The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing (13 page)

He moved to the edge of the couch, leaning for a moment over clasped hands. Madeline's hand rested on his back and he turned, smiling.

“And I have to go now. Because you're amazing and I…should really go.”

She followed him to the door, trying to figure out the sudden change.

“Maddie…” He leaned and kissed her goodbye, soft and slow, ending with a sigh as he walked away.

Madeline wanted to run after him. She wanted to call him a coward for running. She was the one who ran but she hadn't. This time she hadn't run. She hadn't hidden inside herself.

She watched him drive away, headlights in the dark night. Somewhere a coyote howled. She could hear trucks on the distant highway. Lost, she stood there in the cold of the open door because Jade might have a point. A teenager understood Madeline's feelings better than she understood them herself.

 

Jackson fired up the tractor the next morning and hooked a round bale to take out to the cattle in the back pasture. Madeline hadn't gotten there yet with Jade but Travis had shown up and he'd be in the barn when they arrived.

He drove along the fenceline, stopping to open a gate when he got to the field where they were grazing the beef cattle. He hopped back in the tractor and eased it through, then got out to close the gate again. He latched it tight because he had no intention of chasing down a hundred plus head of cattle today. Sleet had started to fall an hour earlier. Nothing major but enough to make the cold pretty miserable.

As he climbed back in the tractor he heard a pitiful sound. He stood on the step and looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The cattle were a good hundred yards out. They were grouped together, fighting the wind and sleet. As he headed their way they started to move. He'd brought a bale out yesterday but he planned on moving several bales today. He also needed to corral the young bulls he would be selling this weekend to a breeder just outside of Oklahoma City.

The City, as it was more popularly referred to. When someone was going to the City, everyone knew what they meant—Oklahoma City.

A dark form in the grass caught his attention. He lowered the bale of hay and backed off from it. The cattle were already moving in, even though they still had hay. He'd need to check the automatic waterer, to make sure it wasn't frozen.

He hated the cold. Even in the enclosed tractor, complete with heat, he felt it down to his bones. The wind
whistled. Maybe the sound of the wind made it seem even colder. Whatever, he was ready for spring already and winter hadn't really hit yet.

The dark shape moved and he saw that it was a calf. The form next to it didn't move. He headed the tractor in that direction. Not a good morning for a downed cow. As he got closer the cow still didn't move. She didn't even raise her head.

Even worse. He jumped down from the idling tractor and eased toward the bawling calf. Cold air gusted, blowing against him. The calf appeared to be a few hours old, and half frozen. The sleet coated its dark fur, still wet, but icy.

“Not a good way to start your life, little guy.” He scooped up the bawling calf, took a last look at the momma cow to make sure his assumption was correct.

She was gone. He walked away, holding the calf. Part of farm life. Yeah, he knew that. He'd learned the lesson early in life. Sometimes animals died. People died. He guessed for some people it got easier.

He reached to open the tractor door and pushed the calf inside the cab, following it. “Now what in the world are we going to do with you?”

A few minutes later the tractor rolled toward the barn and he knew what he'd do with this calf. Madeline's car parked in front of the barn gave him the answer he needed. He drove past the barn to the equipment barn. Tractors, an old farm truck and a couple of stock trailers were parked under the roof of the three-sided, open-front building.

Jade ran toward him as he got out of the tractor and headed for the barn. She didn't seem to notice the cold and he remembered how his grandfather had always
said that cold got colder as a man got older. He grinned, remembering.

“A calf!” Jade's eyes lit up. “Where's its mom?”

“Gone.” He didn't want to say more. He didn't want to see her eyes full of tears. But he knew it had to happen. Just like eventually he'd have to tell her that she wasn't his.

“What happened?” Madeline had walked up behind Jade. She looked so good this morning, he wanted to grab her up in his arms and thank her for being in his life.

He didn't know who would be more shocked if he did that. Probably better if he let it go. The tender vulnerability in her eyes last night warned him to go easy, move slowly.

Jade was petting the sticky, wet calf.

“I found him with his mother. It happens.” He hated that it did. “We need to get him a bottle and get him warmed up.”

“He won't die, will he?” Jade's eyes widened as she looked from him to the calf.

“Of course he won't.” Jackson led them all into the barn. Travis had left. “Where'd Trav go?”

“He had to get home and start packing for Tulsa.” Madeline's voice trailed off when she said the name of the nearest city. “School got cancelled due to the weather.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that. Let's get this little guy settled and a few chores done and I'll take you girls to the Mad Cow.”

