Operation Cowboy Daddy (12 page)

“He has dark hair like yours,” she offered. But Ash Moreland also had black hair. It was obvious Tony wanted her to see a resemblance to him. “Maybe around the eyes,” she finally said.

Tony smiled. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought.” Once again he gazed down at Joey. “I want to teach him to be strong and proud.”

Halena swept into the kitchen clad in a flowing multicolored caftan and a little pink lace hat on her head. “How can you teach him to be proud when you know nothing about where you came from?” she asked with a stern look at Tony.

“Are you going somewhere?” he asked her. “You’re wearing a hat.”

“It’s a hat kind of day,” she replied and walked across the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. “Maybe you should wear your cowboy hat all day.”

“It would just detract from my overall handsomeness,” Tony replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

“You’re all right, Tony Nakni,” Halena replied with a grin.

Mary listened to the two of them with amusement. Tony had learned to give as well as he got when it came to Halena and there was no question her grandmother enjoyed their playful banter.

That banter continued through breakfast. Joey added his two cents with strings of baby gibberish that had them all laughing. “Since it’s a hat day, I’ve decided not to start sewing today,” Halena announced as they finished clearing the breakfast dishes.

“Then what are you going to do?” Mary asked.

“I have a new project to work on.”

“Does that sound a bit scary or is it just me?” Tony asked, with that same twinkle of good humor in his eyes.

“You should be afraid, young warrior,” Halena retorted.

“What kind of a project, Grandmother?” Mary asked.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out. I’ll be in my room if anyone needs me.” She straightened her hat and then flounced out of the room.

“Has she always been this way?” Tony asked curiously.

“If you mean just a little bit crazy, then the answer is yes. She’s always been eccentric, but she’s getting more so with age.”

“She must have been an interesting parental figure when you were growing up.” He leaned down and placed the sleeping Joey in his bouncy chair.

“I’ll admit there were times she mortified me, especially in my early teen years when almost everything mortified me. She’d show up to a school room party in a sparkly evening dress, or decide to do a traditional dance in the middle of the supermarket.”

Tony smiled. “Somehow that sounds wonderful.”

She nodded. “The really wonderful thing was that our home was the place where all my friends wanted to hang out. Grandmother would tell us scary stories about shadow beings who ate souls, or magical stories about the sun and the moon, Hashtahli and Hashi Ninak Anya, and their children, the stars. She always had snacks prepared for anyone who might show up and playing dress-up in her closet was the bomb. Even though I mourned the passing of my parents deeply, I was very blessed to have Grandmother in my life.”

She eyed him with a new curiosity. “Whatever happened to Betty and Hank Ryan? Have you ever gone back to see them again?”

“Never. I have no idea if they’re dead or alive. I have no intention of ever seeing them again. They are part of my past and have no place in my future.”

“Do you know if they looked for you when you ran away?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I doubt if they did.” The darkness that had filled his eyes when he’d spoken about them the night before was absent, as if in telling his story to her some of that pain had vanished. “I’m sure they missed their whipping boy, but I doubt they wanted to get any law enforcement involved in my sudden absence.”

“You should have gone to the police and told them about the abuse,” Mary replied. It would have been nice to know that those vile people were at this very moment still spending time in jail.

“It never entered my mind to go to any authorities. Hank and Betty were white, the authorities were white and I had been told for years that I was nothing. I didn’t think anyone would ever believe me about them.”

“How do you feel about learning to make baskets?” she asked. A change in subject was definitely in order.

He gave her a warm smile. “I’m up for anything if you’re a part of it.”

“Then let’s head out to the back porch. The sun is shining and it should be beautiful out there.” She ignored the quick burst of heat that had suffused her at his words.

For the next two hours she taught Tony about the history and the making of the baskets that were a huge part of her business and an important part of Choctaw heritage.

When Joey awoke from his nap, they brought him out to the porch in his bouncy chair. As Mary dyed river cane, Tony kept Joey occupied by making funny faces and tickling him.

