by Krista Lakes
A Forever Kind of Love
Krista Lakes
Zirconia Publishing, Inc.
Contents
About This Book
A Forever Kind of Love
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Thank you!
A Hopeful Kind of Love
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Thanks again!
Preview of A Wonderful Kind of Love
Hurricane Kisses
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
About the Author
Further reading
About This Book
“I've wanted this all my life,” he said. “I want you.”
Carter
Between running a company and a recent attempt on his life, billionaire Carter Williamson doesn't need any more stress. So when a trio of orphan children breaks into the Colorado ranch he's hiding out in, his first instinct is to just let the police handle it. That was before their spunky social worker Mia showed up.
Mia
Mia Amesworth has worked hard to make sure that the Smith kids aren't separated from each other, but she can only do so much. With her own body unable to produce children, the kids are the closest thing to a family she's got. When the handsome ranch owner offers to let the three troublemakers pay for the damages with hard work over the summer, she happily accepts. When he suggests they go on a date, she can't say yes fast enough.
Even though Carter's secret assailant keeps threatening him, he feels like he might be falling for the small town girl. And though Mia knows that a family might not be in the cards for her future, she longs to create a life with Carter.
And then, a miracle happens...
He smiled, then pulled back a little bit. “I do have one last surprise for you this evening,” he said.
He turned and put his hand back in his pocket as if he was going to make a phone call. Mia grabbed his tie and pulled him back in for another kiss, and he pulled his hand out of his pocket. “It'll have to wait,” she whispered into his ear.
“Yes, ma'am,” he said with a smile. She put her hand on his chest and kissed again, feeling his heart rate increase as she became more assertive. This time, she leaned toward him, and as she moved her hands to his sides, she made sure to catch his suit coat and move it off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
Carter's hands moved to the bottom of his shirt, where he began to undo his buttons, all while still kissing Mia. When he got to the top of his shirt, he began to loosen his tie. Again, Mia grabbed his tie and stopped him. “Keep it on,” she said, surprised at her own tone.
He grinned from ear to ear and popped his collar, slipping the tie from the shirt to his skin. Then he took a step back, throwing the shirt off in a dramatic motion. For a moment, Mia marveled at the hard body in front of her. This was clearly a guy who not only rode horses but also spent a ton of time at the gym.
“Wow.” Her mouth watered at the sight of him.
He smiled. Then stepped forward and his hand touched the fabric of her dress, sending shivers through her. “You know, when I saw this dress, all I could think about was how good you'd look in it.” Mia smiled and blushed a little bit. He continued talking. “But now, I'm afraid the only thing I can think about is how good you'll look out of it.”
Mia couldn't help but giggle a little bit. She reached back to unclasp the back, but in a moment his hands were around her, reaching up her back. “Please, allow me,” he said as if he were the perfect gentleman for offering to disrobe her. She felt him deftly release the clasp, as sure of himself as when he uncorked the champagne. He moved the zipper down slowly, agonizingly slowly.
As soon as the zipper was at the bottom of her back, he leaned down and moved his lips to her neck, kissing down to her shoulder. She could feel his stubble against her skin, and it felt incredible. His hands moved to her shoulders, gently moving the straps of the dress.
With a whisper, the dress fell to the floor, leaving her in nothing but her panties. For a moment, she thought about covering herself, but she stopped herself. She knew this was coming and had never felt so comfortable in front of a man. She wanted to be seen by him...
Included after this book is a bonus novella, “A Hopeful Kind of Love,” an extended preview of the next novel in the series, “A Wonderful Kind of Love”, and a bonus novel, “Hurricane Kisses!”
For my boys
A Forever Kind of Love
Chapter 1
Mia
“Are you the parent or legal guardian of Grayson and Alexander Fitch?”
The cold voice on the other end of the phone made Mia's heart drop.
“I'm their social worker, Mia Amesworth,” she replied, slowly stopping as she walked through the outdoor parking lot of the grocery store. “Are they okay?”
“The boys broke into Stone Mountain Ranch, ma'am.” The voice was authoritative and uncompromising.
