Her Texas Hero. Kat Brookes

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.”