For lunch. And he didn't care what people said or how they talked.

“What can we do?” Madeline followed him into the feed room.

“I'll hold him if you can grab that bottle and mix the calf starter. In that rubber tub, a scoop of the starter and then fill the bottle with water from the sink in the bathroom through that door.” He pointed to the door across from them. “Jade, grab a towel out of that cabinet and let's get him dried off.”

“Got it.” Madeline already had the lid off the tub. Jade pulled a towel from the cabinet and rubbed it over the calf.

“A little harder than that, kiddo. We need to get him dry and warmed up.”

“Poor calf,” she crooned as she rubbed the calf he'd set on the floor of the feed room. “Everyone should have a mom.”

And that sent an arrow to his heart. Every kid should have a family, too. His mom had tried to give a home to as many as possible. He'd learned at an early age that family didn't necessarily have to be about blood connections and DNA.

“Here it is.” Madeline returned, a city girl in jeans and a heavy coat, lace-up suede boots to keep her feet warm. She knew how to blend.

She handed him the bottle, her hands covered in crocheted gloves that were probably pretty worthless in the cold, especially if they got wet.

“You need better gloves.” He shoved the bottle into the fighting calf's mouth. The calf turned his head one way and then the other. “Hold his head.”

“Okay. Why doesn't he want it?”

“It isn't his momma. Give him a minute to realize it's food and he'll take to it.”

Madeline held the calf's head and Jackson opened his mouth. The calf let out a little moo and then clamped down on the giant-size baby bottle.

“There he goes.”

Jade moved close. “Aww, just like a baby.”

Jackson laughed. “Yeah, a baby who will someday weigh close to a ton, have horns and be able to run you into the ground. Don't let him fool you. He isn't a pet.”

“But he's cute,” Madeline insisted. He'd put the calf on the wood floor and it wagged its tail and pushed against the bottle he had handed over to Jade. Slobber flew, dripped down the calf's chin. Jade laughed and held tight to the bottle.

“He's strong.”

“He is strong,” Jackson agreed. “And cute. But still, he's going to grow up to be…”

“A big, mean bull.” Madeline repeated his warning with a little laugh.

He shot her a smile and watched her cheeks turn pink. Yeah, he hadn't lost it completely.

“Right.”

Madeline kneeled next to the calf. “You aren't planning on sending this thing home with me, are you?”

Jackson widened his eyes and pointed to his chest. “Me, do that to you?”

“Yeah, you're going to do that to me.” She pulled off her city-girl gloves and stroked the calf's back. “Where would I put a calf?”

“You have an empty barn and a corral.”

The sucking air sound meant an empty bottle. Jade pulled the bottle from the calf's mouth and it chased after her, butting against her, wanting more. She laughed and stuck out her fingers. The calf brought his long tongue around her hand.

“What do we do now?” Jade kneeled in front of the little bull calf.

“For now we'll put him in a stall with plenty of straw to sleep on and feed him again later.”

“He'll be all alone.” Madeline stroked the calf and looked at him with kind of pleading, kind of accusing eyes. Great, an orphaned calf and two big-hearted females.

“Yes, he will. But that's about the only option. He wouldn't survive on his own in the pasture.” He picked up the calf and headed toward an empty stall, trying to figure out a way to undo the sad look in Madeline's eyes. It hadn't been but a couple of weeks ago that he'd just do what he had to do and that would have been the end of it.

A female around the place changed everything. They brought emotion into farming. He sighed and shook his head because now he couldn't walk away without it bugging him, too.

He put the calf in the stall and turned, smiling because he was going to be the hero. “I'll get a goat to keep him company.”

“A goat?”

“Yeah, Ryder Johnson has a few goats that he sometimes pairs up with foals. We'll stop by there on our way back from the Mad Cow.”

Jade leaned in, looking at the bawling, unhappy calf. “Can't we get him a friend now?”

He shook his head and pulled out his phone. “Let me call Ryder.”

He made the call and fifteen minutes later Ryder pulled up to the barn and led a big, fat goat into Jackson's barn. Ryder grinned, tipped his hat and handed the lead rope of the goat to Jade.

“Told you to buy a goat.” He shot the comment at Jackson.

“Right, I should have listened to you.” Jackson opened the stall door and the goat walked right in, eyed her new companion in unblinking silence and grabbed a mouthful of straw.

The calf stopped crying as the goat moved closer.

“Perfect.” Madeline smiled and watched as the calf followed the goat around the stall. Jackson shook his head. It was that easy to make her smile.

