Her Texas Hero (17 page)

Millie nodded, a huge smile lighting her face. “Thatta girl. Glad to know Carter has the right of it.”

She looked questioningly at Millie.

“That boy's gone and found himself a real good woman.”

Chapter Eleven

C
arter kept a firm grip on the wheel as he drove to Nathan's place, his thoughts both on Audra and of what he needed to do. He hadn't expected to fall for the pretty little mother of two, but he had. Hard. God had brought them into his life for a reason. To take his lonely, closed-off heart and fill it with warmth and love. And to guide him on a better path. One free of protective secrets and guilt over choices he'd made.

Nathan's truck was outside, but then he was usually home on a Sunday afternoon. Pulling up to the house, Carter cut the engine and stepped out, heart pounding. Closing the door, he made his way toward his brother's front porch.

Before he could reach it, Nathan stepped around the side of the house, hammer in hand. “Thought I heard someone pull up. I was out back hammering down a few nails that pulled loose in Katie's playhouse. She and her dolls are having a tea party and she didn't want them to accidentally catch their dresses on one of the lifted nail heads.”

Carter nodded. “So Katie's out back?”

Nathan paused to study him before replying, “In her playhouse, yes. What's wrong?”

“Can we step inside?” He didn't want to risk Katie coming around the house and overhearing their conversation.

Concern lit his brother's face. “Sure. Come on in.” He led Carter into the house. “Living room work?”

“Yes.”

“Can I get you something to drink?” his brother asked as Carter took a seat on the sofa. “Lemonade? Glass of ice water?”

“No, thanks,” Carter replied with a troubled frown.

Nathan sank into the recliner chair across from him. “You and Audra have a falling-out?”

Carter's gaze lifted to meet his brother's. “Audra?”

“Can't think of anything else that would set you in this mood.”

“Audra and I are fine.”

“You know,” his brother said, “there was a time when you would have run the other way when it came to falling in love, but after getting to know Audra and her kids, seeing how you spark to life when you're around them, I can understand why you're running head-on toward the happiness you could have with them.”

Happiness like his brother had once had for himself.

“You should tell her you love her,” Nathan said.

“I intend to,” he said. “But first there's something I need to tell you.”

“Me?”

“It's about Isabel,” he said, sounding much calmer than he felt inside.

Nathan's entire body went rigid. “What about her?”

Carter's gut churned. “That day when I found her,” he began, hot tears welling in his dark eyes, “she was still breathing.”

“What?” The word cracked like an icy river during a spring thaw.

“She was buried under debris and barely conscious,” Carter went on, fearing he would lose the courage to reach back to that horrible moment in his mind. “I couldn't free her, so I took off my jacket and leaned over her to protect her from the cold rain that was still falling. She took my hand in her weak grasp and I told her she was gonna be all right. But even with all the first-aid training I'd had, I couldn't help her.”

“Why didn't you come find me?” Nathan demanded, pushing up from the recliner.

Through tear-blurred eyes, he watched as his brother went to stand at the window, his broad shoulders shuddering with tears Carter knew he would never shed. “I tried, but Isabel clung to my hand, pleading with me not to leave her. I think she knew,” he said, his words choked. “And she didn't want you to see how broken she was. Her last thoughts were of you and Katie.”

Nathan turned to look at him, his eyes glistening, his cheeks, as expected, tearless.

“She asked me to keep you and Katie safe and happy for her,” Carter said, lowering his gaze to the table. “I've done my best to hold to that promise. I only wish I could have done more.”

“More?” Nathan countered, his tone tight with emotion. “You were there to comfort Isabel in her final moments, protecting her from the cold and the rain, your promise giving her the peace she so desperately needed before she was taken from this earth.” He crossed the room to clasp a firm hand over his brother's shoulder. “To know that Isabel didn't take her last breath frightened and alone, that she was with someone who loved her, eases some of the guilt at not having been there for her when the storm hit.”

