Operation Cowboy Daddy

by Carla Cassidy

  * * *

  Ash stared out his car window. He was parked down the street from the beige house where his child was inside. It had taken him two days of following the cowboy from the Holiday ranch to this home to confirm that little Joey was in there.

  He wouldn’t be there for long.

  Ash and his men had yet to locate Amy. At the moment she was the last thing on his mind. All he cared about at this moment was getting his kid back where he belonged. Joey was his and nobody took what was Ash’s.

  In the two days he’d been watching the house he hadn’t seen any man present other than the cowboy, who came every evening and left around twilight. He’d seen the old woman and the younger one, but no man.

  There also didn’t appear to be any alarm system at the house. All of that was going to make it so much easier for Ash to get what was his.

  He tightened his hands around the steering wheel. He’d prefer to get in and get Joey without anyone getting hurt, but he’d do whatever it took to get his boy back.

  Tonight Joey would sleep in his own crib, in Ash’s home. And when he finally found Joey’s mother, she was a dead woman.

  * * *

  Tony called Dillon just after dinner and the lawman arrived at Mary’s house twenty minutes later. She invited him into the living room, where Tony and Halena sat on the sofa with Joey once again in his bouncy chair.

  “Halena, have you been behaving yourself?” Dillon asked as he eased down in the chair across from them.

  “No, but you know I try not to break too many laws when I do misbehave,” she replied.

  Dillon grinned, but his smile lasted only a moment as he gazed at the baby and then at Tony. “So, what’s going on and what can I do to help you?”

  Mary listened as Tony related Amy’s sudden appearance at the bunkhouse on Sunday night. “She dropped off the baby and drove away. I definitely think she’s in some kind of trouble and I just wondered if you had any suggestions on how I can find her,” Tony said.

  Dillon frowned. “Last I heard anything about her, she’d moved from here to Oklahoma City. I haven’t heard anything about her since then.”

  “That’s all we know, too. I thought maybe you’d know somebody on the police department there who could look for her,” Tony said.

  “No police are going to get involved in what appears to be a domestic issue. As far as we know, she hasn’t broken any laws. She left the baby with you and said that you’re the father. Unfortunately in this kind of a situation it isn’t against the law for a mother to walk away,” Dillon replied.

  “So, if the police won’t get involved, do you know a good private investigator who might be able to help?” There was a quiet despair in Tony’s voice. “I’d at least like to know that she’s okay.”

  Was he still in love with Amy? It was certainly possible, and if he was, what difference did it make to her? Mary knew she was just a convenience to him at the moment and nothing more. She shouldn’t want to be any more to him.

  “I do know a private investigator who might be able to help you,” Dillon said, pulling her out of her crazy thoughts. “His name is Mick Blake.” Dillon took his cell phone out of his pocket. “I’ve got his number here someplace.” Dillon found the number and Tony put it into his cell phone.

  “Mick is a good guy and is one of the best private investigators I’ve ever run across,” Dillon added.

  “Are you all done now?” Halena asked, not hiding her impatience. “We have movies to watch and popcorn to pop.”

  Dillon rose. “I’m sorry, Tony. I can’t do much of anything to help you. Hopefully, Mick can locate Amy for you and you’ll get the answers you need.”

  Tony got up as well and walked the lawman to the front door. “I’ll give Mick a call. I appreciate your time, Dillon. I know you have a lot of other things on your plate.”

  Minutes later Tony returned to his seat on the sofa next to Halena and Mary went into the kitchen to fix the popcorn. A rumble of thunder accompanied the microwave popping.

  Apparently, the storm that had threatened all day was moving in. Mary hated gray skies and thunderstorms. Every loss she’d ever suffered in her life had been accompanied by rain.

  She had vague memories of rain pattering against a hospital window when she said her last goodbye to her mother. It had been in a rainstorm that her father had suffered his fatal car accident.

  There had been more rain in her lifetime, and more losses...too many losses.

  “Before the movie starts, I should tell you the rules of movie night,” Halena said to Tony when Mary entered the room with a big bowl of the buttery treat.

  “Rules?” Tony looked at the old woman quizzically.

  Halena nodded. “We don’t talk through the show. We pause it for bathroom breaks and that’s when, if you really feel the need to chatter, you can.”

  “Got it,” Tony replied, his eyes lighting up with amusement.

  Oh, the man was positively killing her, Mary thought as she placed the bowl of popcorn in the center of the table. When he smiled, when that twinkle appeared in his eyes, she wanted nothing more than to fall into his big, strong arms.

  It had been years since she’d felt this way about a man. And the last time she had, it had ended so badly that she’d been left ashamed and humiliated, and with anger at the universe burning in her heart. She hadn’t even thought of getting close to any man since then.

  She snapped her focus to the television, where Halena had started the movie. Through the next two hours Tony attended to Joey’s needs and appeared to enjoy the show as outside lightning slashed the sky, thunder rumbled overhead and the rain came down in torrents.

  His gaze caught hers several times throughout and she saw a soft heat in his eyes. It was the same kind of heat she’d seen there when he’d been about to leave two nights before...when she thought he might kiss her.

