Page 75 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

Half the town had been poking their heads into the bakery to quote the social media post Kai Blackstone had made. It was a lovely candid photo of Sloane Greenfield with her eyes closed, taking a bite of a jingle bell knot, with a caption Mal now had memorized.

Visiting Trinity Falls, Pennsylvania, where the whole town celebrates the holidays with old-fashioned fun, and even the town bakery’s most famous treat is a salty-sweet soft pretzel that somehow fills you with nostalgia (Pictured: Jingle Bell Knots from The Bakery on Park, Trinity Falls, PA) #bestsmalltownsoftheusa

It wasn’t a Michelin star, but Mal couldn’t have been more pleased if she had won the lottery. Her signature treat made people happy, and not just people who already knew her—what could be better than that?

She slipped upstairs and showered off a day’s worth of flour, sugar, and coffee grounds, wrapped a towel around herself and padded over to choose an outfit.

Her closet was small, but Mal didn’t have a lot of clothing. Every bit extra she could tuck away went into her savings account in the hopes that it would be a down payment on the building one day. In the meantime, she mostly wore simple clothing under her aprons.

She had a few church dresses, but none of them felt right for tonight. Instead, she grabbed a pretty wool skirt Ana had made for her, and a green sweater that her mom always said brought out her eyes.

She dressed quickly, then took a moment to smooth on a little lip gloss and brush her hair until it shone.

Her hands moved automatically to pull it back into the usual ponytail, but as she gazed at herself in the mirror, she decided to leave it down. It was nice to look like she definitely wasn’t going to work. And there was something about it that felt… symbolic.

Like letting my guard down, she thought to herself.

After checking the time, she took another moment to put in a pair of delicate pearl earrings that had been her mom’s, and then hurried down the stairs to the bakery, her heart light at the idea that she would be seeing Harrison soon.

Over the last few days since the Hometown Holiday Celebration, she’d had a few moments of panic about tonight. After all, the man who had asked her out had also once told her himself that he was swearing off women and marriage.

People change, she had reassured herself every time a tendril of worry tried to unfurl in her heart. What he didn’t want before, he might want now.

One thing was for sure, and that was that they could talk about it tonight. They would be sharing a whole meal in private and Mal could ask him whatever she wanted, if she got up the nerve.

She arrived downstairs right on time, and half-expected to see Harrison waiting outside.

But he wasn’t standing by the door, and when she went to the window and looked up and down Park Avenue, his truck was nowhere in sight.

No big deal, she told herself. He’s got Katie. Maybe she needed an extra minute to get cozy at her Aunt Alice’s place.

But her stomach twisted anyway, and her hands felt restless.

Turning back to the counter, she decided it couldn’t hurt to give the surface an extra bit of attention. She headed back to the kitchen for cleaner and a rag and set to work.

Before long, the counter was glistening, and so were all the tables and chairs, and even the menus.

And there was still no sign of Harrison.

“He would have called,” Mal said to herself out loud as she brought the dirty rags back to the pail in the kitchen.

She washed her hands and hurried back to the front, pulling her phone from her bag and expecting a notification or two.

But there was nothing.

Still clutching her phone, she began to pace up and down the center of the bakery.

It’s happening again. I’m the biggest fool…

A gentle knock at the front door had her heart leaping, but when she looked up, she saw that it was only Ana, her dark eyes filled with concern.

She hurried to the door and opened it up.

“Are you okay?” Ana asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I said yes,” Mal told her simply.

“Harrison?” Ana asked.