Page 10 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

It’s because of the farm, he told himself. I’m just glad to get started on the farm.

All the older folks in the living area stopped their stories to thank Mallory and say goodbye. It was kind of heartwarming to watch her smile and say a few words to each of them.

When she was finished, they stepped back outside onto the sidewalk. The cold breeze and snow flurries felt good on his face after the warmth of Carla’s Place.

“Where are we going now?” Katie asked.

Mallory frowned.

“Exercise classes at the library,” Harrison reminded her.

“Right,” Mallory said, biting her lip.

Katie took off at a quick pace in the direction of the library, leaving Harrison and Mallory to follow again.

It was less than a block away, but as they crossed the street, he noticed Mallory sighing like she was tired or maybe frustrated.

There was no time to think about it though, Katie was already pushing open the door to the library and marching into the large lobby.

Glass doors opened into the collection on the right and what looked like a municipal office on the left. A sign that said Silver Exercise Classes pointed up a small set of stairs.

“Listen—” Mallory began.

But Katie was already jogging up the steps, and Harrison followed.

When Harrison reached the top of the stairs Katie turned to him, a big grin spreading across her face.

He looked through the glass door and saw the room was full of older people slowly doing Tai Chi. The group was turned away from the doors, but he could see that every head in the room was silver—at least the ones that still had hair, anyway. There couldn’t be a soul under age sixty in there, including the instructor.

To their credit, the students looked fantastic, all of them strong and flexible, their movements steady.

He turned back to Mallory, who stood at the bottom of the steps, looking at the ground.

Even from where he was standing, he could see that her cheeks were flaming brighter than her hair.

For the second time in ten minutes, laughter bubbled up in his chest, trying to burst out of him.

He frowned and jogged down the stairs again.

Mallory kept her eyes on the floor. He could see she was biting her lower lip again.

He waited for her to speak, but she didn’t.

“I’m guessing that maybe you thought I was a little older?” he offered after a moment.

“You lost your wife,” she grumbled, still not meeting his eyes. “And you said you wanted recipes for your daughter. I assumed she was an adult. I thought she’d be cooking them for you.”

“I will,” Katie said.

“You will?” Mallory asked looking up the steps at Katie, apparently surprised enough that she forgot her embarrassment.

“I made the ladyfingers already,” Katie said, shrugging. “I’m going to try the baklava next.”

“Have you worked with phyllo before?” Mallory asked, her eyes lighting up. “It’s tricky stuff, but if you do it right, the things you can do with it are absolutely incredible.”

“No,” Katie said. “I haven’t used it yet, but I’ve read about it. Seems like there are some tricks to make it work better.”

“Definitely,” Mallory agreed. “If you want, you can use the bakery kitchen to try out that recipe. I’ve got plenty of counter space and some pretty good tools.”