Operation Cowboy Daddy by Carla Cassidy Read Free Book Online

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