Page 9 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“How were the biscotti yesterday?” Mal asked.

“Absolutely scrumptious,” Mrs. Ying replied with a friendly smile. “Thank you for bringing us so many treats.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Mal said.

But for some reason, Harrison thought she looked a little disappointed.

“Would you like to help me carry everything out to the dining room table?” Mrs. Ying asked, holding out a tray of doughnuts to Katie and another of muffins to Harrison.

He was proud to see Katie take the tray and hurry out to deliver it. He followed her with his, much to the delight of the people out in the living and dining room area, who were already fussing over Katie.

Katie handled it better than he’d expected. She wasn’t exactly eating it up—she didn’t even smile. But she nodded and gave quiet answers to most of their questions. Harrison felt another burst of quiet pride in his chest as he headed back to the kitchen for the tray of fruit pastries.

“Now aren’t you glad that thoughtless boy is marrying the Rodman girl?” Mrs. Ying was saying in a very loud whisper. “You’ve got a much better fellow right here, and he’s so nice and tall.”

Harrison stopped in his tracks, not meaning to listen in, but genuinely wanting to hear what Mallory would say to that.

“Oh, he’s not… he’s just a friend,” she explained, sounding awfully flustered.

“Well, not for long, let’s hope,” Mrs. Ying said firmly. “A nice-looking man like that won’t stay single forever.”

“How do you know he’s single?” Mallory asked.

“No ring,” Mrs. Ying said indignantly. “You’ve got to pay attention to these things, Mal.”

Harrison’s hand went automatically to the front pocket of his jeans, where he still carried his and Penny’s wedding rings, secured with a safety pin to the inside of the pocket.

While he stood there feeling off-balance, Katie marched past him into the kitchen, clearly seeking another task. He let out a breath and followed after her, grateful to trail in her wake this time.

“Anything else?” Katie asked.

Mallory and Mrs. Ying stepped back from each other, Mallory with a slightly guilty look and Mrs. Ying with a knowing smile.

For some reason, it made a tiny bubble of laughter rise up in Harrison’s chest.

He managed to tamp it down, surprised at himself.

It’s just her innocent eyes, he told himself. Like a little fawn in a cartoon, looking startled.

“That’s all I brought over for today,” Mallory said.

“Will you three stay and enjoy it with us?” Mrs. Ying asked. “I just started the kettle. We can make hot cocoa.”

All eyes went to Katie, but she shook her head slightly, telling Harrison it was time to keep moving.

“We have a lot to see today,” Mallory said, reading the signal well. “But thank you. You know I’ll be back next time I have some leftovers.”

“See you tomorrow then,” Mrs. Ying said with a wry smile.

Mallory patted the lady’s shoulder and headed out of the kitchen, leaving Harrison and Katie to follow.

“She’s a keeper,” Mrs. Ying whispered to him as he followed his daughter.

When he turned back, she was busying herself with the kettle.

Harrison was normally annoyed at best when people tried to fix him up. The other hands at the farm where he and his dad worked were endlessly pushing their sisters and cousins on him. Even his mother drove him up a wall trying to set him up with girls from church.

But today it had him feeling amused instead for some reason.