Restoring Romance

Seeking a fresh start, single mom Audra Marshall uproots her family to a home she’s purchased sight unseen. But she hadn’t counted on the house needing major repairs. Enter handsome neighbor Carter Cooper. Fixing houses is Carter’s job, but it turns into more than business when Audra allows him to help her rebuild her home. Carter’s soon falling for the sweet mom and her delightful kids. But Carter’s always been hesitant of opening his heart to love. As the cautious duo work together to transform her home, will they also find a love to last a lifetime?

“You know what they say about the way to a man’s heart.”

She stiffened visibly, and Carter wanted to rope the words he’d just spoken and yank them back into his mouth.

“I should get going,” she said, pulling her van keys from the purse slung over her shoulder.

“Audra,” he said apologetically, knowing she wasn’t looking to be part of any man’s heart. She’d made that pretty clear. Friendship was as far as anything could ever go between them. But he found himself wanting more.

He chose his next words carefully.

“I know what you’ve gone through and understand your need to be guarded. But the truth is, I’d like to move beyond a working relationship where you’re concerned.”

“Carter,” she said in a panicked whisper, “please don’t.”

“Friendship, Audra,” he said determinedly. “That’s all I’m asking for. Like you, I’m not looking for anything more right now,” he added, hoping it would ease her worry. It wasn’t a lie. He knew that there would be no “right now” with her.

But tomorrow, or the day after… Well, that was another story.

KAT BROOKES is an award-winning author and past Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award finalist. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and has been blessed with two beautiful daughters. She loves writing stories that can both make you smile and touch your heart. Kat is represented by Michelle Grajkowski with 3 Seas Literary Agency. Read more about Kat and her upcoming releases at katbrookes.com. Email her at katbrookes@comcast.net. Facebook: Kat Brookes.

Her Texas Hero

Kat Brookes

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For if you forgive others their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

—Matthew 6:14

To my husband, whom I adore. You are my heart.

Thank you for your never-ending love and

support, and for showing me that real heroes

can be found beyond the pages of fiction.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Carter Cooper grabbed for the ringing cell phone on the truck seat beside him. A quick glance at the screen listed Nathan Cooper as the caller. Swiping his thumb over the answer button, he brought the phone to his ear.

“Missing me already, big brother?”

Nathan snorted. “Hardly. But I am missing the keys to my truck. You got any idea where they might have gotten to?”

A smile quirked at the corners of Carter’s mouth. “Can you describe them to me? Might help jog my memory some.”

“Carter,” Nathan growled impatiently.

“What’s wrong, Nate? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” His brother and business partner in Cooper Construction had thought it funny to line the back of Carter’s safety goggles with black shoe polish. Carter glanced up in the rearview mirror where, beneath the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses, the remainder of what he hadn’t been able to scrub off at the job site remained.

“It was Logan’s idea,” his brother grumbled.

“And you executed it.” Their younger brother, Logan, was the real prankster of the family, but he was good at getting others to join in. Or in this instance, pull off the prank for him. The fact that his little brother had gotten Nathan to play along was worth the thick black smudging he was sporting around his eyes. After losing their parents, along with his older brother’s wife, in the tornado that had ripped through their tiny town of Braxton more than a year ago, Nathan seemed to have lost himself, as well. He knew the only thing that kept his big brother from giving up on life, at least as far as Carter was concerned, was Nathan’s beautiful little daughter, Katie. Or as Carter was fond of calling his six-year-old niece—Katydid.

“All right, guilty as charged,” his brother conceded. “Now where are my truck keys?”

“You know that bucket of wall primer...?” Carter teased as he turned off the main road, intending to take a shortcut into town, where he would swing by the hardware store and pick up something to take the remaining shoe polish off his face.

His brother groaned. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t,” Carter said with a chuckle. “They’re...” His words trailed off as his attention was drawn to movement outside the open driver’s side window. Just past the wildly overgrown hedgerow that lined the inside of the faded white property fence, a woman lay facedown atop the sagging porch roof of the old abandoned Harris house. At least, the upper half of her did. The rest of her dangled down over the roof’s edge.

Slowing his truck, he glanced back at the scene he’d just driven by. Crime was virtually nonexistent in Braxton, Texas. And the only thing anyone would find in that old place would be cobwebs and dust balls, so he immediately wrote off the possibility of a robbery. So what was that woman doing up on the old farmhouse’s porch roof?

That last thought had barely surfaced when a high-pitched cry cut through the warm spring air. “Help!”

“Carter?” his brother prompted, his impatience growing.

“In the toolbox,” he blurted out. “Gotta go.” He disconnected the call, then stepped on the brake. Throwing his truck into Reverse, he backed up to the drive that led to the dilapidated old farmhouse that no one had lived in for a good ten years or more.

Sure enough, the woman dangled from the edge of the aging farmhouse’s sagging porch roof. She was definitely in trouble. Carter turned his truck into the dirt-and-gravel drive and drove at breakneck speed up to the house, sending a billowing cloud of dust up into the air behind him.

He was out of the truck in no time, racing toward the wraparound porch where the wooden ladder the woman had been using to climb onto the roof had kicked away and was now resting haphazardly against the thick, sprawling branch of a honey mesquite.

The woman was fortunate, he thought with a concerned frown. If the tree hadn’t taken root so close to the old farmhouse... Well, he wasn’t even going to think about what the outcome might have been. As it was, one flip-flop-covered foot rested at an awkward angle against the top rung of the rickety old ladder. The woman’s other foot, currently shoeless, struggled to find purchase below her with no success.

“Hold on!” he called out to her. And then he did something he hadn’t done since his daddy and poor little Katie had been taken to the hospital after the tornado. He prayed.

Lord, please let me reach this woman in time.

Years of working construction, much of that time spent atop ladders, told him that her legs wouldn’t be able to hold out for long before cramping would set in.

“Mommy!” a tiny voice whimpered.

Carter’s gaze shot up to the second-story window just beyond the woman, noticing for the first time the two little faces peeking out, eyes wide with worry.

“Mommy’s fine, sweetie,” she replied, her words strained. “I’ve got a hold on the rope loop Mason made for me.”

His gaze shifted to the length of what looked to be a half-inch manila rope that spilled out over the open windowsill and ran down the weathered asphalt shingles. At the end of the rope was a large loop, which the woman held in a determinedly white-knuckled grasp.

He stepped up to the fallen ladder, just beneath her dangling form. “Are you injured?”

“No,” she called down. “But I seem to have lost my other flip-flop.”

She could have lost a lot more than that, he thought, his frown deepening. “It’s right here on the ground,” he told her as he eyed the cotton-candy-pink flip-flop lying on the grass in front of a flowering Texas sage shrub. “What are you doing up there anyway?” he called up to her with a frown.

“Retrieving a Frisbee.”

His dark brow shot up. A Frisbee? The woman had risked her neck for a Frisbee? “How about we rescue you instead?”

“I... I’m okay with that.”

His mouth quirked, despite the seriousness of the situation. “I’m gonna reposition this ladder, but I want you to keep your foot braced against it while I do. Then I’m gonna hold the ladder in place so you can climb down.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said unevenly.

He couldn’t see her face from where he stood, but he didn’t have to see it to know she was more shaken than she was letting on. “Okay, I’m gonna start lifting the ladder back toward the roof.” He raised it slow enough to allow the woman to maintain her foothold, prepared to catch her if her foot slipped and she fell. “Okay, work your other foot over to the ladder,” he told her the moment he had the ladder firmly back in place.

Ever so tentatively, her bare foot felt its way to the top rung. Her long ponytail swung ever so slightly behind her, the afternoon sun bringing out the glints of gold in the honey-brown strands.

“That’s it, darlin’,” he said, his grip firm on the ladder.

Her legs trembled beneath her, making the ladder vibrate. The shudder was subtle, but it told him that her strength was nearly spent. “Steady...” he said, wishing he could go up to get her. But the ladder was old and too unsteady to risk it. No, he had to make this work. In doing so, he offered up another silent prayer for the Lord to deliver her safely to the ground below.

“Now work your way down,” he coaxed calmly.

She started to step down and then stopped. “I can’t. The rope isn’t long enough.”

