Page 86 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“If you have a good year, you can pay it down faster, of course,” he said. “But that’s the idea in general. Want to give it some thought?”

“Isn’t it worth a lot more than that?” Mal asked, knowing it was the worst possible thing to say in a negotiation, but not wanting to take advantage of the man who had been so kind to her.

“Well now that’s a good question,” Simon said. “To you? Maybe so. You’ve got a nice business built and a good kitchen too. But I don’t see it as my place to take advantage. Besides, at my age, I’d like to see it passed along to capable hands without a lot of fuss—one less thing for me to worry about. So if that price works for you, it works for me. No need to answer now though, I expect you’ll want to think about it.”

“I don’t have to think about it,” she told him right away. “If you mean it, I’m in. And… well, thank you.”

“Thank you, young lady,” Simon said warmly. “I’ll see if Levi Williams can help us with the paperwork on Monday. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” she murmured, feeling like she was in a dream.

“What was that all about?” her father asked.

“I’m buying the building,” she said, dancing around the room. “I’m buying the building.”

Katie laughed and got up to dance around with her.

“I assume you had something to do with this, son,” Mal’s dad said to Harrison.

“Very little,” Harrison said. “I knew it was something Mal wanted, and I just reached out to the man. I thought I’d have to play hardball, but he was a pushover. Said he’d actually been wondering when she would ask.”

“Well done,” her dad said thoughtfully.

Before long, they had all eaten until they were stuffed and there was wrapping paper everywhere from the presents.

Katie was curled up on the floor by the fireplace with Peppermint in her lap, reading one of her new books while the adults sipped coffee and looked out at the softly falling snow.

Mal’s dad headed out to the kitchen for a refill and Harrison hopped up to join him, coming back in a few minutes later, looking excited.

Mal looked to her dad, but he just smiled at her kind of dreamily.

“We’ve got one more present,” Harrison said.

“You did too much for us already,” Mal protested, her hand touching the pretty snowflake necklace that he and Katie had given her and thinking of the freezer full of steaks he’d brought over for her dad.

“This one is for me,” Harrison said. “Maybe.”

Katie dropped her book and scrambled up, Peppermint following right behind.

“Mallory,” Harrison said, dropping to one knee. “You’ve opened up our hearts again, and made us feel like we’re home. You make me want to be a kinder and better man, every single day. Katie and I want you in our lives for keeps.”

“And Benjamin Franklin,” Katie whispered.

“And Benjamin Franklin too,” Harrison added. “Will you be part of our family? Will you marry me?”

“Are you sure?” Mal murmured, unable to believe that this was all happening so quickly. “This is so different from what you said before…”

She thought back to when he’d told her he didn’t want to marry again.

“I was wrong,” Harrison said, his voice deep with emotion. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. I want to share everything with you, a marriage, a home, a daughter…” Katie nudged him. “And a cat. And maybe one day, our family will be even bigger.”

“Dad,” Mal whispered, turning to her father.

He had told her to be careful, said not to get involved with a man who already had a number one girl.

But he was smiling at her now with unshed tears in his eyes as he nodded.

“It’s your decision, Sugarplum,” he said. “But it’s probably worth saying that I was wrong too. A man can have more than one number one girl.”