Her Texas Hero (6 page)

Before Audra could respond, Lily shrieked, drawing all their gazes her way. Her daughter was pointing to the deep grass a couple of feet behind Audra and Katie.

“Stay very still,” she told Katie, her heart pounding. Thankfully her two children were out of striking range. “Mason, move your sister away,” she said stiffly, her gaze pinned on the coiled-up snake.
Dear Lord, help me keep this child safe.

The snake, clearly irritated by their presence, raised its head as if preparing to attack. Her first and only thought at that point was to get Katie out of striking distance. Shooting to her feet, she swept Katie up, racing away from the deadly snake with a speed that surprised even herself.

“Katie!” a deep, very worried male voice called out.

“Daddy!” she said as she clung to Audra's neck.

“What happened?” she heard Carter ask, sounding nearly as panicked as his brother as all three Cooper brothers raced toward them.

Nathan reached out, taking his daughter from Audra.

She bent, gasping for breath as anxiety constricted her lungs. “R-rattler,” she spluttered, pointing toward the spot where she and Katie had been standing only moments before.

“Was she bit?” Nathan asked, his hands frantically searching his daughter's tiny limbs.

“No,” she told him.

“Were you?” Carter said with a deepening frown as his gaze moved over her.

“Neither of us was bit,” she assured him.

“Ms. Marshall saved me,” Katie announced.

Carter stepped past them, moving in long strides toward the angry snake. Logan followed.

“Rat snake,” she heard Logan say.

“Thought it might be,” Carter confirmed.

Nathan let out a sigh of relief.

Relief she didn't feel in the least. Heart still pounding, she called out, “Don't you dare get bit by that snake, Carter Cooper!”

Logan looked her way, dark brow lifted.

“You, either,” she added, her cheeks warming with embarrassment. She hadn't meant to leave him out when she'd voiced her concern. Carter's name just came out. “I don't want either of you getting hurt. Besides, I don't even know if my home owners insurance covers venomous snakebites.”

“Darlin',” Carter said with a grin, “rat snakes aren't poisonous. And they're usually pretty timid. They only act like this when they're feeling threatened.”

“You gave it a scare,” Logan said with a nod.

She snorted. “I gave
it
a scare?” Her gaze shifted to the snake, which was still curled up and shaking its tail in a menacing manner.

Nathan lowered Katie to the ground. “Logan, why don't you move that snake on out of here while we take the children around front?”

Logan nodded and then walked over to a nearby tree, picking up a stick from the ground.

“Come on, kids,” Nathan said, motioning for them to follow as he started back around to the front of the house, his daughter's hand tucked securely in his much larger one.

Mason and Lily scurried after them, not the least bit affected by their close encounter with the snake.

“Thank You, Lord,” Audra muttered quietly.

* * *

Carter's gaze remained fixed on Audra. She had risked her own life, or would have if the snake had been poisonous, to save his niece. The very niece he'd promised Isabel to keep safe. He closed the distance between them.

“You okay?” he asked, noting the slight trembling in her hands as she stood watching the children go.

She turned, her teary gaze lifting to his face. “Well,” she said, managing a smile, “I can breathe again. That's a start.”

He offered a sympathetic smile. “Breathing is good.”

The laughter that left her lips surprised him. Soft. As if releasing the tension that had filled her only moments before. “You and your brothers must think I'm silly for panicking the way I did. But snakes are far from commonplace where we used to live.”

“You'll definitely find more out here in the country. Especially when the grass is high. Not having any real knowledge of snakes, you were right to be skittish of it.”

Biting at her bottom lip, she glanced around the unmowed yard. “Looks like a push mower is at the top of my need-to-buy list.”

“Push-mowing a yard this size could take hours. I'd suggest purchasing a riding mower instead.”

“I'll take that into consideration,” she said almost worriedly.

“I take it you've never operated a riding mower before.”

She shook her head. “I've never operated a mower of any kind. My ex-husband had a lawn-care service take care of all of that.”

Carter fought the urge to frown. Did the man see to anything that was his?

“But I can learn,” she added with a stubborn lift of her chin.