  The storm shot a restlessness through her and his heated looks did nothing to calm the edge of anxiety. The last thing she wanted or needed was any personal relationship between them.

  Halena broke the movie-night rules dozens of times throughout the movie, yelling at the television, shouting words of encouragement to the hero and pausing it three times simply to talk about the action. And each time Tony grinned at Mary with that darned twinkle in his eyes.

  By the time the movie was over, she was ready for Tony to leave.

  The rain had eased to a soft pitter-patter and the thunder had stilled by the time he was ready to go. “Walk me to the door?” he asked.

  She nodded and then bent down and scooped Joey off the blanket, where he’d been rolling around and exploring his bare toes. The baby in her arms was her safety net, a physical barrier that she hoped would keep her wistful wish for a kiss from Tony at bay.

  They reached the front door and he gazed at her somberly. “I’ll call the private detective first thing in the morning, but in the meantime maybe I should check out of the cowboy motel on the ranch and get an apartment someplace. I promised you this arrangement would only last a couple of days.”

  “Tony, please don’t do anything rash,” she protested.

  “If I had an apartment, then I could put him in day care and then have a nice place to keep him overnight.”

  “I’m good with the arrangement we have right now.” She tightened her arms around Joey. “And I’ll give you a heads-up when it’s not okay with me.”

  “You promise?” His dark gaze held hers intently.

  “I promise,” she replied.

  He reached out a hand and her heart stopped in her chest as she anticipated his touch, but he stroked a finger down Joey’s cheek, making him wiggle and coo. He dropped his hand back to his side.

  “Maybe by tomorrow night the private investigator will have some news for me.”

  “
It would be nice to have some answers,” she replied. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  He nodded and went out into the night.

  She closed and locked the door and then returned to the living room, where Halena sat on the sofa. “I’m just going to give Joey his bottle and then tuck him into bed.” She went into the kitchen and then returned a moment later and began to feed Joey.

  “You like him,” Halena said.

  Mary smiled at her. “Don’t you?”

  “I like some things about him, but my final verdict is still out.”

  “It really doesn’t matter whether we like him or not. He’s only going to be around until he can sort out this mess,” Mary replied.

  “He looks at you with lust in his eyes.”

  Mary couldn’t help the quickened thump of her heartbeat at her grandmother’s words. She forced a light laugh. “He’ll get over it.”

  “And will you?” Halena’s dark gaze bore into her.

  “I don’t feel that way about him,” she replied.

  “And tomorrow I might wear a live chicken on my head,” Halena retorted. Mary laughed and her grandmother raised her chin. “It could happen,” she added and got up from the sofa. “And now I’m going to bed.”

  “It’s still early,” Mary said.

  “It seems lately I only sleep in fits and starts. For the last two nights I’ve gotten up at two to check my blog. I’m hoping I can catch up on some sleep tonight.”

  “Good night, Grandmother,” Mary said.

  “Good night, my granddaughter. May you dream-walk only to happy places.” Halena left the room.

  Mary finished feeding Joey and then carried him into her bedroom, where she changed his diaper and put him into a pair of pajamas.

  She then took him into the spare room and placed him in the playpen. He had yet to cry when she put him down for a nap or for the night. She leaned over and rubbed his back and he wiggled around for a moment, then closed his eyes. Within minutes he was sound asleep.

  Mary went back into her own bedroom and got ready for bed. As she took off her clothes, she turned her back to the dresser mirror. She never looked at her reflection when she was naked. She hated the woman in the mirror.

  She pulled on an oversize T-shirt and then crawled into her bed. Like Halena, for the past couple of nights Mary had battled with a bit of insomnia.

  She didn’t have to look far to find what caused her restless sleep. Each night thoughts of Tony and Joey filled her head. They were forbidden thoughts of family and love and created an ache inside her that kept sleep at bay.

  After a while, she felt she must have fallen asleep, because she awakened to Halena yelling from the kitchen. What was going on? Had Halena suffered another heart attack?

  Her heart crashed against her ribs as she jumped out of bed. She ran down the hallway, through the living room and into the kitchen to see her grandmother, clad in a short hot-pink nightgown with orange-striped sleep pants beneath, running out onto the porch with her shotgun in her hands.

  “Come back here, you stinking thief—come back here and let me fill your black heart with buckshot,” she yelled into the darkness of the night.

  “Call Chief Bowie,” she said to Mary over her shoulder. “A shadow being tried to enter our home tonight.”

  A shadow being...an evil entity.

  A deep chill swept through Mary as she heard the unmistakable fear trembling in her grandmother’s voice.

  Chapter 5

  “You missed all the excitement here last night,” Mary said to Tony the next evening as he gave Joey a bottle. It was just the two of them in the room as Halena had disappeared into her bedroom right after dinner.

  “Excitement?” He gazed at her expectantly. He’d been in a state of simmering excitement since the day he’d appeared on her doorstep. There was just something about Mary that enticed him, that delighted him.

  “We had a break-in at two thirty in the morning,” she replied.

