The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing

by Brenda Minton

  He watched her hug his dog when the heeler jumped up, front paws on her stomach. Truth time. He’d been thinking a lot lately about how empty his life had become.

  “She’s just looking for a family.” Madeline’s voice sounded wistful to him.

  “I know.”

  “She admitted she researched your family when she found the birth certificate. A real family, that’s what she wanted.”

  “So where is her mom?”

  Madeline looked from the girl to him. “Try Oklahoma City.”

  “Gotcha.” He whistled, and Bud came running back. Jade loped after him, her cheeks red from running and playing in the cold.

  “Time to go?” She looked in the back of the wagon. “Where do I ride?”

  “Up here with us.”

  She grinned big and climbed into the seat. He stood behind Madeline and waited for her to get situated and then he climbed up, sitting next to her. They were pushed together by Jade on the end of the bench seat.

  Madeline swallowed, he saw her throat bob, saw a flicker of a pulse in her neck. If ever a woman needed a man who would make her feel safe, it was this one.

  She needed a Prince Charming, someone like his brother Blake. Yeah, Blake wouldn’t hurt a woman. He’d set her up in a nice house at the edge of Dawson. He’d buy her a pretty diamond ring and bring her flowers. Blake was a cold fish, though. For good reasons, Jackson figured, but still, his big brother needed to learn how to let go.

  He’d have to do one better than that for Madeline. She needed someone. He smiled down at her. But not him.

  Chapter Six

  The horses picked up the pace on the way back to the barn. Their easy trot jangled the harness. Madeline sat sandwiched between Jade and Jackson. She shivered, not because of the cold, but because of him. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cold air.

  Jackson drove the team past the barn and to the front door of the house. “I’ll unload the tree and take the horses back to the barn.”

  “Where are your decorations?” Jade nearly bounced from the seat as they pulled up to the house and the team came to a jarring halt.

  Madeline grabbed the girl and held her in the seat.

  Next to her, Jackson pushed his hat back a notch. “Well now, that’s a good question. I guess I hadn’t thought about decorations.”

  “You have to have decorations,” Jade insisted, hopping down from the wagon and joining the dog who had already done the same.

  “No, not really. I haven’t put a tree up in years. Let’s take it inside and when I go to the barn I’ll look in the storage shed.”

  Jackson eased himself down from the wagon, not as quickly as before. Madeline filed away that information about him, because it changed who he was in her mind. Jackson Cooper, selfless? Willing to put himself through all kinds of agony in order to ensure a child had a Christmas tree?

  He was the man holding his hand out, offering help getting down from the wagon. She could refuse and do it herself, looking stubborn and a little silly. Or rude. She could take his hand and risk everything.

  Risk what? She bit down on her bottom lip and his hand still reached for hers. She nodded and stepped over the side of the wagon. His hand touched her waist, her arm. She landed gently on the ground. When she looked up it was into hazel eyes that danced with laughter.

  Smile, she told herself, make it easy. Jackson Cooper dated tall, leggy blondes and polished brunettes. He didn’t date mousy schoolteachers. She knew the drill. She would always fit the role of person most likely to help. She had always been the one a guy called if he thought she could help him hook up with someone else. And she had always liked filling that spot, because it didn’t hurt so much if expectations were low. It didn’t hurt if you didn’t get too close.

  As she stood there gathering herself, he opened his mouth as if he meant to say something. But he didn’t.

  “We’ll make hot chocolate.” She stepped away, turning to go inside.

  “I’ll be right back.” He walked to the front of the wagon and took hold of the first horse in the team. “If you want hot chocolate there’s a mix in the cabinet. Mom makes it every winter.”

  “Thank you.” Say something smart and witty, she pushed herself. But she’d never been the smart, witty type. She’d never been the flirty one, batting her eyelids or saying cute things. She’d been the bookworm, hiding behind glasses and her studies.

  She’d been the one hiding from life, protecting herself.

