sod I just laid the day before, I’d say it’s a pretty good guess.”
His gaze dropped to the ground at his feet, where, sure enough, a growing pile of red mulch lay atop the bright green grass—a good foot away from the edge of the landscaped area he’d been helping Logan with.
With a groan, Carter set the shovel aside and knelt to clean up the mess he’d made, scooping the misplaced mulch up in his bare hands as not to damage the grass.
“You wanna tell me what’s gnawing at you?” his brother asked as he settled onto his knees on the ground beside him.
“More like who,” Carter mumbled with a frown as he tossed a handful of mulch into the flower bed, where it belonged.
“Who?” Logan repeated. “Look, if you’re still upset with Nathan about what happened, keep in mind that he was only partially responsible for the shoe polish on your goggles.”
“I’m not referring to Nathan,” he said. “I’m referring to a stubborn female who’s jumped off into the deep end and is now struggling to tread water.”
“Afraid you’ve lost me there, big brother.”
Carter scooped more of the misplaced mulch into a pile. “There’s this woman who needs my help but is determined not to take it.”
“Anyone I know?”
He shook his head. “No. She just moved to town.”
“She wouldn’t happen to be a tiny thing with golden-brown hair, two very inquisitive children and the new owner of the old Harris place?”
Carter’s head snapped up, his gaze locking with his brother’s. “How do you know Audra?”
“We met in passing last night at Big Dog’s,” Logan said, getting to his feet as the last of the mulch that could gather was removed from the grass. “Lizzie said you and Nathan were gonna be doing work out there.”
“Not sure where Lizzie got that idea,” he said with a frown as he stood. “Audra’s determined to do most of the work on that place herself.”
“By herself? You mean her and her husband?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I mean only her. She’s divorced.”
“I take it she has experience in home renovations then.”
“Not a lick.”
“So you’re just gonna take no for an answer?” his brother challenged.
“I can’t force her to allow me to help her.”
His brother stepped back into the garden, retrieving his discarded shovel. “Reckon you could always blame Momma.”
“Excuse me?”
His brother looked his way with a grin. “You and I both know Momma wouldn’t be too pleased with us if we were to turn our backs on someone in need. And it sounds to me like Audra is clearly in need.”
Carter’s mood lightened instantly. “Good point. Last thing I’d wanna do is let Momma down.
His brother’s crooked grin lifted even more. “Exactly.”
* * *
“Uncle Carter!” Katie squealed as she raced out of the house to greet him.
Carter swept her up in his arms and spun her around like he’d done since she was a toddler. “Katydid,” he chuckled. It warmed his heart every time he saw her. It also reminded him of how fortunate he and his brothers were to still have her there with them. A true blessing in their lives.
“I’m getting dizzy,” she said with a giggle.
“No,” he said, lowering her carefully to her feet, “what you’re getting is big. Sprouting up like a weed.”
She looked up at him. “I’m not a weed. Daddy says I’m a sunflower ’cause I’m getting so tall and I like tipping my face up to the sun.”
He reached down to playfully pinch her tiny cheek. “That explains where all these sun kisses came from.”
“Those aren’t from the sun,” she told him. “They’re from my mommy.”
A lump wedged in his throat at the mention of Isabel. His sister-in-law had been a wonderful, loving mother. She should be there raising her daughter alongside Nathan. His only comfort was in knowing that his sister-in-law was safe in the Lord’s loving arms. No doubt keeping watch over his beautiful little niece.
“Looks like you forgot something in the house,” he said, his gaze zeroing in on her mouth.
“I did?” she replied.
He nodded. “Your teeth.”
Her tongue moved to the empty space where two of her bottom teeth used to be. “Oh, those,” she said. “I lost them.”
“You need help looking for them?” he teased.
“Not that kind of lost.” She giggled. “Daddy says I’m gonna start losing my teeth ’cause my big-girl teeth are getting ready to come in.”
“Where is your daddy?” he asked with a forced smile.
“Nana Mildred needed some wood, so Daddy drove around back to load some in his truck.”
Mildred Timmons had been his parents’ neighbor for nearly forty years. Her husband had been the only other casualty from the tornado that struck Braxton, leaving behind a wide path of destruction that the town was still trying to recover from. Millie looked after Katie for his brother when Nathan was at work and had become a much-loved surrogate grandmother to his niece. It helped to ease Millie’s loneliness and gave Katie some much-needed female presence in her life. Probably the only she would ever have seeing as how Nathan was dead set against ever marrying again.
“Reckon I’ll take a walk around back, then,” he told her. “You want a piggyback ride?”
She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing about on her slender shoulders. “Daddy said I’m supposed to wait at the house until he’s done chopping wood.”
“Then you best do what your daddy says,” he said. Nathan was overprotective of his little girl and understandably so. Losing Isabel had crushed his brother both spiritually and emotionally. If anything were to happen to Katie... Carter shook the thought away. “I’ll be back in to see you before I go.”
“Okay, Uncle Carter,” she said with a smile. “See you in a bit.”
He waited until she’d gone back into the house before setting off in search of his brother. Nathan’s property consisted of just under two acres of mowed backyard and side yard with a few scattered oaks that butted up against a large expanse of woods, which his brother also owned. In the backyard was a rather impressive wooden swing set/jungle gym his brother had built for Katie, a miniature castle playhouse and a large pole barn.
The sound of wood being stacked onto wood drew Carter’s gaze toward the pole barn. He spotted his brother’s truck, backed up to the towering pile of firewood Nathan had recently replenished with his and Logan’s help. His brother was standing in the bed of the truck, stacking the split logs he’d loaded onto it.
Carter started across the yard in lengthened strides.
Nathan glanced up, a slow smile moving across his tanned face. “Almost didn’t recognize you without your mask.”
“You’re hilarious,” Carter muttered as he stepped up alongside the truck bed. “Took me nearly an hour to get the stuff off my face when I got home and only with the help of some solvent-based cleaner they recommended at the hardware store. Mind you, that was only after they had a good laugh at my expense, saying they were sure I was a masked robber when I first stepped into the store.”
His brother threw back his head, his husky laughter cutting into the