Her Texas Hero

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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