Her Texas Hero (8 page)

She nodded.

“We lost our folks that day, as well,” he admitted, trying to tamp down the grief that threatened to surface.

“Oh, Carter,” she groaned, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his arm. “I can't imagine how hard that must have been for all of you.”

“Still is,” he heard himself admitting. “Especially for Nathan.”

“I don't know how he does it. Going on after such a devastating loss.”

“He does it for Katie. Just as you've gone on for the sake of your children.”

She nodded. “Faith has played a large part in giving me the strength to go on.”

The sound of water spilling out onto the floor cut their conversation short, drawing both of their gazes downward.

Audra shrieked, reaching out to turn off the water that had been left running in the sink when he'd turned her to him. “The bucket!”

“Bucket?” he repeated as he bent to open the cupboard door below the right side of the kitchen sink. Inside, a white plastic bucket was filled to the top, the excess water draining over the bucket's edge. Kneeling on the wet floor, he glanced up to do a visual inspection of the old copper plumbing above where water had finally stopped draining from the small split in one of the copper pipes.

“Bad?” Audra asked as she peered over his shoulder.

“Looks like we'll be starting with the kitchen sink today,” he said in response. “There's a small crack in the copper piping.”

“Doesn't sound like a simple fix,” she said with a sigh.

He glanced back at her. “The good news is it's fixable and the rest of the copper piping under here still looks pretty solid. At some point, you might want to consider replacing it, though. Do you have an extra bucket or pan I could switch this bucket out with?”

“In the pantry,” she replied. “Be right back.” She returned a few moments later, handing it over to him. “I'll take that one,” she said, motioning past him to the filled bucket.

Carter switched them out and then stood, carefully hefting the water-filled bucket. “It's heavy. I'll get it. You might wanna see to that water on the floor while I go dump this.”

Grabbing a couple of dish towels from a nearby drawer, she knelt where he had been and began soaking up the overflow on the floor and inside of the sink cupboard.

He stepped out onto the back porch, needing a moment away to collect himself. The emotional strife Audra had been forced to deal with during her marriage had him wanting to pull her into his arms again. At the same time, he was ready to get in his truck and head north in search of her ex with the intention of having a little chat with the coldhearted man. Unfortunately, he could do neither. Audra wasn't his to hold. And her ex, well, the Lord would see to him. What he could do was be there for her children, giving them at least a small example of what it meant to have a man who cared and wanted to spend time with them in their life.

* * *

Audra tried to keep from smiling as she drove into town. Despite the emotional outburst she'd had that morning in the kitchen, she felt better than she had in a very long time. Carter had done that for her. Not only by being there for her when she most needed it, but also for his being there for her children. Seeing him with her son as he taught Mason how to throw a curveball, and then afterward with her daughter, who had at some point decided that today's special dance was going to be ballet, was a moment she would always hold dear in her heart.

Carter hadn't balked at her daughter's request. Not even for a second. He'd simply smiled, then kicked off his boots so he could rise up on his toes like a true ballerina, following her daughter's every instruction. Lily had giggled so joyously it had brought tears of happiness to Audra's eyes. Even Mason had joined in, mimicking Carter's poorly done pirouettes until her son collapsed onto the grass in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

To think she'd been so eager to push Carter away that first day. Thankfully, for her and her children, he was a determinedly stubborn man. God had brought Cooper into their lives for a reason. Aside from rescuing her from the roof. Maybe He'd sent Cooper there to show her children that real men didn't mind spending time with their kids and weren't afraid to show emotion. Real men built others up instead of tearing them down.

She thought back to the life she'd had when she was married to Bradford. Never having a say over anything. Not with the house. Not with the finances. Not with her children. He'd taken nearly all control away from her and she'd foolishly allowed it. But not any longer. This was her life and she was going to have the control in the way she lived it. The way her beloved children lived theirs.

“Is this going to take long?” Mason called from the backseat of the minivan. “Mr. Cooper might need my help.”

More like her son wanted to get back to the house to help Carter. “I think he's perfectly capable of handling things on his own while we get you signed up for school.”

“Me, too!” her daughter squeaked from where she sat buckled in the second-row passenger-side seat.

“You, too,” Audra replied with a smile as she caught her daughter's reflection in the rearview mirror. Returning her gaze to the road ahead, she said, “As long as one of their preschool classes has an opening. Remember what Mommy told you this morning. We're late signing you up, so we might not be able to get you into a class right now. If that happens, you can come to work with me while Mason is in school.”

She turned into the church parking lot and pulled into one of the empty spaces closest to the main door. “Everyone unbuckle. Mommy has to pick up some paperwork from Mrs. Johns before we run by the school.”

No sooner had they stepped into the building than they were greeted by Reverend Johns. “Well, look who we have here.”

Audra smiled. “I was just stopping by to pick up that paperwork your wife needs me to fill out before I start working next week.”

He nodded. “Rachel mentioned you'd be coming by. She's in the office. I'm on my way out to visit one of our parishioners who's scheduled for open-heart surgery tomorrow morning.” He smiled as his gaze took in her children. “Hope to see you three at the service on Sunday.”

“We'll be there,” she assured him. Getting involved in church again was very important to her. Her decision to divorce Bradford had filled her with overwhelming guilt over her failure to save the holy union they had entered into, turning her back on the commitment she'd made to God that day to love, honor and obey her husband until death do them part. That guilt, despite knowing it was Bradford who essentially walked away from the marriage, and shame at letting God down, had her attending Sunday services back in Chicago less and less. But she wanted to find herself back in God's good graces again, here where she intended to make a new start. He must want that, as well. Why else would the only job listing locally be for the position at Braxton's only church? If that wasn't a sign from above, she didn't know what was.

