Her Texas Hero (13 page)

One by one, those half-eaten pies were bid on and won for large amounts of money. Far more than a pie, even fully intact, would ever cost. But it did include a picnic lunch as well. Audra couldn't help but feel touched by the incredibly giving hearts of the community she was now a part of.

Logan was one of the first bidders, bidding on and winning a picnic lunch with Mrs. Simms and her prizewinning pie.

Several more pies were auctioned off and Audra watched the stir of excitement that filled the crowd as bidding on each pie began. Not only were the funds being raised that day going to a good cause, the fund-raiser itself was bringing the community together in wonderful ways.

Audra's only regret was not having thought to give her children spending money with which they could have bid on her pie. Or as it was now—a picnic lunch. That thought had barely surfaced in her mind when she saw Carter set Lily on her feet beside Katie and Mason. A second later, Nathan handed his bidding card to them and the three children, each with a tiny hand placed on the card, raised it up into the air. However, the pie the children were bidding on wasn't hers. Apparently, no one had the heart to bid against the three pint-sized bidders and they won without challenge. Audra looked to Carter, who simply shrugged with a grin. She supposed it all went to the same cause, but it would have been nice to have them bid on her pie. What if no one else wanted it?

Lizzie's pie was the next to be auctioned off. A nice-looking man, who appeared to be closer to Audra's age, stepped to the front of the crowd, his gaze fixed on Lizzie.

“Oh, brother,” Lizzie groaned as the man with his wavy blond hair, neatly trimmed goatee and charming grin smiled and then raised his card to start off the bidding.

Audra glanced her way. “What's wrong?” she asked as all attention moved to the auctioneer and the bidding cards going up.

“Anyone but Ryan,” her friend muttered.

“Ryan? As in Ryan's Pizza?”

“Ryan's Pies and Pins,” her friend replied with a frown. “And, yes, that would be him. He's the older brother of my best friend and used to torment me to no end when we were younger. That is, when he wasn't around his friends acting as if I didn't exist.”

“I see,” Audra said, her gaze going back to the man who fired up Lizzie's emotions so easily. He certainly wasn't looking at her friend like she didn't exist now.

Much to Lizzie's dismay, Ryan ended up winning her pie, along with the unexpected picnic lunch that was being included in the pie auction that day. “I shouldn't have entered,” she mumbled with a frown.

“It can't be that bad,” Audra said reassuringly. “Just a friendly picnic lunch surrounded by family and friends.”

“That's it,” Lizzie said, a smile spreading across her lightly freckled face. “Audra, you're a genius. I'll invite my mother to join Ryan and me for our picnic. That way he'll be forced to behave himself. Because once he gets a closer look at my pie, he'll tease me about my somewhat lacking baking skills.”

“I'm sure he won't even notice.”

Lizzie fidgeted anxiously with the strawberry-blond ponytail that hung over one slender shoulder. “Not much gets by Ryan. And he has a memory like an elephant. He still hasn't let me forget about the time I burned his toast at the restaurant when I first starting working at Big Dog's.”

“Surely he understands that accidents happen.”

“He does. Only that wasn't an accident,” she confessed with an impish grin.

Audra fought to hold in a giggle. “Why would you do that?”

“Because he's Ryan,” Lizzie replied as if that was all the explanation Audra needed.

Before Audra could delve any deeper into Lizzie's reaction to this particular man winning a picnic date with her, she overheard the auctioneer say her name. Glancing around, she saw several hands lift into the air. Mrs. Clark's. Then Rachel Johns's. Followed by a few more hands of men and women she had yet to be introduced to.

Audra smiled nervously as the bidding went on.

“Three hundred dollars,” a familiar voice called out. The bid far above any that had been made to that point.

Gasps and whispers moved through the crowd.

“Three hundred dollars?” the auctioneer repeated, no doubt thinking he had misunderstood the far too extravagant bid.

