Page 4 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

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HARRISON

Harrison stood in the bakery doorway, watching the three young women exchange glances while he took in the rich scents and warm holiday decor.

It sure didn’t smell like the bakery was closed. In fact, the cinnamon-sweet aroma was making his mouth water.

But maybe Mallory had changed her mind or forgotten. Her offer to show him around might not have been as enthusiastic as it seemed from her messages.

Resentment twisted his gut. Life was so light for everyone else. Harrison often felt like he was the only one carrying the weight of the world.

The young woman who had told him the place was closed examined him like he was a bug under a microscope. She seemed exceptionally fashionable for a small town like Trinity Falls, with her sleek bob and cherry-red lipstick.

Across from her, the second woman’s dark hair covered her face as she whispered something to the third girl, whose beautiful red mane was held back in a ponytail.

The redhead’s bright green eyes were filled with what looked like surprise as she gazed over her shoulder at Harrison.

“Hi,” she said in a bell-clear voice, scrambling out of her seat and sending her ponytail swinging with the sudden movement. “Sorry about that. I’m Mallory.”

“Oh,” he said, taken aback. He’d been assuming that Mallory was behind the counter or back in the kitchen.

He’d also pictured her much older, though he wasn’t sure why. He supposed you could lose your mother at any age.

“You must be Harrison,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Harrison Law, and this is my daughter, Katie.”

He braced himself for Mallory to start chirping at Katie and get her feelings hurt, like a lot of adults seemed to do. Sometimes, when enthusiastic grownups talked to her, Harrison almost felt like he had to double check that he still had a daughter and not a teacup chihuahua in a bedazzled sweater.

“Hi, Katie,” Mallory said calmly instead. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” Katie said, in her usual clipped tone.

Mallory nodded, unfazed, and lifted her chin to look at Harrison again.

“How was the drive?” she asked.

“Not too bad,” he told her. “It was a good day for a road trip—nice view out the window.”

Her green eyes flicked to the windows of the shop, where snow flurries were still swirling like they had been ordered especially to welcome Harrison and Katie to Trinity Falls.

If only Katie were the kind of kid who got a kick out of snow.

His eyes went back to Mallory and his head started spinning again.

How is she so young and beautiful?

It was probably for the best that the message board where they met didn’t use profile photos. If he’d known what she looked like, he probably wouldn’t have ever started messaging with her in the first place. And that would have been a shame, because she had gotten him to open up in ways he never thought he could.

“Are you two hungry?” Mallory asked, turning her attention back to them. “Or do you want to get started walking around town?”

He looked to Katie. She was just a kid, and there was a king’s bounty of sweet treats glistening under the glass counter. She would want to choose something. He wasn’t sure he could resist himself.

“Let’s go,” Katie said without missing a beat.

“Great,” Mallory replied. “Now, where should we start?”

She was frowning like she was thinking about it for the first time, even though she had already sent Harrison a short list of destinations, which he had immediately memorized.