Free The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing by Brenda Minton Page B

that training kept a guy safe on the job.
    Jade hiccupped a little.
    â€œJade, 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.
    â€œGive 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.
    â€œI’m Jade Baker. My mom is Gloria Baker. We live in Oklahoma City.”
    â€œYour 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.
    â€œWe need to contact your mother.” Lance pulled a pen from his pocket. “Do you have her number?”
    â€œYeah, but good luck finding her.”
    â€œWhat 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.
    â€œJade?” Madeline had the soft touch, the gentle voice that the kid needed. He shot her a grateful smile.
    â€œShe’s never at home. She leaves for days at a time. The reason I came here is because I found my birth certificate and decided I’d find you and see if you were any better than her.”
    â€œDid you leave her a note?” Lance wrote on the pad and barely glanced up.
    â€œYeah, I left her a note. But she doesn’t care where I go as long as I’m out of her hair. She’s high most of the time and that’s what she cares about, her next score and how to pay for it.”
    â€œLet’s try to call her.” Lance waited and Jade recited a number. He pulled out his cell phone and held it to his ear. After a few tries he gave up. “No answer.”
    â€œI told you.” Jade looked down at the floor, at the dog sleeping at her feet. “I wanted a real Christmas with a real family.”
    â€œYou’re truant from school. You’re a runaway.” Lance ticked the crimes off on his fingers.
    â€œI’m with my dad,” Jade insisted and Jackson couldn’t get a word in to dispel that fact from her mind. “And I can go to school here.”
    Lance sighed and shook his head. “I have to call this in. I’m going to leave it up to you, Jackson, if you want to be responsible for taking her home.”
    â€œI’ll take her home.” He didn’t look at the woman gasping in disbelief or the kid shedding tears that dripped down her cheeks. “Next weekend. I have tomake a trip to Oklahoma City with a bull calf I’ve sold. I can take her then.”
    â€œKeep trying to make contact with her mom. And you might want to contact a lawyer to see what your legal rights are.”
    â€œI’ll do that.”
    Lance put the pen back in this pocket. “Jackson, don’t get me in trouble with the sheriff. I’m just doing my job and I can’t afford to lose my career over this.”
    Jackson leaned forward and shook the other man’s hand. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
    Lance pointed a finger in Jade’s direction. “Running away is serious. I could call a juvenile officer. If my boss tells me to, I’ll