Operation Cowboy Daddy (14 page)

“Halena, I believe you have more than a little bit of cougar in you,” he replied.

“I just like to look...and occasionally pinch.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh.

“And what’s so funny in here?” Cassie came into the kitchen clad in a blue robe that was the exact color of her eyes.

“Nothing that should be repeated,” Halena replied with a pointed look at Tony.

“Ah, I’m so glad you made coffee,” Cassie said as she beelined to the counter. “Occasionally Adam comes in early and has the coffee ready when I get up.”

“Adam is the ranch foreman,” Tony explained to Halena.

“He’s been a godsend since I inherited this place. I didn’t know anything about ranching when I first arrived.” Cassie poured herself a cup of coffee and then joined them at the table. “Now, what do we have on the agenda today and what can I do to help?”

“You’ve helped enough just by allowing us to stay here,” Halena replied.

“This house has been a safe haven for several women since I’ve been here,” Cassie replied.

“Everything happened so fast last night we escaped with just the clothes on our backs. The first order of business is to get some clothes for Halena and Mary and also get some supplies for Joey.” Tony frowned.

It was possible that the clothes in the bedrooms could be washed and be okay, but he hated the idea of taking the two women and Joey back there without some backup. He gazed at Cassie. “I’d appreciate it if a couple of the men could go to Mary’s house with us to get some things.”

“No problem,” Cassie replied. “Take Sawyer and Flint with you. You can leave Joey here with me if you’re comfortable with that.”

Halena stared at her for a long moment and then nodded. “We would be comfortable with that. I know you’ll take good care of the baby.”

“Absolutely,” Cassie agreed.

“It shouldn’t take us long,” he said.

“What shouldn’t take us long?” Mary came into the kitchen wearing the robe she’d had on the night before. Joey was bright-eyed in her arms. Tony immediately jumped up to take the baby from her.

Joey fussed, indicating he was ready for his morning meal. Mary poured herself a cup of coffee and Tony got a bottle from the refrigerator.

“We were talking about going back to the house to get some clothes and whatever else you two might need for your stay here,” Tony said. Joey curled up in his arms and gazed at him with happy eyes as he chugged on his bottle.

“We definitely need some things,” Mary said. Her eyes were dark and troubled. “Do you think it’s safe to go back there?”

“We’ll leave Joey here with Cassie and we’ll take a couple of men with us. It should be fine,” Tony assured her. With a couple of cowboys watching their backs, Tony felt more comfortable.

“I might be able to find something for you both to wear today,” Cassie said. “I’m sure you don’t want to run around wearing a robe and...and...” Her gaze shot to Halena. “And whatever,” she finally said.

For the next fifteen minutes they talked about the logistics of the trip back to Mary’s house and then Cassie got up to make pancakes.

Halena insisted she help and as the two worked together to prepare breakfast Tony and Mary remained seated at the table. The conversation continued as to the day’s plans.

As they ate, the women visited and got to know each other better. Tony remained silent and listened to the female chatter. Thank God Cassie was like the aunt she’d been named after, he thought. She had a warm and giving heart and never turned away anyone who was in trouble.

Surely, Ash wouldn’t make a move on them here, where they were surrounded by armed men who would protect what was theirs with their lives. And Joey and Mary and Halena would be claimed by all of them because they meant something to Tony.

How could Dillon even think that one of the cowboys here was a murderer? They were Tony’s brothers, the men he knew he could depend on whenever things got bad.

He shoved this thought away as Adam Benson came in the back door. “Good morning,” he said in obvious surprise at the sight of all of them. “Looks like things have changed a lot since the time I told you good-night last night,” he said to Cassie.

“Ash set Mary’s house on fire,” Tony said.

As the three women cleared off the breakfast dishes, Tony filled Adam in on what had happened the night before. “So, what do you need from all of us?” Adam asked when Tony had finished.

“In the short term Cassie said Sawyer and Flint could go with us to Mary’s home so we can pick up a few things. In the longer term I’d like everyone to look out for anyone who doesn’t belong on the property, especially around the house,” Tony replied. “This man is dangerous, Adam.”

“He’s a shadow being from hell,” Halena insisted.

“Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near here,” Adam replied firmly. “We’ll set up a couple of guards to work the nights here at the house. I’ll coordinate with the men to take care of it.”

“Won’t the men mind having extra work?” Mary asked worriedly.

“Not these men,” Adam assured her. “We take care of each other.”

Arrangements were made for them to leave the house at nine. Tony walked out the back door with Adam and headed toward the cowboy motel, where he could take a quick shower and get into clean clothes.

