by Krista Lakes
“I want Mia and the kids.” Carter was surprised at how vehement the words came out. Brian raised an eyebrow at him. “Unless you think little Grayson managed to carry that up here without anyone seeing him.”
He motioned to the porch with the long walk up the driveway.
“Mia and the kids, too,” Brian amended. He frowned at the scene. “We'll find out who is threatening you, sir.”
“I want this taken care of, Brian,” Carter told him. Anger flowed through his veins and he clenched his fists. “Do whatever it takes.”
Chapter 12
Mia
The sun slowly slid down behind the mountains, pulling them up over herself like they were a giant blanket. The sky was awash with pinks and golds that reflected off the snow capped peaks making the world look more like a painting than real life. Mia took a deep breath in and tried to save this moment. It was going to be their second to last time on the ranch, and she wanted to remember it like this.
The window was basically paid off. Even if Carter only had paid the kids the barest of wages and purchased the most expensive window possible, the work was still done. They were only on the schedule one more time. It made Mia's heart ache in a way she hadn't been expecting. She found herself looking forward to these trips. Though, if she was really being honest with herself, it was seeing Carter that she really looked forward to, not the horses and watching the kids work.
“Mia?” Laura asked, touching her arm and pulling her away from the sunset. She wore a hopeful smile. “I wanted to ask you something before I mentioned it to the kids. I didn't want to get their hopes up.”
“Sure,” Mia replied, turning away from the mountain view and back toward Laura and the barn. “What's up?”
“Our mare is going to give birth soon,” Laura explained. “I think the kids would love to be a part of it.”
“When is it supposed to happen?”
“It's hard to say.” Laura shrugged. “These things are impossible to plan. The mare is showing all the signs of impending birth though, so it should be tonight or early tomorrow.”
“You think they're ready for this?” Mia had already had an in-depth “where do babies come from” discussion with Lily and Alexander, and a shorter version with Grayson, so at least she knew she didn't' need to go into how the baby got there.
Laura nodded. “Lily has learned everything about it already. I think she knows more about the science of it than I do at this point. She's going to make a great veterinarian someday,” Laura explained proudly. “The boys have asked about it, too. I think they'd really benefit from the experience. They can all stay in the barn tonight to help.”
Mia thought for a moment as Grayson and Alexander walked past the barn doors, each of them carrying horse equipment and smiling. There had been no more behavior incidents at school since the boys had started working on the ranch. Each of the kids' teachers were reporting that they were paying more attention in class and their grades were going up. Even their foster mom was reporting better behavior.
Mia smiled at her boys and then looked over at Laura. It would be good for the kids to see something so natural, plus they didn't have school tomorrow.
“Okay. They can stay. What do you need from me?” Mia asked.
Laura grinned. “Nothing,” she said. “I can't wait to tell them!”
“Thank you for inviting us,” Mia replied with a smile.
“It was actually Carter's idea,” Laura told her. She paused for a second. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”
Mia hoped that the heat flushing through her cheeks wasn't too obvious. “Not really, why?”
Laura shrugged. “Since the two of you have been hanging out together during the kids' work times, he's been happier. He's actually the happiest I've ever seen him.”
“Really?” Warmth filled Mia's chest. “He's happier?”
“A lot,” Laura told her. “And it's always when you're around. So keep coming by because I like a happy boss. I'm going to go tell the kids.”
Laura grinned at her and then hurried back toward the barn, excitement in every step as she went to tell the kids that they were staying the night at the ranch to help with the horse birth.
Mia watched her. She grinned, feeling butterflies dance in her stomach. He liked her. If she were fifteen years younger, she would have gone straight home and practiced writing “Mia Williamson“ a hundred times in her diary.
She giggled at the idea and realized she liked the sound of her name with his. Which just made her giggle more. She was entirely crushing on him. Not only was he cute, but he made her laugh. She wondered if the kids had noticed that Mia was happier too. Because she was. She totally and completely was happier with Carter in her life.
“You're staying tonight too, right?”
Mia turned, startled to see Carter leaning against the fence behind her. She wondered exactly how long he'd been there and mentally tried to remember everything she'd just said in case she'd said something foolish. Luckily, she was fairly sure she'd only said “Mia Williamson” in her head and not out loud.
“I can't let them have all the fun, can I?” Her heart fluttered in her chest. The sunlight was in his gold hair and sparkling in his eyes. It was enough to make a girl's knees go weak.
He grinned at her and her knees really did go weak. That man had a smile that turned her to melted butter.
“What are you up to today?” Mia asked, trying to regain her composure. She was a strong, confident woman and she was determined not to go all goo-goo eyed just because he looked like sex on a stick. He pushed himself off the fence and sauntered over to the barn doors.
“Just coming to see how my mare is doing,” he replied. She tried not to stare at the way his shoulders filled out his shirt. “Care to join me?”
“Sure.” She hoped she didn't sound as breathless as she felt. How did he do this to her? She was a smart, professional woman, but his mere smile sent her brain spinning and her hormones into overdrive.
