Page 48 of A Cowboy Holiday

Santa winked. “I just had a hunch. If you’re the Phoebe I’m thinking of, you’re new in town.”

“I…yes. I’m…yes.” She gnawed on her lower lips and blinked.

“You’ve met some nice friends, haven’t you?” More nodding, more blinking. “Ho ho! What’s on your list this year, young lady?”

“There’s a doll that has ballet shoes like mine,” she said shyly.

“I think I know that one!” He crouched low on one knee and handed Phee a candy cane. “Anything else you’re wishing for?”

Phee hesitated for a beat, then whispered in Santa’s ear. He smiled kindly and stood. I couldn’t hear what he said, and apparently, neither had Axel.

He leaned into Santa’s space. “What did she ask for?”

“Something magical.”

Axel frowned. “Like a unicorn?”

Santa patted Axel’s shoulder. Axel was so big that the gesture should have been comical, but the old man took up space. “More like the sort of thing you know when you see it. I have a feeling it’s the same thing you’re wishing for.”

“Me? I?—”

“Candy cane?”

Axel took the candy cane with a grunt.

“That was fishy,” he said once we were out of earshot.

“No, it was sweet. The best Christmas wishes always have a mystical aura.”

He lifted his brows. “Did you spike that hot chocolate?”

I rolled my eyes and dragged him with me into the festive throng.

We stayed close for the rest of the evening, letting Phoebe lead the way. At some point, he laced our fingers and held my hand. He’d never done this. Never in public. If you asked me, this was the ultimate form of reclaiming what had been taken from him.

His freedom to choose…a man. To choose me.

CHAPTER 14

AXEL

Phoebe fussed with the ornaments on the tree, my phone fixed to her face.

“I think it’s the best tree ever. It has white lights, and red and green and silver balls. And Mr. Tanner bought me a princess fairy ballet ornament. She’s wearing a crown, and she has a wand, too. And he got a funny one with a goat that’s s’pose to be Nellie. Don’t you know Nellie? She’s the bestest! She’s Mr. Tanner’s favorite goat. And Hazel is Daddy’s favorite. No, she’s a cow and she’s going to have a baby and…”

I smiled at the whirling one-sided conversation as I caught up with emails on my computer. Most of it was junk, but there was welcome letter from Pioneer Ranch.

We’re looking forward to having you on staff. It’s a wonderful opportunity for…blah, blah, blah.

I’d read it later and thumb through the rental listings they’d attached. With any luck, we’d be in a hotel for less than a week. The houses in the area were nice. At least as big as the bungalow. Phee would like it. So would I.

Eventually.

I closed my laptop and stared, unseeing, at the television screen with Frosty the Snowman’s face frozen on Pause. Why didI suddenly feel like I could relate to a snowman who was doomed to turn into a puddle? And did that even make sense?

Phoebe thrust my cell at me and asked me to turn her show on. I complied and moved into the kitchen.

“How’s it goin’, Kitty?”