“I have no doubt,” he acknowledged with a chuckle. The woman's determination could surely make up for any lack of skill. But the tasks needing seeing to were multiplying. “You might consider saving yourself the expense of buying a mower of any sort for the next couple of months and pay to have the lawn taken care of. You're gonna have enough work on your plate as it is.”

“Maybe so, but lawn care isn't cheap,” she countered.

“I'm pretty sure I can get you a deal.” His gaze moved across the yard to where his brother was returning from disposing of the snake. “I happen to know the owner of the town's local landscaping service.”

She followed his gaze. “Logan?”

Carter nodded and then looked down at Audra with a grin. “Did I mention that he still owes me for that black mask I was wearing yesterday?”

She laughed softly, her gaze now shifting to the subject of their conversation. “I believe you already used that to get him to help move my belongings into the house.”

“Why do I feel like my ears should be burning?” his brother asked as he drew near.

“Because they should be,” she assured him with a smile as Logan joined them.

His brother cast a questioning glance his way.

“I was suggesting she make use of your lawn-care services for the next few months to keep her time freed up for all the renovations she's planning to tackle on her own,” Carter explained. “At the friends-and-family rate, of course.”

“Carter,” she chided, a faint blush filling her cheeks. Looking up at Logan, she said, “I never asked for a discount. And I certainly wouldn't want to impose on your time.”

Logan exchanged a glance with Carter and then said, “You wouldn't have to ask. After the risk you took to keep our Katie out of harm's way, I'd insist on giving you my best rate.”

“But she wasn't in any real danger.”

“You didn't know that,” Carter reminded her once more.

“As for your imposing on my time,” his brother continued, “it's what I do for a living. Your yard won't take me any time at all with the commercial-grade mowers I have at the ready.”

Face tilted upward, she let her gaze travel from Logan to him and then back to his brother. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “But only at a fair price to you. I won't have you cutting your rate so much you're losing money. And only for a month or so. By then, I should have most of the more extensive work that needs to be done on the house completed and will be free to see to my own yard. Speaking of which, I've got work to do.”

A month or so? Not only was the woman taking on more than she could chew, but she also had no concept whatsoever of the time her home renovations were going to require of her. Before Carter could set her straight, she was gone.

Logan sidled up beside him. “She's right pretty. And she's got herself some real backbone. A man's gotta admire that in a female.”

Carter turned to his younger brother with a frown. “You can just get your mind off her backbone.”

“The woman's brave enough to transplant herself and her two children to a place completely foreign to them,” his brother said. “She's determined to tackle this ramshackle place on her own. And she faced down a mighty big rat snake without dropping into a dead faint. I like her.”

So did he
, Carter thought with a deepening frown. “She's also trying to pull her life back together after what sounds like a not-so-pleasant marriage, followed by a not-so-pleasant divorce. So liking her doesn't come into play here. Got it?”

Logan arched a brow. “Does that go for you, as well?”

It especially went for him. He wanted to do his Christian duty and help Audra out, but he wasn't about to allow himself to like her. Not in that way. He wasn't looking for any sort of emotional entanglement. He started toward the front of the house, his brother walking beside him. “I'm only here to give her a much-needed hand. Nothing more.”

“You trying to convince me of that or yourself?”

Carter did what he always did when Logan attempted to push his buttons. He ignored him. They rounded the house and his gaze immediately sought out Audra, much to his own frustration. He didn't want to like her. Not even a little. But Lord help him, he did.

Audra was standing inside one of the open moving container, dispersing small boxes to the children, who were doing their part to help. Then, smiling, she followed them into the house.

“A little help in here would be nice,” Nathan called out from inside another of the moving containers, where he stood holding an armful of colorful pillows.

“You can leave the heavy stuff to us,” Logan told him with a grin. Looking to Carter, he said, “How about you take the two yellow throw pillows and I'll take the two blue ones?”

“I'm not talking about these,” Nathan grumbled with a frown. “I was referring to the sofa. I didn't want them falling onto the ground when we carry the sofa into the house.”

“Smart thinking,” Logan said as he stepped forward to take the brightly colored pillows from Nathan. “I'll make sure these make it into the house safely. You two can get the sofa. I'll even get the door for you.”

Carter exchanged eye rolls with Nathan before they bent to lift the plush beige sofa and followed their younger brother into the house.

Audra met them in the entryway. “Can I help?”

