The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing

by Brenda Minton

  Instead she forced herself out of the car into the cold December day that gusted and blew. The cold went right through her and she shivered down into her coat.

  When she walked into her house she was slammed by more changes. Kid stuff. Jade had left dirty dishes on the counter. Madeline quickly washed them and put them away. A towel had been left on the bedroom floor. She tossed it in the hamper, wiped the sink and tub and then made the bed in the spare bedroom.

  Neat and tidy, everything in its place. She turned to the sound of whimpering. They’d left the puppy on the screened-in back porch. Madeline groaned, knowing this wouldn’t be pleasant.

  The rug had been chewed to pieces, as had her slippers that she’d left on the floor. The stink of it made her gag and she backed away. The puppy whimpered and plopped down, resting her little head on big paws. Madeline glared at the little renegade.

  “No messes in my house, puppy.” She pushed the dog aside and reached in the cabinet for paper towels. “My house, my life, is neat and tidy, not messy.”

  The puppy did a little dance around her feet, barking and nipping at her boots.

  “You really don’t care, do you?” She leaned to pet the fluff ball. “Neither does he. He doesn’t care that I don’t want my world turned upside down. No, he brought you, and a child.”

  He’d pushed his way into her life, her thoughts, her dreams. No one belonged in those places. Dawson had been her safe place. Until last week.

  She stomped into the kitchen for a spray bottle of the strongest cleaner she had. The puppy whined at the door.

  “Oh, now you want to go outside?” She pushed the door open and watched the little dog race outside.

  It chased blowing leaves, sniffed grass and then found a stick to chew on. Madeline pulled on rubber gloves, held her breath and started to clean the mess that should have been Jackson Cooper’s to clean. Yeah, she should call him and tell him to come down and clean up after his rotten puppy.

  If it hadn’t meant having him in her home, all male and smelling good, she would have. But she didn’t want his faded jeans and cute grin cluttering up the place that way.

  Tires squealed and she heard a horrible yelp. The puppy. She tossed the cleaner and paper towels and ran out the front door. A truck sat in the middle of the road and an older man had picked up the puppy.

  Jade’s puppy. Her puppy. The stupid, sweet, messy puppy.

  “I think she’s okay.” The farmer, a neighbor named Clark, held the ball of fur. “I tried to stop but she was chasing something.”

  The puppy whimpered and stared with dark eyes. Her little body trembled. “I should take her to a vet.”

  “I think you probably should. I’m real sorry. She came out of nowhere.”

  Madeline closed her eyes to the surge of tears. “I let her out. I didn’t think about her running across the road.”

  She didn’t know a vet. She didn’t know anything about dogs. Or cats. Or cows.

  “Let me put her in your car.” The farmer, in bib overalls and a straw cowboy hat, trudged through the ditch and up the hill. “Do you know where to take her?”

  “I’ll figure it out.”

  “Doc Marler is good. If you can catch him.”

  She nodded and her mind spun in crazy circles trying to think about dogs and vets and what to tell Jade. A new batch of tears streamed down her cheeks. She’d have to tell Jade.

  “I think she’ll be okay. And if you send me the vet bill, I’d be happy to pay it.”

  Madeline rubbed the useless, silly tears from her eyes. “No, I’m the one who let her out and didn’t watch her.”

  “Well, you let me know how she is. She’s a cute little pup.”

  “She is, isn’t she?” Madeline sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t know I wanted a dog.”

  The farmer left the dog in her car and headed back down the driveway. Her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and groaned when she saw the caller ID. She didn’t need this, not right now. And then, she did. Because he would know what to do.

  She answered her phone with a quick hello and then said, “The puppy got hit by a car. I don’t know what to do.”

  Her body trembled the way the puppy trembled. The poor little thing hunkered in her front seat, holding her front leg out.

  “I’ll be right there.” Jackson’s voice over the cell phone undid a little of the fear. He wouldn’t leave her alone to handle this. Of course he wouldn’t. He helped everyone. He rebuilt tornado-damaged homes and searched for missing children.

  When he pulled up a few minutes later, she breathed a little easier. Jackson jumped out of his truck and headed her way. His smile shot clean through her, tender and unexpected. And she started to cry.

  “Hey now, what’s this all about?” His voice had a huskiness that undid every last shred of calm. “The puppy is going to be fine. Look at her, she’s getting all worried about you.”

  Madeline nodded but she couldn’t stop the tears. Everything inside her broke loose and she couldn’t shove it all back inside. The puppy whimpered and belly-crawled to the edge of her car seat.

  “Shh, you’re okay.” Jackson pulled her to him and held her in strong arms. “Shh.”

  She sobbed against his shoulder and knew that the strange calm seeping into her body, into her heart, was from him. Safe. And suddenly, not so safe.

  “I thought she was dead.” Make it about the dog, much easier to make it about something other than the Grand Canyon splitting open inside her heart.

  “A puppy against a truck. She beat the odds today.” He still held her. His lips brushed her hair and he didn’t let go.

  “Jade will be so upset.”

  “She’s fine. I called and she’s going to stay the night with Heather. Doc is waiting for us.”

