Wyoming Cinderella. Cathleen Galitz

      “Anyone up for a Candy Land game?” Ella asked, carrying a huge bowl of freshly popped buttered popcorn into the room along with a platter of reheated burritos for Hawk.

      Immediately the children began clearing a space at the table. Famished, Hawk dug in.

      “May I play?” he asked, halfway through his first burrito.

      Startled by the request, the children looked at him as if he were a complete stranger to them.

      “Certainly,” Ella interjected into the noticeable silence. “But I have to warn you, I am the Candy Land champion of the world.”

      The children booed, promising to best both of the adults present. Ella was pleased that Hawk had asked to join in. She found him to be surprisingly patient in playing the child-centered board game. He really had a nice smile when he used it. Something about the curve of those sensuous lips made her go quite soft inside, and she quickly bent her head over the game when Hawk caught her gawking at him.

      Ella was impressed by the fact that he was trying so hard to connect with his children. Her mother maintained that Ella’s father had been a magician. When she told him that she was pregnant, he disappeared. Ella had to admire a man who cared enough to stick around and see his children through the tough times. She found herself wondering if it wasn’t so much that William Fawson Hawk III was aloof, as he was simply ill at ease in the role in which fate had cast him. She wondered if his gorgeous wife had ever included him in such simple pastimes. The thought of the four of them nestled in front of a roaring fire made Ella’s stomach twist. Doing her best to dismiss the fear that she would never find such cozy contentment in a relationship, Ella turned over a card that allowed her to skip way ahead in the game.

      Throwing a wink in Hawk’s direction, she said, “I told you I was lucky.”

      A flicker of something dangerous danced in slate-colored eyes. “I think we’re the lucky ones,” he told her.

      Ella cursed herself for blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush.

      “You are very lucky to have each other,” she said, meaning it.

      Despite her efforts to lose to one of the younger players, Ella was the undisputed winner of the evening. The children scampered off to brush their teeth as the grownups promised to put away the game. As she was clearing the board, her hand inadvertently brushed against Hawk’s. She flinched as if she had just been shocked by a stun gun. The tingling in her hand extended all the way up her arm, settling deep inside her in the most private places.