“Logan might need a hand with those pillows,” Carter said. “We'd hate for him to pull a muscle before he attempts the really heavy stuff.”

Logan shot him a halfhearted scowl.

She smothered a giggle.

“We're good,” Carter assured her.

“Where would you like this?” Nathan asked as he adjusted his grip on his end of the sofa.

“In here,” she said, motioning them into the recently scrubbed-down living room. “Against the far wall would be great. If you don't need my help, I'll head back out to get another armload of boxes. The kids went upstairs to play Go Fish in Lily's room.”

“We're good,” Carter assured her, watching as she made her way out onto the porch.

“Any chance you could crane that neck of yours back around this way so we could get this here sofa set down where it's supposed to go?” Nathan grumbled with a hint of impatience.

“He can't help himself,” Logan said with a chuckle. “He's smitten.”

Carter snapped his head around, his dark brows drawn together. “I am
not
smitten.”

His brothers exchanged glances that had him muttering under his breath. Mostly because they were right. Something about Audra Marshall called to him. A reaction that had him wanting to pull back. Away. To steer clear of the feelings she and her children stirred in him. He would not place himself in the same emotionally vulnerable position Nathan had. Would not allow himself to care too much.

Chapter Five

A
udra stood looking out across the moonlit yard from her bedroom window. It was only seven fifteen in the evening, but after the day she'd put in working on the house she should be every bit as tired as her children, who had gone to bed early. Actually, she was—physically. But her mind refused to shut down. It was awhirl with all the things that still needed to be done. That list seemed to grow every day, weighing down on her to the point she felt as if she were suffocating at times. It was at those moments she prayed for strength and did her best to focus on all she had managed to accomplish in just under a week.

She'd polished all the wood trim until her arms ached, giving the house a clean, lemony scent. Then she'd painted the kitchen a soft buttery yellow that brought life and light to the room. The hallway and living room walls were coated in a shade she'd chosen called warmed biscuit, which felt cozy and welcoming. A huge change from the long since abandoned feel the house once had. In addition to the new paint, curtains she'd brought from her house in Chicago hung in several of the rooms, having needed only a bit of their length taken off. Those were the positive results of her hard work.

The negatives, of which there were plenty, were a leaking kitchen sink, which she had tried to repair but only made worse, creaking floorboards in the living room, which she had pulled up only to reveal a large area of rotted flooring underneath, and crooked shutters too high for her to reach safely. The list went on and on.

With a sigh, she let her gaze travel across the moonlit yard to settle onto the not-so-white picket fence that lined the front of her property. It had been barely visible from the house before Carter had shown up alongside his brother, trimming the wildly overgrown hedges while Logan mowed the yard. That had been three days before, a day after they'd helped move all her belongings from the moving containers to the house. Somehow, it felt like much longer.

While both Nathan and Logan had stopped by that week to see if she needed anything, she hadn't seen or heard from Carter since he'd trimmed back her hedges. Even then, they hadn't had much of a chance to talk as he'd rushed off as soon as the job was finished. She knew she shouldn't take it personally. Carter was a busy man with a business to run. But so were his brothers and they had found the time to check on her, she reminded herself, feeling an unexpected note of hurt.

Had she done something to offend Carter? Audra searched her memory for anything she might have said that would have put him off, but she could come up with nothing. Other than her refusal to hire him to take care of her house's much-needed renovations. Was it possible that his and Nathan's company was in financial need? She'd never given that possibility any thought.

What she did know now was that she'd been far too confident in her ability to read how-to books on home repair and then apply what she'd learned to her own house. How wrong she'd been to think she could handle a job this big on her own.

Her cell phone rang out behind her, startling Audra from her troubled thoughts. Turning away from the window, she crossed the room and grabbed the phone from her nightstand.

Not recognizing the number on her cell phone's caller ID screen, she said, “Hello?”

“Ms. Marshall, this is Rachel Johns. Reverend Johns's wife. We spoke a couple of days ago when you stopped by to inquire about the secretarial/bookkeeping job we have advertised in the paper.”

“Yes,” Audra said with forced calm, trying not to get her hopes up.

“I'm sorry to be calling so late in the evening, but I told you we'd get back to you by today and didn't want you to be left wondering. The reverend and I have been out most of the day making hospital calls and paying home visits to some of our under-the-weather parishioners, or I would have tried to reach you sooner.”