“I’ll just hang around here until you come back,” Adam said and sat on one of the lawn chairs near the side of the porch.

Tony flashed him a grateful smile. Although it was hard to believe Ash might make a move so early this morning after last night’s activities, he’d rather be safe than sorry. “I won’t be long.”

He hurried toward his bunk room. The other men would already be up and out in the pastures, or in the barn or stable taking care of the daily chores.

He wouldn’t be completely at ease until they were all back here and really settled in. There was no way Ash would get past the men who would now be looking for any sign of him here. There was no way he’d get close enough to grab Joey or do harm with all the cowboys on guard.

It took him only twenty minutes to shower and change clothes. He placed a call to Jim Browbeck, who agreed to meet them at Mary’s place, and then Tony headed back to the big house.

At nine o’clock they headed toward town and the scene of the unexpected fire the night before. Mary wore a pink T-shirt and a pair of gray jogging pants that hit her midcalf. Halena was clad in a long summery dress in muted colors. It was the most normal thing Tony had ever seen the old woman wear and she expressed several times about how much she hated it.

“Jim is meeting us at your house,” he told them. “I thought it would be a good idea to have him around in case there were still hot embers or places of potential structural danger.”

“That’s probably a good idea. We really just need to grab a few articles of clothing. Hopefully, I can make arrangements to get the house fixed as soon as possible,” Mary replied.

“I’ll take care of the house repairs. I don’t want you to worry about it,” Tony said firmly. “All you have to worry about for the next couple of days is taking care of each other.”

“And keeping Grandmother away from the cowboys,” Mary said under her breath with a touch of humor.

Tony flashed her a smile, grateful for the ease of the tension that had been an undercurrent throughout the morning.

Jim Browbeck was already there when they got to Mary’s house, as was Officer Juan Ramiriz, who was chatting with the fire chief on the front porch.

“Good morning,” Tony said to them both.

“Good morning to you. I’ve already been inside and got a good look around,” Jim said after they had all greeted each other. “The fact that the fire was set on the exterior wall of the back porch was actually a good thing. The porch is destroyed, along with the back door leading into the house, but the structure is sound and things don’t look nearly as grim this morning in the light of day.”

Mary released an audible sigh. “So, we can get some items from inside?”

“That won’t be a problem. The main thing the house needs is a new back door and some painting and cleanup in the kitchen, dining room and living room. The bedrooms are virtually untouched. I don’t even think much smoke got to those rooms,” he replied.

“Dillon said he’d keep a man on the house until you can get a new back door so the place can be properly locked up,” Juan said.

“I’ll see to the door later this afternoon,” Tony replied. “You can tell Dillon it will be fixed by nightfall. Now, let’s get this done.”

Sawyer and Flint stood near the street in front of the house, on guard for anything that might come their way. Although Tony didn’t expect trouble, he was grateful for their presence.

Since Mary hadn’t had a chance to grab her purse the night before and didn’t have her house key, they all went around back to enter.

“I made a little path through the rubble for you to get inside,” Jim said.

“Thank you,” Mary replied, her voice soft and sober.

They entered into the kitchen and then walked into the living/dining room area. There was a faint scent of smoke and the walls were going to need repainting, but thankfully it was all just cosmetic issues.

Halena disappeared down the hallway into her bedroom. Tony turned to Mary. “Why don’t you pack up your things and I’ll load a suitcase full of Joey’s items.”

Her face was pale and her eyes were slightly glassy, as if memories of the night before took hold of her. “Mary?” he said softly.

Her shoulders snapped straight and her eyes focused in on him. She lifted her chin and gave him a curt nod. “Let’s get to it.”

It took Tony only a few minutes to fill the suitcase Amy had left with Joey. He not only included clothes, but also any cans of formula and extra diapers that were in the room.

“I’m going to carry this out to the car and then come back in for the bouncy chair and the playpen,” he said to Mary.

She looked up from the suitcase she had opened on her bed. “Since Cassie has a crib, don’t worry about getting the playpen.”

Halena came down the hallway with a huge suitcase and sporting a large hat with a purple feather in it. “You never know when you’ll need a purple hat,” she said to Tony.

Tony fought desperately against an unexpected burst of laughter that threatened to bubble out of him. He had a feeling that no matter what dire things might happen, Halena would meet them with her own brand of aplomb and a fancy hat on her head.

“I’ll take your suitcase,” he said. Halena handed it to him and then she went into Mary’s bedroom while he went out to his truck.

As he waited for Mary to finish up, he sat on the sofa in the living room. Even though he believed they’d be safe at the ranch, he couldn’t help the worries that flittered through his brain.