Side by side, they walked into the barn. He put his hand on the small of her back in the cool darkness of the barn and guided her to the birthing stall. She felt a thrill go through her at his touch and she tried not to giggle like a school girl. It was harder than she expected.
Hopeful Dreamer was inside a large stall, looking huge and ready to pop, though Mia would never tell her that. The mare's tail was neatly wrapped up and tied back out of the way and she looked at the two of them as they entered. Mia could have sworn the mare rolled her eyes at them as if to say, “Oh good, more people to watch me. Fabulous. Just what I wanted.”
“I actually had some more questions for you on the car design,” Carter murmured, still looking at the mare. He'd dropped his hand when they'd reached the stall and Mia found herself wishing he'd put in back on her.
“I'm happy to help,” Mia replied. Her stomach got all giddy again at the thought that she had an excuse to be with him.
He motioned to a bench along the back side of the barn and together they sat down and started talking.
“What did you think of the trunk? Was the trunk size appropriate?” Carter asked, pulling up the designs on the phone.
“Depends on if you like some junk in your trunk,” Mia replied automatically. She was glad the barn was dimly lit so he wouldn't see the blush cross her cheeks. She felt like the world's worst flirt, but she wasn't about to give up.
“I happen to like a little bit of junk,” Carter replied slowly. “Makes driving the curves more exciting.”
Mia risked a glance over at him and he winked. She giggled. She desperately racked her brain to come up with some clever car innuendo, but nothing came that made sense, so she went with actual, helpful advice.
“In actuality, the trunk can always be bigger. Especially if you're marketing to parents. I always need more space for bikes, gerbils, suitcases, and other things,” Mia said, hoping she didn't sound too lame.
“Bikes, suitcases, and gerbils? In your t
runk?” He sounded horrified.
It took Mia a moment, but then she remembered hearing something sexual about gerbils and butts and she realized what she said. She had been looking for an innuendo, so she just decided to go with it.
“Some of my kids have gerbils,” she informed him. “Why? Were you thinking about gerbils in my trunk?” She fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him. “It's quite an experience.”
Carter made a choking sound and quickly cleared his throat before looking over at her.
She gave him an innocent smile. “We're just talking about cars, right?”
“Right.” He shook his head and put the phone back in his pocket. He'd clearly given up on the innuendo game, and she was glad. This was not her flirting forte. He smiled at her and leaned back against the wooden barn wall. “Do you know why I'm building this car?”
“I'm guessing it's for the chicks,” Mia replied. “Chicks love cars. Cars with trunks.”
“Definitely for the trunks.” Carter chuckled. “And carrying gerbils.”
“So, why are you building this model?” Mia asked, trying to get back to a conversation that didn't make her want to wash her brain out with soap. “You said this one would be an electric like your other models, but far less expensive. Plus, this design doesn't scream 'luxury car' like the other models do.”
“I want everyone to have a safe, reliable, and awesome car,” Carter explained. He paused for a moment before continuing. “I've been toying with this idea for a long time, but a little over a year ago I finally saw how important this was.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asked. She liked how close he was sitting on the bench with her. It was doing strange things to her insides that had her wanting to scoot closer to him.
“A young woman died in one of my vehicles. It was an older model and they'd tried to upgrade it with my new airbag system, but something went wrong. The accident killed her. If she'd been driving a safer car, that woman would still be alive.” Carter's eyes focused on the far wall, but that wasn't where he was looking. He was looking into his past and seeing the dead.
“I'm sorry to hear that,” Mia said softly. She put her hand on his and gave him a squeeze. He didn't pull away, so she kept her hand there.
He took a deep breath that seemed to shake the distance from him. “Accidents happen in cars,” Carter said. “I want to offer my technology to everyone in this car so these accidents don't happen. Especially just because someone can't afford a better car.”
“That's very noble,” Mia told him.
He looked over and smiled at her. “Noble? You're the one literally saving children. That's noble.”
Mia blushed. “I'm just doing my best to help.”
“If these kids are any indication, you're doing a good job.” Carter smiled. “Other than the whole window thing.”
“Yeah,” Mia agreed. “But, you'll notice we haven't had a single window incident since, so we're improving.”
Carter laughed. He still hadn't pulled his hand away or made any indication that he was going to do so. She wondered for a moment what it would feel like to have him touch other parts of her and her body warmed.
“Is this what you always wanted to do with your life?” he asked her.
For some reason she wasn't sure of, Mia paused before giving her usual easy answer of “yes, of course!” She looked at his blue eyes and felt something inside her want to give the real answer.
“No,” she said slowly. “I mean, helping kids is what I've always wanted to do with my life. Especially disadvantaged kids and kids in the system with no one else. I want to help them, but the being a social worker isn't my dream job.”
Carter raised his eyebrow. “So what do you want to do?”