He glanced up toward the window. “What’s that rope secured to anyway?”

“An old iron bed,” she replied shakily. “At least, the frame. There’s no mattress. It’s the only thing in the room.”

“If that bed frame’s in the same shape as that roof you’re lying on and this ladder I’m holding on to, it’s best we don’t have you holding on to that rope much longer. You’re gonna have to let go of it so you can grab on to the ladder.”

“What if I fall?” she said, sounding on the verge of tears. “I can’t fall. My children need me. I’m all they have.”

He thought of the two frightened faces he saw in the window above. Her children were counting on him to get their momma down safely. A feeling like he’d never known came over him and he knew that God had turned him down her road, one he rarely ever traveled on, for a reason.

“I’m not gonna let you fall,” he assured her.

“And if I do?” she demanded with a muffled sob.

“I’ll catch you,” he answered without hesitation. “Either way, you’re safe with me.”

* * *

You’re safe with me. Audra Marshall replayed those words over and over in her mind as she moved down the old ladder. They were the same words she’d heard before from the man who’d promised to love her forever. A man who’d failed to hold to his vows, leaving her to raise their two young children alone.

“Mommy?” her nearly five-year-old daughter called down worriedly. “Are you going to leave us, too?”

“Mommy’s not going anywhere,” she quickly assured her little girl, having heard the panic in her voice. Then she felt herself being lifted from the ladder into a pair of strong arms. “I’m...” She’d almost said she was safe now, but considering she was being held in the arms of a man she didn’t know, she couldn’t bring herself to say those words. She did, however, say a prayer of thanks to God for watching over her. Not that she’d expected the help she’d prayed for, while clinging frantically to the loop of rope her son had tossed down to her, to show up in the form of a Texas cowboy. Hat and all.

“Why don’t you kids pull that rope back in through the window and untie it? Then bring it on down with you?” the man hollered up toward the roof’s overhang. Then he muttered, “The last thing we need is for one of them to use that rope to climb out onto the roof to see that you’re all right.”

“I’ve raised my children to have more sense than that,” she said stiffly, automatically defensive when it came to even the slightest criticism where her son and daughter were concerned. Her ex-husband had done nothing but that for the past three years.

The man holding her securely in his strong arms paused midstep to look down at her from behind the mirrored shades of his sunglasses, which were shadowed by the brim of his cowboy hat. Then his head tilted ever so slightly upward, and if she had her guess she’d say he’d just rolled his eyes heavenward beneath the concealing lenses of his sunglasses.

“I would hope they do,” he said. “But I did just save their momma from breaking her pretty little neck after she tried to retrieve a plastic disc from a rotted roof using a ladder better used for kindling than climbing on.”

“I didn’t know the roof was rotted,” she replied with a frown. “Just a little sunken.” The ladder, however, she had actually hesitated in using. But after a moment’s indecision, she’d given in, deciding that it looked strong enough to hold her for the short time it would take for her to grab her son’s Frisbee and toss it down. What she hadn’t counted on was having it tip out from under her.

“Maybe so,” he said, “but I’m not about to risk your little ones getting hurt because they don’t know better, either.”

She looked up at him in stunned surprise. Here was a man who didn’t even know her children, yet he was voicing his concern, rather adamantly, about their well-being, when their own father couldn’t care less. She couldn’t keep the tears from filling her eyes.

“Ma’am,” he said, his deep, baritone voice laced with concern. “Are you hurt?”

She fought back the tears, shaking her head. “No, I... I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” And sore. Every muscle in her body felt like she’d just rolled down a steep hillside. “I appreciate your concern for my children. I’ll have a talk with them and make certain they know never to go out onto that roof. Any roof for that matter.”

He nodded. “Glad to hear it. Now let’s get you over to that porch swing,” he said as he headed for the crumbling walkway that led to the old farmhouse’s deep-set porch.

“I can walk,” she protested without much conviction as she clung to her rescuer’s wide shoulders. Despite her stubborn determination to stand on her own two feet, she honestly wasn’t sure she could at that moment. She felt like a rag doll without any stuffing.

“Humor me,” he replied, his long strides never slowing until he had her lowered safely onto the porch swing, which, thankfully, appeared to be sturdier than the ladder she had found in the garage.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Mr....”

“Cooper,” he said as he took a step back, putting some distance between them. “Carter Cooper.”

“Audra Marshall,” she replied with a tentative smile as she settled back against the swing, her legs trembling. Her right calf ached from having been perched on the ball of her foot atop the ladder rung for so long. She attempted to stretch the cramping limb, pointing her toes downward. Before she could lift her toes upward to complete the motion, the muscle in her calf knotted up painfully, drawing a soft cry from her lips.

Vivid blue eyes studied her. “Cramp?” Carter Cooper asked worriedly.

“Yes,” she gasped as tears once again filled her eyes.

Kneeling in front of her, he lifted her foot, flip-flop and all, in his large hand and then gently pushed her toes upward, effectively stretching the contracting muscle.

“What are you doing?” Her words came out in a pained whisper.

He looked up at her from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat. “Working the cramp out,” he said matter-of-factly. Then his focus returned to the painfully knotted muscle in her leg. Keeping the pressure steady, he held her foot in place for several seconds before easing up on the tension he’d been applying. Then he repeated the motion once more. “Helping?”

“Yes,” she said, pulling her leg free of his grasp. “It seems I’m indebted to you yet again.”

Looking up at her, he said, “I only did what my momma raised me to do.”

“Please thank your mother for me,” she said with a smile. “She raised a very thoughtful son.”

His mouth pulled into a grimace. Then he straightened to tower over her. “Afraid I can’t do that,” he said. “We lost her two Christmases ago.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said, her heart going out to him. She’d lost both her parents in a boating accident on Lake Michigan the summer after her high school graduation. Maybe if that hadn’t happened she wouldn’t have rushed into marriage, needing to fill the void her parents’ death had left in her life. No, she probably would have married Bradford anyway. Several years older than her, he’d been a good Christian man with a financially stable job who said all the right things. Sent her flowers. She’d loved him and she thought he’d loved her back. And maybe he had. Until the children were born and he was no longer the sole focus of her attention.

“If your leg starts cramping up again,” her rescuer began, that deep, husky voice pulling her from her troubled musings, “there are a couple of things you can do to try and relieve it. Massage your calf to work the cramp out, or stretch it out like I just did, holding it for a few seconds. Then ease up, repeating the motion until you feel the muscle relax. A warm shower can help as well.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll keep your suggestions in mind.”

He nodded and had just reached up to remove his sunglasses, which were unnecessary now that he was standing beneath the cooling shade of the porch, when the screen door flung open with a loud groan, drawing his attention that way. A second later, her son and daughter flew out of the house.

“Mommy!” four-year-old Lily cried out, racing toward Audra with her tiny arms outstretched, bypassing the towering cowboy without even a moment’s hesitation in her eagerness to reach her.

“Mo—” her son began and then stopped with a gasp halfway across the porch. Green eyes widening, Mason, coiled rope in hand, stood staring up at her rescuer, who was well over six feet in height. A good bit taller than what they were used to, Bradford being only five-nine on a good day.

Sunglasses dangling at his side, Carter Cooper smiled down at her son. “You must be Mason. Nice work with that rope loop.”

“It’s you!” her son said in what sounded like awe, still openly staring up at the man.

“Mason, honey?” she said, attempting to draw her son’s attention away from their unexpected, but very much appreciated, visitor. A man the Lord had sent in answer to her fervent prayers as she’d hung, fearful for her life, from the sagging roof.

Her son’s gaze finally shifted, meeting hers. “Mommy,” he said excitedly, “you were rescued by the Lone Ranger!”

“The Lone Ranger?” Carter Cooper replied with a husky chuckle. “Afraid not, son. The only thing that fictional Texas Ranger and I have in common is that we both wear cowboy hats. Unless you count the fact that I drive a silver Ford F-150 and the Lone Ranger rides a horse named Silver.” He glanced back at Audra with a crooked grin. “My brothers would have a field day with this one.”

“Sweetie, Mr. Cooper is not...” Her words trailed off as her gaze shifted from her son to her rescuer. Her hand flew to her mouth in an attempt to muffle the snort of laughter that shot through her lips as she eyed the smudging of black around his eyes that had previously been covered up by his sunglasses.