Things couldn’t get back to normal until Ash was arrested and would face charges of attempted kidnapping and perhaps arson if Dillon found any evidence that could be used against him in tying him to the fire.

There was no way Tony believed the man was finished with them. He was obviously obsessed with getting Joey into his possession. Tony just wished he knew what Ash’s next move would be.

Twenty minutes later they were loaded up and were saying goodbye to Juan and Jim when Dillon pulled up. Tony’s stomach muscles bunched with tension as he watched the lawman get out of his car and approach them.

Dillon’s eyes were dark, and he offered them no smile. Mary stepped closer to Tony, as if she, too, had a sense of deep foreboding.

“I stopped by the ranch and Cassie told me you were here getting some things,” he said.

“Do you have news about Ash?” Tony asked.

Dillon shook his head. “Not Ash... Amy.”

“What about her?” Dread pooled in the pit of Tony’s stomach.

Dillon drew in a deep breath. “She was found in a motel room just outside of Oklahoma City late last night. She’s dead—she was stabbed to death.”

Mary gasped and a sharp feeling of grief swept through Tony, along with a deep arctic chill. Knowing somebody was a suspected murderer was one thing, but believing that person had stabbed to death somebody you knew was absolutely horrifying.

“Ash,” Tony said flatly.

“The investigation is only in the early stages,” Dillon replied.

“Ash believes Joey is his, so if he killed Amy, then he killed the mother of his three-month-old son.” Mary stared at Tony, her eyes filled with the darkness that seeped into Tony’s soul. “He’s the worst kind of monster,” she said softly. “And he’s coming after us.”

Chapter 11

T
he news of Amy’s murder ached inside Mary’s heart. The blond-haired sprite who had been such a part of Mary’s childhood was now gone forever. Amy wouldn’t appear one day on her doorstep, full of regrets about using again, swearing that she was going to do better and begging for Mary to not be mad at her.

Memories rushed through her head. The laughter of the slumber parties they’d had rang inside her head. They’d painted each other’s fingernails and experimented with makeup. They’d talked about boys and how gross they thought it would be if a man put his tongue in their mouths while kissing.

They had been young and so innocent, but Amy’s innocence had fled far too quickly. By the time she was sixteen she was already dabbling with drugs and sleeping with different guys.

Mary had always feared for Amy’s life, but she’d assumed she would self-destruct. She’d never dreamed she’d be murdered, bringing forth Mary’s worst fears.

Joey no longer had a mother, and if Tony really was the father, then he would not have a partner to help in raising the little boy.

They drove back to the ranch in silence, but in Mary’s head she heard the sounds of Joey’s cooing and gurgling. The sound of his happiness ringing in her brain only made everything more tragic.

Protect him from evil.
Those had been Amy’s last words to Tony, and Mary knew without a doubt that Tony would do everything in his power to honor them. Tony would take care of Joey, but who would take care of Tony?

When they reached the ranch house, Cassie was on the back porch, her face somber. “Dillon told me about Amy,” she said to Tony. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks, Cassie,” he replied, equally as somber. “Why don’t you women head on inside and I’ll unload everything.”

Mary and Halena followed Cassie back into the house and into the great room, where Joey was asleep on a blanket on the floor. “Sit and relax for a few minutes,” Cassie said. She sat in one of the chairs.

Mary eased down next to Halena on the sofa. “I like your hat,” Cassie said to Halena.

The old woman reached up and straightened it on her head. “I like hats, especially on bad days. A good hat can make you feel better. But I also like hats on good days, too.”

Tony came in carrying two suitcases. “I’ll just take these upstairs to the bedrooms and go back out to get the rest of the things.”

“I’m sad for Amy, but I’m not surprised that she had a bad end,” Halena said softly as she gazed at Joey. “May she rest in peace. At least she won’t be tormented any longer.”

She stood. “And now I’m going to go ahead and unpack.” She headed for the stairs.

“I’m so sorry about Amy,” Cassie said once Halena had disappeared from sight. “What a horrible thing.”

Mary nodded. “She had a good heart, but she was a troubled woman who made bad choices. Still, she didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“Nobody deserves that,” Cassie replied. “I’ll bet your grandmother is a fascinating person.”

Mary smiled and realized Cassie had changed the subject on purpose. “She’s definitely unique.”

“She has a beautiful face. I’d love to paint her sometime.”

“You paint?”

It was Cassie’s turn to smile. “Yes, I paint when I have spare time. I dreamed of being an artist on the streets of New York City, selling my paintings out of the most prestigious art galleries.” She released a deep sigh. “It’s strange where fate takes you.”