“Grayson and Alexander did what?” Mia came to an immediate and abrupt halt. It was a good thing no one else was leaving the building yet, or she probably would have been hit by a car since she was standing in the middle of the road.
“They broke into Stone Mountain Ranch, ma'am,” the voice repeated. “The boys said the person to contact about this was you.”
“Have the police been contacted?” Mia asked as she started walking as quickly as possible toward her car. If she sped, she might be able to make it to the ranch before the police took the boys into custody. She thought about dropping her groceries and just running to the car.
“No ma'am,” the male voice replied. “We wanted to inform you first.”
Mia threw her groceries into the trunk without looking and slammed the door shut. “I'll be there in five minutes,” she promised. “If yo
u could wait to contact the police until I get there, I would appreciate it.”
“Five minutes,” the voice repeated and then hung up.
Mia cursed and sent a plea out into the universe that there wouldn't be any speed traps on the ten-minute drive to the ranch. She was afraid the universe might put all red stoplights on her route just to spite the boys. It seemed like the universe didn't like them much recently.
She gunned the engine in her small car and flew like a bat out of hell from the grocery store parking lot. She didn't care that her eggs were squished up against the milk or that the pint of mint chocolate-chip ice cream she had treated herself to was going to melt. She was going to save those boys.
Luckily, all the cops seemed to be elsewhere as she flew up the winding road to Stone Mountain Ranch. Mia racked her brain trying to come up with a valid reason for Grayson and Alexander to be at the ranch. Stone Mountain Ranch was a local horse ranch in the small mountain town of Silver Springs with nothing particularly special about it. It was said to be owned by a billionaire, but that he was almost never there. It was more of a local rumor that a billionaire owned the place than an actual fact. Even the name of the supposed billionaire owner changed based on who was telling the story.
There was no good reason for the boys to be there. Grayson was seven and Alexander was eleven, so they couldn't be looking for work. They'd both been raised in the city with their older sister, Lily, and as far as Mia knew, neither of the boys had a reason to want to see horses. Lily maybe, but not the boys.
Mia stepped down harder on the gas pedal, needing to get to the ranch as quickly as possible. If the police were involved, it would be the end of the small family she had worked so hard to save. Lily and her brothers were on their last foster home. If anything happened, they were going to have to be broken up, and that was the last thing Mia wanted.
A girl was walking alongside the road as it turned to gravel from pavement. Mia slammed on the brakes and skidded slightly on the empty road to come to a stop next to the young woman.
“Lily?” Mia called out, rolling down her window.
Lily coughed and waved away some dust. Her shoulders sagged as she saw who it was. “Hi, Mia.”
“What are you doing out here?” Mia asked.
“Going for a walk?” Lily shrugged and offered a fake smile. “You know since I can't drive for another month?”
“Sure. That sounds almost reasonable.” Mia shook her head and gave the girl a hard stare. “Get in the car. I've got to pick up your brothers.”
Lily’s shoulders slumped further as she hurried to the passenger door and got into the car. She belted herself in and stared at her dusty tennis shoes saying nothing.
Mia just put the car back into gear and continued toward the ranch. One of the big horse barns was visible coming up over the hill. Mia was headed for the main house, though. She had been to the ranch once for a fundraiser, so she at least had some idea where she was going.
“Mia?” Lily bit her lip as dark hair fell across her furrowed brow. “How much trouble are Grayson and Alexander in?”
Mia kept her eyes on the road, looking for the sign that pointed to the main house. “I don't know. I'm hoping to beat the cops there, but I'm about thirty seconds late at this point.”
“Cops?” Lily shrank in her seat and wrapped her arms around her small frame.
“Yes, cops,” Mia replied. “You were supposed to be watching them.”
“I don't know what happened. We were all in the kitchen together, and then they said they were going to watch a movie.” Lily shrank a little further into herself as her hair fell further in front of her face. “I came to make sure they weren't watching one of the scary ones that gives Grayson nightmares, but they were gone. They'd left cartoons on so I wouldn't hear them leave.”
“And you didn't call me? Or Margie?” Mia asked, frowning at Lily. “Your foster mom should have been the first call.”
