Kissed by a Rancher. Sara Orwig

curtsied as Josh bowed again.

      The crowd broke up. Kids were tossing snowballs, and several had started a snowman. The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked back to the inn. They stopped to accompany Mr. Hickman.

      “Josh is an enterprising young man,” Mr. Hickman said, laughter in his voice. “I shall try to prevail upon him to go fishing with me.”

      “That would be nice,” she said, thinking Josh would never come back to Beckett, and he probably was too busy to fish often. When he did, she suspected he flew to Colorado or Idaho or some location where fishing was much more challenging and satisfying than a stocked pond in a small west Texas town.

      They went inside and put away their coats. “Want to finish our game?” Josh asked Mr. Hickman.

      “Yes, indeed, and then it will be my bedtime.”

      “See you later,” Josh said to her, and the two men turned to go to their game. One of the guests stopped to ask her if they would be having cocoa later.

      “Yes. Would you and your family like some now? I can make it now just as easily.”

      “That would be wonderful. I’ll come help.”

      “You don’t need to. I’ll announce it as soon as it’s ready. It doesn’t really take long.”

      “Thank you, Abby. We all look forward to your homemade hot cocoa,” the petite blonde said. “I’ll tell my family and the others.”

      Abby hurried to the kitchen, trying to focus on making hot cocoa for everyone and keeping Josh’s kiss out of her thoughts for now. She failed to stop thinking about him, but she had made cocoa so many times in her life, she could do what she needed to without much thought.

      Finally she escaped to her room for a moment to catch her breath. As soon as she shut her door, she leaned against it. Remembering Josh’s kiss, she closed her eyes. Why did she have this huge reaction to Josh, of all people, who would go out of her life as swiftly as he had come into it?