A Cold Creek Noel (The Cowboys of Cold Creek) by RaeAnne Thayne Page A

was already used to it so we decided not to change it.”
    He saw a hint of sadness in her eyes and wondered at the source
of it as she hugged the dog. “Do you know, she was a Christmas present the year
I turned fourteen? That’s not much older than you, Ava.”
    His daughter looked thrilled that someone would think she was
anywhere close to the advanced age of fourteen instead of nine and he suddenly
knew Caidy had said it on purpose.
    “For months I’d been begging and begging for a dog of my own,”
she went on. “We always had ranch dogs but my brothers took over working with
them. I wanted one I could train myself. I was so excited that morning when I
found her under the tree. She was so adorable with a big red bow around her
neck.”
    He pictured it clearly, a teenage Caidy and a cute little
border collie puppy with curious ears and a wagging tail. He could certainly
relate to the story. When he had been a boy, he had begged for a dog every year
from about the time he turned eight. Every year, he had hoped and prayed he
would find a puppy under the tree and every year had been another
disappointment.
    He held the door open. “Ava, you can sit in the middle next to
Jack so we can make room for Sadie.”
    “Oh, no. That’s not necessary. She’s probably wet and stinky.
We can walk. It’s not that far.”
    “If there’s one thing we don’t mind in this family, it’s wet
stinky dogs, isn’t that right? Just wait until we bring Tri out here to romp in
the snowdrifts.”
    Both children giggled, even Ava, which filled him with a great
sense of accomplishment.
    He turned his attention away from his children to find Caidy
watching him, her hand still on her dog’s scruff and an arrested expression in
her eyes. He felt a return of that tensile connection of earlier, when he had
walked out of the shower room to find her standing in the hallway.
    The moment stretched between them and he couldn’t seem to look
away, vaguely aware of Jack and Ava climbing into the SUV with their usual
bickering.
    Finally she cleared her throat. “Thanks anyway, but I’m not
quite ready to go. I just need to dust out the two spare bedrooms.”
    This wasn’t going to work. He didn’t want this sudden
attraction. He didn’t want to feel this heat in his gut again, the sizzle of his
blood.
    He thought about telling her he had changed his mind, but how
ridiculous would that sound? I can’t stay here because I’m
afraid I’ll do something stupid if I’m in the same general vicinity of
you.
    Anyway, now that he had seen the charming little house, he
really didn’t want to go back to the cramped quarters of the inn. He would just
have to work hard to stay out of her way. How tough could that be?
    “The place looked fine. We can dust,” he said. “You don’t have
to do that.”
    “We Bowmans are a proud lot. Though we might not be in the
landlord business as a regular thing, I’m not about to let you stay in a dirty
place.”
    He decided not to argue. “I’ll check on Luke while we’re in
town. If I feel like he is stable enough to be here, I’ll pick him up and bring
him out with us when we come back.”
    She smiled her gratitude and he felt that inexorable tug toward
her again. “Thank you! We would love that, wouldn’t we, Sadie?”
    The dog nudged her hand and seemed to smile in agreement.
    “Luke is her great-grandson,” she explained to the children.
“So I guess I’ll see you all later. I’m glad the house will work for you.”
    Space-wise, the house was perfect. Neighbor-wise, he wasn’t so
sure.
    After he loaded up the kids and started down the gravel drive,
he glanced in the rearview mirror. Caidy Bowman was lifting her face to the pale
winter sun peeking between clouds, one hand on the dog’s grizzled head.
    For some ridiculous reason, a lump rose in his throat at the
sight and he had a hard time looking away.

Chapter Five
    F or the next few hours, Caidy couldn’t
shake a tangled mix of dread and