Carter nodded, his determined gaze meeting hers. “One hundred for each of the bakers who put a lot of time and effort into the making of that there delicious-looking pie.”

His inclusion of her children in his explanation had emotion flooding her. But three hundred dollars?

“Going once. Going twice...” The eagerly spoken words pulled her back to the moment, her gaze shifting back to the elderly gentleman auctioning off the remainder of her contest pie. “Sold for three hundred dollars!”

Chapter Nine

“A
re you crazy?” Audra said as Carter shook out the blue-and-green plaid blanket he'd won along with a food-filled picnic basket in the auction. “Paying that kind of money for a pie you were going to have some of later this evening anyway.”

“Crazy about you,” he replied, his mouth hitching up on one side in a charming grin. “Now how about we have that lunch I won?”

Crazy about you?
Audra's heart did a flip, despite her head's warning that she shouldn't make too much out of his teasing remark. “For the amount you paid,” she said as she placed the bright yellow basket atop the blanket Carter had just spread out for their picnic, “you should have gotten all of the picnic lunches.”

“Darlin',” he countered as he settled his long frame atop the blanket, “time spent with you is worth far more than I paid for this here basket.”

Blushing at his words, Audra let her gaze fall to the basket as she began unloading the containers of food and placing them on the blanket. “You really are a smooth-talking Texan.”

“What I am is a man wanting some time alone with the woman he's come to care a great deal about,” he replied as he joined in, pulling out plastic cups, plates and silverware the same vibrant shade of yellow as the basket. “Hence the reason my brother had the kids bid on a basket of their own. That way he can watch over them while you and I enjoy a romantic lunch for two.”

“
Romantic
lunch for two?” she said as she sat down next to him on the blanket, trying to keep from melting into his words. Laughing softly, she glanced around them. While it was only the two of them sharing that particular blanket, the grassy area around them was dotted with the blankets of the other auction winners. Not to mention the dozens of other people who were seated on the park's neatly mown lawn, eating food they had purchased from the various food stands.

“Okay, so it's not nearly as private as I might have liked, but I'll just have to make do.”

What did he have to say? He sounded so serious. Audra felt a flutter of nerves in the pit of her stomach. Not in the bad sense, but in the sense of her life was about to change direction again.

Carter reached for her hand, twining his fingers through hers. “First, I wanna apologize again for what I tried to do the other night.” His teasing tone had grown serious. “My intentions were good, however misguided they were. And while I wanna see my brother and Katie happy I have to admit it would've tangled me all up in knots to wonder what might've been.”

“Carter...” she said softly, looking up into his dark, emotion-filled eyes.

“I know you're scared to take a chance when it comes to something more than friendship. I was. But I've come to realize that the risk is one worth taking,” he said, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “I'd like to see where things could go between us. And before you answer, I want you to know that I'm fully committed to making this work. For us and for your kids, who've come to mean the world to me.”

Suddenly, the moment felt very private. Like it really was only her and Carter sharing that romantic picnic lunch on the park lawn. All she could focus on was Carter's caring gaze and tender tone. “I'd like that, too,” she said, emotion tightening her words. “But I have to be honest. I'm not sure I'm ready to open my heart up again completely.”

His tender smile never faltered. “So we take baby steps.”

She had never met a man so considerate and caring. Could she give Carter what he was hoping for down the road? Her heart. Bradford had crushed it. Just as he had her trust. But Carter was nothing like her ex. He wasn't demanding or selfish. And he cared more deeply for her children than their own father ever had. So as long as she still had a piece of her heart left to build on, no matter how broken or bruised, there was hope for her and Carter to have something more. Something deeper.

Touched by all he'd done to show her how much he truly cared, Audra leaned up and pressed a kiss to his tanned cheek. “Baby steps.”

Applause erupted around them, reminding Audra that they weren't alone. She pulled back, her face heating. She couldn't even bring herself to look around.

