Lonestar Calling is my own idea, however, any and all characters from the other Lonestar books are owned by Colleen Coble. This story was inspired by Carrie Underwood's 'Cowboy Casanova', but the song itself is not in here. ^^ Thank you for reading!
Tony Sawyer sighed as he gulped down the rest of his Scotch.
"So, I was thinking that on Sunday, we could go on a picnic, and then to the movies, to see that new John Falix movie. And on Thursday, I'm free after six, so we should visit the seafood restaurant again, that one you like so much," he toned her out and nodded to the bartender for another round. Seriously, after only three dates, this woman was planning on occupying all his time. Tony finally caught the eye of the woman across the bar. He had been watching her since she had arrived nearly an hour ago, and so far, she had ignored every man who came up to her.
Tony gazed away casually, and saw her gasp slightly out of the corner of his eye. 'Hmm' he thought 'I'm not going to be escorting Mary home tonight.'
"So?' the girl tugged on his sleeve,"What do you think?"
"About what?" he asked impatiently as he poured another round.
"Can you get off work next week? I'm going to visit my parents, and was wondering if you would come?" Mary looked at him pleadingly.
"All right," he agreed, smiling,"But I can't take off Thursday. I have to take care of my niece."
"Aw! That is so sweet of you!" she squealed. Tony wished she would tone it down a bit.
"Yeah, thanks. Listen, I'm gonna have to call you a cab," he sighed, "I just walked here from my house, and it's too late at night for you to walk all the way home."
"All right,"she agreed,"See you Sunday." They stood up, and Tony paid his bill. Then, taking Mary's elbow, he gently guided her outside, shut her into a cab, and waited until it was gone. Then, he re-entered the bar, ordered a Pils and an apple martini for the lady across the bar. He resumed the seat he had taken before, and nonchalantly pretended to ignore her.
After several minutes had passed, and the woman was not at his side, he decided to continue his plan. Slowly, deliberately, he turned and surveyed the room, his eyes resting on a lady near enough to the gorgeous woman that he could be mistaken for her, but far enough away that she would know it was not for her. He winked at his chosen target, and continued to eye her with fake admiration. His actions did not have quite the desired effect, but the woman continued to stare at him long after he had turned away. After another bottle of Pils failed to drown out any sensation, he left a bill with a large tip, and went outside to hail a cab back home. As he opened the door, the woman from the bar hopped in and winked at him,"Thanks, sweetie. And thanks for the drink. Driver, please take me to 209 Farlowe Drive, East. Thank you."
Tony locked the address into his memory. Later, he would send her some flowers. As he watched the cab drive away, he thought,'I am going to have fun with this one.' Then he hailed another cab, and told the cabby his address.
By the time he got home, it was around ten'o clock, but the lights were still on. Man, the babysitter hadn't left yet. He was so going to get chewed out again. Quietly, he opened the door, if only to let Gail continue sleeping. But this was not the case. As soon as he opened the door, his ears were assaulted with the sound of crying. He sighed, Gail was having nightmares again, he didn't doubt it. He resigned himself to spending most of the rest of the night soothing her back to sleep.
Tony slipped off his shoes at the door, took off his jacket, and loosened his tie. "Gail, I'm home!" he called.
The girl gave a small hiccup, and launched herself off the babysitter's lap and into his waiting arms,"Daddy!"
"My poor girl, did you have the bad dream again?" he asked gently. His daughter nodded, wrapped her small arms tightly around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Alright, Daddy's here, don't worry. Don't worry, the bad man can't get you now."
The little girl sobbed quietly into his neck, and he sat down next to Elaine, "Well?" he wanted to get this over with.
"Nothing. As soon as I started to leave, Gail Elizebeth started crying. So I stayed until you came," the girl said. Tony sighed. Underneath the calm demeanor, he could tell that she was mad at him. Ah, well, if she didn't want to yell at him today, there would be plenty of chances later. And Tony really wanted to get Gail into bed. He had to be to work early tomorrow.
So, he handed Elaine the twenty that he gave her every night, and followed her to the door. "Say good-bye to Elaine, Sweet."
Gail sniffled, but didn't lift her head when she said,"Bye-bye, Lain."
Elaine giggled,"Good bye, Honey. I'll see you tomorrow." The teenager left and strolled down to the next house, waving before entering the door.
Tony spent the next hour and a half soothing his daughter back to sleep, after which he laid his head on her bed and fell asleep.