  “Thank you.” Madeline moved from his arms, brushing her hand across her face. “I’m a mess. And I need to run inside and get my purse.”

  “You aren’t a mess.” He brushed hair from her face. “Get what you need and I’ll put her in my truck.”

  She nodded and rushed back into the house for her purse. She turned off lights on her way out and locked the front door. When she got to the truck Jackson had the door open for her.

  The puppy crawled close, head resting on Madeline’s leg. She looked quickly at the man sitting next to her. A friend. He had said it himself. They were friends.

  The local veterinarian had been in town most of Jackson’s life. He had even delivered a baby once, years ago. It had been a stormy night and the woman, a dairy farmer’s wife, had gone into labor while Doc had been there taking care of a sick cow. When things had moved a little too quickly, Doc delivered Jasmine Porter.

  Jackson parked and got out. Madeline, still pale and shaken, held Angel in her lap. He’d heard her murmur a few prayers, even promise the dog that she did like her and was glad she had her. He smiled as he helped the two of them out of the truck.

  “You know, you didn’t do this to the dog.”

  “I was really angry that she chewed up my rug and made a mess in the utility room.”

  “So every time a dog’s owner gets mad, God sends a truck to teach them a lesson?” He kind of chuckled, and she shot him a look that took the humor right out of the moment.

  “It isn’t funny.”

  “It kind of is, if you think about it. I don’t think life works that way. I don’t think God works that way. He doesn’t get us back every time we have a thought He doesn’t approve of.”

  “I know.” She smiled a little. “I know it’s a crazy thought. I’m a woman, we get at least three crazy thoughts a week.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.” He opened the door and she went through, still holding the puppy she hadn’t really wanted. He smiled as he followed her inside. He couldn’t stop smiling.

  Something must have happened to him when he got tossed off that horse. Maybe he’d hit his head and they hadn’t realized.

  A door to the left of the desk opened
. Doc walked out, slipping into a pale green jacket as he did. He nodded at Madeline and the dog before turning to Jackson.

  “How old?”

  “Eight weeks, Doc. Looks like her front leg.”

  Doc’s bushy gray brows shot up. “You’re a vet now?”

  Jackson laughed. “Doc, you’re more than a vet.”

  “Yeah, I’m the guy that…”

  Ran Jackson off when he took Doc’s daughter out a few times. But since Doc had the only veterinary clinic in Dawson, they’d worked past the resentment.

  Doc took the puppy from Madeline.

  “I’ll take it back for X-rays. You two stay here.”

  Madeline stood in the center of the room, looking a lot like a woman letting go of a kid for the first time. Jackson looped his arm through hers. “I’ll buy you a cupcake if you’ll stop looking so guilty.”

  He led her to the vending machines at the end of the room.

  “What kind?” He pulled a few ones out of his wallet.

  “I love cinnamon rolls.”

  He fed the dollar into the machine and pushed the button. The package of cinnamon rolls dropped down and she reached in and grabbed them. “Thank you.”

  “Something to drink?”

  Madeline shrugged. “Water. I’m so sorry that I dragged you over here. I know you’re tired and still trying to heal up. And you have other things to do. You have a life.”

  Pink flooded her cheeks and he grinned at the rush of random words that spilled from her lips.

  “I do have a life.” He fed a dollar into the machine and pushed the button for a bottle of water.

  “I mean, you know…”

  He laughed. “You mean…women?”

  “You know what I mean. Don’t make me say it.”

  “Dating women is something I do enjoy. I’m a single man. That makes it okay.”

  “Right, I know that.” She took her cinnamon rolls and the bottle of water back to one of the hard plastic chairs that lined the wall near the door. “I’m apologizing because I know this is keeping you from your life. I can’t even, I don’t know…”

  He sat down next to her. “You can’t, you don’t what?”

  “I could have called Jenna or Beth. I have friends. I do have a life.” She glanced at her watch. “I have play practice in two hours.”

  “I know you have a life.”

  “I just panicked and when you called, I blurted it out.”

  “And I offered.” He couldn’t tell her the truth, that he liked being the person who came to her rescue. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine and as soon as she’s taken care of, we’ll head over to Back Street.”

  “We?”

  “I have some work to do over there.”

  “Oh, okay.” She reached for her purse and pulled out a stack of mail. Her face paled a little and she looked away, shoving the letters back into the side pocket of her bag.

  “Bad news?”

  She shook her head and she her shoulders slumped. “My mother sent me another card.”

  “What does it say?”

  “I didn’t open it. I don’t open them.”

  “Why?”

  She looked up at him, staring as if she thought he’d dropped off another planet. Okay, maybe he should get this, but he didn’t. Women weren’t the most understandable creatures in the world. Beautiful, nice to hold, but definitely not easy to understand.

  “Why would I open it?” She held it in her hands and he wanted to take it from her, open it himself.

  “Because you need to.”

  “That sounds easy.” She smiled up at him. “So, just open this card and, ‘tah-dah,’ everything is better?”

