The Cowboy's Healing Ways (Cooper Creek) (14 page)

“Mrs. Cooper wrote the recipe on a card.” Abigail showed her the card on the counter. “It’s for you.”

Laura slipped the index card into her pocket.

The front door closed and a few minutes later they were joined by Jackson Cooper. He took off his hat and gave her daughter a big smile.

“Now, there’s the girl I was looking for. I have a brand-new baby calf and I thought you’d like to see him. I also have something else out here, but your mom has to okay it.”

“What color is the calf?” Abigail quickly forgot about pizza.

Jackson laughed. “Well, what color do you want him to be?”

“Spotted.” She giggled.

Jackson shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t have a spotted calf. This calf is red with a pretty white face.”

“Can my mom come with us?”

“Of course she can. Big girls like calves, too.”

Abigail let out a whoop and grabbed Laura by the hand. “We’re going to see a calf that’s red with a white face.”

Laura smiled and she wanted to tell Abigail about the new foal at Jesse’s and the path that led to the lake. But later—they’d talk about all of that later.

“You’re quiet.” Jackson spoke as they were walking past the stable and in the direction of the field. “Everything going okay?”

“I’m good.” She smiled and watched Abigail run ahead of them, the border collie at her side. “I’m better than I’ve been in a long time. This is the first time I’ve spent the day with her in months where we weren’t being supervised in an activity room at a state office.”

“It had to be rough. But it won’t be long and you’ll have her home for good.”

Laura nodded and managed to not cry. “I know.”

Jackson glanced back over his shoulder. Laura turned, hearing the vehicle at the same time. They moved to the side of the driveway and Laura called for Abigail to stay in the grass. Jesse’s truck slowed to a stop and he got out.

“I thought he had to work until later.” Laura bit down on her bottom lip, surprised she’d said it out loud, surprised she sounded like someone who knew his schedule, his comings and goings.

Jackson gave her a funny look but didn’t say anything, not to her. “Hey, brother, what are you doing? Playing hooky from work?”

Jesse shot Jackson a look. “I had a break and I wanted to check on things here.”

“We have a new calf.” Jackson nodded in the direction of the field and the spot of red in the grass next to a grazing cow.

“Nice calf.” Jesse smiled at Abigail, who had returned to Laura’s side. “Has Abigail seen the puppies?”

Laura held a hand out to Abigail, who stood close to her side peeking up at Jesse. Her little fingers tightened around Laura’s. Laura smiled at the daughter who had suddenly turned shy and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

“Abigail, this is Jesse.”

Abigail freed her hand and held it out to Jesse. He took her hand in his and squatted in front of her, his smile tender and making all the difference in ways Laura hadn’t imagined.

“Abigail, I am so glad to finally meet you.” He remained at her level. “Are you on your way out to see that new calf?”

She nodded and smiled at him. “My mom said there are horses here, too.”

“There are horses, and even a pony or two for big girls like you.”

Her eyes widened, and Laura remembered being six and wanting a pony. She wanted to jump in and stop Jesse from making promises. She waited, breathless, hoping that here in Dawson, with the Coopers, Abigail would learn that sometimes promises were kept. Men were strong and could be there for a woman. She wanted Abigail to know those things.

Laura didn’t dare include herself in that dream.

Jesse stood and Abigail didn’t remove her hand from his. Laura watched, amazed at how her daughter had taken to him. But then, Jesse was easy to like. He was soft-spoken and kind, and his eyes were warm and gentle.

“Will you go with me to see the calf?” Abigail held tightly to his hand, as if she didn’t plan on ever letting him go.

“I will, and then I have to get back to work.”

“We’re making homemade pizza,” Abigail told him as they opened the gate. “Do you want some?”

“I’d love homemade pizza, but I won’t be here.”

“We’ll save you some.”

“I’m counting on that.”

Laura closed her eyes briefly and thanked God for this new chapter in their lives and for people around them who kept promises.

And for Jesse. She smiled when he turned to wink at her. She could add him to the list. She was thankful he’d given her a chance.