“He is the Lone Ranger!” her daughter exclaimed. “He has dark hair and he’s wearing a mask,” she added, pointing to the mask of black encircling his blue eyes.

“Honey, it’s not polite to point,” Audra said, fighting the smile that threatened to spill across her face. “But I think you’re right.”

The man looked from her and Lily to her son in confusion. And then his expression changed. With a groan, he pointed to the dark circles around his eyes and said, “He’s referring to this?”

Audra nodded.

“It’s not polite to point,” her daughter told him, mimicking her mother’s earlier reprimanding words.

“It doesn’t count if you’re pointing your finger at yourself,” Mason told his sister.

“But if he’s not the Lone Ranger, why is he wearing a mask?” her daughter asked in confusion.

Audra had to admit she was wondering that same thing herself. “Can you tell they watch a lot of old Westerns?” she said lightly, trying to cover the fact she felt a little unnerved by the sight of a man who went around with his face painted like a raccoon’s.

“It’s all right,” he assured her with a grin as he slipped the sunglasses back onto his face. “I’m wearing this mask because my brothers thought it would be funny to play a prank on me.”

“Your brothers did that to you?” she said, unable to hide the relief that flooded her voice. Being new to Braxton, Texas, she knew nothing about the people who lived there. She only knew that the tiny town had rated well when it came to crime of any kind. A true safe haven to raise her children in. And it was in Texas, a place she and the children had been drawn to thanks to all those old Westerns they loved to watch together on TV.

He nodded. “Their idea of a joke.”

She fought to keep the grin from her face, not wanting to be impolite at his expense. “How naughty of them.”

“How did they do it?” her son asked with that same uncontainable curiosity most boys his age were filled with. “Did they pin you to the ground and paint your face?”

“Are you going to paint me?” Lily asked her brother, a worried look on her tiny face.

“No,” Audra said. “Your brother is not going to paint you.”

“How they did it isn’t important,” Carter Cooper replied. “They’ve since realized the error of their ways. At least, my older brother has. I haven’t seen my younger brother yet to set him straight.” He looked around and then back at her. “I should get going. I was on my way into town to pick up something to get this off my face when I noticed you hanging from the roof.”

The sooner he was on his way, the better, Audra thought. While she was grateful to the man for coming to her rescue, she didn’t want her children’s fascination with Carter Cooper to grow any more than it was at that moment, with their having thought him to be one of their favorite TV characters come to life. Or even worse, their becoming attached to him in any way whatsoever. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. Couldn’t allow it to happen. Not when her children had already been forced to deal with their father turning his back on them. Whatever it took, she would protect their young hearts from feeling the pain of abandonment ever again.

“I’d offer to help you remove it,” she said, knowing it was the least she could have done after what he’d done for her, “but we only just arrived and almost everything we own is still packed in boxes in my van and in the moving truck that’s on its way. I wanted to check things out and give the children a chance to play outside a bit before we started moving in.”

His dark brow shot up. “You bought this place?”

She nodded. “Through an online auction site.”

He glanced around, his mouth pulling down into a frown.

She completely understood his reaction, having seen the place now for herself. “I have to admit it looked a little more promising in pictures.”

His gaze shifted back to her. “Are you telling me you purchased this house after seeing it only in pictures online?”

She looked down at her daughter, running her fingers through Lily’s tangled golden-brown curls. “Traveling from Illinois to Texas and back just to see a house that was advertised as being in need of some tender loving care seemed like a waste of money that could be used on those repairs instead.”

“Not to be the bearer of bad news,” he said with a frown, “but this place is in need of far more than some tender loving care. If the inside is anything like the outside, you’re looking at a near total gut, if not a complete one.”

A total gut? Surely he was exaggerating. She glanced around with a troubled frown. “I think it looks worse than it is.” At least, she hoped so. She couldn’t afford to totally renovate the whole house inside and out. Not with Bradford still owing her court-ordered child support for the time he was still considered legally their father. At least she had her half of the money from the sale of their house in Chicago, minus the few months’ rent she’d had to pay while looking for a place for her and her children to start their lives again.

“My curtains are made of spiderwebs,” Lily announced, scrunching up her tiny nose.

“And the back door won’t open,” Mason added with a frown.

Embarrassment warmed Audra’s cheeks. “Cobwebs can be swept away and the door just needs a little oil.”

The man cleared his throat. “I doubt oiling the door is gonna fix your problem. Chances are the door is a little swollen from all the rain and humidity we’ve had in the past few weeks.” He glanced around. “As old as this place is and knowing how long it’s been sitting here unattended to, there’s a real good possibility the foundation has shifted and it’s throwing things off.”

The foundation? That sounded more than a little costly. “You sound like you’ve dealt with this problem before,” she said, wondering how he could know these things when he hadn’t even taken a look at her door yet. Maybe this was a common problem in Texas.

“I have,” he replied with a nod. “My brother and I own a construction company. We do a lot of home renovations as well as new builds. I’d be happy to take a look at your door and give you an idea of what you’ll need to do to fix the problem.”

“Maybe Daddy could fix it,” Lily suggested.

Audra cringed at her daughter’s hopeful words.

“We don’t have a daddy anymore,” Mason reminded her in a tone laced with both hurt and anger.

“I forgot,” Lily said woefully. Then, looking up at a sober-faced Carter Cooper, she added, “Our daddy gave us away.”

Before Audra had a chance to respond, her son puffed out his chest and announced, “I’m the man of the house now.”

Guilt weighed heavily on her heart. “My husband and I are divorced,” she said, somehow managing to get the words past the emotion constricting her throat. “He decided fatherhood wasn’t for him and gave up his parental rights.” Her bottom lip quivered as she fought the urge to cry. Maybe it was the long drive to Texas, or even the scare she’d had up on the roof, but her emotions felt incredibly raw at that moment.

She had failed as a wife and now as a mother if one listened to her children’s words. At six years old, her son shouldn’t have to be the “man of the house.” And no child should ever feel like their father simply gave them away. But everything they said was true. Mason was the only male in the house and their father had signed over all rights to his children without even a moment’s hesitation. And she had failed God, because she had spoken vows to love, honor and cherish. None of which she’d been able to bring herself to do at the end of her marriage.

But this was her chance to start over. To give her children the kind of life they deserved. One where they would feel happy and safe, never doubting her love for them. Her gaze shifted to the peeling porch paint and the weathered cracks in the wood framing the porch windows and she knew she had her work cut out for her. But with determination, hard work and a fair amount of prayer, she would turn this dilapidated old house into a true home for herself and her children.

Chapter Two

Carter shifted uneasily. What did he say to that? He hated the sorrow he’d heard in Audra Marshall’s voice. A woman alone, raising two young children all by herself. And now she had to deal with this dilapidated old house she’d purchased online.

Her daughter’s heart-wrenching words played through his mind. Our daddy gave us away. What kind of man gave up his own children? Not him. At least, he wouldn’t if he were ever to have a child of his own, which he had no intention of doing. He was plenty content to spoil Katie rotten and then send her home to her daddy. To think Audra’s ex had so little appreciation of his beautiful little girl and smart-as-a-whip little boy made his heart ache for them.

Life was too precious. He’d learned that a little over a year before, when the F4 twister took the lives of his parents and his sister-in-law. It was a day that would never be erased from his mind. He and Nathan had been the ones to find their parents. They’d pulled their momma’s lifeless body from the rubble that had once been their family home and then found their daddy, broken and bloodied, close by. By then rescuers had arrived and a desperate search went on for Isabel and Katie. Carter had been the one to find Isabel, who’d looked like a broken doll. Her last words had been “Keep them safe and happy for me, Carter.” Words he would honor. Words he had kept to himself, not wanting Nathan to know his beloved wife had suffered even in the slightest before passing. It was better that way.

Katie, who the rescuers had found cut and bleeding, her leg severely broken, in what had once been his parents’ hall closet, had been the only survivor. Their daddy, who had been severely injured, was called home to the Lord just a day after losing his beloved wife of thirty-two years. His brother had done his best to fill the void Isabel’s death had left in their young daughter’s life, but it had taken a toll on Nathan emotionally. On all of them, truth be told. The tragedy of that day had changed all of their lives forever. And unlike houses, which could be repaired, hearts were a whole different story. His brothers were living proof of that.