Mary gazed down at the sleeping baby. “Yes, it’s definitely strange.” She looked back at Cassie. “But it wasn’t fate that brought us here. It was the evil doings of a tin man.”

“A tin man?”

Mary nodded. “A man without a heart...a man without a soul.” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders in an effort to warm the chill that filled her as she thought of Ash Moreland...the man she was certain had murdered Amy.

Cassie leaned forward and her blue eyes shone with conviction. “Mary, that tin man can’t hurt you here. We’re all going to make sure of that.”

Gazing into Cassie’s earnest eyes, Mary almost believed it, but not quite. She couldn’t shake the notion that they weren’t out of the woods yet. Until Ash was in jail the danger was still very real.

A half an hour later Mary was in the bedroom unpacking her clothes. Her grandmother had been right the morning she’d told Mary about her dream walk to Kansas with a tornado and a tin man.

She’d seen great change and danger from a man—too bad she hadn’t seen a fire, a murder and complete upheaval in their world. Too bad she hadn’t seen how this would all end.

Tony had left with a couple of men to return to the house and see about installing a new back door. He’d also told her before he left that he’d have the porch rebuilt and the interior walls painted.

At the moment she didn’t care about the house. All she cared about was the little boy who was reaching up to bat at the old, slightly faded mobile Cassie had hung over his crib.

She hung her T-shirts and the other blouses she’d packed in the closet and then placed her jeans and underpants in the dresser drawers, then sat on the edge of the bed and stared unseeingly toward the window.

Amy was gone forever and Tony wasn’t the marrying type. Would he change his tune so that Joey would have a mother figure in his life? Every child needed a soft place to fall.

She hoped and prayed that before Joey got too old Tony would find a good woman and fall in love. She wanted Joey to have a mother who would kiss his boo-boos and tears away, a mom who would bake cookies and throw birthday parties and tuck him into bed each night with a story and a lullaby. She wished that woman could be her, but she knew it wasn’t.

Damn cancer.

Damn it to hell and back.

Hot tears burned at her eyes, tears she swallowed hard against. It had robbed her of everything meaningful in her life. It had taken her mother. It had taken her only aunt.

It had stolen Mary’s dreams of a family of her own. It had forced her to make a decision that would assure she would never know a man’s love.

Damn cancer.

She jumped up from the bed. It was ridiculous for her to sit here and feel sorry for herself. She was finished with pity parties.

She walked over to the crib. Joey had fallen asleep. Motherless child, now that was a real tragedy, she thought.

She left the room and headed downstairs, needing something or somebody to pull her out of her own head. Tony would see to it that Joey thrived and she reminded herself that she was so much more than what cancer had done to her.

Cassie was in the kitchen and greeted her with a pleasant smile. “Sit and talk to me while I wrestle with this chicken for dinner,” she said.

“Need some help?” Mary asked. “The last thing we want is to make more work for you, Cassie.”

“Please, just relax. I’ve got this,” Cassie assured her. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, I’m good.” Mary sat at the table and watched as Cassie washed the whole chicken in the sink and then shoved it into a bag.

“I love bag cooking,” she said. “You throw in a hunk of protein and some vegetables and then put it in the oven and that’s it.”

“Do you like to cook?” Mary asked.

Cassie turned up her pert nose. “Not really. I might like it if I knew more about it. When I was living in New York, I almost never turned on my oven or stove. There was a deli right down the street where I bought all my meals. It wasn’t until I moved here that I realized if I didn’t cook, then I didn’t eat...and I do love to eat.”

“While we’re here, if you just give the word, I’m sure Grandmother would be pleased to teach you some things about cooking. She loves to cook.”

“Really? I’ll bet she’s an awesome cook.” Cassie began to shove peeled potatoes and carrots into the bag with the chicken. She tied the bag, then opened the oven and put the baking pan inside.

“Now, how about a cup of hot tea?” she said. “I always enjoy a nice cup of tea around this time of the day.”

“That sounds good,” Mary agreed.

Maybe a cup of tea would erase all the concerns that floated around in her head. She wondered what Tony was doing at the house, she worried about what Ash would do next and she was aware of the ticking clock that would end her involvement with both Tony and Joey when Tony’s vacation time was over.

Cassie set a cup of tea in front of her and then got the sugar bowl, some slices of lemon and a small pitcher of milk. She then poured a cup for herself and joined Mary at the table.

“Tell me about your business. Tony told me you make all kinds of beautiful things.”

Mary looked at the attractive blonde with gratitude. She knew what she was doing—she was trying to get Mary’s mind off the issues that faced them all. It worked. Cassie was not only a good listener, but also asked all kinds of questions and appeared genuinely interested in how Mary made a living.

