Her Texas Hero (10 page)

“Five thirty good to pick you and the kids up?” Carter asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

“That should be fine. We'll see you then.”

“See you then,” he repeated and then ended the call.

Audra had just settled back against the padded chair behind the small metal desk when her son appeared in the doorway. “Is it time to go home yet?”

Her gaze shifted to the clock and then back to her son. “Almost. By the time you and Lily get all the toys you've been playing with picked up and put away in the playroom, it'll be time to leave.”

“Do you think Mr. Cooper will be there when we get home?”

She smiled, understanding her son's eagerness to see Carter. She looked forward to seeing him in the evenings, as well. Dinner conversations were even more enjoyable with another adult there to share her day with. “Not right when we get home, but he's going to be picking us up to go to a pizza party.”

“A pizza party!” her son exclaimed.

Audra's smile widened as she added, “At Katie's.”

Mason whooped with delight.

“Shh...” she said, quickly shushing him. “Remember where you are. Now go help Lily clean up while I finish the last of my work for the day.”

He didn't have to be told twice, disappearing from the doorway as quietly as he'd appeared. Audra knew the feeling. She, too, was looking forward to spending time with Carter Cooper and his gentle smile and warm heart. Even if all they could ever be was friends.

* * *

“Katie!” Lily exclaimed as Carter lowered her from the backseat of the extended cab truck. The second her feet touched the ground, she was off and running toward Nathan's house, where Katie stood waving wildly from the front porch.

Mason didn't wait to be helped down. Throwing open the back passenger door on his side, he practically leaped from the truck in his eagerness to catch up with his sister.

“You think they're a little excited to be here?” he said with a grin as he opened Audra's door for her.

“Beyond,” she replied with a smile. “They love spending time with Katie. They're like three peas in a pod. I'm so glad your brother's been able to bring her by to see them on occasion. I've enjoyed visiting with him while the kids played.”

An unexpected surge of something feeling uncomfortably close to jealousy rushed through him. While he'd been growing fonder and fonder of Audra and her two adorable children, had he overlooked something he should have considered? There was no denying how much Nathan and Audra had in common. Both were single parents raising young children. Both would do almost anything to see their children happy. Children who had bonded with each other almost immediately upon meeting.

Carter didn't like the direction his thoughts were taking, but he also loved his brothers enough to put his own feelings aside if it meant guaranteeing theirs. If Nathan was finally at the point where he was ready to move on with his life and start over with someone new, would he consider doing so with Audra?

The possibility didn't sit well in Carter's gut, but he had given his word to Isabel to look after Nathan and Katie. If Audra could make his big brother happy again, then his wants and needs didn't matter. Especially when he was still trying to figure out exactly what his own wants and needs were when it came to Audra. His brother deserved to be happy. As did she. What kind of man would he be if he stood in the way of their possible happiness?

“Carter?” Audra said, searching his face.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he dropped his gaze to her pretty face. And he knew at that moment that being a selfless man when it came to her was going to take every bit of grit he had in him.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

He looked down into those beautiful amber-flecked eyes and felt a sharp tug at his heart. Was something wrong? Only the fact that he was about to push her, a woman he'd grown overly fond of during their time spent together, in his brother's direction.

“Uncle Carter!” Katie called out through the screen door. “Hurry up! The pizza's gonna get cold!”

Grateful for the interruption, he turned from Audra and forced a smile. “On our way!”

They started for the house in silence.

Carter felt Audra's gaze straying in his direction several times, but kept his own focused on getting inside.

The screen door swung open as they stepped up onto the porch. Nathan stood there smiling. “Glad you and the kids could make it,” he said to Audra in a warm greeting.

“I'm so glad you invited us,” she replied with a polite smile.

Her words elicited another tug at Carter's heart. Let it go, he told himself. You're doing the right thing. And if he told himself that often enough, then maybe, just maybe, he would be able to accept it without feeling as though a herd of bulls was stampeding through his gut.