“Audra said your knowing the truth would give you comfort, but I wasn't so sure.”

“Audra knows?” Nathan replied, his words gravelly.

“We talked after we left your place following the pizza party. I needed her to understand.”

“Understand why you were so intent on pushing her in my direction?”

Carter frowned. “You and Audra deserve to be happy again and the two of you are both raising children alone. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

Nathan raised a dark brow.

“I gave my word to Isabel...”

“If Isabel were here,” his brother said, shaking his head, “she'd call you a misguided fool. Sure, Audra and I have children we're raising by ourselves, but her heart is all yours.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Carter's lips. Isabel had called his older brother a misguided fool a few times during their courtship and she'd been spot-on. “Reckon Isabel would have the right of it in calling me a misguided fool. We Coopers seem to have a knack for taking a few wrong roads before finding the right one. But I had to try. Yours and Katie's happiness means the world to me. I'd gladly sacrifice my own to give that back to you.”

“Carter,” his brother said, his expression serious, “I'll never forget what you did for Isabel, or the selflessness you've shown when it comes to seeing that Katie and I are happy. But I'm asking you to let it go as far as my happiness is concerned. I buried my heart with my wife the day we laid her to rest. There will never be anyone else for me.”

He wanted more for his brother, but he had to honor his brother's wishes. Carter nodded, accepting that he couldn't make Nathan love again. “I've got to admit it would've been a hard pill to swallow, having to step aside while you became the man Audra and the kids counted on.” Carter stood. “Speaking of which, I'm hoping she'll agree to count on me for the rest of her life.”

Nathan's eyes widened. “You're gonna ask her to marry you?”

“It's the right road to take,” he said with a grin.

“You've only known her for a few months,” he reminded him, sounding like the big brother he was.

“Maybe so. But I feel like I've been waiting for her for all of my life.”

* * *

Audra reached for the remaining flower pack in the flat she'd picked up at Hope's Garden that afternoon on the way home from church. She'd needed a few more than she'd purchased with Carter the weekend before, but she also needed something to busy her thoughts with so they didn't stray to all the reasons why Carter hadn't asked to come by after church as he always did. Sure he'd sat with her and the kids, but there had been something weighing on his mind. Maybe he and Nathan had some issues to work through on their plans for the rec center that couldn't be done during the week because of other jobs they were trying to finish up. Or maybe he was regretting having asked for more where their relationship was concerned. Or maybe...

Her troubled thoughts drifted off at the sound of a truck coming up the drive. Glancing back over her shoulder, Audra's heart leaped as Carter pulled up to the house. Grabbing onto the newly painted porch rails, she pulled herself to her feet and peeled off her gardening gloves, dropping them onto the deep, rich earth below. Then she turned and stepped from the colorful flower bed with a welcoming smile.

He stepped down from the pickup and met her gaze with a tempered smile.

Oh, how she'd missed spending time with him, even if most of that time had been spent with the two of them working together on house renovations. The children had missed him, too, constantly asking her when he would be coming by. That past week Carter had been overwhelmed at work, between finishing up current jobs and preparing for the start of the rec center. And while she understood, that didn't keep her from missing the time they'd shared together.

He walked toward her in long, determined strides, his gaze intense and locked firmly with hers.

Before she could utter his name, he swept her up into his arms and held her tight. “Darlin'.” He sighed into her hair, sounding almost vulnerable.

“Carter,” she said worriedly, “is everything all right?”

“Because of you,” he said, “it's gonna be.” He lowered her feet back to the ground, his arms still locked about her waist as he looked down at her with eyes filled with emotion. “I just came from talking to Nathan,” he said, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from her face. “He knows about Isabel.”

“Oh, Carter,” she groaned, knowing how hard this must have been for him. She herself had been putting off calling Bradford because to do so would stir up painful memories.