Carter chuckled. “Should I tell them to hold off on reserving the church, that we're taking things slow?”

“Don't give them any ideas,” she muttered past the smile that had moved over her face. “Let's just eat. We can talk more about us later. When we're away from all the curious stares of at least half the town.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, Audra scooped a spoonful of potato salad out onto her plate. “Would you like some?”

“I'm a man, darlin',” he said with a grin. “We rarely turn down food.”

She glanced up at him as she emptied a spoonful of the potato salad onto his plate. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“They said this was the first time there had been picnic lunches going to the winning bidders.”

He nodded. “It is.”

“And your company donated all the baskets of food?”

He hesitated in replying.

“Cooper Construction didn't buy the picnic items,” she answered for him. “You did, didn't you?”

“Reckon it might have been my idea,” he admitted with a shrug. “And I might have contributed toward the majority of it. But Nathan pitched in for some of it.”

She laughed. “Probably hoping that if everything went as planned for you he wouldn't have to worry about you trying to hand me off to him again.”

“Not a chance of that ever happening again,” he said, shaking his head. “A real man learns by his mistakes.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” she teased. “Because you're the only man I'm interested in taking ‘baby steps' with.”

* * *

A firm knock sounded on the office door to Cooper Construction. Then it opened and Rusty Clark poked his graying head inside. “You boys got a minute?”

Nathan looked up from the blueprints he and Carter had been going over and smiled. “Talk about perfect timing,” he told the older man with a grin. “We can spare you at least five. We're headed out to look over a new job site in a few.”

“This won't take long,” the older man assured them as he stepped into the room.

“Have a seat,” Carter said from where he stood next to Nathan, motioning to one of the leather armchairs that fronted Nathan's desk.

With a nod, Rusty settled himself into the one closest to the door. “I just got off the phone with the bank and the remainder of the funds for the new recreation center have finally come through. That, along with the money the town has raised through various fund-raisers, will allow us to see our vision for the new center through to completion.”

“That's wonderful,” Carter said, knowing how hard Rusty had worked to make this happen.

“Indeed,” the older man said with a nod. “It was supposed to take another six months or more. So I consider this news a true blessing. My question is, do you think the new recreation center could be ready in time for the town's annual Christmas celebration?”

“Depending on weather conditions during the construction of the building itself, length of time it takes to get the necessary permits and availability of supplies,” Carter answered, “I'd say it's possible.”

“Blueprints would also need to be drawn up,” Nathan added. “Whoever wins the bid for the job will have to be willing to push hard to get the job done in time. But it's definitely doable,” Nathan agreed.

“Are you two willing?”

They looked questioningly to Rusty.

“Willing?” Nathan repeated.

“To push to get the job done,” he explained. “Because the town council just held an emergency meeting to get the ball rolling on this project. We voted to forgo asking for bids from area contractors to speed things up and in the process will be keeping the work local. Not to mention we'd be using someone we know and trust. A company we know does the utmost quality of work. So my next question is, can you do it?”

“We'd be honored to do the work,” Nathan said without hesitation.

Carter nodded. They had other jobs lined up for the next several months, mostly smaller ones. Working around them to build the new recreation center shouldn't be an issue.

“Glad to hear it,” Rusty said, a wide smile creasing his weathered cheeks. “The council has decided to dedicate the new center to those we lost in the storm and feel it's only fitting the two of you play an integral part of both the rebuilding of the recreation center and of the dedication ceremony being held before the town's Christmas Eve celebration we'll be holding there if all goes as planned with the building of it.”

Carter watched his brother's smile falter and knew the reason for it. Nathan avoided all things Christmas whenever possible. It stirred too many painful memories for him. But he also knew that deep down Nathan needed to do this. Not only to honor Isabel's memory, but also to start to work toward healing emotionally. Katie deserved to grow up in a home filled with both faith and love. Not just love. And she deserved to enjoy the holidays as all children did.

