Once a Father Read Free Page A

in stride. “Oh, we’re gonna have all kinds of stories. That’s the whole point. We need to get the word out about these horses.” She glanced toward the door and smiled. “I think I’ll put Annie in charge of that little detail.”
    â€œWhat little de— Mary!” Sally’s younger sister surged into the room and greeted Mary with a hug. “Are you home for good? Stateside, at least? My God, you look wonderful.”
    â€œSo do you.” Smaller. Happier. How long had it been—five or six years? Oh, the nicknames she and Sally had hung on little Annie when they were kids. Chubby Cheeks. Mary glanced at the tall, dark and handsome cowboy trailing “Cheekers” and gave herself points for not blurting that one out. “This must be your new husband. Congratulations. I’m Mary Tutan.”
    Zach Beaudry offered a tentative hand. “Tutan? As in…”
    â€œAs in Damn Tootin’s daughter.”
    â€œAnd my best friend forever,” Sally said emphatically. “Dan Tutan has nothing to say about that.”
    â€œOh, he has plenty to say. He’s a difficult man, my father. Nobody knows that better than I do.” Mary offered a shrug and sigh. “Nobody except my mother. And my brother.” She gave an apologetic smile. “And our friends.”
    â€œWe had a very small wedding,” Ann said quickly. “At a lodge in the Black Hills. Very few guests. Mostly family.” Ann had to reach up to put her arm around Mary’s shoulders. “Of course, if you’d been here…”
    â€œI don’t blame you for not inviting him. If I were having a wedding, I wouldn’t invite him either. He’s…” Mary glanced at Logan. “…difficult.”
    â€œYou know how he feels about the horses and the sanctuary,” Sally said. “That’s the problem.”
    â€œWith my father it’s not about feelings. It’s about having things his way. That’s what he lives for. His way puts food on the table, so that’s a good thing. As long as you like to eat what he likes to eat.”
    There was an awkward silence. Mary let it play out, a buffer between revealing more than she meant to—not quite as much as she wanted to—and taking a deep breath of fresh Drexler air.
    She turned to Logan. The challenge was more important to her now than it had been an hour ago. “How does half sound?”
    â€œWhat are you willing to do for your half?”
    â€œLearn. If you’re as good as they say, I’m willingto be your apprentice.” She smiled. “I know how to take orders.”
    â€œI don’t give orders. You watch and listen, maybe you’ll learn from me, maybe not.” He glanced at Sally, whose grin was all atta boy. He folded his arms and turned back to Mary. “So, what else?”
    â€œWhatever needs doing.”
    He gestured toward Sally’s wire baskets. “Staple us together and give us a horse.”

Chapter Two
    â€œM other, what are you doing?” Mary hurried to Audrey Tutan’s side and reached for the handle on the old ice cream freezer her mother had just carried upstairs. “This comes under the heading of heavy lifting, which is against the doctor’s orders.” It was the metal canister and hand crank inside the bucket that made the old turquoise contraption so heavy, and the steep stairway made the heavy lifting potentially fatal. Mary eased the load from her mother’s hand, pulled the string dangling from the bare lightbulb and shut the door against the darkness.
    â€œI thought we were taking some time off from orders,” Mother said after catching a couple of breaths.“Besides, that isn’t so heavy, and your father has a sudden urge for homemade ice cream.”
    â€œIf we aren’t taking orders that includes everybody’s orders.” Mary lifted a warning finger. “Except your