“You’re really tall,” Lily said, drawing Carter back from his troubled thoughts. She looked up at him from her perch atop the porch swing, where she sat beside her mother. The same light brown eyes flecked with gold as her mother’s. The same honey-brown hair.

“Reckon I am,” he replied with a grin.

“Bet you could reach the spiderweb curtains on my windows.”

“Lily,” Audra gasped, “Mr. Cooper is not cleaning the cobwebs from your windows.”

“I happen to be real good at removing cobwebs from high places,” he said. “I’d be happy to—”

“We’ve held Mr. Cooper up long enough,” she said, not giving him the chance to offer any more assistance than he already had. Easing her young daughter upright in the swing, Audra Marshall pushed to her feet. “I’ll show you to the back door so you can take a quick look at it and then you can get on your way.”

As he followed her into the house, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was anxious to get rid of him because he’d overstayed his welcome, or if she really felt like she’d imposed on his time.

“I’d ask you to forgive the mess,” she called back over her shoulder as she made her way toward the back of the house, “but I assume you understand.”

“Completely,” he replied. He did a mental sweep around him. The outside was in need of major repairs, but the inside was far worse. A major undertaking for even a professional like himself. “So you’re gonna be hiring someone to do the necessary repairs to the house?”

“I hadn’t planned on it,” she replied as she led him down a wide hallway.

“Excuse me?”

“I came here with the intention of doing most of it myself,” she explained without slowing her steps.

“Mommy can fix anything,” Lily said as she scurried to walk beside him. “She fixed my dolly’s broken arm.”

He chuckled, slowing his step to allow her to keep up. His gaze dropped down to her adorable little face. “Did she now?”

“A little glue goes a long way,” Audra said, her determined strides taking her into the kitchen.

Maybe when it came to small fix-its. But glue wasn’t going to make this house habitable. “You really should reconsider hiring someone on to help with the repairs.”

“There are plenty of books on doing home repairs.” She crossed the room and stopped next to what could only be the inoperable door. Then she turned to face him. “I’m a fast learner.”

He should have known that, as determinedly as she’d hung on to keep from falling off that roof, the woman was bound to have a stubborn side. Carter stepped up to the door to inspect it. “Before I leave, I’ll get that Frisbee down off the roof for you.”

“I’d rather you not risk getting hurt trying to do that for us,” she said with a frown.

His gaze shifted to her children, who were taking in every word like little sponges. “While I appreciate your concern for my safety,” he said as he once again removed his sunglasses and shoved them down into the front pocket of his shirt, “I go up onto roofs, good ones and bad ones, for a living.” He knelt to check out the doorknob and its locking mechanism. “And I’d never forgive myself for driving off with that Frisbee still up there. Too tempting for certain persons who might be stirred to try and find some way to get it off all by themselves.” He gave a slight nod in the direction of the children. “That should be left to someone who knows what they’re doing up on that roof.”

She glanced in her children’s direction. “Mr. Cooper’s right. Never go up on the roof. It’s too dangerous.” Her gaze shifted back to him. “If you’re sure you have the time to spare, I’d appreciate your help in getting it down.”

“Finished up work early today,” he told her, his focus returning to the stubborn old door, which was determined not to budge from the frame it was nestled far too snugly in. “Nothing else planned for the rest of my day except removing this ridiculous raccoon mask I’m sporting.”

A soft giggle sounded beside him, drawing his gaze upward. He quirked a brow.

“Sorry,” Audra said, not bothering to hide her amusement. “Actually,” she said, studying his face more closely, “in some strange way, the ‘mask’ suits you.”

“I’m not sure if I should thank you for the slightly offhanded compliment, or if I should put my sunglasses back on, which I will tell you will make it pretty hard to see what I’m doing here,” he added, motioning toward the door.

“Compliment,” she said with a smile. “Without a doubt.”

She was sweet, but he didn’t believe a word of her flattery. There was no doubt in his mind that he looked ridiculous. It was no wonder she wasn’t jumping at the chance to hire him on for her house renovations. Who in their right mind would consider hiring on a man wearing a shoe-polish mask? He stood, straightening to his full height. “As I suspected, the door’s rotted and swollen. It’s gonna need to be replaced.”

Her smile faded for the briefest of moments before she drew back her shoulders and lifted her chin. “We’ll just have to make do with one door for a while.”

One door? What if there were a fire and the front door wasn’t accessible? “It could be shaved down some as a temporary fix,” he suggested. “But you really should consider replacing it.”

She bit her bottom lip as if mentally assessing her choices. Then she turned to her children. “Kids, run out to the van and get Mr. Cooper a bottle of water from the cooler.”

Before he could tell her not to bother, her children were gone.

She turned back to him, craning her neck as she looked up at him. He hadn’t realized before what a tiny thing she was. Five-three if she were fortunate. Nearly a foot shorter than his own six foot two inches. “My children have had enough to deal with in their lives. The last thing they need to do is worry about my being able to take care of them. The truth is, my funds are limited right now. So a new door is out of the question. My money needs to go to the more demanding repairs.”

He nodded. That didn’t mean he liked the thought of her trying to handle this project on her own. Pulling out his wallet, he withdrew his business card and handed it to her. “Since you don’t know me from Adam, here’s my card to prove I have a little bit of experience with these sorts of things.” He wanted her to trust him. Why it mattered so much he had no idea, but it did.

She took the offered card, her gaze drifting over it. “As I’ve already said, hiring on a professional isn’t in the budget. But with the good Lord’s help we’ll figure it out.”

He fought the urge to frown. The good Lord might be watching over them, but home renovations were not something he’d be seeing to. And even with God’s guidance Audra Marshall would not be able to do this on her own. “I’ll stop by tomorrow to repair the back door.”

“That won’t be necessary,” she said without hesitation. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it.”

Stubborn. Determined. Prideful female. Carter mentally ticked off a list of appropriate descriptions for Audra Marshall while he came to terms with her refusal of his offer. But it was her house. Her door. Her decision to make. So he grudgingly explained what she would have to do to fix the door. At least temporarily. “If there’s anything else I can do to help,” he told her, “just give me a ring. My cell phone number’s on the bottom of the card.”

She glanced down at the light gray business card she still clutched in her hand and then back up at him. “Thank you, but I’m sure it won’t be necessary.” She held out her hand, intending to give the card back to him.

“Keep it,” he insisted and then added with a tempered smile, “Just in case.”

He waited, fully expecting her to refuse him again. Instead, she nodded, setting the card on the kitchen counter beside her.

Odd how such a small victory had him feeling like he’d won the Super Bowl. “Reckon I oughta go get that Frisbee down so you and the little ones can get back to settling in.”

“I suppose so,” she said, her gaze taking in the room. “We have a bit of cleaning to do to make the bedrooms sleep-ready.” She started from the room, limping slightly as she went.

“Your calf okay?” he asked as he followed.

“Starting to feel a little tender.”

“Try not to baby it,” he said. “I know it’s uncomfortable to walk on, but you have to keep that calf muscle stretched out.”

“I think you went into the wrong line of work, Mr. Cooper,” she said, flashing a smile back at him over her shoulder. “You really should have been a doctor.”

“I was a volunteer firefighter for a couple of years after I graduated from high school, during which time I received training in first aid, but my true calling is construction.”

“I have to wonder,” she said with a smile.

He let out a husky laugh. “Trust me. These hands are far better off hammering nails than tending to patients. I’m blue collar through and through.” Reaching past her, he opened the screen door, holding it until she was safely out on the porch. Then he stepped out behind her.

“But you own your company,” she replied. “Wouldn’t that make you more white collar?”

“Not for a second,” he answered honestly. “I work right alongside my crew doing any type of physical labor the job calls for. The work can be hard. It can be dirty. And, on occasion, dangerous.”

“I—”

“Here you go,” Lily hollered as she raced up onto the porch, ending any further discussion about his chosen occupation. Smiling, she held out the bottle of water she and her brother had gone to retrieve for him.

“Thanks.”

