Merry Christmas, Cowboy!. Cindy Kirk

giggled. “He’s not here, silly.”

      The childish laughter was music to his ears. As Seth lowered his arms and hugged her close, he was struck by how much of Jan lived in her. Dani had her mom’s button nose, curly hair and crooked smile. And from the moment she was born, she’d had her mother’s total and complete love.

      Growing up, Jan had experienced firsthand the disaster that sometimes happens when a parent remarries. During those last weeks of life she’d worried that her daughter would experience that same pain. Assuring her that he wouldn’t remarry until Dani was out of high school had been a small price to pay to ease her fears.

      The promise had been freely given and would be kept. The only problem was that Seth hadn’t foreseen the loneliness of a single-parent existence. Hadn’t fully taken into account his physical needs. His friend Wes Danker had once said that if he had an itch, he scratched it. But Wes wasn’t a father. Seth couldn’t just go out and have a brief fling. Not in Sweet River. Not without causing talk.

      He remembered how hard such gossip had been on Mitch growing up. Seth would never put Dani in such a position.

      “Good night, Dani…again.” Lauren stood and leaned close, brushing her lips across the child’s forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

      “You smell good.” Dani studied Lauren. “And you’re very pretty. I bet that’s why Santa kissed you.”

      A swath of red cut across Lauren’s cheeks.

      Dani squirmed in Seth’s arms so she could look up at him. “You think she’s pretty and smells good, don’t you, Daddy?”

      Seth gave a noncommittal smile. He’d noticed the sultry scent that wafted about Lauren, a scent that stirred his senses. And pretty? No living, breathing man could say otherwise. But this was his sister’s friend, his daughter’s potential babysitter. Although kissing her had probably been a mistake, he wasn’t going to compound the error by saying sweet words that might give her the wrong impression.

      He’d been under the influence of the Santa suit when he’d lost control. Which meant that as long as he steered clear of red velour and hats with pom-poms, he should be safe.

      

      A wave of irritation washed over Lauren. She’d felt sure that Santa—er, Seth—had noticed her new perfume, but for some reason he refused to admit it. Six months ago she’d have been devastated if Seth had disavowed any attraction to her. But that was when she’d had a silly crush on him, one more suitable to a schoolgirl than a mature, educated woman.

      The “crush” period had begun shortly after she’d moved to Sweet River. She’d never been around a rugged cowboy before. And Seth had been so helpful in getting her settled. When he found out she needed single male subjects for her research project, he’d made it a personal goal to recruit the men.

      For some reason, and perhaps it had been a reaction to the testosterone and kindness, she’d gone off the deep end, getting all nervous and excited whenever he was around. Then one day, she’d overheard him asking Anna to quit trying to hook him up with her friends. Though his tone had been joking, Lauren had realized how ridiculous she’d been acting. And, even if he had been interested in her, this was a man who could never be more than a friend. He was a rancher who loved his home and his life in Montana. She was an academician with her sights set on tenure at an Ivy League college.

      Still, the attraction lingered. Though she wasn’t sure he felt it, there had been electricity in the air whenever they were in the same room. It wasn’t until the steamy dreams started that she finally realized it was a physical attraction drawing her to Seth.

      Just like tonight. The Kiss—it had somehow achieved capitalized status in her mind—had been a purely physical response to the chemistry between them. It had nothing to do with the fact that they shared an interest in the writings of Thoreau, or both loved old horror movies. And the kindness he displayed toward his daughter—and to her—hadn’t factored into the equation at all.

      “It was lust, pure and simple,” Lauren advised the fireplace, giving her head a decisive nod.

      “What was lust?”

      Apparently while she wasn’t looking, Seth had returned to the room after putting Dani back to bed. He dropped into the chair next to the sofa where Lauren sat.

      “The Kiss,” she said matter-of-factly. “What we experienced was simply a momentary lapse into lust.”

      She could tell she’d surprised him by speaking so frankly, but knew he’d understand. After all, he’d been gripped by the same fierce physical need. Lauren had felt it in the urgency of his lips, had seen it in the fire that had burned in his blue eyes.

      “That kiss—” Seth raked a hand through his hair before continuing “—was a mistake.”

      “I disagree.”

      After shooting her an incredulous glance, Seth jerked to his feet and began to pace. “How can you think otherwise? My daughter saw you kissing me—I mean Santa Claus. She’ll probably be traumatized for life.”

      Lauren rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help it. She’d never seen anyone make such a big deal out of something that was no big deal. “On the list of things with potential to wound a child’s psyche, seeing your aunt’s friend kissing Santa Claus wouldn’t even make the top ten thousand.”

      His lips quirked upward. “Tell me if you think I’m overreacting.”

      “You’re overreacting.”

      Seth laughed then stopped himself. He glanced in the direction of Dani’s room. “Let’s take this into the kitchen. We can talk more comfortably in there. I’ll make some hot cocoa.”