Page 24 of The Cowboy of the Mountain

“We’re talking about Luke?”

“Who else?”

I shove the supplies into my bag and then grab a bag of almond flour, all the while I feel Lizzy’s eyes following me.

“What?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. It’s good to have you back, even though circumstances aren’t the best. I hate that it’s only part-time here. But on the bright side…” She lets the sentence hang and I can’t help but laugh at her knowing smile.

I slide the almond flour into the bag. The rest of the ingredients are back at Wyatt’s. Once I pick up Luke from school, we’ll get to making macarons, and I’ll be well on my way to Luke’s favorite nanny.

I sling my bag over my shoulder and hug Lizzy. “I’ll see you tonight.”

It’s my first night working at the Inn. I’ve had to shift my hours so I can be on call during the day in case I need to pick Luke up from school or anything else that might pop up.

“Go win some hearts with your macarons.”

“Heart,” I say, correcting her.

“That’s right,” Lizzy says, smiling. “You’ve already won Wyatt’s.”

I groan, opening my mouth to say something, but instead, I tell her bye and head for the exit. A part of me wishes she was right, I’m not going to get my hopes up.

“Can we put them in the oven now?” Luke asks after snapping another Lego piece into place.

I check the timer. It should be close.

“Let’s check.”

Luke hops off his chair and heads over to the baking pan where the dollops of macaron batter have been resting, forming a nice skin that will help them achieve a better appearance.

“Give them a gentle poke and tell me how they feel.”

Luke glances at me and then the tray of blue, soon-to-be delectable macarons once baked and filled.

“Soft. Kinda sticky but… dry?”

“Then I think we can bake them now. How’s the oven?”

“Ready.”

“Let’s put them in,” I say nodding to him.

Luke smiles at me and I swear I’m looking at Wyatt as a boy. It’s hard to imagine Wyatt as anything other than a man. Even when I first met him he looked bigger and older than some men I’d met.

“Now what?” Luke asks after sliding the tray into the oven and closing the door.

“We make the filling, and then we wait.”

Luke glances at the oven and then back at me before letting out a sigh. “Baking takes too long.”

I laugh. “It can. We’ll make chocolate chip cookies next time. Those are quicker.”

He turns back to the oven, reaching for the handle, but I stop him. “Don’t open it. You want to keep a consistent temperature for an even bake. And a quicker bake,” I add, ruffling his hair.

I consider telling him that macarons are better if they sit overnight, but I don’t want to scare him away from baking for good.

“I’ll take care of the filling if you want to keep working on your castle.”

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