Kat Brookes - His Holiday Matchmaker

“Don’t apologize,” Carter called down from his perch where he stood working on the wiring for one of the overhead lights. “You’ve been working day and night to get this job done. Katie needs you, too.”

No, what Katie needs is a mommy, Nathan thought, his daughter’s words having burrowed themselves under his skin like a thorn.

“How is my little Katydid?” his brother asked as he moved down the ladder.

“Lively as usual,” he muttered, looking around. “Where’s the crew?”

“In the arts and crafts room, finishing the trim on the windows.”

Nathan nodded distractedly.

“Something troubling you?” Carter asked as he walked over to join him. Just a year younger than Nathan, Carter had always been able to read his moods. Their momma used to tell them they were meant to be twins, only Carter decided to hold out a year longer before making his own grand entrance into the world.

“No,” he muttered. “Why?”

His brother snorted. “You always were a poor liar. What’s going on?”

Nathan stepped past him to collect his tool belt from the eight-foot folding table that held an array of power tools along with several boxes of nails and drywall screws. “Katie wants a new mother,” he said with a sigh as he slung the leather belt around his waist and buckled it.

“What?” his brother choked, sounding every bit as surprised as he’d been.

He turned with a frown. “That’s what my daughter wants for Christmas. A mother. She even went so far as to give her own little ‘mommy interview’ to this woman who just arrived in town.”

His brother shook his head with a sigh. “Tough one. Not that I don’t understand Katie’s wanting a mother in her life. I reckon a girl needs that.”

“She has Mildred and Audra. That’s as close as she’s gonna get to having a mother figure in her life. Speaking of which, how is Audra doing?”

His brother’s face beamed at the question. “She’s holding up. The morning sickness tends to get the better of her, but knowing the wondrous gift we’re gonna have soon helps get her through the day. The doctor says the nausea should only last another month or so.”

“Glad to hear it. You couldn’t have chosen a better mother for your child.” Audra had given up everything she’d known to move to Braxton with her children after her husband divorced her, abandoning his children in the process. She was determined to give them a better life. Then she met his brother and they fell in love, giving her children the true family they had always wanted.

“Agreed,” Carter said, a hint of heartfelt emotion pulling at his voice. “Getting back to Katie’s request for a momma. She’s too young to understand what you went through when you lost Isabel. But I do. I remember praying for you every day. Wishing I could do something to bring back the brother I knew. One who used to live life to its fullest. Who smiled often. And loved completely.”

“Carter—”

His brother held up a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t blame you for being afraid of letting someone else into your heart.” Reaching out, he clasped a hand atop his brother’s shoulder. “I saw what losing Isabel did to you. I had no intention of ever putting myself in that position. But then the Lord brought Audra into my life and I couldn’t keep myself from loving her. Our daddy was right. We have to have faith. In ourselves. In our love. And, more importantly, in the Lord’s plan for us.”

Their father had told them from his deathbed in the hospital, Have faith. There is always hope beyond the storm. Despite those weakly uttered last words, all three of Caldwell Cooper’s sons had decided that day that faith wasn’t enough. If it had been, their loved ones would still be there. They’d made a pact that none of them would ever take the risk of loving and losing again. Katie was the only exception to their rule. She was already a part of their lives and needed all the love they could give her. Then Carter had to go and let his heart get in the way of common sense. But Nathan understood. Audra was a woman worth loving and she had given her heart completely to his brother.

“So tell me about this woman our little Katie interrogated,” his brother said, lifting an arm to wipe the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.

“She’s from San Antonio,” Nathan told him. “Apparently, she’s an interior designer. Her company offered to send her here pro bono to help with the finishing touches to the rec center.”

His brother arched a questioning brow. “Rusty accepted that without consulting us?”

He nodded.

“I thought we were supposed to be handling the entire project,” Carter muttered, clearly ruffled by Rusty’s lack of communication with them on the matter.

“So did I.”

His brother shrugged. “Reckon we can use all the help we can get if we wanna get the rec center completely finished in time. I just wish Rusty had given us some notice.”

“From what I understand, this was a last-minute offer.” His frown deepened. “Apparently Alyssa has a degree and several years experience, and the board jumped at the chance to have her join in on the project—”

“Alyssa?” his brother cut in, his dark brow arching even further.

“Alyssa McCall. That’s her name,” Nathan stated matter-of-factly. “As I was saying, she has expertise in interior design and Rusty jumped at the opportunity to have her handle that part of the project.”

His brother stroked his whisker-stubbled chin in thought, then let his hand fall away with a casual shrug. “I suppose it’s all for the same cause and she does have a degree...”

“We don’t need her help,” Nathan muttered in irritation. Making decisions on the final touches for a lot of their jobs had once been Isabel’s responsibility. She hadn’t needed some fancy degree to make everything come together. She was a natural. Now he and Carter, along with whoever was contracting their construction services, made those decisions.

“Look at it this way,” his brother said, understanding in his eyes. “It’ll free up a little more time for you to spend with Katie instead of spending it all here.”

Nathan scoffed. “You’re beginning to sound like Mildred.”

“She must be rubbing off on me,” his brother said with a grin. “So, is she pretty?”

“Mildred?”

Carter rolled his eyes. “I already know what a pretty gal Millie is. I was referring to Miss McCall. More important, is she single?”

Nathan groaned. “I’ve just figured out where Katie gets her nosy nature from.”

“I wasn’t asking for you. I was asking for Logan.”

“Our brother happens to be a confirmed bachelor,” he replied with a frown.

His brother eyed him curiously.

“What?” Nathan demanded.

“The little lady caught your eye,” Carter accused, his grin widening. “That’s why you’re so bristly about her being here. She must be a pretty one.”

Nathan’s patience with the conversation ended. “I don’t care how pretty she is. The only woman I ever loved is gone. I’m not looking to replace her. So stop—” his words were cut off by the ringing of his cell phone.

Pulling it from his jeans pocket, he glanced down at the caller ID and then back at his brother. “It’s Millie,” he said.

His brother nodded, stepping away while he took the call.

“Hello?”

“Nathan,” Mildred said, her voice quivering. “I’m sorry to bother you at work.”

The tremor in her voice had his heart dropping like a lead weight. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid there’s been an emergency,” she told him.

Despite their strength, his muscular legs threatened to give way beneath him. He struggled to take a breath. Please, God, not again.