His brother stepped aside, motioning them into the house. “The kids are already in the dining room with paper plates at the ready.”

Audra laughed. “And if we wait much longer to join them, I'm not promising there will be any pizza left.”

“I'm sure Millie has things under control,” Nathan replied.

“Millie's here?” Audra inquired as they stepped inside.

He nodded. “She's been looking forward to spending some time getting to know you outside of Sunday service hellos.”

Millie was like family to the Coopers and had become a substitute grandmother for Katie, watching her when Katie was off from school and Nathan had to work. A close neighbor of his parents for as long as Carter could remember, Millie's husband had been the only other fatality that day the tornado struck Braxton.

They made their way through the living room and into the dining area, where the children sat hungrily eyeing up the open boxes of pizza. Seven places had been set from paper plates to napkins to glasses of freshly brewed sweet tea.

Millie glanced up with a warm smile. “Hello, dear. So glad to see you.”

“Same here,” Audra replied.

Playing host, Nathan pulled out the chair next to Millie's and motioned for Audra to sit down. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you,” she said as she settled onto it.

Carter watched, noting how at ease his brother was with Audra. And her with him. Then his gaze moved to the lone empty seat beside hers. Instead of taking it as he might have before realization settled on him like a falling boulder, Carter made his way around to the vacant chair on the opposite side of the table, leaving Nathan no choice but to settle himself onto the empty chair next to Audra's.

Carter met Audra's questioning gaze from across the table and shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat. “Pizza sure smells good.”

“Can we eat now?” Lily asked, her tiny hands gripping the sides of the paper plate in front of her.

“Not until we've said a quick prayer of thanks,” Audra responded, tipping her head downward.

This time it was Nathan who was shifting uneasily in his seat, meeting Carter's knowing gaze. His brother had given up on prayer after losing Isabel. In fact, the only reason he attended church every Sunday was for the sake of his young daughter, who Isabel had wanted to be raised with faith in the Lord. It was something Nathan no longer clung to himself.

Katie, oblivious to her father's discomfort, bowed her tiny head in prayer as did Mason and Lily.

Carter offered up a sympathetic smile before joining the others in prayer.

“Nathan,” Audra said, “would you like to offer up our thanks?”

“I'll do it,” Carter offered and then, without another moment's hesitation, set to thanking the Lord for the blessings He had bestowed upon them.

Amens rippled around the table as the prayer ended.

His brother's determination to turn his back on the Lord might be an issue for Audra. Carter hoped that if things should move in that direction the love of another good Christian woman would bring his brother around.

Audra's love.
Carter found himself envying his brother for something that hadn't even happened yet. Might never happen.

“Now can we eat?” Lily asked eagerly.

Carter chuckled, grateful for the reprieve from the direction his thoughts had taken. “
Now
we can eat.”

They filled their plates with slices of still-warm pepperoni pizza and tossed salad.

“Mmm...” Audra groaned as she swallowed the bite of pizza she'd just taken. “And here I thought Chicago had the best pizza.”

“The secret is in the crust,” Millie told her.

“At least, that's what Ryan claims,” Nathan muttered between bites.

“Ryan?” she replied as she reached for the glass of sweet tea in front of her.

“Logan's friend,” Carter explained. “They went to school together.”

Nathan nodded. “Thicker than thieves. At least, they used to be before becoming business owners. Less playtime for them these days.”

“Ryan owns the local bowling alley/pizzeria—Ryan's Pies and Pins,” Millie explained as she placed a second piece of pizza onto Katie's now-empty plate.

Audra smiled. “Bowling and pizza. Sounds like a perfect combination.”

“I like to bowl,” Mason announced between chews.

“Me, too,” Katie chimed in.

“I don't know how.” Lily sighed.

“You guys will have to take the kids bowling some time,” Carter muttered, trying hard not to include himself in that mix.