“Mommy,” Mason said, following right behind. His mouth was drawn down into a worried frown. “The cooler is leaking.”

She sighed tiredly. “The plug must have come loose again.”

“While you see to the cooler,” Carter said, “I’ll go grab a more reliable ladder from my truck and get that Frisbee down.”

“You might as well leave it up there,” Lily told him.

He glanced down at her. “You don’t want me to get it down so you can play with it?”

“It’ll just go up there again,” she said, glancing toward her brother. “Mason’s not a good thrower.”

The boy’s brows drew together at his sister’s insult. “I’m a better thrower than you are!”

“Children,” Audra admonished.

“It’s true,” her son said. “I wish I had someone to throw with that knows how to play Frisbee.”

“Your sister tries her best,” she said calmly.

“I don’t like to throw,” Lily said, her bottom lip pulling downward into a pout.

It was clear to see feelings were about to get hurt. “Not everyone does,” he assured her. “You’re probably really good at tea parties.”

Her little face lit up. “I am!”

He offered her a smile and then looked to Mason. “My niece, Katydid, who’s about your age I would guess, loves to play Frisbee. I’ll have to introduce you to her since you’re gonna be living here.”

The boy’s expression was priceless—wide-eyed and openmouthed, displaying a small gap where two of his bottom baby teeth had once been. “She’s named after a bug?”

Carter chuckled. “Not really. Katydid is what I call her. Her real name is Katherine Marie, but everyone calls her Katie.”

“Mommy, the van’s raining!” Lily exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal.

They all turned to see water spilling out from behind the sliding passenger door the kids had left partially open.

Audra gasped. “Oh, no! Excuse me,” she called back as she broke into a run for her van.

Carter watched her go. Lord, he thought to himself, if anyone needs a little extra help, it’s her. Not that she’d accept it. Audra Marshall was determined to go it on her own. Stubborn female.

* * *

“I’m hungry,” Lily whined, drawing Audra’s gaze across what would be the master bedroom, to where her young daughter had settled herself onto the freshly scrubbed hardwood floor. Arms crossed. Bottom lip pushed out in a pout.

Her baby girl was exhausted. Understandably so. The three of them had worked hard the past few hours, sweeping and scrubbing down the kids’ rooms, along with the upstairs bathroom and part of the kitchen, all of which had been monumental tasks. The rest of the cleaning could wait until the next day, her own room included. At least the floor was clean, even if the walls weren’t. She cast a fretful glance around the room, taking in its faded, peeling wallpaper and scuffed-up hardwood floor, and felt the overwhelming urge to cry. Lord, please give me the strength to do what needs to be done here.

At least they would have a roof over their heads, albeit a slightly sunken one, but a roof all the same. Her children would have clean rooms to sleep in, free of dust motes and cobwebs. And while she’d given the kitchen a fairly thorough scrubbing, Audra didn’t have the strength left to make use of it and cook dinner for the three of them.

She looked toward the sleeping bag she’d unrolled, where the bed would be. It was only for one night. The moving truck with her oversize storage containers was scheduled to arrive the following day and then she’d be able to get their beds set up and make the place look more like a home.

“Mommy,” her daughter pleaded woefully.

Audra managed a tired smile. “Why don’t we wash up, then take a ride into town to get something to eat?”

Her daughter’s eyes lit up. “Can we get a big dog?”

The big dog her daughter was referring to was the hot-dog shop they had passed by in town when they’d arrived in Braxton. A place called Big Dog’s. She had to admit it wasn’t exactly the healthiest choice for their overly late dinner, but her daughter had worked hard. If Lily wanted a hot dog for dinner, she was going to have one.

“Go down and wake your brother. Tell him to come inside and wash his face and change his shirt before we go.”

“Okay!” Lily sprang to her feet and raced from the room.

“You, too!” she called after her.

Moments later, the front screen door creaked open and then banged shut. Mason had volunteered to carry the trash bucket downstairs whenever it got full and out to the two battered aluminum garbage cans they’d found out back. He was exhausted as well and had curled up on the porch swing some forty minutes or so earlier, falling fast asleep.

Audra bent to grab on to the handle of the scrub bucket, carrying it and the mop she’d been using into the bathroom. Her arms ached. Her back ached. And this was only the beginning. The thought of everything that needed to be done was emotionally overwhelming. Her children deserved so much better than this. If only she had known what they would be getting into. But she hadn’t. Just as she hadn’t known the man she’d pledged her love to years before would walk away from the faith they had shared, the love they had shared, the family they had shared.

Had shared, because Bradford had chosen to give up all legal rights to Mason and Lily. No, he had insisted, been determined to free himself from the... How had he put it? The baggage he’d saddled himself with? That was how Bradford Marshall regarded the family he had created. As baggage. He’d given them all up without an ounce of regret. And for what? Another woman. One who, like Bradford, didn’t want to be tied down with the responsibilities of being a parent.

In the end, the decision had been up to Audra as to whether or not she would release him from his parental rights, which in their case was nothing more than the financial support Bradford was required to give to her children after the divorce. Payments he failed to make, leaving Audra to provide sole financial support for their children. So after many hours spent in prayer and some very tear-filled visits with their preacher, she came to the decision to allow Bradford to cut all ties with her children. Forcing him to stay a part of their lives would only make him more resentful toward Mason and Lily. They would have been forced to endure more of Bradford’s constant criticism, his unprovoked anger and, worst of all, his icy indifference.

Audra swiped at her dirt-smudged cheek to brush away the telltale trail of moisture, not wanting her children to see her crying. Her heart ached. Not for the loss of her marriage. That had ended long before anything had been finalized legally. But for her children. They deserved a father who would cherish them. What they had gotten was a man who had considered them hindrances to the life he wanted to live.

“Lily said we’re going for hot dogs.”

She turned to find a sleepy-eyed Mason standing in the bathroom doorway. “As soon as we get cleaned up,” she said, forcing herself to pull it together. She looked past her son. “Where’s your sister?”

“Waiting in the van,” he replied with a yawn.

Rolling her eyes, she started for the door. “Scrub your face while I go get Lily. And be sure to change into a clean shirt.” She headed outside to get her daughter. She understood Lily’s need for a real meal. The snacks they’d eaten while taking breaks from their cleaning had helped to tide them over, but only temporarily. But Audra wasn’t about to take either of her children into town looking like ragamuffins. She’d already made a very poor first impression on one of Braxton’s residents.

The memory of Carter Cooper’s “masked” face managed to bring a smile to her own. But only for a moment, before she remembered he was the kind of man she needed to steer clear of. Kind and charming, and from what she could see of his face, quite handsome, as well. All of the things Bradford had been, and look where that led her.

Pushing all thoughts of her ex and Carter Cooper from her mind, Audra made her way out to the van, where Lily sat buckled in the backseat, door open while she waited for them to join her.

“I’m ready to go,” Lily whined.

“Honey, I know you’re hungry,” she said sympathetically. “We all are. But you need to go back inside and wash up before can we go.”

Her daughter frowned. “Can’t I wash up there?”

“Most restaurants prefer their diners to come in somewhat clean,” she explained. “Not with bits of cobweb clinging to their clothes and dirt smudged on their faces.”

Lily looked down at her shirt and gave a tiny sigh as she released the belt securing her in the seat. “Okay.”

Smiling, Audra followed her back into the house.

Twenty minutes later, looking far more presentable, they pulled into one of the empty parking spaces in front of Big Dog’s. Of which there were plenty. Considering it was nearly eight o’clock at night, the mostly empty street didn’t surprise her.

Audra’s gaze zeroed in on the restaurant-hours sign in the door and relief swept through her. Big Dog’s was open until 10:00 p.m. Lily would have been so disappointed if they’d had to go somewhere else and she’d already disappointed her children enough. Not that they’d ever voiced any such thing, but it was how she felt inside.

Her children were out of the van and waiting at the entrance to the restaurant before Audra had even shut off the engine.

“Hurry up, Mommy!” Lily called out, dancing around in excitement.

Where had that burst of energy come from? Audra wondered. She certainly had none left in her. Smiling, she reached for her purse and then stepped from the van, locking it behind her.

Mason was standing in front of one of the large plate glass windows, peering in.

