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Her arms came around her body in a protective manner, and for some reason, I wished I could take those words back. Holding up my hands in surrender, I said, “I’m going to go. Please, keep serenading the animals. They all seemed to enjoy it.”
The goat took that moment to bounce up to Mackenzie and nuzzle against her.
“When did we get goats?”
Mackenzie looked down and grinned. It was the first true smile I’d seen from her since she’d turned around and seen me in the barn.
“Oh, she’s mine. Her name is Pickles.”
One brow rose. “You have a goat named Pickles?”
She shrugged.
“Right,” I replied with a chuckle. “I, um…I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. By the way, it’s really coming down out there, so you might want to think about leaving soon to head home, if you have a good drive from here.”
“I live in the apartment above the barn here.”
Jesus, what else didn’t I know? “Then you’re fine. Good thing. It’s snowing pretty hard.”
She glanced over to one of the barn windows and smiled again. “It’s my first white Christmas.”
“Really?”
As if deciding she’d said too much, she pressed her lips tightly together, and the wall was back up.
“Well, I’ll let you be. Merry Christmas, Mackenzie.”
She looked unsure of whether to respond or not.
“This is where you wish me a Merry Christmas as well.”
“Merry Christmas. Please tell your mother and father that I wish them a Merry Christmas too.”
I started to take a few steps backward, and I could see her body visibly relax. “Will do. Good night.”
“’Night.”
Turning, I started out of the barn. Right before I shut the door, I took one last look and found Mackenzie sitting on the barn floor with the goat and the cat, both half in her lap. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
As I headed back to my truck, I laughed. How my body reacted to her surprised and thrilled me all at once. No woman had ever surprised me so much. Or made me feel the way I felt at the moment.
“I can’t wait to get to know you, Mackenzie Reeves.”