“Margie was at her bridge game, and you know how hard it’s been for her with the three of us in her house,” Lily explained. “I didn't want to bother her. I thought I could find them before they got into trouble and no one would ever know.”
Mia stopped sharply in front of the big farm house, making both of them lurch in their seats. She turned and looked at Lily. “Cops, Lily. They are going to call the police on your brothers. You should have called me.”
“I'm sorry, Mia,” Lily said softly, staring at her feet. “Please don't let them take my brothers away from me.”
Mia recognized the tone of Lily's voice. Heartbreak with a touch of terror. It nearly broke Mia's heart. The two boys were all Lily had, and Lily was all those boys had. If she were just a few years older, Lily would have taken custody of both of them. Mia knew how hard Lily was working to keep her small family together.
“I'm going to do my best, Lily,” Mia promised, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. “I don't want them to break you up, you know that. I think you need to be together. That's why I got Margie out of retirement to take the three of you when no one else would.”
Lily nodded and looked at Mia with big brown eyes. “I know you'll help us, Mia. You're the only one since Gran who has ever helped us.”
Mia gave Lily's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and put on a confident smile. “Let's go get your brothers out of trouble.”
“Can I come in with you?” Lily asked, her brown eyes fierce. “It's my fault that they were out here.”
Mia paused, about to tell her to stay in the car, but she changed her mind. Having Lily as a backup to help keep her brothers calm while Mia dealt with the adults would be useful.
Luckily, the only cars in front of the farmhouse appeared to be security hired by the ranch rather than police cruisers. Mia breathed a small sigh of relief as she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She squared her shoulders and put on her best 'I'm in charge' face.
The door swung open, revealing a tall man in ranch gear. He was tall and obviously built for hard labor. His plaid shirt hugged his shoulders down to a trim waist with well-worn cowboy boots on his feet. Blue eyes peered at her from a sun-tanned face and wind-whipped dirty blond hair.
“These your boys?” the man asked gruffly, crossing his arms. He opened the door a little wider to reveal Alexander and Grayson sitting nervously on a couch surrounded by four armed guards. It seemed a bit of overkill for an eleven and seven-year-old, but given that this was a billionaire's play ranch, she wasn't too surprised. A billionaire could afford the best.
Mia pushed past the man she assumed was the ranch manager and went straight for the boys. She was glad none of the guards tried to block her path because she was gearing up for Mama Bear mode. Those boys were her priority.
“Are you two okay?” Mia asked, kneeling in front of the two boys. Both were on the smaller side, like their sister, with dark hair and big chocolate brown eyes. When they smiled, Mia was sure they were two of the most handsome men on the planet. They were going to be heart-breakers when they grew up.
Alexander and Grayson both nodded but kept their heads down. She reached out and took their hands to find they were both shaking.
“Ma'am, I'm going to need to call the police,” the manager informed her coming up behind her. “They won't talk to me other than to say that I should call you.”
Mia squeezed the boys’ hands before standing up and facing the manager. If he hadn't called the police yet, there was a good chance that she could sweet talk her way out of this. She was ready to do just about anything to keep this family.
Mia rose to her full height and lifted her chin to meet the man's gaze head on. He had beautiful blue eyes, but that wasn't about to stop her from making sure these boys went home with their sister and stayed there.
“What are you accusing these boys of?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
The man raised a single eyebrow. “Security caught them coming in through the broken window. We have a video of them breaking the window, by
the way, as well as coming in and trying to take this statue. They had it in their hands when security got here.”
He pointed to the coffee table where a trophy sat. It wasn't very large, with a gold triangular base and a car perched on the top looking like it just slid into the finish line of a race. Something was written on the base, but she couldn't see what it was. It looked rather inexpensive, and certainly not something worth stealing. There were far more valuable items in the richly decorated room worth taking over the statue.
“In their hands?” Mia repeated, suddenly a little less sure of herself. She could feel her righteous fury leaking right out of her like helium out an old balloon.
The man nodded. “They won't tell me why, either.”
Mia glanced over at the two boys. They were both sitting with their heads bowed. Alexander had his arm wrapped protectively around his little brother. Lily moved silently away from the door and sat down, so Grayson nestled in between his siblings.