“You don't bowl?” Audra asked, the barest hint of disappointment in her voice.

He shook his head, not meeting her gaze. “Not often. Nathan's a much better bowler than I am.”

“Can we, Daddy?” Katie asked, looking up at her daddy with wide, pleading eyes.

Nathan glanced his way with a tempered frown. “I think Uncle Carter should be the one to take the lot of you bowling sometime, seeing as how he needs work on his bowling skills.”

All eyes, Audra's included, swung in his direction. Three pairs of them expectant. One pair narrowed in irritation. That last pair, amber eyes surrounded by thick lashes, was filled with confusion as they watched him from across the table.

“Better they learn from the best,” Carter replied, meeting Nathan's gaze. “And Nathan taught Katie how to bowl. I'm sure he'd be willing to teach Lily how to, as well.”

Lily, who sat next to Carter, clapped her hands. “Yay!”

“You kids best eat your pizza before it gets cold,” Nathan said. Then he pushed away from the table and stood. “Carter, I'd like to have a word with you outside.”

“Sure thing.” He set the piece of pizza he'd been working on down onto his plate and then rose to his feet. “We won't be long,” he told their guests. “Got a few business matters to discuss. Best not done at the table.”

Nathan followed him out onto the front porch, closing the door firmly behind them. “The only business we have to discuss is you needing to stay outta mine!” his brother growled. “What do you think you're doing?”

“You deserve to find happiness again,” Carter replied.

“And you've decided I'll find it with Audra?”

“Katie adores Mason and Lily. You're both raising children alone,” he explained. “Audra's sweeter than a ripe berry. And unerringly kind. She's determined and resilient, like the hardiest of wildflowers. And she's prettier than sunset over a lake.”

Nathan studied him in silence.

“She's got a huge heart,” he continued. “A sense of humor. And her smile...” he said, shaking his head. “Well, it's capable of making a man's knees weak.”

His brother crossed his arms. “What I'm wondering is why you've got your mind set on stirring my interest in a woman you've clearly fallen for?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Can you honestly tell me Audra hasn't managed to snag a piece of your heart? Because only a man that finds himself falling for a woman would describe her with such flowery conviction.”

“Flowery conviction?” He'd merely reminded Nathan of Audra's good qualities.

“Sweeter than ripe berries,” his brother repeated. “Prettier than sunset over a lake. Fluff only a man whose heart has taken a leap would be spouting.”

“She's a better fit for you,” Carter argued with a frown. “You both have kids.”

“I'm not looking for a relationship,” Nathan said firmly, his dark brows creased into a frown. “I loved Isabel. I don't want another woman.”

“But Katie—”

“Has me,” his brother interrupted. “And you and Logan and Millie. Look,” he said with a troubled sigh, “Audra's a wonderful woman who deserves to find true happiness, something it sounds like she never truly had in her marriage. But it won't be with me. And if you don't stop being such an idiot, it won't be with you, either.” Nathan turned and went back inside, leaving Carter standing there alone.

* * *

“You were awfully quiet on the way home,” Carter said as he walked Audra from his truck to her front porch, the children racing ahead of them.

“I didn't have anything to say,” she replied stiffly.

“Audra?” he said worriedly.

She fell silent while she stepped past her children to unlock the door. But the second they raced inside to get ready for bed, she turned, blocking his way. “It's late. You should be heading home.”

“There were a few things I planned to do around the house before I called it a night.”

“I'm tired,” she told him. “So I'm calling it a night for the both of us.”

His gaze moved over her face, his concern deepening when he saw the hurt in her eyes. “What's wrong?”

“We're both adults,” she told him. “If I somehow made you feel uncomfortable, made you think I wanted more from you than friendship, then I apologize. It wasn't intentional. You've made it very clear where you stand on the matter. But instead of talking to me about whatever it is I've done, you try to push me in your brother's direction in a manner so blatantly obvious...” She turned away with a sniffle. “Go home, Carter.”