  How in the world had this become her life? Laughter and a barking dog reminded her. A mix-up had dropped a child in her life and somehow tied her to Jackson Cooper. She could have dropped Jade off yesterday and driven away, not looking back, not thinking she had an obligation of any kind. Somewhere out there Jade, more than likely, had a mother who wanted her back.

  “Let’s go inside.” She motioned for Jade as she walked up the steps.

  As she walked through the front door of the house she did what she knew to do. She put all of her crazy emotions in a box and shoved them to the back of her mind.

  “Do you think he has any cookies?” Jade followed behind her with the dog, who left muddy paw prints on the wood floor.

  “I think the dog should stay outside.” Madeline pointed to the paw prints.

  Jade had already moved on. “Where should we put the tree?”

  “It isn’t my tree or my house so I’m not going to make that decision.”

  Jade glanced at her but didn’t seem to be too bothered. “He wouldn’t have a tree if it wasn’t for us.”

  “I’m not even sure why I’m here,” Madeline said out loud.

  That got Jade’s attention. The girl turned quickly, her eyes widening and her smile dissolving. “I’m sorry. I mean, I guess you probably have other things to do?”

  “No, not really.” She would have been at home knitting another scarf. She might have been cleaning her kitchen or reorganizing her cabinets. “Jade, where’s your mom?”

  Deflecting. Always safe. Not always fair.

  Jade’s eyes got huge and the color drained from her face. She walked away, the dog right on her heels.

  “Jade?”

  “It’s none of your business. Remember, you’re the person who got stuck with me. I came here looking for my dad and instead I’m staying with a lady who sleeps with every light in the house on.”

  The front door closed. “Problem here?”

  Jackson walked into the living room, carrying a rubber tub with a lid. He’d shed his jacket and was dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt. If he felt the tension, he didn’t show it. He took off his hat and hung it on a hook.

  “No, there’s no problem.” She offered Jade an apologetic smile but the girl walked away.

  “Let her go.” Jackson said it in an easy, relaxed voice. “She’ll get over it. She’s too excited about the tree to stay mad for long.”

  “I asked where her mother is,” Madeline admitted. “I thought she might talk to me.”

  “Talking isn’t always easy.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  He pulled the lid off the box. “We could get you a dog.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It can’t be cheap to have all of your lights on all the time.”

  She pulled out a string of lights that looked as if they were from the last century. “What do you know about my lights?”

  “I’ve driven by a few times and wondered.”

  “I’m fine.”

  He looked up, his hazel eyes asking questions she didn’t want to answer.

  “Are you really?”

  The question made her wonder. Then she answered, and it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t a lie. “I really am.”

  Of course she had doubts. She did sleep with the lights on. But she’d come so far and she’d grown so much. But why did he ask? What did he know about her fear?

  She didn’t want his sympathy.

  “We should go check on Jade.” She backed away from him, but not fast e
nough. His hand shot out, stopping her escape.

  “Jade’s fine. She’s rummaging through my cabinets and snooping through the kitchen. I’m getting you a dog.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t need a dog.”

  “I’m either going to teach you to shoot a gun, or I’m getting you a dog.”

  “I don’t really want either.”

  His hand still held her arm but he hadn’t moved closer. “I know, but trust me on this. There’s something kind of nice about coming home to a dog. It makes a house less lonely.”

  “I can get my own dog.” It was her last attempt to hold on to independence and to take a stand against a man who had stormed her life as easily as Jade stormed his.

  “I owe you for helping me out with Jade.”

  “I didn’t have to help.”

  “No, you didn’t.” His hand slid down her arm to her hand. “But I’m glad you did.”

  “Jade,” she whispered and glanced back over her shoulder.

  “Right, Jade.”

  Jackson watched Madeline’s retreat. He walked a little slower, giving her space, giving himself time to get his head together. What in the world was he thinking?