With the warm breeze caressing her face and baby giggles filling the air, Mary felt as complete as she’d ever been. If she was lucky, when Tony and Joey were gone, she’d occasionally dream-walk back to this place in time, where a profound happiness filled her heart.

It was almost dinnertime when Halena strode out onto the porch with a large handful of papers. She thrust the pile toward Tony, who took it in obvious confusion. “What’s all this?” he asked.

“It’s the education you missed out on when you were growing up,” she replied.

Tony looked at Mary and she could tell he wondered if she’d told Halena about their conversation the night before. She shook her head and then shrugged.

“Every man with Choctaw blood should learn about his roots and take pride in being a part of a people who have both dignity and courage. Now, you read all of that and I intend to quiz you about it later.”

“And what if I get an answer wrong?” Tony asked.

“Then I’ll make you wear this hat,” Halena retorted and pointed up to the pink concoction perched atop her head. “Now, I’m feeling like tacos for dinner. I’m going to go get started on them.”

“Is she serious about the hat?” Tony asked when she left the porch.

Mary grinned at him. “I wouldn’t answer a question wrong if I was you. She’ll sew it to your head while you’re sleeping.”

Tony laughed. “I’m shaking in my boots at the very thought.”

“Why don’t we head inside,” Mary suggested a few minutes later. “It’s starting to cool down and I should help with dinner.”

“What can I do to help?” Tony asked as he picked up the bouncy chair where Joey was napping.

Mary gazed at him teasingly. “I think you should probably use all your spare time reading that material. You’d look terribly silly in that little pink hat.” He laughed and together they went into the house.

Dinner was pleasant, and when it was finished, they all settled in to watch a movie. Halena got into the chair, leaving Mary to sit next to Tony on the sofa.

Anytime she was near him she felt as if all her senses were assaulted by him. His familiar scent evoked the memory of the hot, frantic lovemaking they’d shared. The languid slide of his gaze over her was pure temptation. It was as if unconsciously he was seducing her and she had to maintain her defenses against the desire he evoked inside her.

She put Joey down for the night and soon after that Halena waved a good-night as she headed to her bedroom. “I think I’m going to call it a night, too,” Mary said.

Although it was fairly early, she felt uncharacteristically vulnerable. The day had been so good with Tony. He’d been so attentive as she’d worked and their conversations had been laced with laughter.

“I have to admit I’m a little tired myself,” he replied. “Although I might do some reading before I go to sleep.”

“Then I’ll see you in the morning.” A sense of relief accompanied her into her bedroom. As she dressed for bed, she chided herself for being so foolish.

She couldn’t believe she was nervous about spending a couple hours alone in the living room with Tony. Where had her good sense gone?

She got into bed and squeezed her eyes closed, determined not to think about Tony Nakni, and hoping she didn’t dream about him.

* * *

He was in the middle of a hot dream about Mary. They were both naked in her bed. Her full breasts filled his hands as they kissed with a passion so very hot he could smell the smoke, hear the snap and crackle of flames.

This time they moved slowly, exploring each other’s bodies, indulging in a sensual foreplay that had been absent when they’d made love before. Bare skin sought bare skin and his mouth slid down her neck to capture one of her nipples. It leaped to attention in his mouth as she moaned.

She enflamed such a fire inside him the smoke from that fire choked in the back of his throat. He coughed...and tried to focus on their lovemaking. But he coughed again and suddenly awakened. Smoke filled the air.

Smoke... Fire!

The alarm finally registered in his brain, casting dreams away as fear sizzled through him. Something was burning. He jumped off the sofa. He pulled on his jeans, stepped into his boots, grabbed his gun from the coffee table and then went in search of the smoke source.

He didn’t have to go far. The back porch was burning. Hungry flames ate the wood from the ground up and moved steadily toward the back door and the dining room area of the house.

They had to get out.

He had to get them all to safety.

He turned and rushed down the hallway and met Halena there. She held Joey in her arms and appeared like a ghostly wraith in the thin layer of smoke.

“Mary!” Tony turned into her bedroom, where she was apparently still asleep. “Mary, wake up!” He raced to the side of her bed, grabbed her by an arm and shook her.