* * *

Jesse didn’t want to go back to work. That didn’t happen often. As he walked back to his truck after seeing what Abigail called the most beautiful calf ever, he wanted to stay on the farm. Laura walked a short distance away. Abigail raced ahead, picking daisies, dandelions and anything else that looked like a flower. She handed them all to her mother, and Laura took them with a teary smile.

Jackson had walked next to him but when they got to the stable he stopped. “I’ve got some work to get done. I’m going to let you walk Laura and Abigail back to the house.”

Jesse shook his head but he didn’t argue. He almost thanked his older brother for his discretion, his unusual insight. But then, maybe he shouldn’t be so thankful. Ahead of him Laura slowed her steps and he caught up with her. She held the little bunch of flowers, sniffing a less than fragrant bouquet of what some would have called weeds. When she looked up at him, he laughed.

“What?”

He pulled her to a stop next to him. “Hold on. I know that years ago it was fun to rub a dandelion under another kid’s chin and ask if they liked butter, but I don’t think you want to spend all day—” he rubbed her chin and her cheek with his thumb “—with yellow pollen on your face.”

He stopped rubbing and his fingers moved from her chin to her neck. She swallowed and shook her head. “Jesse.”

“No, you’re right.” He let his hand drop to his side just as Abigail ran back to join them.

The little girl looked from him to her mother.

“What’s wrong?” Abigail gave him a suspicious glare.

Laura reached for her daughter’s hand. “I had yellow pollen on my face.”

“Pollen?”

“From the flowers,” she explained, and Abigail still looked suspicious.

Jesse knew it was time to make his escape. “I’m going to head back to work. Abigail, it was nice to meet you.”

“We live at your house.” Abigail’s smile was big.

“Well, not really at my house. You have your own house, but it’s near mine.”

“Do you have horses, too?”

Jesse nodded. “I have horses, too. When you come to spend the weekend with your mom, I’ll show them to you. I think we can even find one for you to ride.”

“I get to spend the weekend and go to church with her.”

“I know.” Jesse couldn’t help but think about the dad who had walked out on the little girl standing in front of him. He was missing out. Jesse’s gaze returned to Abigail’s mother. Yeah, that guy was missing out.

“Bye, Jesse.” Abigail was obviously done with him. She had another fist of flowers and she turned and headed for the house and probably his mom.

“Bye, Abigail,” he called out after her. He smiled and turned back to Laura. She held the wilted bouquet in her hand and watched her daughter. When she looked at him, the look didn’t connect.

“Jesse, I have to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

She bit down on her lip and her gaze drifted away, back to the house, to the door closing behind her daughter and the dog sitting on the front porch waiting for the little girl to return.

“Jesse, don’t make her promises. I know that’s hard for you to understand. I’m sure you have the best of intentions. People have kept their promises to you. But...”

He shook his head. “Laura, I’m not going to make promises I don’t keep.”

But what if he couldn’t keep promises? What if he let them down?

About the only thing he could promise her was a job and protection from the stepbrother who seemed determined to use her every chance he got.

Laura touched his hand, grazing her fingers against his.

“I know you wouldn’t mean to. It’s just been a hard few years for us and not a lot of good things have happened.”

“Eventually you have to stop living in the disappointments of the past. If you don’t, you won’t enjoy what you have now. You’ll always be waiting for something to go wrong, for someone to hurt you.”

She looked away. Jesse stood his ground. She lifted the flowers again, wrinkling her nose at the smell. The breeze picked up, blowing her hair, and she turned to smile at him.

“You’re right. But I have to stand my ground on this. It’s easy to make promises to a little girl, but she wants so much more. She has dreams about...”

“About?”

She shook her head. “I have to go inside and tell her goodbye.”

Dreams about what? Jesse said goodbye and walked back to his truck. As he drove to work, he ran through his mind everything Laura might have been about to say.

Only one thing really made sense. He’d been a kid in an orphanage and he remembered what he’d wanted more than anything. A family. A whole family.

Laura was telling him she didn’t want Abigail to think the three of them would be a family.

He got it.

As he pulled in the parking lot of the hospital, his cell phone rang. He answered as he parked and got out of his truck, pocketing his keys and grabbing his jacket.