  “No, but I think it would be a beginning. Look, Maddie, I know that my family looks pretty great from the outside, but we’ve had our problems and we’ve learned that it’s best to take care of situations from the get-go. Don’t let it drag on. Don’t let it take root.”

  “It’s already rooted, Jackson. This is more like having to weed a garden that’s been let go.”

  “I understand.”

  She put her hand on the edge of the card and tore just a little. “This isn’t easy.”

  “No, I bet it isn’t. But remember, the only thing in there are words, and if you don’t like them, toss them in the trash, burn them, never open another card from her.”

  “Right.” She slid her finger under the flap and pulled out a Christmas card.

  Emotions flickered across her face as she read. Jackson watched, waiting, not pushing. She bit down on her bottom lip and then her eyes closed briefly. Finally she shrugged and handed him the card.

  “She was pregnant, sixteen and living on the streets. She thought Rainbow Valley sounded peaceful, like a place to raise a baby.”

  “Are you glad you read the card?”

  “It changes things.” She took the card back, looked it over again and then slid it into the envelope. “But it doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t answer the other questions. Now I have more questions. Why didn’t she leave?”

  “I guess those are questions only she can answer. But maybe not questions to answer in a card.”

  “Sara wasn’t really my sister.”

  Jackson moved his arm, encircling her slim shoulders and pulling her close. Two weeks ago she’d been a neighbor, not even a friend.

  “Maddie, did you ever think that the two of us would be sitting here together sharing huge events in each other’s lives?”

  “Never.”

  He laughed at her strong response. “You make it sound like the worst thing that could have happened to you.”

  She looked up and took him by surprise. Her hand touched his cheek, rested there and then moved to his shoulder. “It hasn’t been the worst thing at all.”

  The door opened and Doc walked out, carrying the injured puppy. His weathered gaze shot from Madeline to Jackson and he shook his head. “Some things never change. Here’s the dog. And here’s the bill.”

  “Is she going to be okay?” Madeline touched the dog’s back.

  Doc handed Jackson the slip of paper. “A broken leg, but she’ll heal quickly enough. You paying?”

  “I can…” Madeline reached for the bill.

  Jackson shook his head. “No, I’ll pay for this.”

  Madeline took the puppy and held her close. The same puppy she hadn’t been too fond of yesterday. Jackson wrote out a check for the vet bill and walked her out the door.

  “What’s the deal between you and Doc?” she asked as Jackson opened the truck door for her.

  “He caught me parking with his daughter about sixteen years ago and he has a long memory.” Jackson waited for her to get in the truck and then he leaned in close. “And back then he had a pretty good aim with his shotgun.”

  “He shot you?”

  “Nope, he shot the tires off my truck. I had a hard time explaining that one to my dad.”

  He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. The story had grown over time and with numerous tellings, but his version was still the truth. And maybe knowing it would show Madeline why he was the last person she needed her name connected with.

  But maybe it was a little too late to be thinking about that.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dawson Community Church cancelled Wednesday-night services. With just three weeks until Christmas and less than two weeks before the living nativity was scheduled to begin, it was decided they needed more practice, so everyone involved would meet at Dawson Community Center. Madeline had planned on picking Jade up after school but Jackson told her he’d bring her with him.

  Madeline pulled into the community center parking lot shortly before six. People were already there. Lights had been plugged in outside, huge shop lights with bright halogen bulbs. She walked up to the building, searching the crowds for that familiar face.

  Searching for Jackson. She shook her head and told herself to stop. Before long Jade would be going back to her mother. Jackson
would go back to his life and she’d go back to living in her empty house, uncluttered, unencumbered, empty. And she would be happy for that day to come.

  Really she would.

  “Madeline.”

  She turned quickly, spotted Jade and smiled. “You have ketchup on your chin.”

  Jade scrubbed at her face with her hand. “Better?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Madeline rubbed away the last smudge of ketchup. “What did you have for dinner?”

  “Jackson made corn dogs.”

  “Nice.” She turned, saw Jackson walk through the door and averted her gaze, returning her attention to the girl in front of her. “Did you have a good day?”

  “Yeah, but he’s a grouch.”

  Madeline nodded and decided to let it go. “Come downstairs with me. I have to get dressed and you can hang with me. If you want?”

  “Yeah, I want. How’s the puppy?”

  “Same as this morning, pitiful. I think she isn’t as bad as she wants us to think.”

  Jade laughed at that. “I think she loves the attention.” And then the girl’s smile faded. “I’m going to miss her.”

  Because this weekend they were going to Oklahoma City to try and find her mother. “I know, but you’ll get to see her again.”

  “When?” Jade walked next to her, small and slim, a kid who worked hard at being strong.

  “Soon. I promise.”

  “Right.”

  Madeline turned to the girl. “Jade, I keep my promises.”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  “Hey, where are you two going?” Jackson appeared next to Madeline.

  “Downstairs to get dressed. Don’t you have something to build?” Madeline had realized something lately. She didn’t know how to have an easygoing conversation with a man. She tried but it came out more like an order, less like banter.

  “I do have work to do. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Madeline nodded and then he left. She ignored Jade’s knowing glances and headed downstairs. Next to her Jade giggled.