Page 13 of A Touch of Cowboy

Finally, as if realizing he still held her hand in place, Will removed his.

The loss of warmth as she released him caught her off guard.Just a touch. Then why did it mean so much?

Will cleared his throat. “You have plans for Christmas?”

Avery chuckled. “I’m the counsellor on call for the ranch. We take turns. I’d do it every year, since I don’t have close family, but Kennedy insists on equality. She did last year, and Denise will do next year.”

Rex brushed between the two adults.

“I think he’s happy to see you.”

“Yeah.” Will grinned. “At least he didn’t pee on my leg.”

Avery gasped.

He shrugged. “Some random dog did while I was walking down First Avenue. Dog sniffed my leg, then lifted his.” He chuckled. “The poor owner, a lovely woman, was mortified.”

“I’ll bet.” Avery eyed her dog. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Rex blinked.

“Well, I should be going.”

At Will’s words, she turned to him. “So soon?”

“I don’t have much use…”

“Well, you could help with cleanup.”Seriously? You want him to stick around so you’re offeringthatjob?

“Sure, I could do that. MaryAnn and the family are going to midnight mass. I plan to stay out until after they’ve left so she doesn’t feel compelled to drag me along.”

Avery cocked her head.

“I might’ve abandoned my faith after Darla died. I mean, it wasn’t that strong to begin with. I’m more into Mother Nature, you know? More of an affinity to the land like our Indigenous peoples.”

She didn’t understand—being so far removed from nature herself. She’d been a city-dweller her entire life. Still, it sounded nice. “You should go for a walk. They’re predicting snow around midnight.” She planned to be warm and tucked into her bed by then.

“Will you join me?”

Or not. Warm beds were highly overrated.

“Sure.”

Chapter Six

Theideahadbeensimple enough. Walk in a park on a chilly night. Maybe cuddle. Perhaps then get a hot chocolate to warm up.

Reality bit.

Big time.

First of all, without moonlight, they had to rely on the lamps in the park. Abbeyvale Park sounded nice enough. But with several bulbs out and rough, uneven pavement, Avery lost her footing twice. Only lightning reflexes on Will’s part kept her upright.

Which frustrated Will to no end.This was one of your dumbest ideas ever.The only places to get hot chocolate this late on Christmas Eve were fast-food restaurants. Nothing wrong with them, of course. Every Canadian, to his mind anyway, loved Tim Horton’s.

“This was a bad idea. I’m sorry.” Even as he said the words, the first flakes of snow fell.

Avery linked her arm in his. “Never say that. It’s—”

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