“I'm okay, darlin',” he said. “It's what needed to be done. You gave me the strength to see it through. And Nathan is gonna be okay, too. You were right. He was grateful that I was there to comfort Isabel during her final moments.”

She caught his face between her hands and looked up at him lovingly. “I'm so proud of you.”

“I can't believe I almost gave you away to my brother,” he said regretfully. “You and the kids mean the world to me. That day I saw you dangling from that rickety old front porch, my life changed. You made me feel again. You made me rethink my plan to remain single, to keep my heart safe. You made me feel a part of your beautiful family. Made me want your family to be mine forever.”

Her hand flew to her mouth, smothering a gasp.

“Darlin',” he said with a gentle smile, “I'm finally at a point where I can move on. I've forgiven myself for holding the truth back from my brother and he's forgiven me for keeping it from him. I'm ready to put my heart on the line where you and I are concerned. I—”

“Hold that thought,” she said, placing a finger to his lips.

He arched a questioning brow. “Audra?” he mumbled against the press of her finger.

“Before you say anything, I need to do some forgiving myself,” she told him. “Please, come inside and give me strength while I make a call I've been trying to gather the courage to make.”

“Where are the kids?” he asked as they stepped up onto the porch.

“Out back kicking balls around so Boone can chase after them,” she said as she drew open the screen door. “Those three have become inseparable.”

He followed her back to the kitchen, where a light summer breeze drifted in through the open window over the sink. “This won't take long,” she told him as she reached for the cell phone she'd left lying on the kitchen counter.

Nodding, he settled onto a chair at the table to wait.

With trembling fingers, Audra punched in a number she hadn't used in what felt like forever. One she'd deleted from her contact list the day Bradford legally gave up any and all parental rights. Then she waited, her anxiety growing with every unanswered ring on the other end of the line. She needed to do this so both she and Carter would be free to move on. “Please pick up,” she muttered in frustration.

A hand captured her free hand, long, strong fingers weaving their way through hers. And in that single gesture, her trepidation faded.

The ringing ceased, followed soon after by a voice. “Bradford Marshall speaking.”

Audra tensed at the sound of her ex-husband's voice, her grip tightening around the phone.

“Hello?” he said, sounding annoyed by the pause in response.

“Bradford, it's Audra.”

“Audra,” he said, his tone instantly changing, much to her surprise. “How are you?”

“I'm doing well.”

“Glad to hear it.”

No “how are the kids?” she wanted to say, but this call was about forgiveness and moving on. Not rehashing old hurts. “The kids are doing well, too. We're settling in and the kids are very happy here.”

“In that tiny little Texas town?”

Audra's eyes widened at the unexpected question. “How do you know where we are?”

“I got your forwarding address from the post office. I was going to come down there.”

“Why?” she said, her panicked gaze shooting up to meet Carter's calming one. She wanted to feel that same sense of calm, too. But what if Bradford intended to try and get custody back? Was it even possible at this point? If so, she'd fight it with everything she had in her.

“Because things are different now,” he replied. “I've changed. I'd like for us to give our marriage a second chance. For the children's sake.”

A second chance? Had he lost his mind completely? “They're not
your
children,” she reminded him. “Not anymore. You chose to give them up.”

Carter gave her hand a gentle squeeze, reminding her that he was there for her.

“I wasn't thinking straight at the time because of the alcohol,” he said, as if that were a reasonable defense for abandoning his children.

Excuses. Bradford was good at that. His drinking and affairs started long after his emotional neglect of his children. “None of that matters now. I'm calling to tell you that I forgive you for the wrongs you've done to us. It's time for me to move on with my life. To relish in a happiness that I was never able to have with you.”

“You've met someone?” he said, as if the idea of her finding someone else was completely preposterous.

Her gaze locked with Carter's. “I've more than met someone,” she said with a tender smile. “I've found someone who likes me just the way I am.”

“Loves you,” Carter amended, not bothering to keep his voice low.