“Honey, it’s not polite to stare in the window like that,” she told him as she joined them on the sidewalk. “People are trying to eat.”

“No one’s in there,” he told her as he moved toward the door.

“Still,” she said, “we don’t do that.” Audra pulled open the door, holding it as her children scampered excitedly inside. A young waitress came over to greet them.

“Welcome to Big Dog’s,” she said with a warm smile. “Sit anywhere you like and I’ll go grab some menus.”

“Over here,” Lily said, hurrying toward a booth by the window, two away from the door.

Mason took a seat on the opposite side of the table while Audra slid in next to her daughter.

The waitress, a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties with long strawberry-blond hair and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks, returned carrying three glasses of ice water and menus, which she promptly handed out. Then she held up two smaller menus. “I brought along a couple of children’s menus just in case. The hot dogs on the main menu are for those wanting really big hot dogs. The ones on the kids menu are regular size.”

“Thank you,” Audra said. “But something tells me we’ll all be ordering from the regular menu tonight.”

“’Cause we’re starving,” Lily informed her in dramatic fashion.

The younger woman laughed at her daughter’s antics. “You are, are you?”

“We missed dinner tonight,” Audra explained. “We just moved into the Harris place and had some cleaning to do. It took a little longer than we thought it would.”

“The Harris place?” the waitress repeated, her expression matching the one Carter Cooper had on his face when he’d learned Audra had bought the place. “That old abandoned house out on Red Oak Road?”

“That would be the one,” Audra said, reaching for one of the menus.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you there,” she said. “If you’re looking to hire someone on to help out there, I could give you the number for our local contractors.”

“Would that happen to be Cooper Construction?”

“You’ve already hired them on,” the girl replied, sounding almost relieved. “Smart move. They’re the best there is in these parts when it comes to renovations.”

Audra knew she should have cleared things up as far as her hiring Carter’s company was concerned, but she didn’t want to explain that she couldn’t afford to have her house renovated by professionals.

The front door opened at that moment, saving Audra from having to say anything more. She did a double take, thinking the man who had just stepped into the restaurant was none other than Carter Cooper. But on closer inspection, this man was even taller than the cowboy who had come to her rescue that afternoon, and slightly leaner. Carter Cooper was more broad-shouldered and had the extra bulk of muscle on his frame that had most likely come from all the physical labor involved in working construction.

“Hey, Lizzie,” the man said in greeting to the waitress.

“Hey, Logan.”

His gaze shifted to the booth where Audra and her children sat. Tipping his cowboy hat with a polite smile, he said, “Ma’am.” A smile that was an exact replica of Carter Cooper’s unarguably handsome, slightly crooked grin. Only instead of sporting a mask of black around his eyes, he had smudges of dirt all over his face and clothes.

“How’s come I had to wash my face before we came here?” Lily said, her words echoing loudly in the empty room. “He didn’t.”

Audra wanted to sink down into the booth and hide. Make that two bad first impressions with someone from Braxton in just one day.

The man chuckled. “Your momma has the right of it,” he told Lily. “I’m just stopping by on my way home from work to pick up my dinner order. Unfortunately, my job requires me to play in dirt so this is how I usually look at the end of the day.”

“I want to do that when I grow up,” Mason announced.

“Me, too!” Lily squealed.

The man seemed thoroughly entertained by their reaction. “It’s hard work,” he said, his attention focused solely on her children.

“We’re hard workers,” Lily stated. “Aren’t we, Mommy?”

“Very,” she agreed with a nod.

“Your brothers are gonna be helping her with her new place.”

His brothers? That explained the resemblance.

He looked Audra’s way. “That so? Where’s that?”

“The old Harris place,” Lizzie answered for her.

His dark brows lifted in undeniable surprise.

“I know,” Audra said before he could voice his thoughts. “It’s a big job, but with a little tender loving care the house will be a home in no time.” She had to wonder who she was truly trying to convince. Him or herself.

“If you all will excuse me,” Lizzie said, “I’m gonna go grab Logan’s order.” Then she scurried off into the kitchen.

He looked to Audra. “If you need any help with the landscaping out there, just give me a shout. I own a landscaping business and join forces with my brothers on a lot of their jobs.”

“How many Cooper brothers are there?” she said.

“Only three,” he said, his grin widening. “I’m the youngest. Although I’m not so sure Carter’s laying claim to me right now.”

“Are you the one who painted his face?” Mason asked.

“Saw that, did you?” he said.

Her children nodded.

“Actually, it was our older brother, Nathan, who did the painting. But it was sort of my idea,” he admitted. “Mind you, it wasn’t a very nice thing for us to do to him and it’s not something either of you should ever do to anyone.”

She was grateful that he didn’t boast about the prank they’d pulled on their brother and had, instead, stressed to her highly impressionable young children that it was something that should never be repeated.

Lizzie returned, carrying a white paper bag, and walked over to the cash register. “You’re all set,” she told Logan.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said, tipping his hat once more before going over to pay for his order.

“How’s come he wears that hat if it’s too big?” Mason said in an attempted whisper. However, voices carried in the empty room and she was certain she heard Logan Cooper’s muffled chuckle from across the room.

Keeping her own voice low, Audra explained, “It’s not too big,”

“Then why does he keep pushing it up like that?” her son persisted.

“Because that’s what cowboys do down here in Texas. It’s how they show ladies respect.”

“Then I need one, too,” he said as he watched Logan leave with his order. “Just like his, so I can be a real cowboy.”

Audra couldn’t help but smile as she added a cowboy hat to her lists of things they needed for their new life in Braxton. Because more than anything she wanted to make certain her children were happy here and felt like they fit in.

Chapter Three

Logan glanced up from the hole he was digging and smiled. “What brings you out here?”

“The need to work,” Carter answered honestly as he crossed the newly laid sod in front of Braxton’s only bank, where his brother had been hired to do a complete external face-lift to the property. He’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, his thoughts filled with Audra Cooper and her two young children and that eyesore of a house they were going to be living in. Leaving them to handle things alone the afternoon before had really eaten at him. But what choice did he have? Audra had made it clear she didn’t need his help. No, she definitely needed his help. It was that she didn’t want his help. Even when it was freely offered.

“I would think you’d be enjoying your time off between jobs. Maybe doing a multiday hike up into the hills,” his brother said as he went back to digging a hole for the ornamental tree he had sitting next to the spot.

Carter frowned. If only he could be enjoying his day off. And while hiking was a favorite pastime for him whenever he had the time, he knew if he’d gone up into the hills, relaxation was the last thing he’d find there. He would have spent all his time worrying over Braxton’s newest residents. “Do you need any help here or not?” he asked in a rare show of impatience.

Logan simply laughed. “If you’re that fired up to work, you could lend me a hand with the mulching.”

“Fine,” Carter grumbled.

“There’s a wheelbarrow full of mulch around back,” his brother told him. “You can start filling in around the trees and plants I’ve already put in.”

With a nod, Carter set off around the building, his mouth in a grim line. While he’d come there hoping to distract himself from thoughts of Audra Marshall and her kids the exact opposite was happening. Looking at the newly laid lawn made him think about the jungle of grass and weeds surrounding the old Harris place. Did she have a mower? And if she did, would it be powerful enough to get through the deep grass? And what about that overgrown hedgerow? Did she have the tools needed to bring that out-of-control shrubbery into some semblance of order?

Spying the wheelbarrow, which had been heaped high with a deep red mulch, he walked over to it and proceeded to wheel it back around to the front side of the bank, where his brother was hard at work.

After a good twenty minutes or so of tossing shovelfuls of mulch onto the designated garden area, Logan said, “Is your offer to help me out here today your way of getting back at me for the goggle prank?”

Carter stopped what he was doing to cast a questioning glance his brother’s way. “Why would you think that?” Truth was, getting back at his brother was the furthest thing from his mind at that moment. His thoughts were far too preoccupied by one very stubborn female.

“Considering how much of that mulch is ending up on the sod I just laid the day before, I’d say it’s a pretty good guess.”

His gaze dropped to the ground at his feet, where, sure enough, a growing pile of red mulch lay atop the bright green grass—a good foot away from the edge of the landscaped area he’d been helping Logan with.

