Page 33 of Special Delivery Cowboy

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Twinkle stretched and climbed onto the couch, curling up with her head on my lap.

"She's got us trained."

"She's smart like that."

We sat quiet for a while, watching the movie, petting the puppy.

Then TJ spoke. "Tinsley?"

"Yeah?"

"About Livingston." He shifted to face me. "It's a nice town. And there are dental practices that would be lucky to have you."

My heart hammered. "TJ—"

"I know it's fast. But I also know I haven't felt like this maybe ever. And I don't want tomorrow to be goodbye."

"I don't either," I admitted. "But what if this is just Christmas magic?"

"What if it's not?" He squeezed my hand. "What if walking away would be the biggest mistake?"

I looked at him—really looked. At this man who'd crashed into my life with a puppy and a storm.

"My lease is up in March," I heard myself say. "I need to finish my clinical hours before I can take my boards."

"Livingston has two dental practices. I could ask around."

"You'd do that?"

"Tinsley." He cupped my face. "I'm falling for you. Hard. And I think you might be falling too."

"I am," I whispered. "Which is crazy because we barely know each other, but—"

"But sometimes you just know. Sometimes everything just... fits."

"Like puzzle pieces."

"Exactly."

He kissed me—soft and full of promise.

"I'll think about it," I said. "I'll look into practices in Livingston."

"That's all I'm asking."

I settled against him, tucked under his arm, Twinkle snoring between us. The movie played on, but I barely watched. My mind was spinning with possibilities.

A new job. A new town. A new life.

Outside, the storm continued, but gentler now—steady snow instead of violent gusts. By tomorrow, it would be over.

Tomorrow, we'd have to leave this bubble and face reality.

But tonight we had this. This cabin, this fire, this sleeping puppy, this feeling that maybe the universe had delivered exactly what we both needed.

"Merry Christmas, TJ."

"Merry Christmas, Tinsley."

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