Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy. Kate Pearce

on television, but I like seeing how far we’ve come in the space race.”

      “We’re really having one, now.” She laughed. “SpaceX fired the gun, and all the other space companies are piling into the game. I’m so excited about Starhopper lifting off!”

      “Me, too. I like to watch those rockets land after they’ve lifted the vehicles into space. He landed two at once on floating platforms in the ocean. Do you have any idea how complicated and delicate a procedure that really is?”

      “I do. It’s amazing, what Elon Musk has accomplished.”

      “A man with a vision,” he replied.

      “A truly great man,” she agreed. “He’s revolutionized space travel.”

      “And in a very short space of time, as time goes.” He cocked his head and smiled. “Well, good night.”

      “Good night, Parker.” She frowned. “Do you have a first name?”

      He made a face. “Yes, I do, and no, I’m not telling you what it is.”

      “Well!”

      “Nobody knows what it is.” He hesitated. “Well, the boss knows, because payroll sends me a check. But he’s sworn to secrecy.”

      Her eyes twinkled. “Okay. We all have a few secrets.”

      He chuckled. “So we do. Good night.”

      “Drive carefully,” she said, and then flushed. It sounded forward.

      Both thick, dark eyebrows arched. “My, my, do you worry about me already?”

      She turned absolutely scarlet and was bereft of words.

      He grinned. “Don’t sweat it. It’s sort of nice, having somebody worry about me.”

      “Oh. Well, okay then.”

      He went down the steps to his truck. She watched him all the way to it before she closed the door and locked it. Her life was suddenly very complicated.

      Chapter Four

      It seemed a very long week before Saturday rolled around and Teddie was dancing with anticipation because Parker was going to take her riding down the fence lines today. He said Bart was as ready as he was going to be.

      “I’m so excited,” she told her mother. “It will be the first time I’ve ever really ridden him around the ranch!”

      “You do exactly what Parker tells you, okay?” Katy said. “He won’t let anything happen to you.”

      “I know that.” She cocked her head. “You look really nice,” she commented. “That’s the first time I’ve seen your hair down in a long time, Mom,” she added curiously.

      “I rushed to get breakfast and forgot to put it up,” she lied, hating the faint blush that was probably going to give her away to her daughter.

      She was wearing jeans with a yellow long-sleeved sweater. She looked neat and trim but also very sexy. Her long blond hair was around her shoulders, soft and waving. She did look nice. It hadn’t been intentional. At least, she didn’t think it was. She was attracted to Parker and she didn’t want to be. She’d only lost her husband a few months ago. It was too soon. Or was it?

      Teddie watched those expressions pass over her mother’s face. “Parker’s nice,” she said. “Much nicer than that lawyer who’s coming out here to see you next month.”

      “He’s a nice man,” Katy said, frowning. She’d forgotten that he’d invited himself out to Colorado. Now, she was regretting that she hadn’t said no.

      “Are we going to get to go trick-or-treating next week?” Teddie asked plaintively. “There’s almost nobody near enough for us to ask for candy around here. Well, maybe Parker and Mr. Denton, but nobody else.”

      Katy grinned. “The school is going to be handing out candy next week. In fact, the businesses in town are staying open after dark so they can hand it out, too. Just between us, even the policemen have bags of it in their cars, and they’ll be handing it out. So you’ll get lots of candy. I promise.”

      “Oh, Mom, that’s awesome!” She hugged her mother, who stiffened. She drew away at once, embarrassed. But she recovered quickly. “Mmmm.” She sighed. “You smell nice. Like flowers.”

      “It’s cologne. I haven’t worn any in a long time.” Katy felt uneasy. She’d never told Teddie why she didn’t hug her like her father had. Someday . . .

      “I like it when you dress up,” Teddie said. She didn’t add that she suspected it was for Parker’s benefit, but that was what she was thinking. She grinned. “I’ll just go check on Bartholomew.”

      “Okay.”

      Teddie went into the barn and Katy sat down in the porch swing and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of nature all around her. It was the nicest place to live, she thought. She wondered how she’d ever endured city noise. She was certain that she couldn’t go back to it after this.

      “Asleep, are we?”

      Her eyes flew open and her heart skipped. She hadn’t even heard Parker come up on the porch. He was wearing boots, too.

      “Goodness, you startled me.” She laughed, putting a hand to her chest. “No, I was drinking in the sounds. It’s so nice here. So different from the city.”

      “Amen,” he agreed. He dropped down in the swing beside her, noting her long, soft hair with a warm smile. “You look pretty today.”

      She flushed and cleared her throat.

      “Too much too soon?” he asked softly. “No sweat. You look cool, kid. How’s that?”

      She laughed. “Sorry. I was feeling a little self-conscious.”

      “Oh, I like the new look, don’t get me wrong,” he said. He cocked his head. “You and Teddie going trick-or-treating next week?”

      “We were just talking about that,” she replied. “They’re having a big deal downtown in Benton. All the stores will be open and giving out candy. We’re having a harvest festival at our school, too.”

      “Sounds like fun.”

      “Did you go trick-or-treating in town when you were a kid?” she asked.

      He shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

      She frowned and her eyes asked the question.

      He looked older than his years as he looked down at her. “I look like my people,” he said delicately. “Back in 1876, some of my ancestors rode with the Cheyenne and the Sioux and the Arapaho and a few other tribes against Colonel George Custer. Old hatreds lingered, especially around the battlefield. We didn’t come off the rez much when we were kids. Not until we were teenagers, at least. I got in a lot of trouble, and I got given a choice—go in the army or go to jail.”

      She whistled. “Good choice,” she said.

      He shrugged. “It was the making of me,” he said. “After the first couple of weeks, I settled down and really enjoyed the routine. I stopped being a juvenile delinquent and turned into a soldier.”

      She studied him curiously. “I thought we were getting away from prejudice,” she said softly. “I have students from all races, all walks of life. They get along well.”

      “They do, if they’re taught to, while they’re young. You have to remember that the rez is for one race only: ours. We don’t mix well.”

      “I’m sorry about that,” she said with genuine feeling. “Someday, I hope we can look at qualifications and personality instead of gender or race or religion.”

      “Pipe dreams,” he said gently. “People are what they