He nodded, seemingly pleased by her reply. “Will you be entering Braxton's annual pie bake-off next month?” he asked.

“Pie bake-off?”

“I like pie!” Lily exclaimed beside her.

The reverend chuckled. “It's being held two Sundays from next. Every year, the funds raised go to a need the town has. This year it's going toward rebuilding the community center. We lost it in a tornado the Christmas before last.”

“Mommy can bake a pie!” Mason said excitedly.

“A really, really good pie,” Lily agreed, rubbing her tummy. “And sometimes we get to help her.”

Audra's smile returned with their unrestrained exuberance. It was true. She did love to bake. Especially desserts. “So it's not too late to enter?” she asked, finding herself eager to contribute to the town's fund-raising efforts.

“Not at all,” he replied. “I believe they're accepting entrants up until the start of judging. And being one of the judges, one with a very sweet tooth,” he added with a grin, “I would more than welcome another pie to taste.”

“Will you do it?” Mason asked, looking up at her.

“Please, Mommy,” Lily added, bouncing up and down on her toes.

Audra laughed, turning her attention back to the reverend. “Looks like you're going to have another pie to taste.”

“Wonderful!' he said, his friendly smile widening. “Be sure to let Rachel know and she'll add your name to the sign-up sheet.”

“I will.”

“See you Sunday,” he said with a wave as he continued on toward the door that led to the parking lot.

Rachel Johns poked her head out from the church office. “I thought I heard voices out here. Come on back,” she said, waving them in her direction.

Audra herded her children down the hall with a smile. “I hope we're not catching you at a bad time.”

“Not at all,” Rachel replied, motioning them into the room. “I have your papers right over here.” She crossed the room, reaching for a manila envelope lying atop her desk. Handing it over to Audra, she said, “Take a few days to read through these and fill them out. If you could get them back to me by Friday, that would be wonderful.”

“I will. Thank you.” She clutched the envelope to her blouse. Inside was an answer to her prayers. At least, one of them. Health-care coverage for her family.

Lily gave Audra's shirt an impatient tug. “Don't forget to ask her,” her daughter whispered beside her. Not that whispering did much good in an office that small.

Rachel tempered a grin as she waited for whatever it was Audra had to ask her.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “A little too much sugar this morning.”

“We had homemade waffles,” Mason announced.

Lily nodded. “With bunches of syrup.”

“The only way to eat waffles,” the older woman said, clearly charmed, and then turned to Audra.

“Reverend Johns mentioned the pie bake-off in a few weeks. We were hoping to sign up for it.”

“The entry fee is fifteen dollars,” she said, somewhat hesitantly.

While she was trying to be careful financially, and Rachel knew it, this was for a good cause. Not to mention a small way to contribute to the town they now called home. “When would you need my entry fee?”

“The day of the judging is fine.” She walked around the desk and withdrew a yellow sheet of paper from one of the side drawers. “Whenever is best for you. Here's a list of rules for the competition. Fill out the entry form slip at the bottom and give it, along with the entry fee, to Mrs. Danner when you arrive that afternoon. She's in charge this year.”

Audra glanced down at the brightly colored paper she held in her hands. The judging was scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., which gave her plenty of time to get home from church, fix the children and Carter lunch and then get to baking. Lifting her gaze, she smiled. “I...” she began and then looked to her children. “
We
are looking forward to joining in.”

Her children beamed at being included, their happiness over something so simple warming her heart.

The older woman smiled. “Well, we look forward to having the three of you be a part of the fund-raiser. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the remainder of the contest pies, once our judges have tasted their slices and chosen a winner, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.” She fluttered her hand in the air. “It's all on the entry form entrant information sheet.”

Now the pressure was really on. Not only would a handful of judges be tasting her baking for the competition, but someone was also going to be paying hard-earned money for the remainder of her pie.

* * *

The front door to Audra's house swung open, thudding against the wall. “We're home!” Lily's tiny voice called out from the front entryway.

Carter set down the crowbar he'd been using to pull up the wood planks in the living room and then sat back on his heels, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. “I'm in here,” he called back with a smile. “But don't come into the room,” he added in warning. “I lifted a big chunk of the floor while you were away and don't want anyone getting hurt.”

Mason voice followed as he joined his sister inside. “Did you tell him yet?” he asked excitedly.

“Not yet,” he heard Lily say. “He's holding up the floor.”

“Holding up the floor?” he heard Audra say in confusion. A second later, her head popped around to peek in through the open pocket doors.

“Lifting the floor,” he said with a chuckle as he stood. “I should know better than to use the terms I'd use with my brother at a job site.” He stepped from the room. “How did it go?”

“We're making a pie!” Lily blurted out.

“You are?” Carter said, scooping her up in his arms. “And what kind of pie are you making?”

“One that wins,” Mason told him.

He looked to Audra in confusion.

She laughed softly. “We're entering the town's annual pie bake-off.”

He arched a brow. “You are?”

“You don't have to sound so surprised. I told you I could cook. And pies just happen to be one of my specialties,” she said with a slight lift to her chin.

“I'm not surprised,” he said honestly. “Just glad to see you're getting involved.” Audra tended to keep to herself, content to spend most of her time at the house with her children. “It'll give you a chance to meet more people.”

“I know,” she said, nodding. “I've come to realize that I need to put more effort into fitting in, not only for my children, but for myself, as well.”

“And it's for a good cause,” he noted as he set Lily on her feet. “Why don't you kids go play while I fill your momma in on what I did on the house today?”

They didn't have to be told twice. The second they scampered off up the stairs, he motioned for Audra to follow him into the living room. “Watch your step.”