Page 43 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Alice said. “Is that Mallory Fisher?”

“Hi, Mrs. Cassidy,” Mal said with a smile.

“Oh, you know it’s just Alice,” she replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “And I’d give you a whole hug, but I don’t want to crush whatever is in that beautiful box.”

“It’s scones,” Katie said before Mal could respond.

“Oh, is it?” Alice asked. “I do love scones.”

“Mallory needs help with them,” Katie said excitedly. “She can’t decide which one to have in her bakery. She brought two kinds.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of family here today to help you decide, Mallory,” Alice said with a smile. “What fun to have a special taste test right here at our house.”

“I’m Katie,” the little girl said bravely, slipping between her dad and Mallory to put herself forward.

“I’m so glad to see you, Katherine Penelope,” Alice said. “I haven’t seen you since you were a baby. Your mom and dad let me hold you, and we sat in the rocking chair and looked out the window for hours. Do you still like looking out the window?”

“I do,” Katie said, with wide eyes. “I love it.”

“Well, I’ve still got my mother’s nice rocker,” Alice said, opening the front door and leading them into the warmth of her home. “And we’ve got a shelf of good books right beside it. So if all the hustle-bustle today gets to be too much, you can just take a little rocker break, right there.”

She pointed to the rocking chair in the cozy front parlor. It had a lovely built-in bookcase beside it, and a view out over the porch to the front lawn where birds hopped in the snow.

“That’s nice,” Katie said, her shoulders rounding a little as she visibly relaxed.

Alice Cassidy has a gift, Mal thought to herself, and not for the first time. Alice just seemed to understand people instantly, and accept them exactly as they were.

Katie followed right behind her great-aunt now, with a confidence that made Mal feel a little emotional.

She stole a glance at Harrison to see if he felt the same. But his face was closed off, like he didn’t want anyone to read what was in his heart.

He’s pretty reserved himself, Mal realized. It’s not just Katie.

“I hate to ask it,” Alice said over her shoulder as they headed deeper into the house. “But Joe could probably use a little help bringing in firewood, Harrison. He’s out back.”

“Glad to help,” Harrison said right away.

Mal couldn’t repress her smile. Putting Harrison to work was a great plan. The grumpy cowboy would be right at home outside in the fresh air, feeling useful.

“Thank you so much,” Alice said. “I know you know Amelia and her sister, Samantha. They’ll be along later with Amelia’s little brother, Ezra and another of my nephews, Wolf. But there’s another child here I think you should know. That’s Nick, my son Jacob and his wife Hope’s boy. And of course Zipper is here too.”

“Who’s Zipper?” Katie asked.

“Well, here he is now,” Alice said, as an enormous golden retriever exploded down the center hall toward them. “I’m sure he’ll introduce himself.”

“A dog,” Katie said happily as the creature crashed into her hard enough to almost knock her off her feet. “Hi, Zipper.”

Zipper sat down on her foot, lolling his head back against her belly as he smiled up at her joyfully, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

“Hey, Zipper,” Nick said as he approached. “You found a new friend. I’m Nick. And you’re my cousin, Katherine Penelope.”

“I’m called Katie,” the girl said, still looking down at Zipper with a smile on her face, instead of engaging fully with the little blond-haired boy.

“Okay,” Nick said. “Want to play checkers, Katie?”

“Okay,” Katie said, following him agreeably.

They emerged from the center hall into a cozy family room with a fireplace and a big Christmas tree set up by some windows overlooking the hillside. As Mal had suspected it would be, the tree was absolutely gorgeous, though it wasn’t decorated yet. The family room was open to the kitchen which was small but bustling with activity.