“All the more reason to get the job done on time, if not before,” Carter told him. “Isn't that right, Nathan?” he said, giving his brother, who had fallen silent, a nudge.

His brother nodded. “It'll be done in time.” There wasn't even a hint of reservation in his brother's declaration.

“I know it will,” Rusty replied as he pushed to his feet. “I have every faith you boys can see the job through.” Reaching out, he shook their hands. “I'll be in touch to set up a meeting time for us to go over the specifics and get those blueprints started.”

“Sounds good.” Carter waited until the door closed behind Rusty before looking down at his brother. Tension lined his large frame. “You okay?”

“I will be,” his brother said, his words tight with emotion.

“I can run the job without you if you'd rather step back.” He hoped for his brother's sake that Nathan wouldn't ask that of him. But he also wasn't going to force him into something he wasn't ready for yet. “I'm sure Rusty would understand.”

Nathan pushed his chair away from the desk and stood, striding over to the window to look out. “I already committed to the job and I'd like to think of myself as a man of my word.”

“That you are,” Carter agreed. His gaze shifted to the clock on the wall. “We'd best get these blueprints rolled up and put away. It's time to head out. We can talk more on the way.”

His brother turned from the window and returned to his desk, reaching for the blueprints they'd been going over when Rusty stopped by. Glancing up as he rolled up the stack of papers and inserted them back into their tube, he said, “I'll be there for the dedication, but I won't be staying for the festivities afterward.”

“What about Katie?” he asked. “She's gonna want to be there for the Christmas Eve party.”

Nathan frowned. “Maybe you or Logan could stay on with her.”

His brother needed to be there with his daughter. Katie was old enough now to feel his absence, if only emotionally, during the holidays. “December's a long ways away,” Carter said as they started for the door. “Let's hold off on making any plans until the time comes to do so?” In the meantime, he would pray for the Lord to guide his brother back onto the path he'd been walking on before losing Isabel.

* * *

“Are you going to tell me what we're celebrating?” Audra asked with a smile as Mason and Lily ran toward the house, half-eaten, sprinkle-topped, ice-cream cones in hand. Carter had shown up after work that evening, but instead of busying himself with house repairs after dinner he'd announced that he was taking them all out for ice cream to celebrate some big news he'd received that afternoon.

“As soon as we take a seat on your new porch swing. That's where all good talks should take place.”

“Is that so?” she said, laughing softly. Her gaze settled onto the bright red swing hanging where the old one had once hung. She'd come home from work to find it there a few days before with a note from Carter telling her he looked forward to spending the coming summer evenings watching the stars with her from that swing. She'd never felt special before, but Carter made her feel that and so much more. This big, strong Texas cowboy, who was both tender and kind with a surprisingly romantic side, was almost too good to be true. But he was real. This romance blossoming between them was real.

“You're dripping.”

Audra blinked out of her straying thoughts. “What?”

Grinning, he nodded toward her cone and the streak of chocolate rolling down over her thumb. “Best eat up before it all ends up on your porch,” he said as they settled onto the swing.

“I'll eat while you talk,” she told him as she wiped her thumb with the napkin she'd had wrapped around her cone. “Now spill,” she said as she licked the rest of the melting ice cream away from the cone.

“Rusty Clark stopped by the office today to tell us the council decided to hire Cooper Construction on to build the town's new recreation center.”

“Carter!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in what was supposed to be a congratulatory hug, but ended up being a congratulatory kiss instead as he turned to her with a smile. Though it hadn't been planned, the kiss was nice. More than nice, she thought as butterflies took flight in her stomach.

Carter shivered.

Audra was pleased that their first kiss, however unplanned, had affected him every bit as much as it had her. And then she felt it. Cold seeping into the sleeve of her blouse. Not just cold, but wet. The second she processed what the sensation really was, she gasped and pulled away. “Oh, Carter,” she groaned. “I'm so sorry.”