might need.