“So, are you a decent cook?” he asked as he led her into his expansive living room with polished hardwood floors and massive leather furniture. The dog and Jade were sitting on the couch, huddled together.
“I don’t have time to cook.” Madeline tried hard not to stare, but the house invited staring. It had the sparseness of a bachelor’s home but surprising warmth.
“Just asking, sorry.” He smiled at Jade then at her. “So, what are we going to do?”
“Do?” Better yet, “we”? He didn’t need to include her in this problem.
“Yeah, do. I mean, we should probably call someone. Family services?”
“That’s a decision you’ll have to make.”
“Right.” He pointed for her to sit down.
Madeline sank into the luxurious softness of one of the two brown leather sofas. The one opposite had a blanket and pillow indicating he’d been sleeping there.
No Christmas tree. No decorations.
Jackson stood in the center of the living room. The light that filtered through the curtains caught bits and pieces of his expression as he stared at the young girl sitting on his sofa. They stared at each other and then both glanced away.
Madeline didn’t know how to help. She could deal with children in a classroom. This seemed to be more of a family situation. And she had no experience with those.
“Maybe you should sit down?” She didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t her home. Jackson stood in the center of the room, hands in his pockets. When she made the suggestion, he nodded once. Jade, sitting next to her, gave a disgusted snort.
Madeline sighed. She glanced around the big room, because the silence was uncomfortable and she wanted to head for the door. She glanced at her watch and then looked around the room again. A big stone fireplace took up the wall at the end of the room. The fire that crackled came from gas logs, not wood. A television hung over the fireplace. The walls were textured and painted a warm, natural color. If it hadn’t been for the nervous energy of Jackson Cooper standing there staring at her, and then at the girl claiming to be his daughter, Madeline might have enjoyed being in this room.
Jackson moved a chair from the nearby rolltop desk and straddled it backward. He draped his arms over the back rest and sat there, staring at Jade. His legs were stretched out in front of him. His feet were bare.
Madeline picked up the throw pillow leaning against the arm of the couch and held it in her lap. Next to her, Jade fiddled with her ragged little backpack.
Madeline did not belong in this little drama. She had to come up with something to move the action along so she could escape.
“Why did your aunt leave you here?” Jackson asked, zeroing in on the girl with a question Madeline had asked and not gotten an answer for.
Madeline shifted to look at the girl, who suddenly looked younger than her thirteen years. Jade shrugged and studied the backpack in her arms.
“Well?” Jackson might not have kids, but he had a dozen siblings and some were quite a bit younger. His parents had adopted a half dozen or so children to go along with the six biological Coopers. And then there had been Jeremy.
Next to her, Jade looked up, glaring at the man in front of them. She chewed on her bottom lip, not answering Jackson’s question. This wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
“Jade, we need to know what is going on. We might need to call the proper authorities.” Madeline smiled to herself. The word authorities always did the trick. The girl’s eyes widened and her mouth opened.
“My aunt can’t take care of me. She doesn’t have the money or a house for us.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck and when he looked at Madeline, she didn’t know what to say or do. She taught English at the local school. She wasn’t a counselor. She no longer had siblings. The other foster children in the home where she’d spent a few years until she turned eighteen hadn’t counted.
“Maybe we should have coffee.” Madeline glanced at the man sitting across from her.
Jackson smiled that smile of his, the one he probably thought conquered every female heart. With good reason. There probably wasn’t a single woman under seventy living in and around Dawson who didn’t sigh when Jackson crossed her path. But she wasn’t one of the women chasing after him. And she certainly wasn’t the type he chased.
“You know, some coffee would be good. Do you have time?”
“I can make coffee, but then I have to go. School is out but it’s a teacher work day.” She glanced at her watch again, and not at Jackson. “You should call your parents.”
Because this had nothing to do with her.
But years ago she’d been a kid like Jade, lost and alone, looking for someone to keep her safe. As much as she wanted to run from this situation, she couldn’t leave Jade alone.
Chapter Two
The schoolteacher looked at her watch again and then she sighed. He nearly sighed in unison because he didn’t know what to do with the kid sitting across from him. Madeline Patton taught school. She had to know more than him.
Jackson pushed himself up from the chair, groaning a little at the spasm in his back. He held the back of the chair and hoped it didn’t roll away, because if it did, he’d be face-first on the floor in front of God and everyone.
Madeline stood, too. She faced him, looking him over as he stood trying to get his balance. His lower back clenched and he managed a smile to cover up the grimace.
“Are you okay?” Madeline faced him, her brown eyes narrowing as she watched him, her gaze settling on his white-knuckled grip on the back of the office chair.
“I’m good…” He was great. “I think I’ll make that pot of coffee and try to sort this out.”
Some kid had knocked on his door, claiming to be his. He had broken ribs and a messed-up back. He was wonderful. Every day should start this way. He managed a smile because it wasn’t Madeline Patton’s fault.
“Maybe she should go with you?” he offered, a little bit hopeful that he was right about her being worried.
“No, she shouldn’t.” Another little glance at her watch.
“I’m in the room.” The girl slumped on the couch and Bud had curled up next to her. The dog raised its head and growled at him. Yeah, well, his hackles were raised, too.
Jackson shook his head and turned his attention back to Ms. Patton. “What do I do with her?”
“I’d start with feeding her.”
He sat down, hard. The chair rolled a little. “Right, feed her. I think there’s more to it than that.”
“I know there is.” She hefted her huge purse to her shoulder.
