Page 3 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“I’m s-sorry,” she said, embarrassed to find herself crying again.

“Hey,” Ana said. “You’ve had a hard year. Just let it out.”

Ana was talking about Mal’s mom, of course. Both of her friends knew Mal well enough to know that even though this Declan thing was a bummer, losing her mom was the real reason she was having a hard year. Lila Fisher had always been healthy and active. Her heart attack had taken everyone by surprise. One day she was a busy math teacher, planning out her retirement and posting a steady stream of funny memes in the family group chat. The next she was gone.

That loss hit harder and deeper than any news from Declan Hawkins ever could. It shadowed every aspect of Mal’s days, making her world a little less bright. And on the occasions when she let herself forget for a moment, the grief sometimes hit her again suddenly, taking her breath away.

But thinking about her mom reminded her of what she actually had to do today, and that was something to actually feel good about. She’d been looking forward to it all week, in fact.

“No, no,” she said, sitting up and grabbing a napkin from the holder to dry her eyes. “I have to get it together. I’m showing someone around town today.”

“Really?” Valerie asked, sipping her black coffee. “Who?”

“A guy from my grief support group, actually,” Mal said. “He’s moving out here, and I told him I’d walk him around town.”

“I see,” Valerie said, arching a sculpted brow.

“It’s not like that,” Mal said, smiling. “His name’s Harrison. He’s a sweet old man who lost his wife. And he’s been really kind to me since I joined the group online.”

“That’s so nice,” Ana said.

“When I shared that I had a bakery, he messaged me privately,” Mal went on. “He’d been trying to figure out some of his wife’s recipes for his daughter, and he thought maybe I could help.”

“That is actually kind of sweet,” Valerie allowed.

“We message each other once in a while now,” Mal said.

She didn’t exactly want to admit to her friends that they messaged each other every day, usually several times. And she really didn’t want to tell them that Harrison Law’s messages had come to be one of the highlights of her day.

They already worried about her enough.

“Anyway, when he let me know that he was moving out here for a fresh start, I offered to show him around,” she continued. “He spent time in Trinity Falls as a kid, but hasn’t really seen it since. Plenty has changed here, but mainly I just thought it would be good for him to see a friendly face when he first arrives. He’s been through a lot.”

“You’re a good person,” Ana told her, squeezing her arm.

“I didn’t think I’d be feeling so low today,” Mal admitted. “I hate for him to see me like this.”

“Why don’t I take him around?” Ana offered. “My mom can handle the shop on her own today. That way you can breathe for a minute and he’ll still have a friendly face waiting for him.”

“Oh, no, Ana…” Mal began.

But she trailed off as the door swung open, sending the bells jingling again.

“We’re closed,” Valerie said firmly.

“Hey, there,” a deep, masculine voice said. “I’m not here as a customer. Mallory told me to come by. She’s supposed to show me around today.”

It was Harrison. And he was early.

Mal turned to greet him and nearly gasped out loud.

The figure in the doorway wasn’t the stooped old man she had been expecting.

Harrison Law had to be well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders that practically filled the doorframe. His dark hair hung slightly long in front of his bright blue eyes. And he had the chiseled jawline of a movie star.

Beside him stood a beautiful little girl with two blonde braids and a solemn expression.

“Never mind,” Ana whispered in Mal’s ear, as she stared agog at her online friend. “I think you’ve got this.”