Her Texas Hero by Kat Brookes Page B

frown.
    â€œI’ve been busy,” he muttered as he buttered himself a slice of the still oven-warm corn bread.
    â€œBusy avoiding her,” Nathan said as he scooped a spoonful of chili from the pot and dumped it into his bowl.
    â€œAre 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.”
    â€œBut 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.”
    â€œI 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.”
    â€œWashed his hands of?” Katie repeated, her tiny brows drawn together in confusion.
    â€œHow 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.
    No sooner had that last thought crossed his mind than his cell phone set to ringing, bringing all conversation to a halt. “Sorry,” he apologized as he pulled the phone from his jeans pocket. Normally, he set it on vibrate during family meals, as did his brothers, but that night he’d forgotten to switch it over. A glance at the lit screen showed a number with an area code he wasn’t familiar with. “Probably a wrong number,” he said as he brought the phone to his ear. “Carter Cooper speaking.”
    â€œCarter...” the soft, very feminine voice on the other end of the line said.
    â€œAudra?”
    â€œI hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.” She sounded anxious.
    â€œNo,” he replied, ignoring his family’s curious stares. “Is everything okay?”
    â€œYes and no.”
    Well, that helped to ease his concern. With a frown, he asked, “Is it one of the children?”
    â€œLily and Mason are fine,” she assured him. “But thank you for caring enough to ask.”
    His caring about them was the problem. He didn’t want to care at the level he did. Had done his best to squash those warm-and-fuzzy, care-too-much thoughts Audra and her children stirred in him.
    â€œI’m calling because...” she began and then hesitated for a long moment. Finally, she said, “Well, because I need you.”
    Run! The grilled cheese was nothing when compared to those last three little words. I need you.
    â€œI know it’s last-minute,” she continued, “but you were right.”
    â€œI was?” He had no idea what he’d been right about. All his mind could focus on was that softly spoken I need you .
    â€œI can’t do the renovations on my own. I’d like to hire you if you have the time to fit the work into your schedule.”
    It took a moment for her words to sink in. “You’re calling to hire me?” Not to tell him that she’d noticed his absence in her life. One that had been intentional on