“It's quite all right,” she assured the older woman. “In fact, your timing is perfect. I just tucked my children into their beds for the night, so I'm free to talk without any interruption.”

“Well, I won't keep you on long. As a mother myself, I know how precious those moments of solitude can be, no matter how much we adore our little ones. Not that mine are little anymore. They're all grown up with lives of their own, but I do remember those days.”

Audra smiled. Sometimes the peace and quiet was nice. Especially after the past few days of trying to make the house livable.

“Anyway,” the reverend's wife continued, “we'd like to offer you the job if you haven't already found another. It's thirty-five hours a week with an hour for lunch. And, as we discussed the other day, the pay isn't much over minimum wage, but you'd have health insurance with reasonably priced add-ons for your children if you're interested.”

A huge worry lifted from her shoulders at those words. “I would definitely be interested.”

“I know you're new in town and you mentioned having no family, so feel free to bring your children in with you whenever needed. They can entertain themselves in the children's playroom while you work.”

“I really appreciate that,” she told her. “At least, until I can find someone to help me with child care when needed. Would it be possible for me to take my lunch break later in the afternoon, so I can use that time to pick them up from school? I'm hoping to get them enrolled as soon as possible.”

The older woman nodded. “That would be fine. Take your hour lunch break whenever you need it. We have an answering machine here that can pick up when you're out of the office and you can return any calls when you return to work.”

Could she have found a more perfect job for her situation?
Oh, Heavenly Father, thank You for this wonderfully timed blessing.
“I would love very much to accept the position.”

“That's wonderful news. My husband will be so happy to hear it. I have to admit that if we hadn't already been thoroughly impressed with you after our visit the other day, Carter Cooper's kind words on your behalf would have swayed our decision greatly in your favor.”

“Carter talked to you about me?” she said in surprise.

“Not exactly,” the woman explained. “We overheard him in the hardware store telling Mr. Anderson—he's the store's owner—to treat you right when you came in for supplies. He said you were a single mother trying to do right by your children. And that you have a tender heart and a kind smile, and more pluck than most of the men he knows.”

“He said all that?” she gasped, her cheeks warming at such unexpected compliments.

“He most certainly did. Apparently, you've made quite an impression on that young man.”

The reverend's wife had no idea. Having had to come to her rescue multiple times since meeting her, she could only imagine what Carter Cooper's impression of her must be. But he'd been kind in his words and for that she was grateful. But what thrilled her most was his comment about her having pluck. She'd gone so many years without any real backbone when her children had needed her to have one. But she'd been trying so hard to be a good Christian. What she hadn't been able to separate at the time was the difference between being a good Christian and being a floor mat for her ex-husband. In the end, she'd had no choice but to toughen up, using that pluck Carter had mentioned to get both she and her children out of an emotionally harmful situation.

“It's late,” Rachel said on the other end of the line, pulling Audra from her thoughts. “Why don't you swing by sometime this week to pick up some paperwork I'll need you to fill out before you start? I can answer any more questions you might have then.”

“That sounds good to me.”

“Good. How about we set your start date for the Monday after next? It'll give you some time to settle into your new home.”

“That would be perfect,” Audra told her. “Tomorrow, I'm going to see about getting Mason and Lily enrolled into school here. I'll swing by and pick up those papers while I'm out.”

“See you tomorrow, then,” the reverend's wife replied.

Audra pressed End on her phone screen and fought the urge to let out a whoop of excitement. The children had played hard that day. The last thing she wanted to do was wake them. But she could barely contain her excitement. Extra income
and
health coverage. Now all she had to do was admit defeat where her house renovations were concerned and then do something about it.

“Mommy...”

Audra turned to find her daughter standing in the doorway. “Sweetie, what are you doing out of bed?”

Her daughter rubbed her sleep-filled eyes as she looked up at her. “I had a bad dream. Did you have one, too?”

Audra knelt in front of her little girl. “No, honey. Mommy just has a lot on her mind and it's making it hard for me to sleep.” Reaching out, she brushed her daughter's fine, silky hair away from her tiny face. “Would you like to tell me about your bad dream?”

