The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing. Brenda Minton

Jackson should be long past that look from anyone. But there it was, the “buddy, you’re in big trouble” look.

       “Come in, I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”

       Tim Cooper stomped the mud off his boots and stepped inside the house. “Smells like dog in here.”

       “Yeah, the stupid dog refuses to sleep outside. Either he’s worried about me, or he just doesn’t like the cold. I’m going with the cold.”

       “Probably. You’re walking like you’re eighty years old.”

       “Yeah, well, I feel older than that.”

       “What spooked that horse? Did you ever figure it out?”

       They reached the kitchen and Jackson motioned for his dad to sit down while he filled the water reservoir on the coffeemaker and pushed the power button.

       “I think it was a loose door banging in the wind. We both know that isn’t why you’re here.”

       “I can be here for more than one reason. Your mom is worried because she tried to call and you didn’t answer.”

       “I was dog-tired.”

       “I told her you were probably asleep.”

       Jackson reached for the bottle of painkillers on the counter and then he put them back. It wasn’t so bad he couldn’t walk it off. “And the other reason you’re here?”

       “Travis has a big mouth.”

       “Right, I figured as much. Something about the words ‘Travis, keep your mouth shut’ tends to loosen his mouth like an oiled hinge.”

       His dad kind of laughed. He took his hat off and sat it on the table. “She isn’t yours?”

       “Probably not.” Jackson sat down next to his dad. He fiddled with the stack of mail he’d left on the table earlier that day. “But my name is on her birth certificate.”

       “Where’s her mom?”

       “Your guess is as good as mine.” Jackson got up to make the coffee. He put a cup under the nozzle. “Black?”

       “Yeah. Oh, your mom sent dinner. It’s in the truck and I’ll bring it in before I leave.”

       “Thanks. You know, I’ll never learn to cook if she keeps feeding me.”

       “She isn’t going to stop. I’ve tried. And she’s itching to fix this situation for you, too.”

       Jackson set the two cups of coffee on the table. “I’ll fix this myself. The fewer people involved the better.”

       “I don’t think your mom thinks that she’s one of the people who shouldn’t be involved. She said to tell you she’ll expect to see you tomorrow.”

       “Give me a few days. I’m trying to figure this out without hurting Jade.”

       “Is that her name?”

       He nodded and took a sip of coffee. “Yeah, Jade Baker. I knew her mom. But you know…”

       “Yeah. Might need to head to the doctor just to make sure.”

       “I will. I’m not turning her out in the cold. I’m not going to call the state yet. I’m not going to have her in the system at Christmas.”

       “Where is she?”

       This is where it got tricky. He sipped his coffee and gave himself a minute. His dad answered his own question.

       “Travis said Madeline Patton was up here today.”

       “She was.”

       “Madeline, huh?” Tim grinned kind of big, the way a man did when he’d raised a bunch of sons. “Not your normal cup of tea.”

       “I’ve never been a tea person.”

       “No, you haven’t.” Tim lifted his cup and finished off his coffee. “Don’t hurt her. If you don’t want big trouble with your mother, remember that people think of lot of Madeline.”

       “I’m not chasing the schoolteacher, if that’s what you think.” He shook his head. “And I’m not eighteen years old. So thanks for the advice.”

       Tim stood. He put a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “She’s the kind of woman a guy marries.”

       Yeah, that said it all. Put him in his place. Jackson, who had done his running around and then settled down on this farm with a dog and some livestock, had yet to outrun his reputation. It sure felt like he couldn’t do enough good deeds to undo what the people around here thought of him.

       He stood to follow his dad out of the kitchen, and he couldn’t stop one last attempt at denial. “I’m not planning to marry Madeline Patton.”

       His dad laughed. “When do things ever go the way we plan?”

       “This is different. She’s helping with Jade.”

       “Right, of course.” He slapped Jackson on the back. “Careful, son, the word never usually leads right where you never thought you’d go.”

       Jackson stood on the front porch, thinking of all the times he’d said never. It wasn’t until his dad’s taillights disappeared that he remembered his dinner in that truck.

       Fortunately he’d lost his appetite.

      Chapter Five

      A light snow had fallen overnight, just enough to dust the grass and the trees. Madeline drove her car up the long driveway to Jackson Cooper’s ranch. The old farmhouse with the wraparound porch looked pretty with the powdery white snow sprinkling down. In the field the cows stood tail to the wind, snow sticking to their thick winter coats.

       “This sure ain’t Oklahoma City,” Jade whispered.

       “What? And don’t say ‘ain’t.’” Madeline pulled her car in at the side of the house.

       “Nothing. And I’m sorry.” Jade already had her door open. “I bet he’s still sleeping.”

       “No, he isn’t. I saw him walk out of the barn.”

       “Oh, okay.” Jade slammed the door of the Buick and ran toward the big barn.

       Madeline waited. And she worried. What happened to a girl when she thought she’d found a fairy-tale parent who would make everything right, and then found herself let down? Heartache? Madeline remembered a father, but he hadn’t been her real father. She blocked the memory because too many other memories chased after it. Yesterday she’d gotten a card from her mother. Her mother always managed to find her. Madeline couldn’t run far enough or fast enough to outrun Marjorie. She would never escape the past.