Operation Cowboy Daddy. Carla Cassidy

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СКАЧАТЬ 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

      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.

      He was almost finished eating when the men from the Humes ranch walked over to him. “Hey, Tony, I heard through the grapevine that you have a little papoose,” Lloyd Green said and then snickered.

      “Are you going to teach him how to hunt with arrows?” Zeke asked.

      “Or maybe how to scalp somebody?” Ace added.

      Tony turned around on the stool to face the men, his blood boiling at their utter disrespect, the vile offensiveness of their words.

      Flashbacks from his painful childhood raced through his head, flashbacks that had made Tony hate the very blood that flowed through his veins.

      All three men balled their hands into fists. It was obvious they were spoiling for a little entertainment in the form of a fight. Tension snapped in the air.

      “Ignore them, Tony,” Trisha said softly, yet urgently.

      He had been taught by the tough Cass Holiday to never start a fight, but she’d also told him never to walk away from one.

      He was just about to get off his stool when the chief of police, Dillon Bowie, СКАЧАТЬ