Operation Cowboy Daddy by Carla Cassidy

geared toward cowboys and old west fare. Tony bought one he said he was going to give to Cord Cully, aka Cookie, who fed all the cowboys at the Holiday ranch.
    As the afternoon slipped away, business really began to pick up. Laughter rang in the air and people who stopped in the tent cooed and aahed over Joey and admired and bought a variety of items.
    Joey was a little ham, grinning and laughing at each new face that appeared. She had tried to stay as detached from him as much as possible, but she had fallen completely and totally in love with the happy boy.
    Her heart would break just a little bit when this arrangement with Tony ended, but she couldn’t be his easy solution forever.
    Eventually, if Amy never showed up again, Tony would have to figure out how to be a single parent on his own. In fact, Mary intended to talk to him in the next couple of days about ending her babysitting.
    It had been almost two weeks since Amy had deposited the baby on Tony’s doorstep and then disappeared, and with each day that passed Mary’s belief that her friend would return soon waned. Sometimes Amy’s drug benders went on for months before she’d once again make the attempt to get straight.
    “Are you getting hungry?” Tony walked over to stand next to her.
    Why did his very nearness race her heart? Throughout the day she’d been nearly overwhelmed by his presence. After making love with him, she’d been determined to distance herself from him.
    However, it was so difficult to remain unmoved when he smiled at her, when his gaze was so soft the way it lingered on her. He made it difficult on her just by being.
    “Mary?”
    She startled as she realized she hadn’t answered his question. “Yes, I’m getting hungry. Since you got lunch for us this afternoon, why don’t I go get us some hot dogs for dinner.”
    “And funnel cake,” Halena added.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to get it?” he asked.
    “No, in fact I’ll take Joey with me. I could use a little fresh air and he can take the walk with me.” She grabbed the baby backpack she’d bought when she and Halena had gone to the general store the day before.
    She put it on and Tony grabbed Joey from his bouncy chair. “You want to take a little walk, Joey?” she asked.
    He kicked his legs and grinned as if he understood every single word she’d said. Tony put him in the backpack and Mary left the tent.
    She breathed in the evening air, which didn’t smell of Tony’s scent. Joey’s light weight wasn’t a burden and she hoped the little boy was looking at the bright colors of the tents and their surroundings. He wiggled around, obviously excited by whatever he saw.
    The hot dog vendor was several aisles away and during the walk she was greeted by several familiar faces. Many of the vendors came back year after year, and although Mary didn’t always remember all of their names, she knew them on sight.
    She wove her way through the throng of people and finally reached the hot dog stand, where she stood in the line of hungry people looking for a quick dinner.
    “Mary, it looks like you’ve been busy since last year,” a familiar voice said.
    Jed Baker stood next to her in line and pointed to Joey. Mary laughed. “Hi, Jed. He isn’t mine. He belongs to a friend.”
    “He’s a cute little fella.”
    “Thanks. How has business been today?” she asked. Jed came from Kansas and sold beautiful pieces of wood that he carved faces and figures into. He had explained to her that the wood spoke to him and told him whether it hid the face of a wolf or a fox or an old man.
    “Not too bad. What about you?”
    “It was a bit of a slow start, but sales have picked up this afternoon.” They both took a step forward in the line.
    “How’s your grandmother?” Jed’s eyes lit with amusement. “Is she still as ornery as ever?”
    Mary laughed once again. “Definitely.”
    “Tell her I’ve got that special carving she asked me about for her whenever she can get