With a groan, Carter set the shovel aside and knelt to clean up the mess he’d made, scooping the misplaced mulch up in his bare hands as not to damage the grass.

“You wanna tell me what’s gnawing at you?” his brother asked as he settled onto his knees on the ground beside him.

“More like who,” Carter mumbled with a frown as he tossed a handful of mulch into the flower bed, where it belonged.

“Who?” Logan repeated. “Look, if you’re still upset with Nathan about what happened, keep in mind that he was only partially responsible for the shoe polish on your goggles.”

“I’m not referring to Nathan,” he said. “I’m referring to a stubborn female who’s jumped off into the deep end and is now struggling to tread water.”

“Afraid you’ve lost me there, big brother.”

Carter scooped more of the misplaced mulch into a pile. “There’s this woman who needs my help but is determined not to take it.”

“Anyone I know?”

He shook his head. “No. She just moved to town.”

“She wouldn’t happen to be a tiny thing with golden-brown hair, two very inquisitive children and the new owner of the old Harris place?”

Carter’s head snapped up, his gaze locking with his brother’s. “How do you know Audra?”

“We met in passing last night at Big Dog’s,” Logan said, getting to his feet as the last of the mulch that could gather was removed from the grass. “Lizzie said you and Nathan were gonna be doing work out there.”

“Not sure where Lizzie got that idea,” he said with a frown as he stood. “Audra’s determined to do most of the work on that place herself.”

“By herself? You mean her and her husband?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I mean only her. She’s divorced.”

“I take it she has experience in home renovations then.”

“Not a lick.”

“So you’re just gonna take no for an answer?” his brother challenged.

“I can’t force her to allow me to help her.”

His brother stepped back into the garden, retrieving his discarded shovel. “Reckon you could always blame Momma.”

“Excuse me?”

His brother looked his way with a grin. “You and I both know Momma wouldn’t be too pleased with us if we were to turn our backs on someone in need. And it sounds to me like Audra is clearly in need.”

Carter’s mood lightened instantly. “Good point. Last thing I’d wanna do is let Momma down.

His brother’s crooked grin lifted even more. “Exactly.”

* * *

“Uncle Carter!” Katie squealed as she raced out of the house to greet him.

Carter swept her up in his arms and spun her around like he’d done since she was a toddler. “Katydid,” he chuckled. It warmed his heart every time he saw her. It also reminded him of how fortunate he and his brothers were to still have her there with them. A true blessing in their lives.

“I’m getting dizzy,” she said with a giggle.

“No,” he said, lowering her carefully to her feet, “what you’re getting is big. Sprouting up like a weed.”

She looked up at him. “I’m not a weed. Daddy says I’m a sunflower ’cause I’m getting so tall and I like tipping my face up to the sun.”

He reached down to playfully pinch her tiny cheek. “That explains where all these sun kisses came from.”

“Those aren’t from the sun,” she told him. “They’re from my mommy.”

A lump wedged in his throat at the mention of Isabel. His sister-in-law had been a wonderful, loving mother. She should be there raising her daughter alongside Nathan. His only comfort was in knowing that his sister-in-law was safe in the Lord’s loving arms. No doubt keeping watch over his beautiful little niece.

“Looks like you forgot something in the house,” he said, his gaze zeroing in on her mouth.

“I did?” she replied.

He nodded. “Your teeth.”

Her tongue moved to the empty space where two of her bottom teeth used to be. “Oh, those,” she said. “I lost them.”

“You need help looking for them?” he teased.

“Not that kind of lost.” She giggled. “Daddy says I’m gonna start losing my teeth ’cause my big-girl teeth are getting ready to come in.”

“Where is your daddy?” he asked with a forced smile.

“Nana Mildred needed some wood, so Daddy drove around back to load some in his truck.”

Mildred Timmons had been his parents’ neighbor for nearly forty years. Her husband had been the only other casualty from the tornado that struck Braxton, leaving behind a wide path of destruction that the town was still trying to recover from. Millie looked after Katie for his brother when Nathan was at work and had become a much-loved surrogate grandmother to his niece. It helped to ease Millie’s loneliness and gave Katie some much-needed female presence in her life. Probably the only she would ever have seeing as how Nathan was dead set against ever marrying again.

“Reckon I’ll take a walk around back, then,” he told her. “You want a piggyback ride?”

She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing about on her slender shoulders. “Daddy said I’m supposed to wait at the house until he’s done chopping wood.”

“Then you best do what your daddy says,” he said. Nathan was overprotective of his little girl and understandably so. Losing Isabel had crushed his brother both spiritually and emotionally. If anything were to happen to Katie... Carter shook the thought away. “I’ll be back in to see you before I go.”

“Okay, Uncle Carter,” she said with a smile. “See you in a bit.”

He waited until she’d gone back into the house before setting off in search of his brother. Nathan’s property consisted of just under two acres of mowed backyard and side yard with a few scattered oaks that butted up against a large expanse of woods, which his brother also owned. In the backyard was a rather impressive wooden swing set/jungle gym his brother had built for Katie, a miniature castle playhouse and a large pole barn.

The sound of wood being stacked onto wood drew Carter’s gaze toward the pole barn. He spotted his brother’s truck, backed up to the towering pile of firewood Nathan had recently replenished with his and Logan’s help. His brother was standing in the bed of the truck, stacking the split logs he’d loaded onto it.

Carter started across the yard in lengthened strides.

Nathan glanced up, a slow smile moving across his tanned face. “Almost didn’t recognize you without your mask.”

“You’re hilarious,” Carter muttered as he stepped up alongside the truck bed. “Took me nearly an hour to get the stuff off my face when I got home and only with the help of some solvent-based cleaner they recommended at the hardware store. Mind you, that was only after they had a good laugh at my expense, saying they were sure I was a masked robber when I first stepped into the store.”

His brother threw back his head, his husky laughter cutting into the silence of the nature surrounding them. “Thanks for sharing that little tidbit. That just made my day.”

“Logan’s rubbing off on you,” Carter muttered. “And I don’t mean in a good way.” Despite the semiscowl he’d plastered on his face, it was good to hear his brother’s laughter. It had been a rare thing since losing Isabel, with the exception of when his brother was around Katie. His daughter always seemed to bring a smile to Nathan’s face.

“So what brings you out here this evening?” his brother asked. “Come to get more revenge? Because I’ll tell you, you had me sweating it when you had me thinking you’d put my keys in that bucket of primer.”

“Good. You deserved to sweat a little.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the lone man in that prank.”

“Don’t you worry. Logan’s gonna get his,” Carter said. “I’m just biding my time.”

Nathan walked down to the end of the truck bed and settled himself down onto the open tailgate, dangling his long legs over the edge. “Meaning you haven’t come up with something as good as the prank he had me pull on you?”

Carter grinned. “Exactly. Besides, I’d like to pay him back when he’s least expecting it. As for why I’m here, I need a door. Do you still have the ones we salvaged from the Parker renovation we did last fall?”

His brother nodded. “In the pole barn. Why?”

“There’s a lady in sore need of a halfway decent door. Figured I’d give her one of those since we don’t really have any plans for them.”

Nathan quirked a dark brow. “You’re doing a side job?”

He understood his brother’s curiosity. They were partners and always worked as a team. Even on the small jobs. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a job.” How did he explain it? That he met a woman, a pretty one at that, rescued her actually, and then offered his services, which she promptly turned down. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and wanted to do something to help her out?

“Are you gonna make me drag it out of you?” his brother muttered impatiently.

“She’s new to Braxton,” he explained. “Just arrived yesterday, as a matter of fact.”

“So you’re giving her a used door as a housewarming gift?”

“I’m giving her the door because she can’t afford a new one,” Carter said with a frown. “Not with everything she has to do to the old Harris place.”

His brother threw up a hand. “Hold up. Did you just say the old Harris place?”

He nodded. “Bought it sight unseen from an online auction.”

The face Nathan made said it all. “I haven’t been by that place for a nearly a year, but last time I was the old house was practically begging someone to bring in a wrecking ball and put it out of its misery and put something new up in its place.”

“That’s the thing,” Carter said with a frown. “Audra has no intention of tearing the place down. She intends to live there.”