“Isaac, what’s up?” Jesse stepped aside at the door and let a young family walk out.

“Just checking to make sure you’re still going to the training school with us.”

“I’ve got that week slotted for vacation time.”

Long pause. Jesse stepped through the door and waited.

“So are you still thinking this is what you want to do?”

“Have you been talking to my family?” Jesse smiled as he asked, but he didn’t feel it.

“No, I haven’t. I just know you. I know that when you see a need, you want to meet the need. If you’re called to do this, you know I’m thrilled to have you on board.”

Jesse nodded at the receptionist and the couple standing at the desk filling out paperwork. “Isaac, I promise you, I’m not going to take one step if I don’t feel like I’m supposed to go.”

“I’ve never doubted that.”

Jesse ended the call and pocketed his phone. He stepped into the quiet of his office where he could think and say a quick prayer before he started the next half of his shift. His own words rolled through his mind. He wouldn’t take one step if he didn’t feel like he was supposed to go. Six months ago this mission trip had felt like the next step in his life.

He’d been planning missions for as long as he could remember. Since he’d been a kid of about twelve and missionaries had stayed with their family for a week. He’d looked at pictures of kids a lot like himself. Kids who were sick, hungry, alone, the way he’d been before the Coopers adopted him.

He’d made a promise to himself and to God that he would help those children. As he sat there on the edge of his desk thinking back, he remembered just days ago and the family with whooping cough. Kids in need lived everywhere. But where did that leave him—and his plan?

Chapter Thirteen

A
t three o’clock on Friday afternoon, Jolynn arrived at Laura’s house with Abigail. Laura had been sitting on the front porch for an hour waiting impatiently. When the car stopped in her driveway she ran down to open the back door of the sedan.

Abigail took her seat belt off and crawled out fast.

“Mommy, there’s a gate that we had to drive through.”

“I know.” Laura kissed her daughter and hugged her tight. She smiled over Abigail’s shoulder at the caseworker. “Thank you, Jolynn.”

“No problem. I’m going to leave the two of you alone. Have a good weekend and I’ll leave it up to you to deliver her to the Coopers on Sunday afternoon.”

“We’ll be there.” Laura kissed Abigail’s cheek again. “Won’t we?”

Abigail smiled at the caseworker. “This is my new house. And there are horses and a dog. And kittens.”

The caseworker smiled. “I know you’ll have a lot of fun. Have a good weekend.”

Laura barely heard the goodbye. Her daughter grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the house.

“I want to see my bedroom and the barn and the lake.” Abigail tugged on Laura’s hand.

“We will see everything, but you have to calm down. We can only do one thing at a time.”

Abigail groaned and put a hand to her forehead. “You’re killing me.”

Laura laughed and laughed. She had her daughter back. She wanted to do a happy dance around the yard. And, like Abigail, she wanted to do everything all at once. She drew in a deep breath and fought for control.

“I have homemade cookies. Does that make you feel better?”

Abigail nodded and the two of them rushed through the house to the kitchen. Laura opened the container of cookies and put it on the counter.

“Do you want milk or water?”

“Water, please. I had milk for breakfast.” Abigail shuddered and scrunched her nose.

“Water it is.”

As she poured milk she heard a truck pull up out front. She walked to the door and peeked through the living room window. Jesse got out of the truck that happened to be pulling a horse trailer.

“Be right back.” She walked to the front door.

Jesse had made it up the sidewalk to the front porch. He had Friday afternoons off and on Fridays he looked like a cowboy in his faded jeans, T-shirt and scuffed leather boots. He pulled off a hat and swiped his hand through his dark hair, brushing it back from his face before replacing the hat.

Laura opened the door.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you.”

“I wanted to make sure she got here okay and let you know about the rodeo tomorrow. You might want to bring Abigail.”

She stood in the door. He stood on the porch. She looked back into the house, where there was no sign of Abigail.

“She would like that.”

A tiny whinny escaped the horse trailer. Jesse grinned, then he turned that sheepish look on her. Laura melted a little because he looked so much like a little boy with a scraggly bouquet behind his back. But he hadn’t brought flowers. She had a feeling he’d brought something far more complicated.