Her daughter hesitated before lowering her gaze to the floor and shaking her head.

“Talking about it might make you feel better,” she told her. “And sharing your fears with someone else can sometimes help to chase them far away.”

Lily looked up at her once more, biting at her bottom lip as Audra sometimes did when she was troubled over something. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

She smiled down at her daughter. “If you promise not to take all the covers.”

“I promise.”

Audra stood and lifted Lily into her arms, carrying her over to the bed. Lowering her atop the turned-down sheets, she lovingly tucked her daughter in. Then, with a worried sigh, she settled down onto the edge of the mattress. “Did you have a bad dream about snakes?” she asked, having had one or two herself since their run-in with that huge rat snake in the backyard.

Lily shook her head. “No. I dreamed that we moved away.”

“To another house?” she said, certain that her children would be thrilled to live anywhere but in the old, dilapidated house Audra had chosen for them. But if that were so, her daughter's dream wouldn't have been a bad one.

“No,” she said with a sleepy pout. “We moved far away from Braxton and our new house.”

Lily's reply took her by surprise. “You
like
living in this big old house?”

Her daughter nodded.

Thank You, Lord, for that small blessing.
It would break her heart to know her children were so unhappy with their new home they were having nightmares about it. “I'm glad you're happy here. And I promise to make our house a very warm, wonderful place to live in. It's just going to take Mommy a little time to get everything done.”

“So we won't have to move again?” Lily said almost anxiously.

“I have no plans to,” she told her with a reassuring smile.

“Good, 'cause I like playing with Katie,” she said sleepily. “And I like Carter.”

“Mr. Cooper,” Audra promptly amended.

“Mr. Cooper,” Lily mumbled softly. “Even if he doesn't like us anymore.”

“Why would you think he doesn't like us?” Audra asked, her brows knitting in concern.

Lily yawned, her eyes closing. “Because he doesn't come see us anymore...” Her daughter's words drifted off as she settled into sleep, but they remained firm in Audra's mind long into the night.

* * *

“How are things coming along out at Ms. Marshall's place?” Nathan asked as he stepped from the kitchen, placing the pot of chili he'd made for that night's dinner onto the table. Katie followed behind with a basket of corn bread.

“Couldn't say,” Carter mumbled, feeling that ever-present tug of guilt he had when it came to Audra Marshall and her two children. Guilt he was forever trying to convince himself he shouldn't be feeling. After all, he'd rescued her from her porch roof, helped move all her belongings into her new house, replaced her back door and trimmed all of her hedges. Surely, he'd fulfilled his Christian duty. Or so he kept trying to convince himself. If that were so, why then did it feel as though he'd abandoned her?

“You haven't talked to her lately?” Logan said with a frown.

“I've been busy,” he muttered as he buttered himself a slice of the still oven-warm corn bread.

“Busy avoiding her,” Nathan said as he scooped a spoonful of chili from the pot and dumped it into his bowl.

“Are you mad at her, Uncle Carter?” Katie asked worriedly from where she sat across the table from him.

He shot his brothers a scowl for even bringing the conversation up around Katie. “No, Katydid,” he told her with a gentle smile. “I'm not mad at Ms. Marshall. Your daddy and I have been very busy with work and that takes up most of my time.”

“But Daddy and me had time to go see her.”

Carter's gaze snapped in his older brother's direction.

Nathan grinned. “Figured somebody ought to swing by and see how things were going.”

“I figured the same thing,” Logan admitted.

Carter's head swiveled sharply to where his younger brother sat at the other end of the table. “You went to see her, too?”

Logan chuckled as he reached for the saltshaker. “Careful, Carter. You're sounding a little territorial for a woman you claim to have washed your hands of.”

“Washed his hands of?” Katie repeated, her tiny brows drawn together in confusion.

“How about we eat dinner before it gets cold?” Carter suggested, his irritation barely contained. He should have been the one looking in on Audra. Not his brothers. But that day she'd offered to make him and Logan grilled cheese sandwiches when they'd finished working on the yard, she'd sent him running. His momma used to make him grilled cheese sandwiches when he was a little boy and then well into adulthood, knowing they were a favorite of his. It was a reminder of what he'd lost. It was also a reminder of what he risked by getting close to Audra and her children. A risk he wasn't willing to take.