His brother’s dark brow lifted even farther. “Audra?”

“With her children,” he added, so his brother wouldn’t think this had anything to do with her being a prettier-than-most female.

“Grown-up children?” his brother persisted.

He shook his head. “I’d say they’re closer to Katie in age. And before you ask, she’s divorced. Her ex sounds like a real loser.”

“Are you passing judgment on someone you’ve never met? Not like you, little brother.”

“He chose to give up all rights to his children,” he said. “And they’re pretty hurt by it.”

Nathan looked aghast. “Those poor kids. So where are they staying while the house is being renovated?”

“I believe they’re gonna be staying in the house.”

His brother’s blue eyes widened. “That’s gonna make it a challenge for anyone she does bring in to help out with the bigger jobs.”

Carter’s frown deepened. “That’s not gonna be an issue. She’s got it in her pretty little head to do most of the repairs herself.”

“Pretty, huh?”

Carter groaned. “Did you hear what I just said? She’s gonna try and fix that old house up all by herself.”

“Heard that,” his brother replied. “But it’s the pretty part I’m latching on to. That’s gotta be the first female in a long while you’ve taken notice of.”

“Hard not to notice her when I had to rescue her from a roof.”

“You what?”

With a sigh, he went on to explain what he’d stumbled upon the previous afternoon. “She’s in over her head.”

“And you’re gonna come to her rescue again?” his brother said, studying him closely.

“I’d do the same if it were an old woman,” Carter said, feeling the need to defend himself. But he doubted an older woman would have plagued his thoughts the way Audra Marshall and her children had since he’d left their place. “So about that door...”

Nathan motioned toward the pole barn. “Have at it. Just watch you’re not the one who ends up in over your head. And I’m not referring to the renovations to her house.”

“No worry there,” Carter called back over his shoulder as he started for the entry door to the pole barn. “I like my life just the way it is.” No family of his own to worry about losing far too soon, like Nathan had. He’d seen what his brother went through, was still going through, and he never wanted to stand in his shoes. So while he dated on occasion, he made sure the women he went out with knew he wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship. Just someone to grab dinner with or see a movie.

Nothing more.

* * *

“What in the world?” For the second time in two days, Carter found himself barreling up Audra Marshall’s driveway in his truck.

Lodged within the frame of the open front door was what looked to be a box spring. Behind it, attempting to push it into the house, were Audra and her young son. Lily stood off to the side, happily cheering them on.

Carter threw the truck into Park and leaped out.

“It’s the Lone Ranger!” Lily exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

Audra paused to look back over her shoulder. “Mr. Cooper,” she greeted between the labored pants of her determined efforts.

“Looks like I got here just in time,” he said as he stepped up onto the porch.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded as she reached up to push a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail away from her face. She looked oddly adorable in her rumpled, oversize #1 MOM T-shirt that practically swallowed up her petite form, knee-length leggings and hot-pink tennis shoes. Not that he ought to be noticing those things.

“I came to do my Christian duty,” he said, reaching past her to grab hold of the box spring.

“We don’t—”

“Need my help?” he said, arching a challenging brow.

She bit at her bottom lip.

“Now that we got that settled, let’s get this thing through the doorway.”

“It won’t fit,” Lily told him.

“Sure it will, little darlin’, but not at this angle.” He looked to Audra. “I’ll need to shift it slightly and then we should be able to ease it through.” His gaze focused on Mason. “I’ll need your help with this, big guy. Think you could crawl in through that gap at the floor and tell us how much farther we need to push the box spring to get it all the way inside?”

“I can do that!” he replied.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Audra said with a worried frown.

“Trust me,” Carter told her. “This box spring isn’t going anywhere the way it’s sitting right now.”

She eyed the gap between the door frame and the bottom portion of the box spring and then looked to her son. “Watch you don’t bump your head going through there.”

“I will,” her little boy replied. A second later, he was scooting through the narrow hole.

Carter kept a firm hold on the box spring until Mason had cleared the doorway. Then he adjusted the box spring with an ease neither Audra nor her children could have managed. “It’s best he stay out of the way while I take this through,” he whispered for her ears only.

She looked up at him, understanding dawning. “I appreciate your taking my son’s well-being into consideration,” she whispered back, her voice catching slightly.

“How are we looking on your side, Mason?” he called out to her son.

“All clear!”

“Okay, coming through.” With a powerful nudge of his shoulder, he worked the box spring in through the open door. Then he managed, with some maneuvering and a little help from Audra, to get it upstairs to her room. He did the same with the mattress. Then he turned to the kids. “Time to bring your beds up.”

“They’re already up here,” Lily said.

He looked to Audra, who nodded. “You got them upstairs by yourself?”

She smiled. “They’re only twin-size and Mason helped.”

“I did, too, Mommy,” Lily whined.

“Yes, she did, too,” her mother quickly amended. “Lily carried up their pillows.”

“I see,” Carter said with a nod. “My next question is, why didn’t the movers carry your things inside for you?”

“I didn’t hire movers,” she admitted. “I just hired a company to store our things and then deliver them to the house the day after we got here. We’re supposed to unload everything and they’ll send someone to pick up their storage pods in two days.”

Reaching up, he dragged a sleeve across his damp brow. “Two days?”

She nodded.

“Then you’re gonna need help moving your things in before the rain gets here.”

“Rain?” she gasped.

“It’s expected to hit tomorrow afternoon,” he told her. “And according to the local weather station it’s gonna be hanging around a spell.”

“I’ll just have to work faster getting things inside,” she said determinedly, her response not surprising him one bit.

“Darlin’, there’s a time for holding on firm to our pride and there’s a time for swallowing it,” he told her as he pulled his cell phone from the front pocket of his jeans and punched in Nathan’s number.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her gaze dropping to the phone in his hand.

His mouth pulled up into a grin as he replied, “Calling for backup.”

Chapter Four

Calling for backup? What did he think he was doing? “Carter,” she said, trying to get his attention.

He motioned for her to give him a second and then said into the phone as he walked away from the porch, “Remember that little prank you and Logan pulled on me the other day...”

“Mommy,” Lily said, tugging at the bottom of Audra’s T-shirt, “are we done?”

If only. There was so much to do before the rain came in. The cardboard boxes she’d packed things into had to be taken inside. If they sat out in the yard, they’d be nothing but mush, because the storage containers would be leaving. “You can take a little break if you’d like,” she said, her gaze still fixed on Carter Cooper’s broad shoulders as he stood in her yard, talking away on his cell phone.

“Can we go explore?” Mason asked.

Audra looked down at her son, nodding. “Don’t go far and stay away from the pond.”

“Okay,” her children replied before leaping off the porch.

She watched them go with a wistful smile. The Lord had blessed her with two wonderful children. Both loving and happy despite the past hurts they’d suffered. They deserved time to play and have fun like other children. “Keep an eye on your sister!” she called after her son.

“I will!” Mason hollered back before he and Lily disappeared around the side of the house.

Her attention shifted back to Carter Cooper to find him shoving his cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans. With a smile that made her wonder what he was up to, he walked back to where she stood waiting.

“Help is on the way.”

“Mr. Cooper,” she said in frustration.

“Carter,” he said. “Mr. Cooper was my daddy.”

“Fine. Carter,” she began again with a worried frown. “I don’t want to impose on you or anyone else.”

“It’s called helping a neighbor,” he replied. “We tend to do a lot of that in these parts. Besides, my brothers owe me for the black eyes I was forced to walk around with yesterday. As far as I’m concerned, they’re getting off easy.”

It was clear he was determined to do this. How could she refuse? He’d come to her rescue, not once but twice. If Carter wanted to teach his brothers a lesson by having them help move her things into the house, then she owed it to him to let them do so. “Only if they’re willing to help,” she conceded.

“Oh, they’re willing,” he replied before turning to make his way over to one of the open storage containers. “Reckon we best get started.”

We. How long had it been since another adult included her in something? As if they were a team. Had Bradford ever used the term we? No. He was more likely to say “I” or “me.” Realizing that she was dwelling on a past she’d just as soon forget, Audra pushed away all thoughts of her ex and joined Carter inside one of the storage containers.

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