Operation Cowboy Daddy. Carla Cassidy
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“You are such a happy baby,” Mary said to Joey as she changed him into a clean white T-shirt and a pair of tiny jeans. Joey gurgled and cooed and then laughed in response.
Tony had called earlier to tell her that he’d made a four-thirty appointment with Dr. Rivers to give the baby a checkup. It was now four fifteen and she expected Tony to arrive at any moment.
First thing that morning Mary had gotten on her computer and printed off a sample sleep-and-feeding schedule for a three-month-old. None of them knew for sure exactly how old Joey was, but according to everything she had read he was doing things that a three-to four-month-old would do.
Halena had laughed at her for needing a piece of paper to take care of a baby, but Mary hadn’t been around many babies before and certainly had never been in charge of one. Even though this was a temporary arrangement, she didn’t want to screw things up.
She scooped up Joey from her bed and went into the kitchen, where Halena was on dinner duty for the night. Ground beef, onions and spices simmered in a skillet. “Hmm, something smells good.”
“Enchilada pie and it will be ready around five thirty,” Halena said and picked up a wooden spoon to stir the meat.
“That should be perfect,” Mary replied. “Tony should be back from the appointment by then.” She was unsurprised by Halena’s choice of a dish. Halena loved Mexican food as much as she loved action movies, and on the nights she cooked, the fare was always from south of the border.
A knock sounded on the door. “That should be Tony,” Mary said. Just knowing she was going to see him danced a bit of shimmering light through her, a light she didn’t want to shine at all.
She opened the door and Joey laughed and leaned out of her arms toward him. “Whoa,” she said and tightened her grip around his sturdy little body. “Hi, Tony. I know you need to get to the doctor’s office. The car seat is in the spare room if you want to get it.”
“I’ll just go grab it.” He swept by her and she caught the scent of minty soap and the pleasant cologne she’d noticed the day before.
He returned with the car seat in hand. “I’ll carry him out,” she said.
He stared at her, his dark eyes radiating both surprise and a touch of alarm. “You aren’t coming with me?”
“I hadn’t planned on it. Tony, I’m just the babysitter,” she reminded him.
“Of course,” he replied.
She carried Joey out to his truck, where he secured the car seat in the back of the king cab. “You’ll be fine,” she said as she handed Joey to him and watched as he buckled in the boy. “And dinner will be ready when you get back here. I hope you like Mexican. Grandmother made an enchilada pie.”
He nodded. “Sounds terrific. I’ll see you in a little while.” He got into the truck and pulled out of the driveway.
“It was a good decision for you not to go,” Halena said when Mary returned to the house. “It’s important for you to remember your place in all this.”
“I know.” Mary sank down in a chair at the table. “But it’s difficult to maintain distance when Joey is so beautiful and happy and obviously bright.”
“And he’ll be gone before too long.”
Mary eyed her grandmother with a touch of amusement. “But didn’t I see you leaning over his playpen at nap time whispering to him?”
Halena frowned. “You shouldn’t be spying on an old woman.”
Mary laughed and then sobered. “Don’t worry, I’m very aware that this is all temporary. In a couple of days things will be back to normal.”
Halena grinned at her, the familiar wicked twinkle in her eyes. “Normal has never had a place in our home.”
Mary laughed again and then together they made a big salad to go with the evening meal. Talk of Tony and the baby was replaced by conversation about the craft fair that was approaching far too quickly.
It was five fifteen when there was a knock at the door once again. Tony was back and Joey was asleep in the car seat. “He got a clean bill of health,” he said in obvious relief. “And I had Dr. Rivers do a paternity test.”
“How long does it take to get the results back?” Mary asked. How she wished being in his presence didn’t free more than a few butterflies to whirl around in her stomach. This whole arrangement would be easier if she didn’t find Tony so darned attractive.
“Four to six weeks,” he replied. “No matter what happens with Amy, I need to know if I’m his father.”
“Of course you do. Now, come into the kitchen. Grandmother has dinner ready to go on the table.”
He followed her into the kitchen, where Halena already sat in her chair. “I can tell by the light in your eyes that things went well at the doctor’s,” she said to Tony. “I could have told you there was nothing wrong with that child. His eyes are clear and his spirit is eager to embrace life.”
Tony nodded and sat down. “Dr. Rivers assured me of the same thing.”
Halena nodded. “The leaves on the trees told me the baby was fine. The tree leaves often tell me important things.”
Tony nodded and shot a quick, uncertain glance at Mary. She simply smiled. If he was around for any length of time, then he would quickly learn Halena’s quirks.
He eyed the food on the table. “It looks like Mary isn’t the only one who knows her way around a kitchen. Everything looks delicious.”
“Praise will get you nowhere with me,” Halena replied, but Mary could tell her grandmother was pleased.
What pleased Halena even more was that Tony was a movie buff, too. He told them that sometimes in the evenings the men at the ranch all gathered in the recreation room and watched DVDs until bedtime.
Mary listened in amusement as the two talked about failed plots, silly characters and unrealistic action scenes in some of the movies they’d both watched.
For the first time she saw Tony completely animated. The spark in his eyes and the wide smile that curved his lips drew her in. She shouldn’t enjoy looking at him so much, and she definitely shouldn’t be enjoying his company.
“Those kick-butt heroines they have in some of the movies today don’t have anything over this old woman,” Halena said. “I can use my broom as a lethal weapon against marauding raccoons and other wild animals. My shotgun stays next to my bed and I can hit anything I aim at.”
She turned to look at Mary. “Maybe I need to get me a pair of those stiletto heels that actresses wear in the movies.”
Mary looked at her in horror. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea, Grandmother. You rock your flip-flops and tennis shoes just fine.”
Halena lifted her chin proudly. “I rock everything I wear just fine.”
Dinner finished and, as if on cue, Joey cried out, ready for his bottle. While Mary cleaned up the dishes, Tony prepared a bottle and went into the living room and Halena went to her room to write her evening blog.
It would be easy to fall into a crazy fantasy of a strong, handsome male taking care of the baby in the evenings while Mary attended to the dinner dishes.
It would be far too easy to imagine the two of them tucking the baby into bed for the night and then going into their own bedroom to make love and sleep in each other’s arms.
Once upon a time Mary had entertained those kinds of dreams, but over the years they had been stolen from her by a ravaging disease and bitter life experiences.
She couldn’t fall into any sort of romantic fantasies. It would be foolish, and Mary was no fool. She knew who and what