Christmas Gifts: Small Town Christmas / Her Christmas Cowboy

Instead of responding, Ivy threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “We’ll be good, Daddy.”

Holly only nodded.

He gazed at Ivy, wanting to remind her that she’d said the same thing before.

“I suppose we can’t make a snowman now.”

He rose without answering and unlocked the car’s door. After the girls slipped in, he pulled away from the restaurant still weighing his thoughts.

As he approached Third Street, he turned right. Instead of home, he headed for Harrisville State Park. For once he was doing something for himself and in the process, delayed the snowman issue. He loved seeing the untrodden snow along the breadth of the shore and the white snowfall weighing the evergreen boughs.

The girls’ muttering let him know they were curious, but neither asked where they were going. He veered into the parking area to the girls’ outcries of pleasure, and as he rolled into a spot, his heart skipped when he saw the familiar dark orange hatchback.

“Miss Carroll’s here.”

Their voices sailed to him in unison. He heard the snap of their seat belts, and their door opened as a damp chill whisked into the car. He turned off the motor and stepped outside, both curious and anxious. He’d longed to see Amy again, but he hadn’t found a good excuse. Now he didn’t need one.

The twins shot ahead of him, slipping and skittering past the pavilion filled with snow-covered picnic tables. When Amy heard them, she swung around, surprise on her face, and when her eyes met his, she smiled.

But the expression appeared strained, and he faltered. “Sorry to disturb you.” His breath billowed in a white mist.

“The park’s public.” Her smile settled to a grin. “I haven’t been to the park since I moved here, and I knew it would look lovely in the snow.”

He agreed. “We’re heading home from breakfast.”

She gazed at him in silence.

He peered at his boots ankle deep in snow and tucked his hands into his pockets. He’d forgotten his gloves in the car. Tongue-tied, he searched for something to say. Then he noticed she carried a camera. “Taking photos?”

She held it up and nodded. “I want to send a few to some friends in Chicago. They don’t see pristine settings like this very often.”

“Do you live in downtown Chicago?” Mike knew little about her except what Ellie happened to mention. “I did until I lost my job.”

Now he remembered Ellie had told him about her job. “I suppose it was difficult to leave a big city for such a small town.”

A one shoulder shrug was her response. “And leaving your friends.”

“In a way. But I wanted to spend time with Grams, so it seemed a good time to make the change. It is different here.”

Before he could learn more, she walked away, stopping to snap a few photos.

When the girls noticed her camera, they waved. “Take a picture of us.”

Holly dashed for one slide and Ivy for the other. They climbed the snow-covered stairs and plopped onto the wet top before he could stop them. Feeling the cold through his boots, he could only imagine the chill the girls felt sitting on the icy metal. Amy stood between the two slides and snapped one photo then another as they slid to the ground. Their laughter echoed in the quiet. If only his troubles could be whisked away by laughter.

Ivy skipped to Amy followed by Holly, and she let them look at the digital photographs. As he approached, Holly waved him closer. “Look at our picture.”

He tilted the camera and admired the photographs she’d taken. “Very nice.”

“In the city, we have white snow for a few minutes before it turns to gray slush. I want my friends to see how pretty the snow is here.”

Her reference to friends caused him to twinge. Maybe a man waited for her in Chicago.

Ivy nestled in between them. “We’re going to make a snowman when we get home.” She tilted her head, giving him a plea-filled look. “Aren’t we, Daddy?”

Holly eyed him, too, and his frustration waned. “That was our plan.”

To Mike’s discomfort, Ivy pressed the situation. “Want to come over and help?”

Amy rocked from one foot to the other. “I’m not sure your dad needs help.”

Holly jerked his jacket. “You do, don’t you?”

He swallowed. “A really good snowman takes a lot of talented people.”

“Then you can help us, Miss Carroll. You’re talented.”

The uneasy feeling he’d felt earlier vanished when he heard Amy’s chuckle. “How can I say no to such a compliment?”

Her smile thawed his icy thoughts while he basked in summery hopes.

Chapter Five

“I can’t believe they’re still outside.” Mike stood at the window gazing into his front yard watching the twins build a snowdog for the snowman. “They’re doing a good job.”

Amy rose and joined him at the front window. “Very creative, I’d say.”

Even though his eyes were on the girls, his senses were alive with Amy’s closeness. So near, his gaze swept across her flawless skin, her cheeks still highlighted by the crisp cold. Her pink lips smiled, soft and full.

His lungs constricted, forcing his thoughts to cool it. He closed his eyes and sucked in air. “How about some of that hot chocolate the girls talked about?”

“Sounds good.” Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, yet her gaze clung to his, and he knew they were trying to read each other but both seemed unsuccessful.

He strode to the kitchen, needing to do something to keep his mind busy. He turned on the burner beneath the teakettle and opened the cabinet to pull out the mugs.

In seconds, she followed. “Can I help?”

“This is easy.” He lifted the hot chocolate mix and pointed to the label. “Just add hot water.” But then he pointed to an upper cabinet. “You can find the marshmallows, if you want. They’re up there somewhere.”

She found them quicker than he might have and set them on the counter.

“Please, have a seat.” He motioned toward the kitchen table, needing the distance. “The water will take a couple of minutes.”

Amy shifted the chair and sat, watching him.

Silence buzzed in his ears, and he searched through his thoughts for conversation. Seeing her in his kitchen, so fresh and appealing, his tongue had tied again.

“Mike, does it bother you to talk about your wife?”