“I can’t wait to get on my laptop and check out your site,” she said. “You’re obviously quite an artist yourself.”

“Speaking of being an artist, tell me more about your paintings,” Mary said.

“I mostly like working with oils, although occasionally I’ll dabble a bit with watercolors. I always painted cityscapes until I moved here. Now I’m starting to dabble in country paintings.” Cassie stopped talking as Halena came into the kitchen.

Her purple hat was gone, as was the dress that Cassie had found for her to wear. Instead Halena wore leopard-print baggy trousers with a pink camo T-shirt.

“Grandmother, Cassie doesn’t know much about cooking. Maybe while we’re here you could share some of your special recipes with her and show her how to do them,” Mary said.

Halena eyed Cassie as if she was a peculiar bug she’d never seen before. “How did you get to be your age and not know much about cooking?”

“Before I came to Bitterroot I ate out a lot,” Cassie replied. She leaned back in her chair and smiled at Halena. “You know, I think I have a few hats upstairs from New York City that I could give you in exchange for some cooking lessons.”

Halena narrowed her gaze and then nodded. “Bribery... I like it. You’ve got a deal.”

“We can start tomorrow night, since dinner for this evening is already in the oven,” Cassie said.

For the next hour the women chatted about everything from the working of the ranch to people in town they all knew. The conversation halted long enough for Mary to race up the stairs to check on Joey, who was awake and hollering for attention. She changed his diaper and then carried him down the stairs and returned to the kitchen, where she deposited him at her feet in his bouncy chair.

“You are such a sweetheart,” Cassie said to Joey, who babbled and grinned at her in return. “I think you’re the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”

“Why don’t you have a man and a baby of your own?” Halena asked.

“Grandmother...” Mary shot her a warning look.

“What?” Halena looked at her innocently. “I can’t help my curiosity. It’s pretty much all you have left when you get to be my age.”

“It’s okay,” Cassie replied with a glint of good humor in her eyes. “I don’t have a man or a baby because I’m still trying to find myself.”

Halena raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like some New Age crap to me. You’re a pretty woman and I’d think all the cowboys in the area would be after you. Are you a lesbian?”

“Grandmother!” Mary was outraged and worried. Dear God, all they needed was for her outspoken grandmother to get them kicked off the ranch.

Cassie laughed uproariously. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy having the two of you here. And no, I’m not a lesbian.” She grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped her eyes as Mary breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m not even dating at the moment,” Cassie continued. “Right now I don’t know if my forever home is going to be this place or back in New York City, so I’ve put my love life on hold for now.”

“Why would you want to go back to New York City?” Halena asked.

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “To fulfill the dreams I have for myself.”

“You have a beautiful home and a successful ranch that probably makes you more money than you know what to do with. You have all those cowboys with their broad shoulders and sexy butts working for you. I’d say you should just change your dreams,” Halena said.

Cassie smiled and before she could reply Joey began to fuss. Mary got up to fix him a bottle. While she fed him, the conversation changed to what kinds of meals Halena intended to teach Cassie how to cook.

“You definitely need to know how to make an enchilada pie and chili. Those are real man-pleasers and they’ll come in handy when you find yourself and get a man in your life,” Halena said.

“That sounds good,” Cassie replied. “And maybe you can teach me how to cook a good roast. It seems like mine is always tough.”

The food chatter continued until around four o’clock, when Tony came in the back door and greeted them all with a tired smile. He sat at the table in the chair across from Mary.

“We managed to load up and take away what was left of your porch and we got a new back door installed,” he said. “I left a message for Frankie Brale to see if he can take care of the painting on the inside and the rebuilding of the porch.”

Frankie Brale was a handsome bald man who ran a successful home repair and renovation business. He had a reputation for being a hard worker and fair in pricing.

“Tony, I really don’t expect for you to take care of all this. You let me know what it’s going to cost and I’ll write a check,” Mary replied.

Tony looked down at Joey, who was napping in the bouncy chair on the floor, and then he gazed back at Mary. “My son...and my problems, and the last thing I want is for you to come to any harm, financially or any other way. I’ve got this, Mary, and I’ve got it with pleasure.”

His gaze was soft and held a touch of yearning. Oh, those beautiful eyes could get her in a whole lot of trouble if she didn’t stay strong.

He got up from the table. “And now I’m going to head back to my bunk for a nice hot shower.” He looked at Cassie. “Is it okay if I come back after dinner?”

“The more the merrier,” Cassie replied.

With a nod of goodbye, Tony went back out the door. Cassie smiled at Mary. “Do you realize that man is head over heels in love with you?”