  So she slept with the lights on. When had that become his problem? She’d been his neighbor for over a year. He said hello to her when they passed on the street or bumped into one another walking into the Mad Cow. He’d seen her lights on late at night, and he’d wondered about it. So now he knew and he thought he needed to buy her a dog to make her feel safe?

  He needed his head examined.

  Bachelor pad. That’s what his house had been designed as. He walked into the kitchen and nearly groaned. The two females who had invaded his life were standing shoulder to shoulder mixing milk with his mother’s cocoa mix. A plate of cookies had been set out on the counter. It smelled and looked like Sally Homemaker had moved in.

  It smelled kind of nice, the combination of hot chocolate, cookies, popcorn and…Madeline’s perfume. He leaned against the counter and watched the two of them have what looked like a mother-daughter moment.

  “Did you find decorations?” Jade turned, a spoon in her hand. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled. Happy. And she wore it like new clothes, something she’d wanted and never had.

  “Not much. I did find a couple of old tree stands. One for mine, one for the tree you’re taking to Madeline’s.”

  Madeline looked at her watch. “I have to go soon.”

  “We have to decorate his tree.” Jade stirred the cocoa and then lifted the spoon to take a sip. Madeline took the spoon from her hand and tossed it in the sink. Jade’s mouth opened. “Why’d you do that?”

  “I don’t want to share germs.”

  “Fine.” Jade grabbed another spoon and turned to Jackson again. “We can string the popcorn if you have a sewing kit around here. And maybe make some snowflakes.”

  “Sure, why not,” he grumbled as he pulled cups from the cabinet. “Would you like to crochet doilies for my tables?”

  Jade laughed and pointed to Madeline. “She can do that.”

  Madeline looked away, her cheeks turning crimson. The hot chocolate steamed and she ladled the liquid into the cups he’d set next to the stove.

  “I bet she can.” He grinned at Madeline’s back because she had turned away from him and was pretending to be busy with the cocoa.

  “We need to hurry,” she finally said. “I have practice tonight.”

  “Cool. Can I go?” Jade leaned close to Madeline.

  “I tell you what, we’ll go do something this evening. Madeline has to practice for her part in the nativity. We’ll let her do that and you and I will go somewhere.”

  “Together?” Jade’s eyes lit up and her smile radiated.

  “Yeah, together.”

  Madeline turned with a cup in her hand. She held it out to him and said nothing. She didn’t need to. She needed a break from Jade. She needed a break from him. He got that. Sometimes he needed a break from himself.

  They migrated to the living room with a tray of hot chocolate and cookies. Jade carried the popcorn and the miniature sewing kit he’d found in the cabinet. As they settled down to the task of making decorations, Jackson pushed the tree into the stand and picked up the string of lights.

  He unfolded the ladder and headed to the top with lights and a pulled muscle in his back. Madeline looked up from cutting into folded paper to make a snowflake for his tree.

  “You okay?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she watched him.

  He looked at the scene below him. A woman and a child making Christmas decorations. His floor strewn with craft paper and ornaments. It looked like a picture from a Christmas card, not a picture from his life. Maybe the life he could have had?

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  Thirty minutes later, with the creative talents of Jade and Madeline, the tree changed from the sad Charlie Brown tree they’d dragged in from the field into a real Christmas tree. Jade had even found a prize: a tiny bird’s nest leftover from last year. She’d moved it from the inner branches and placed it front and center, filling it with tiny eggs made of colored paper.

  “It looks good.” He hadn’t contributed much, just a star for the top and the string of lights. But it was a decent-looking tree, even with the big empty space on the side they’d pushed close to the wall.

  “Now we have to decorate Madeline’s tree,” Jade proclaimed as she hung the last foil star. “She has real decorations.”

  “Hey, don’t diss my tree.” Jackson plugged in the lights. The strand of multicolored lights flickered and came on.

  “I’m just saying.” Jade smiled a cute kid smile. “Anyway, this is a good tree.”