Her eyes flew open and she shot up. “Tony, what’s happening?”

“The house is on fire. Get some shoes on. We have to get out.” At that moment the smoke alarm in the kitchen began to shriek.

She flew out of bed, threw on her robe and stepped into a pair of sneakers at the foot of her bed. “Let’s go.”

They all headed to the living room, where Mary took Joey from Halena’s arms and then gestured toward the front door.

“Wait,” Tony said before she could reach the door. His brain whirled frantically. There was no way this was some sort of an accidental fire. There was nothing flammable on the back porch.

It had to be Ash.

Tony’s blood ran cold despite the growing heat in the house. Ash had obviously set fire to the back porch, effectively leaving them no exit except for the front door.

He’d be waiting for them out there in the dark. Tony felt it in his gut. “Follow me,” he said urgently. He led them back down the hallway and into Halena’s bedroom at the back of the house.

He grabbed Mary by the shoulders. “I want you and Halena to get out the window and run for the woods in the backyard. Hide there until I come to get you, and if I don’t come, then make your way to a neighbor’s place and get help.”

“Wait...what are you going to do?” she asked frantically. “Tony, aren’t you coming with us?”

He opened the bedroom window and punched out the screen, a frantic fear torching through him. Was this the right decision? Was he sending them to safety or into a murderer’s arms?

“Go,” he said. He had nothing to trust but his instincts. He only prayed they were right.

“Come with us,” Mary cried to him.

“Go,” he repeated.

Halena ran over to the other side of the room and grabbed her naked-man wood carving off the wall and then stepped out of the window. She set the thick piece of wood onto the ground outside and then reached back in to take Joey from Mary. Mary gave Tony one more beseeching look and then she went outside.

The moment they were out of the house Tony raced back down the hallway and to the front door. His eyes burned from the thickening smoke in the living room and his heart pumped with adrenaline.

He held his gun tightly, unlocked the door and then opened it and somersaulted outside. Gunfire met him. He ran for the cover of the front of his truck in the driveway as bullets pinged all around him.

He reached the front fender and leaned against it, catching his breath as he tried to pinpoint Ash’s location. He thought the man was hidden behind a bush across the street. Tony needed to keep him there until he was certain Mary and Halena had enough time to reach the woods and hide in the darkness.

He leaned out and fired off a few shots, shots that were met with return fire. Definitely behind the bush, he thought. The crackle of flames and the acrid scent of smoke in the air enraged him.

What the hell kind of man set fire to a house where there were two women and a baby inside? What kind of a monster went to such lengths?

Rage shortened his breaths as he once again leaned out and fired into the bush, hoping like hell that a bullet found the black heart of Ash.

There was no return fire.

The silence was more horrifying than the gunfire. Was he still behind the bush? If he wasn’t, then where was he now? Had he realized that somehow the women had left the house by other means? Had he left his cover to run after them? Dear God, don’t let him find the women!

Drawing a deep breath, Tony left the truck and ran toward the side of the house. He could only hope that Ash had realized his plan had failed and he had given up and left the area.

Still, Tony’s heartbeat thundered in his ears as he ran toward the woods. Sirens filled the air, a welcome sign that somebody in the neighborhood had called for help.

The fire still burned, illuminating the area around the house in the back. He saw no sign of Ash. He’d just reached the dark woods when a fire engine and several police cars pulled up at the house.

He didn’t care about the house. He didn’t care about anything but getting to Mary and Halena and Joey and making sure they were okay. He still hadn’t drawn any gunfire and his gut instinct told him Ash was gone, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

If Ash hadn’t left over his failed plan, then he surely would have fled at the first sign of the police. At least that was what Tony hoped.

Still, he wouldn’t calm down until he found the women safe and sound. “Mary!” he cried. The woods were so dark and he had no idea what direction they might have run.

They had to be okay. If anything happened to any one of them, Tony would never be able to forgive himself, but he’d had no other option than to shove them out the window. Inside was the risk of fire and smoke inhalation and outside the front door had been a hail of bullets.