head.
Was the boy really his? He supposed it was possible. He and Amy had certainly enjoyed an intense physical relationship, but she had assured him she was on birth control and he’d taken extra protection.
He didn’t even know how old the baby was, or if Amy had been seeing Tony exclusively at the time they’d been dating each other. When he’d broken things off with her, he’d certainly suspected there was somebody else in her life.
Why hadn’t she told him she was pregnant? If the little boy was his, then why hadn’t she come to him and told him? She knew where he lived. She knew where he worked. Where had she been for the last year and what had she been doing?
And what was Tony going to do until Amy returned? He wasn’t cut out for being a father. He didn’t know anything about babies other than they were hungry little pooping beasts. Hopefully, she intended to show up here before another night fell.
Those were only a few of the questions that kept him staring at the ceiling until dawn broke and Joey awakened. He gave him a bottle, changed his diaper and clothes and then placed him in his car seat to travel to the cowboy dining room, where Tony could grab some breakfast and figure out what in the heck he was going to do with Joey until Amy returned.
At least he’d managed to make it through the night and the baby didn’t seem any worse for it, he thought as he circled around the row of rooms to the large dining and rec room in the back of the building.
Sawyer was the first person who saw him walk in. The lanky cowboy’s brown eyes widened. “Jeez, Tony, I thought I had a beer-induced delusion last night, but it was real. You really have a kid.”
“I have possession of one, but I’m not sure he’s really mine,” Tony replied.
The other men in the dining room gathered around and once again Tony told everyone about Amy’s unexpected middle-of-the-night stork delivery.
“How are you going to work and take care of a baby?” Brody Booth asked.
“And what in the heck do you know about taking care of a baby?” Jerod Steen stared at Joey as if he was a species of animal the dark-haired, dark-eyed man had never seen before.
“What are you going to do if Amy never comes back?” Flint McCay asked.
All of the worries that had kept Tony up all night crashed into him again. What on earth was he going to do? “I don’t have answers to any of those questions. I’ve just got to have some time to figure things out.”
Mac McBride leaned down and grinned at Joey. “Aren’t you the cutest little buckaroo we’ve ever had in this dining room?” he said in the musical voice that, along with his guitar, often entertained the men in the evenings.
Little Joey, who had remained silent and somber until that moment, suddenly laughed. The infectious giggling filled up the entire room and all of the men stared at him in awe.
Tony steeled his heart. There was no way he was going to get attached to Joey. He refused to be moved by Joey’s smiles and antics. All he had to do was figure out exactly what he was going to do with the baby until Amy returned.
* * *
“Big changes coming,” Halena announced.
Mary Redwing turned around from the scrambled eggs she’d been preparing to eye her grandmother curiously. “And you know this how?”
“I dream-walked last night in my sleep.” Bright morning sunshine poured in through the windows to sparkle on Halena Redwing’s long, thick silver braids. She was clad in a pair of red-and-black polka-dotted sleep pants and a ruffled bright pink blouse.
“And where did you go?” Mary’s heart filled with love as she gazed at the woman who had raised her, a woman who at eighty-six years old now shared Mary’s home. Halena had always been eccentric but had grown even more so with each year that passed.
“I went to Kansas.”
“Oh.” Mary blinked in surprise. Normally Halena dream-walked to strange and foreign places she didn’t recognize. “Hang on and you can tell me more.”
She turned back to the eggs and scooped a portion out on each plate that waited with bacon and toast already on them. She carried the plates across the room and joined her grandmother at the table.
“Okay, now, what did you find in Kansas?” Mary asked.
“A tornado and a tin man.”
Mary thought back over the past week and tried to remember what movies her grandmother might have watched. A month ago she’d gotten up early one morning and had announced that robots would soon be taking over the world. That had occurred after the previous night’s Terminator marathon.
“So you dream-walked in a terrible storm and met a heartless man,” Mary replied.
Halena nodded. “The tornado is a portent of great change coming and we have to beware of the tin man who comes. Now, let’s eat.”
Mary picked up a piece of bacon and chewed thoughtfully. She didn’t have to beware of any man. Her future had no place for a man and at thirty-two years old she’d come to terms with the fact that she would live her life alone, without a husband...without a family.
She was fulfilled by her work, by the friendships she shared and with the often amusing and always wise company of her grandmother. That was enough for her. It had to be enough.
“What’s on your agenda for today?” Mary asked after they’d eaten and as they cleaned up the breakfast dishes.
“I’m going to try to finish up that turquoise skirt so I can get started on another one. I’d like to sew at least ten more before the craft show,” Halena replied.
Despite her advancing age, Halena still made beautiful skirts with beaded detail that was stunning, along with the more traditional Choctaw dresses. They always sold well at the annual Oklahoma Days Craft Fair.
“Ten skirts in two weeks, that’s a pretty tall order,” Mary replied.
“The more skirts, the more new movies I can buy,” Halena replied.
A year ago, when Halena had been recovering from a mild heart attack, a friend had given her a DVD player and a handful of movies. Since that time she was movie-obsessed.
“And I’m going to work on some baskets out on the back porch. It’s going to be such a beautiful day,” Mary replied.
Halena nodded. “It’s always good to have a plan. And now I think it’s time to get to work. I need to get these skirts done as quickly as possible.”
As Halena headed to her bedroom, Mary smiled in amusement. Her grandmother was an amusing blend of old tradition and new-world savvy. She was often a guest speaker at the Durant Indian Nation grade school, where she spoke about the history and culture of their people, and she also had a blog with tons of followers, where she talked about everything from how to properly fold a bath towel to sex and love tips.
The screened-in back porch was Mary’s work space as long as the weather allowed. When it got colder or was too rainy, she moved inside to the spare bedroom,
