Operation Cowboy Daddy Read Free Page B

have you found this time? “I’m sorry, Tony, I don’t know what to tell you. The last time I talked to her she was living in Oklahoma City with a man she met not long after the two of you went your separate ways. I tried to call her a while ago, but the phone number I had for her was no good.”
    Tony’s eyes bored into hers with intensity. A woman could fall into those dark depths. “Do you remember the name of the man?”
    Mary frowned thoughtfully and tried to remember the last conversation she’d had with her friend. “No, I don’t think she mentioned his name to me.”
    Her gaze drifted down to the baby. He smiled and cooed to her and a wave of unexpected anguish swept through her, an anguish she’d believed she’d made peace with a long time ago.
    “Did you know she was pregnant?” Tony asked.
    Mary nodded. “She told me she was pregnant with your child when she first took a test.”
    Tony’s strong features expressed bewilderment. “Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she come to me?”
    “I don’t know, Tony. I certainly encouraged her to do so at the time.” But there was no telling Amy anything when she didn’t want to listen. “Besides, she made me promise I wouldn’t tell you.”
    He leaned back against the beige sofa, his disturbed energy filling the air. “Do you know for sure that he’s mine?”
    Mary’s heart squeezed tight as she thought about her troubled friend. “I can only go by what she told me at the time, but I know when she did tell me she was already living with the other man.” She knew that Tony probably understood as well as she did that Amy wasn’t always a reliable source of truthfulness.
    He remained silent for several long minutes, his gaze directed someplace over her shoulder. Tony Nakni obviously had Native American blood. His skin tone was a warm bronze and his straight black hair was a thing of glory, falling to the middle of his shoulders.
    And those broad shoulders accentuated his slim hips and long legs. Physically he stirred something in Mary that had been dormant for a very long time.
    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