Page 25 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“Hi,” Katie responded politely.

“Thanks for doing this,” Harrison said.

There was an awkward moment of silence, and Mal found herself wishing that she had Ana’s warmth or Valerie’s brisk energy to fill it.

“My helper is on break,” she said. “But we can pop back to the kitchen and get set up. If anyone comes in, we’ll hear the bells.”

Katie nodded and the three of them filed back behind the counter into the kitchen.

When they stepped into the space, Katie’s eyes scanned the stainless steel, pausing on Mal’s mom’s copper pots hanging over the island. But she didn’t say anything or ask any questions.

“I got the phyllo dough out of the freezer about an hour ago,” Mal said. “So it should be ready to work with. Want to help me gather up the rest of the ingredients?”

There was another moment of silence.

“You’re ready to roll your sleeves up, right Katie?” Harrison said with what really seemed like forced enthusiasm.

Katie nodded again.

“Okay, great,” Mal said, trying not to get frustrated. “You should learn where I keep everything in this kitchen, since we’ll be doing lots of baking together.”

“Sounds good, right?” Harrison said when Katie didn’t answer.

“Yes,” Katie said quietly.

Mal frowned. She and Katie weren’t going to connect very well if her father kept speaking for her. Harrison wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it was clear that he wanted this to work so much that he was filling the silence. It wasn’t something Mal had expected of the big, grumpy cowboy, but somehow it was endearing.

Nonetheless, it had to stop. But she couldn’t exactly kick him out.

“Hey, Harrison,” she said, with a sudden burst of inspiration. “I just realized I forgot to bring the donation box over to the Heroes Center this afternoon. Any chance you could run it over for me now?”

“Sure,” he said, looking almost relieved.

She pointed to the box she had packed with treats earlier. Normally, she brought treats to Carla’s Place in the mornings and the Heroes Center in the afternoon. The place was just a few doors down, so it would take him no time to get there. But chances were good that folks were hanging out and Harrison would get invited to stay for a bite.

“We’ll be a while with this,” she told him. “So feel free to stay and socialize if you want. We know where to find you.”

“Will do,” he said, a tiny half-smile tugging up one corner of his lips.

Mal was definitely busted. He knew exactly what she was trying to do.

But he didn’t seem unhappy about it. She watched as he took the big box and headed out with it.

The bells on the door jingled, letting her know he had gone.

“How do you feel about a little music?” Mal asked, turning to Katie.

“Okay,” Katie said, looking up. Her hazel eyes flickered with interest.

“We really only get one station back here,” Mal told her. “And they play all Christmas music, all the time, from November first until the New Year.”

Katie smiled at Mal’s terrible imitation of a deejay.

“I like Christmas music,” she said.

“Me too,” Mal told her as she headed over to the radio.

When she flicked it on, “Christmastime is Here” came on, the gentle piano making Mal think of all the times she and Dean had watched the classic Peanuts special.