Page 70 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

Harrison had meant to go out to the front and have a cup of coffee, to give them all some space. But he couldn’t seem to leave. Katie was in her element, flitting between the other girls like a hummingbird, practically glowing with pride as she helped everyone.

And her classmates were all so sweet, and also hysterically funny. All of them were sneaking bites of dough whenever they thought no one was looking. Two girls were competing to see who could cover their sheet fastest. And another girl was so clumsy that she dropped two dough balls on the floor, and almost started crying.

But Katie came right up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I dropped something at my first baking lesson,” Katie told the girl. “And then Mal dropped a pitcher of ice water on purpose to make me feel better. Would you like me to drop a pitcher of ice water?”

The girl next to them bent over laughing until she was practically folded in half, and the little girl who had dropped the dough smiled through her tears.

Too soon, the cookies were baked and cooling on the racks and Mallory was showing them how she used the big mixer to make frosting.

“You always, always want to cover it,” she told them.

“How come?” one of the girls asked.

“Because confectioner’s sugar is very fine,” Mallory said. “And if you don’t cover it, it will poof right out and cover you in white powder. And then you’ll cough and sneeze, and look exactly like a ghost with a head cold. And that’s bad for business.”

Predictably, that cracked them all up.

Katie laughed as hard as anyone and came to stand beside Mallory, her hand on Mallory’s waist, like she wanted to be sure of her.

By the end of the afternoon, all the girls were out in the bakery sitting around a big table and sampling their creations.

The cookies might have been a little misshapen and covered with an awful lot of frosting, but the girls ate them with as much enthusiasm as if they were dining at a gourmet restaurant.

And the customers in the bakery were clearly charmed at the sight.

One by one, the girls were picked up and headed out the door with their plates of extra cookies to bring to their families.

Parents and caregivers had to remind some of them to thank Mallory for having them. But they all remembered to hug Katie and thank her for inviting them to bake with her.

When the last girl was gone, the three of them exchanged a glance.

“Whew,” Mallory said, sighing and smiling. “That was wild. But I had so much fun.”

“Me too,” Katie said. “And they liked it. They liked baking cookies.”

“Of course they did,” Mallory said. “They had you to help them.”

“Katie, Katie, Katie, Katie,” a little girl yelled, peeking her head back in. “I left my backpack.”

“Oh, it’s in the kitchen,” Katie said, hopping up. “Can I take her back?”

“Of course,” Mallory said, looking after them fondly as they hurried behind the counter together.

“Mallory,” Harrison said, determined to make his move.

It was only when she turned to him in surprise that he realized his voice had probably been too loud.

Calm down, you idiot, he told himself inwardly.

“I was thinking,” he said in the lightest tone he could manage. “The Hometown Holiday thing is in town this weekend. Would you want to go with Katie and me?”

Her eyes lit up and then her pretty face burst into a smile. He could have gazed into those beautiful green eyes forever.

“I’d love to,” she told him.

And even though it was just an event in town, and they would have an eight-year-old chaperone the whole time, his heart soared and he felt like he had won the lottery.