  “A break-in?” He sat up straighter, unconsciously pulling the bottle nipple from Joey’s mouth. Joey fussed a complaint and Tony rectified the problem as he continued to stare at Mary. “What happened?”

  “Whoever it was slit a screen on the back porch and got inside and then broke a pane of glass in the kitchen door. Thankfully, Grandmother heard the tinkle of glass and grabbed her shotgun. Before he could get into the house she confronted him and he turned and ran.”

  “Did you call Dillon?” He was horrified that any danger might have come close to anyone in this house.

  She nodded, her hair rippling like black silk. “He came out and we made a report, although it’s doubtful he’ll find the person responsible. Grandmother didn’t get a good look at him. It was too dark and she said he had on dark clothes and a ski mask.”

  “Why would somebody break in here?” A sense of alarm still rang inside him. They were two women all alone in this house.

  “Dillon speculated that it was possible the person wanted to steal some of my baskets and other things. The craft fair is coming up and lots of people around here know this house fills up with items we intend to sell.”

  “Would it be worth a thief taking such a chance?”

  She smiled at him, that warm, beautiful smile that made the blood in his veins heat with a torturous desire. “You obviously don’t know the worth of my baskets. People love them because they’re made by a full-blooded Choctaw and because I use the traditional river-cane reed. My pottery brings even bigger prices. So, to answer your question, yes, it would be worth it to somebody to steal from us.”

  “Have you ever thought about a security system?” He wished he’d been here. He would have chased after the thief and gladly turned him over to Dillon for charges to be pressed.

  “Never,” she replied. “But we’ve never had an attempted break-in before. Besides, an alarm probably isn’t a good idea. Grandmother would have it ringing ten times a day and through half the night because she would forget how to disarm and rearm it again.”

  Her eyes lit with humor. “And I don’t think our thief will be back. I’m sure he didn’t expect to be met by a crazy old Native American woman wielding her shotgun and a very sharp tongue.”

  “Mary, it isn’t funny,” Tony replied. “What would have happened if Halena hadn’t awakened when she did?”

  “I imagine he’d come inside, take what he wanted and then leave. There have been lots of break-ins in this area and so far nobody has gotten hurt.”

  Tony was vaguely surprised to realize that the surge of protectiveness he’d felt for Joey was also there for Mary and her grandmother.

  “Don’t look so concerned, Tony. I had both the screen and the door window fixed today and I really don’t think he’ll be back. Now, you mentioned at dinner that you’d contacted Mick Blake about finding Amy?”

  “Yeah, but unfortunately there wasn’t much information I could give him about her to help in the search. I don’t have an address for her and I don’t know if she had a job or not. If she was living with somebody else, then it’s possible she’s been off the grid completely. I did tell him the make and model of her car, but that’s pretty much the only clues I could give him and that will only help if she’s still driving the same vehicle.”

  Joey finished his bottle. Tony set it on the coffee table in front of him but continued to hold Joey in his arms. His little body snuggled against Tony’s chest and he smelled of a sweet scent that Tony could only identify as baby innocence and unconditional love...something Tony had never known in his life.

  “Did Mick think he could find her in spite of the lack of any real information?” Mary asked, pulling him from his momentary reverie.

  “He was optimistic that he could get me results but cautioned me that it might take some time.” He placed the now sle
eping baby into the bouncy chair and strapped him in. He stroked a finger down the little boy’s plump cheek. He sat back up and gazed at Mary.

  “You’re falling in love with him,” she said.

  Tony looked at her in surprise. Was that what it was? The softening of his heart when he looked at Joey? The swell of his chest when Joey smiled at him? Was it possible that Joey had pulled forth a love that Tony hadn’t believed he was capable of possessing?

  No, it couldn’t possibly be love. He’d vowed to himself that Joey wouldn’t get into his heart. Tony didn’t know how to love. He’d never had any love in his life, except from Cass, and her death had been a huge loss.

  “I don’t love that easily,” he replied. “But I’ll admit he is a cutie.”

  Tony didn’t love easily, but he definitely had a deep lust going on for the woman seated next to him on the sofa. She looked so gorgeous this evening, clad in jeans and a pale pink T-shirt that enhanced the dark richness of her hair and her beautiful long-lashed eyes.

  “Why aren’t you married?” he asked.

  Her cheeks flushed with a touch of color. “There are some women who are meant to be married and have a family. I just happen not to be one of those women.”

  “Why not? You’re a beautiful, successful woman.”

  “I’m happy alone. I have my work and Grandmother’s company and that’s enough for me.” She said the words firmly, but he didn’t quite believe them. “Why did you make the decision never to have a wife?”

  “I love my horse—that’s the cowboy way and that’s enough for me,” he replied lightly.

  She frowned at him. “I’m just trying to get to know you better, Tony. You blew into my life so unexpectedly and at least for now we’re bonded together by trying to do what’s best for Joey.”

  There were some things she didn’t need to know...some things he just didn’t share with anyone. “Mary, what you’ve seen of me the last four nights is who I am. I’m not that complicated.”

  Her beautiful eyes bore into his. “If you say so,” she replied, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. “So, tell me what happened on that ranch of yours today.”