And he'd never cared more about making a woman happy. That thought made him want to jump in his truck and drive far and fast from this situation and this moment. Realizations like that one didn't come around very often.

It had never happened to him before.

“Now, can we go to lunch?” He slipped a convincing arm around her waist and moved her toward the door. Ryder walked on out but turned as they followed.

“Let me know if you need anything else.” Ryder grinned. “Like advice.”

“I doubt I need advice from you.” Jackson glared and Ryder didn't seem to notice.

“Of course not. I mean, why would you need advice? You've been ranching all your life.”

“Exactly. I'm very good at ranching.”

And they both knew they weren't talking about ranching. Madeline walked away, fortunately not getting it. She followed Jade to the fence and one of the horses walked up to let them rub her neck.

“Nothing changes a man like a good woman and a kid.”

Ryder pushed his hat down on his head a little tighter.

“I haven't changed.” Jackson didn't have a woman or a kid, not really. He watched them walk down the
fence line and he knew it bugged him, that Jade wasn't his. That Madeline wasn't his.

“Gotta go. Andie and the twins are ransacking the house. She's decorating. They're chewing and dragging stuff everywhere.”

“It'll be a great Christmas for you all.”

“Yeah, it will. See you later, Jackson. I think your Christmas is going to be different than you expected, too.”

Jackson would have agreed, but he knew that the DNA test undid any ideas he'd had about Jade having a Cooper Creek Christmas. He wondered if she'd have any Christmas at all with her mother.

For a brief second he tried to tell himself it wasn't his problem, but it was and it cut deep, thinking about her alone at Christmas.

He whistled, loud and shrill. Madeline and Jade turned and headed his direction. “Let's get some lunch.”

They all climbed into the truck together. Madeline in the middle next to him. Jade did that on purpose every time.

T
he Mad Cow Diner looked like Christmas come early. Madeline walked in next to Jackson and Jade. She tried to pretend she went to lunch with someone like Jackson every day. But the stares from the locals reminded her that she couldn't fool them or herself. She'd been here a year and she'd never dated. When well-meaning friends tried to match her up with a nice guy, she always said a polite “No, thank you.”

She stared at the Christmas tree and decorations, trying to ignore the heat creeping up her neck. Jade grabbed her hand and pulled her toward a nativity, hand-carved by a local artist. The tree sparkled with clear lights and Christmas music played softly on hidden speakers.

Last year she'd been in town just a few months and she'd joined Vera for Christmas at the Mad Cow. Vera always had a big meal for folks in town without family. Madeline had received the same invitation for this year.

Vera walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. She grinned big when she saw them. “Well, Merry Christmas.”

Madeline smiled back. Vera had switched from her
normal blue dress to a red dress, white apron and a Santa hat.

“Merry Christmas, Vera.” Madeline accepted the other woman's warm hug and skittered a look sideways to find Jackson heading their way.

“Isn't that nativity beautiful?” Vera put an arm around Jade. “A man in our church carved that for me. I love the look of love on Mary's face. She'd just had the most perfect baby in the world, and she had to wonder why God had brought this moment to her. I always wonder how she felt, being so young and being put in that situation. I think she must have felt as awed as the shepherds.”

“I think the cows were awed, too.” Jade grinned as she looked at the scene. “We have a calf.”

“Do we?” Vera's brows arched and she turned to look at Jackson.

He shrugged and let it go. But Vera didn't. Her gaze shot up and she smiled. “Why, Jackson Cooper, look at that, Madeline is under the mistletoe.”

“Vera.” Madeline tried to step away.

Jackson caught her hand, a wicked grin on his face. He smiled at Vera and then at her again. His hand on hers was rough and warm. “We can't ignore mistletoe. Vera would be crushed.”

“I would indeed.” Vera smiled big. “I move it every morning because I want to keep things interesting.”

“But—” Madeline looked around the restaurant, half-full and everyone staring at them. A table of women giggled and pointed.

Jackson grinned and her heart stopped protesting. She stopped wanting to escape. How did he do that? When he stepped close she wobbled a little and he slid
a hand to her back, steadying her. “One little kiss won't hurt.”

She nodded but wanted to disagree. It could hurt, very much. He leaned and dropped the sweetest of kisses on her mouth. When he pulled back, his smile had faded.

“Maddie, I'm all out of self-control. Good Jackson has left the building.”

Vera laughed. “From the look on her face, I think Good Maddie has left the building, too.”

Madeline shook her head. “I'm very much still here.”

