Читать книгу The Cowboy's Holiday Blessing - Brenda Minton - Страница 13

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.