Mia bit her lip. She didn't usually tell people this, but she felt a connection with Carter. He told her about his desire to build a safer more affordable car, she could at least tell him her reasons for wanting to do more than just be a social worker.
“I want to help more kids. I want to do so much more than what I can legally do now,” Mia explained. “As a social worker, I'm trained not to get too close. I have paperwork and bureaucratic issues that I have to do. I want to do so much more, but my hands are often tied. I have to do what the system says, not what's necessarily needed.”
“What's the dream then?” Carter asked.
“I want to open a camp for foster kids,” she explained. “A place for kids to come for a season and have an experience that builds them up. I want to fill in their educational gaps, find solutions to behaviors, and give them a positive experience with resources they can use for the rest of their lives. I want to give kids a chance. I want them to taste success, so they know it's possible.”
“What's stopping you?” Carter asked.
“Funds. Time. Support.” Mia shrugged. “Most of the kids I want to help aren't the cute little kids that look good on a poster. They're usually the kids with bad pasts and records to match. It also takes a lot of money, and right now, the system is always short. Something like what I have in mind would take millions of dollars and never be profitable. I don't have enough experience with charities even to get started. I don't even know where to get started.”
Her hand was still on his. She could feel the heat from his body and now that she was talking about something she was passionate about, she was suddenly very aware of how warm she was. And how warm he was.
“Anyway, it's a pipe dream,” she said with a shrug. “So, right now, I'm just doing everything I can to help the kids I can reach.”
“Can I help?”
She turned sharply to look at him. His blue eyes were wide and open and he had a small smile at her surprise.
“Um, sure,” she sputtered. She knew he wasn't going to be a future foster parent and as a business owner he didn't have a lot of spare time to donate, but as a billionaire, he did have money. “A lot of the kids in foster care don't have anything to call their own. We always need back-to-school supplies, toys, suitcases and stuff like that.”
“I'll see what I can do,” he replied. “You can count on me.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
He pulled out his phone and quickly typed something. Her phone vibrated a second later, indicating that she'd gotten an email.
“I sent you my charitable donations person,” he said, putting his phone away. “You tell her what you need, and she'll see that you get it. I want to help. I'll donate as much as I can.”
Mia stared at him for a good ten seconds with her mouth hanging open. She knew the offer wasn't just a casual one that would be taken away. The internet article on him said that he was big on donating huge amounts of money. She just hadn't ever expected to be a recipient.
“I tell Laura to keep the barn clean, but you're going to catch flies like that,” he teased, reaching up and putting his thumb and forefinger on her chin. He pushed up gently, helping her close her mouth.
It was prime kiss position. Everything in her gut said to go for it. He wasn't pulling away, and in fact seemed to be tipping his head and bringing her chin to him. Her whole body heated with desire. She closed her eyes just as their lips were about to meet.
“Mia! We got pizza!” Grayson shouted.
Mia's eyes shot open and she pulled back. Carter looked as startled as she felt. He sat quickly back and Mia knew that they had just missed their kiss by seconds. Again.
“Are you two coming? We can't eat in the barn,” Grayson said, coming up to the two of them and grabbing their hands. He was completely oblivious to what was going on.
Carter chuckled and shook his head before standing and following Grayson. He held the barn door open for her.
“One of these days, there won't be an interruption to save you,” he remarked as she walked past him through the door.
“Who says I want to be saved?” She looked back just in time to see Carter's pupils dilate and his mouth go into the cocky half grin that she loved. With a grin of her own, sh
e hurried to the house to eat her dinner.
Chapter 13
Carter
Everything was quiet in the black of the night. The barn was dark and the only sound was the gentle breaths of breathing creatures. Moonlight softly filtered through an open window and the electric lantern was turned down as low as possible while they waited. Carter was sure that he was the only one awake in the entire world, and right now, that was okay with him.
Mia was sleeping on his shoulder. He didn't dare move, despite the fact that his nose itched, his right foot was asleep, and there was a piece of straw poking at his left ankle. The last thing in the entire world that he wanted was to wake her up and have her move away from him. The way her body pressed against his, even just platonically, was heaven.
He smiled at her as she slept. They'd been sitting on the bench, talking about the kids and cars and various other topics. The conversation had drifted back to his cars, and she'd asked him some questions that took a while to explain. He'd started talking and realized she hadn't said anything for awhile. He'd looked over to see that she'd closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep on him. He hadn't dared to move since.
One of the kids murmured something in their sleep. Carter stretched his neck out as far as he could to see if they were still okay. He couldn't see anything and no other sounds came from the dark. All three of the kids were asleep in the hay of an empty stall. They'd fallen asleep hours ago since nothing was happening yet.
Mia shifted slightly and Carter held his breath. She settled further on his shoulder with a small, contented sigh. It made his stomach do funny things and his heart speed up. She was the last person he would have picked for himself to fall for. She wasn't in his social circle, she didn't know anything about cars or horses, and she didn't want him for his money. Yet, she made him happy.