Vera clucked a little and moved them in the direction of a corner booth, out of view. She said, “I think what the two of you need is a nice bowl of chicken and dumplings. Weather like we're having calls for comfort food. The weatherman said today that we've had two weeks of below normal temperatures.”

“Chicken and dumplings do sound good, Vera.” Jackson's hand remained on Madeline's back and he reached for Jade who had stopped to look at Christmas cards taped to the wall. “This way, kiddo.”

As they walked people were talking behind their hands and nodding in their direction. Madeline pulled her jacket a little tighter around herself and blinked fast to clear her vision. Why did moments like this make her want to hide again?

Being stared at, whispered about. It had all been too much a part of her life all those years ago. Being interviewed by police, going before judges and lawyers, facing her mother that last time. Her heart squeezed tight.

A hand touched her arm, guiding her to the booth and into a seat. She scooted across the bench and took
the spot closest to the window, sighing with relief when Jade sat next to her.

“What are we going to do for the rest of the afternoon?”

Madeline looked up from her menu when Jackson asked the question. Jade, seated next to her, grinned. “I'd like to ride a horse.”

“We could do that, in the arena. This weather isn't great for riding.” Jackson's gaze settled on Madeline and she didn't have an answer. He didn't look away for a long minute and she focused on the menu, unable to meet the questions in his eyes.

“What about Christmas shopping?” He smiled up at the waitress approaching with an order pad.

They stopped to order and then Jackson returned to the previous conversation, pulling them back to the subject with him.

“So, Christmas shopping?” He picked up the wrapper from his straw and turned it into a paper wad that he flicked, hitting Jade in the nose. “I'm kind of an expert on shopping with women. It comes from having a half dozen sisters.”

“Christmas shopping sounds fun.” Madeline stirred sugar into the super-strong coffee that Vera was famous for.

“We can drive into Grove.” Jackson reached for the sugar bowl that Jade had nearly emptied into her iced tea. “I think that's enough.”

Jade didn't smile. She didn't laugh. “I have to go home tomorrow. I won't be here for Christmas.”

Madeline ducked her head and waited for Jackson's answer. But her heart broke for Jade who just wanted a family for Christmas.

“Jade, I'm not going to leave you on your own. I promise.”

Jade shrugged her slim shoulders like it didn't matter. But it did matter. It mattered more than any of them could say. To a girl who had nothing, not even family, it mattered.

“You don't even think you're my dad.”

Jackson leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “What do you mean by that?”

“Why else would you need a DNA test?” Jade fiddled with her napkin, tearing it into little pieces. “You're looking for a way to skip out on me.”

“I'm not.” He tossed his hat on the bench and brushed a hand through his hair. “Jade, I'm a bachelor. I've been single and on my own for a long time. I'm not going to know how to make ‘dad' decisions right off the bat.”

“Right, yeah, whatever.” Jade hunkered, her shoulders curved forward and her head down. “I'll be okay.”

“Jade, you'll be more than okay. I promise.”

The waitress appeared with their chicken and dumplings, as well as a big basket of rolls and salads for the three of them.

“Let's eat and have a good day. Tomorrow we'll figure something out.”

Jade nodded but she wouldn't look up, wouldn't make eye contact with either of them. She blew on a steaming bite of chicken and dumplings but didn't take the bite. Instead she looked down at the bowl, tears dripping down her cheeks. Madeline touched her hand and smiled when Jade looked up at her.

“It'll be okay. I know people have told you that before, but Jackson isn't going to let anything happen to you. He's going to be there for you.”

And then Madeline looked at Jackson, pleading without words for him to keep the promise she'd just made for him. He had to be the person this little girl needed. Someone had to be there for Jade.

 

Two hours later Jackson still couldn't shake the way Madeline's words back at the Mad Cow had shaken him. Jackson in Charge wasn't the name of this little family drama. The only person Jackson really knew how to take care of was Jackson.

Somehow, though, a kid and a woman had become a big part of his life. He walked behind them as they browsed the second flea market of the day. They were looking at fancy little tea cups that wouldn't hold more than a thimble of liquid. While they looked at tea cups he tried to remember who he had been a week ago.

“This one is pretty.” Jade picked up a cup and handed it to Madeline who held it up to the light and examined it.

The guy gene didn't allow him to see a thing different about that cup. It looked like every other cup they'd looked at.

“It's beautiful.” Madeline turned to him, big smile, eyes dark and pulling him in. He was about to tell her he agreed.

He couldn't stop himself.

“It is pretty.” He blinked because he didn't drink tea. He didn't shop in flea markets for old tea cups that other people had been drinking out of for years.

