Operation Cowboy Daddy

“I hope they feel better. Maybe you should call Dillon after dinner tonight.” Mary turned from the counter to look at him, her expression unreadable.

“I’ll do that,” he said. He had to remember that he and Joey were a disruption to her life and he needed to either find Amy, or make different arrangements for the baby sooner rather than later. “I know there’s a day-care center in town. Maybe I should check in to them watching Joey during the day.”

She frowned. “That means you’ll have him in the bunkhouse during the nights. That doesn’t sound like a great idea. I’m good having him here for a while longer, Tony. Hopefully Dillon will be able to find Amy and then whatever arrangements you make for Joey will be between her and you.”

And then he’d have no more reason to see Mary anymore. He was surprised that the thought depressed him a bit. The past few nights of spending time in her home had been far more pleasant than he’d ever anticipated.

There was a calm quiet about her that he found attractive. There was a peace in the air that surrounded her, a serenity that called to something deep inside him.

He couldn’t deny that he was intensely attracted to her, but she had given him little indication that she might return the feeling.

Joey cried out from the living room and Tony jumped up to attend to him. He unbuckled him from his seat and pulled him into his arms.

Joey immediately stopped fussing and instead gazed at Tony for a long moment and then smiled, a rivulet of drool sneaking down his chin.

What will you write in his book of life?

An unexpected fierce protectiveness swelled up inside Tony. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before. A lump formed in the back of his throat as he stared into Joey’s bright eyes.

One thing was for certain—nobody would scribble the vile ugliness in this child that had been written in Tony’s book of life.

* * *

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.