  A knock on the door and they all froze. Madeline looked at him, then at Jade. Jackson shrugged and pointed at the dog who had decided to bark his fool head off. Bud sat down, tail wagging, but a menacing snarl still curled his lips.

  “I’ll be right back.” Jackson touched Jade’s head on the way to the door. “Stay in here.”

  When he opened the door a police officer stood on his front porch. Jackson stepped out the door and closed it behind him.

  “Jackson, Douglas Clark called about the kid you have staying with you.”

  “She’s not staying here. She’s staying with Madeline Patton.”

  “I see. Can you tell me who she is and how she came to be here?”

  “Well—” he paused because the only thing he had was Jade’s birth certificate and her side of the story “—she’s my daughter.”

  “Jackson, we need to clear this up. You have a minor who could be a runaway. That’s not something we can turn our back on.”

  “I get that, Lance, but if she’s my kid…”

  “If she’s not?”

  “My name is on her birth certificate.”

  The officer started to get a grim look on his face. “Jackson, we need to try to contact her mother.”

  “Gotcha. What if I promise I’m trying to do that? Look, I don’t want the kid in state custody. Not this close to the holidays.”

  “Find her mom.”

  “I will.” Jackson stood his ground in the door but Lance didn’t turn to leave.

  “Jackson, I have to talk to her.”

  “We’re decorating the Christmas tree.”

  Lance laughed at that. Why did everyone find it so amusing when he did anything slightly different? “That’s pretty domestic.”

  Jackson motioned Lance inside. They’d met on occasion, usually at a fire or an accident that volunteer first responders were called to. That was the thing about a small town, a rural county; people knew each other. They knew stories. They knew where to find someone without getting a map or directions.

  Sometimes that could be a good thing. Sometimes it got under a guy’s skin.

  They walked into the now-empty living room. Empty except the twinkling, pitiful tree and leftover decorations scattered across the floor.

  “She must be in the kitchen.�
��

  Lance nodded and walked next to him through the living room and dining room. When they entered the kitchen Jade turned, her eyes going all glittery with tears. Madeline moved closer and shot Jackson an accusing look.

  “You called the police?” Jade trembled, her face draining of color.

  “No,” Jackson said. “Not this one.”

  “Young lady, I need your full name and address.” Lance stood in a relaxed pose but his eyes shifted, taking in the room, the setting. Cop training. Jackson could have told him to relax, no one would jump out from behind a door. But that training kept a guy safe on the job.

  Jade hiccupped a little.

  “Jade, honey, tell him.” Madeline, soft-voiced and sweet but still shooting daggers at Jackson.

  Jackson should do something. He should step forward, put an arm around her. He’d been raised in a close family with parents that were always there for them, holding it together during the worst times.

  Jackson tried to grab hold of those experiences. He might not be Jade’s dad, but he could step up and be who she needed him to be. Tim Cooper had been the best dad in the world. He still was a man whose example could be followed.

  “Give her a minute, Lance. She’s a kid.” Jackson stepped closer to Jade. “Go ahead. Tell him what he needs to know.”

  She nodded and wiped at her eyes. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close for just a second and then released her. She smiled up at him and sniffled.

  “I’m Jade Baker. My mom is Gloria Baker. We live in Oklahoma City.”

  “Your mom is alive?” Jackson had known, but he’d been willing to believe her until he found out the whole story.

  Jade didn’t answer. She cried. Tears slid down her cheeks and she shrugged.

  “We need to contact your mother.” Lance pulled a pen from his pocket. “Do you have her number?”

  “Yeah, but good luck finding her.”

  “What does that mean?” Jackson leaned back against the counter, watching Jade shift from foot to foot. She looked up at him, tears pooling in her hazel eyes.

  Man, he hated tears. He glanced at Madeline and her eyes were overflowing. Though he’d grown up with emotional females, he’d never gotten good at handling tears.