She laughed and he knew he'd blown it. “You're not good at this.”

“Sorry, I'm not a tea person. Or a cup person.”

“Or a flea market person.” Madeline put the cup
back on the shelf. “We should go to a store with guy stuff. Fishing poles and guns.”

“Madeline, do you want that cup?”

She shook her head. “Even I wouldn't spend that much for a cup. Let's go, before you break out in hives.”

How far gone was a guy when he picked up the flowery tea cup and carried it to the counter? As he paid he told himself this was going to pass. But watching the delight on Madeline's face when he handed her that bag holding the perfect tea cup, he wasn't quite sure. He wondered if he needed to go back and buy another dozen of those cups, because if each one put a smile on her face, it was worth it.

She led him out of the store by the hand, Jade skipping ahead of them.

“What am I going to do?” He watched the girl walk ahead of them, window shopping.

“Tell her the truth.” Matter of fact Madeline.

“Yeah, sounds easy, doesn't it?”

“It won't be. She wants to be a Cooper. And who could blame her. She wants you for a dad. Any little girl would.”

That did more than surprise him. He stopped walking, but kept his eye on the teenager a short distance ahead of them. Okay, he couldn't let it go. He turned to look at Madeline.

“Why in the world would a kid want me for a dad?”

“Really?” Madeline watched Jade, too. “You don't get that? You have everything to offer. You're a good man with a wonderful home and a family. You can take care of her, make her feel safe.”

“Keep talking, you're starting to convince me.” He grinned down at Madeline and she turned away, cheeks
a little pink. “I never thought you'd think so highly of me, Maddie Patton.”

“I'm not talking for me. I'm talking for a young girl who has grown up in a pretty unstable home.”

“But I'm not that man, Maddie. I'm not dad material. I'm a bachelor who does a barely decent job at taking care of himself. And the most important fact is the one we both know. I'm not her dad.”

“No, but you're the closest thing she has to one.”

“What am I supposed to do about that?” He was the closest thing Jade Baker had to a dad. That didn't say much, but he knew it was true. He wasn't anyone's dad. But this girl needed someone to be there for her.

This relationship couldn't be walked away from. This wasn't a Friday night in Tulsa with a waitress who only expected one night, a decent dinner and empty words. This was a kid who expected someone to be there for her forever.

It was Madeline, standing next to him, believing he'd do the right thing. He whistled softly and shook his head. She was looking for the same thing, someone to be there for her, forever.

“Hey, what's going on back there?” Jade turned from a window and hurried back to them, sliding a little on a slick spot in the sidewalk.

When would he tell her? The thought came to him, that he didn't have to tell her. He could let her believe the DNA test came back positive.

But he wouldn't lie to her.

“We're coming.” He smiled and headed up the sidewalk with Madeline at his side. “See anything you couldn't live without?”

She shrugged slim shoulders. “I thought we could go in that jewelry store. They have homemade jewelry.”

“Let's go.” He opened the door for the two women to walk in ahead of him.

It looked like trouble to Jackson. A jewelry store plus two females equaled serious trouble any way he looked at it. Not that he hadn't given women jewelry before. For Christmas. To say goodbye. Once, a long time ago he'd bought a promise ring for a girl in school. After another month of dating he realized forever felt like, well, forever. He'd taken the ring back and her brother had knocked him almost into eternity.

His phone rang, saving him from the ohhing and ahhing as Jade and Madeline went from display cabinet to display cabinet. Saved by the bell, he walked outside to take the call.

“Jackson Cooper, bring my daughter back.” The voice on the other end didn't sound at all familiar. The words slurred and mumbled, forcing him to plug his opposite ear.

“I can't hear you.”

“This is Gloria. Bring my daughter back. She's not your kid.”

“So you did get the messages I left.” He walked a short distance away from the front of the jewelry store. “Listen, Gloria, I can't really talk right now. I'm bringing her back tomorrow. But we're going to discuss this situation.”

“We aren't going to discuss anything. She's my kid and I could have you arrested.”

Anger shot through him, white hot and making his heart beat hard in this neck. He swallowed a lot of things he knew he shouldn't say in favor of carefully chosen words.

“Don't worry, the police know that I have her. My
question to you is, why didn't you call sooner? Why didn't you file a missing persons report?”

“That's none of your business. Jade knows how to take care of herself.”

The anger took a pivotal turn for the worse and he had to stand there for a long minute, finding a way to respond without making the situation worse. “Gloria, she's thirteen.”

Gloria laughed, loud and harsh. “Right, and you care?”