Mia
“Maybe we'll get to ride the horses like cowboys,” Grayson shouted, bouncing around in the backseat. His seat belt was barely holding him down in his booster seat, and Mia had already asked him three times to remember to stay seated. He was just too excited to contain himself.
Mia pulled up to the big ranch house, this time invited rather than coming to rescue her boys. All three kids were in the car, and all three of them were jabbering ideas of what they thought they were going to do.
“I have a feeling it will be more like mucking stalls, or cleaning or something,” Mia said gently as she put the car in park. The kids all opened their doors and rushed out into the country air.
It smelled like clean air, grass, and... horses. Definitely, like horses. It wasn't a bad scent, but it wasn't something that Mia wanted to wear as perfume either.
Definitely doing something with cleaning the stalls.... she thought as she caught the main scent coming from the big barn to her left.
“Glad you all made it,” Carter called out, coming out of the barn to greet them. He was wearing perfectly worn jeans, a navy T-shirt, and a baseball cap. He looked good. Really good. Mia had to force her eyes away to stop looking him over, so she checked her watch once again, just to make sure they were on time. They had arrived five minutes early just in case. There was no way Mia was going to risk anything with these kids.
All three of the children ran over to stand in front of him. Alexander's foot tapped nervously, but otherwise, they all had big hopeful grins plastered across their faces. Carter appraised them for a moment.
“This is Laura,” Carter told them as a young woman came out to stand next to him. She was probably only a couple of years younger than Mia. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her green eyes sparkled as she smiled at the kids.
“Hi,” she greeted them. She stepped forward and made sure to shake each of their hands as if they were adults. It made Mia like her instantly since she treated her kids with respect.
“Laura will be your boss,” Carter informed them. “If she says jump, you just jump. Don't even ask how high. That's how in charge she is.”
“Yes, sir,” all three children replied like miniature soldiers. Grayson even did a pretend salute. Mia could only imagine he'd seen it done like that in a movie.
Laura chuckled and knelt down in front of Grayson.
“I have a little brother and sister about your age,” Laura told him. Her green eyes met his, and her face went serious. “If you're going to help me, I need to see your muscles.”
Grayson frowned, not understanding. He looked over at Mia, but Mia just shrugged.
“Like this,” Alexander explained, flexing his arm and showing his bicep. Grayson copied the movement and made a growling noise as he made his muscles bigger.
Laura reached over and felt the muscle. “Whoa! You might be too strong,” she said, looking impressed.
Grayson grinned at her and puffed his chest out with pride.
“Okay, then.” Laura stood up and put her hand on Grayson's shoulder to guide him toward the large barn. “Let's head into the stables and get started. We have a lot to do today.”
All three children willingly followed Laura through the large double doors. Mia hung back for a moment.
“Mr. Carter?” Mia approached him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Now that they were alone, she was suddenly nervous. She wasn't good with very attractive men and never knew how to behave around them.
“It's just Carter,” he told her with an easy smile.
“I just wanted to thank you again,” Mia said quickly. She smiled nervously. “Thank you for giving my boys another chance.”
“You're welcome.” He smiled again, easy and confident as he leaned toward her slightly. “Want to see what they're up to?”
“I'd love to.” She grinned and nodded as they started walking together toward the open barn doors.
“So, how did you get to be in charge of the trouble makers?” he asked as they approached the entrance.
“I'm their social worker,” Mia explained. “They were assigned to me.”
“You seem to care an awful lot for a social worker,” Carter remarked. He paused slightly by the door and held it open for her. She looked over at him. He had an open face and an honesty to his eyes that told Mia he didn't mean any harm by the comment.
“I do care a lot about them,” she said slowly, doing her best not to be defensive. She probably cared more than she should about them, but that wasn't something he needed to know. “They're good kids.”
“You say that a lot,” he replied.
Mia glared at him for a moment. “That's because it's true. They are.”
He nodded as they entered the barn.
The smell of horse and hay was stronger inside. The stalls were large and spacious with plenty of storage room off to the side. Mia didn't know much about horses, but she knew a stable like this had to be top of the line. It was nicer and certainly bigger than her apartment.
Inside, Grayson was already up to his elbows in soapy water leaning over what Mia assumed was a watering trough. He had on yellow gloves that were about six sizes too big, but with a grin to match as he scrubbed. Alexander and Lily were in one of the stalls, both with shovels. Despite the smell coming from that particular stall, they both were laughing.
“Make sure to get all of it,” Laura advised, standing off to the side and observing.
Mia leaned against the door frame and watched her kids. They were happy, and it made her heart swell. This was going to be good for them. All of them. They wanted so badly to please, and here, they could really feel useful.
“They look like they're going to do a good job,” Carter said, watching the kids work under Laura's watchful eyes.
Mia nodded, watching as Alexander enthusiastically scooped a very large load of something Mia didn't want to think about out of the stall.
“Gonna be sore tomorrow, though,” Carter said with a laugh as he watched the boy struggle to balance the shovel without spilling it.
Mia laughed. “That load's nearly as big as he is.”
Carter's laugh was low and musical. It made Mia want to laugh along with him without needing a joke. She turned, and their eyes met. He had such a great smile. Friendly. Warm.
“How long have you worked here?” Mia asked, doing her best not to get lost in his eyes. “I don't think I've seen you in town, and it's not that big of a town.”
Carter shrugged. “I've been with the ranch for a long time, but I've never been able to stay as long as I'd like here.”
Mia's brows came together as she tried to figure out what Carter did at the ranch that allowed him to leave and come back like that. “I guess I should ask what your job is then. I thought you were the ranch manager, but...”
Carter looked puzzled at her for a moment. “Laura is the ranch manager.”
“So, what's your job?” Mia asked, trying to think of another job that would put him in charge without having to be in town all the time.
A slow smile filled Carter's face, and his eyes started to sparkle. He chuckled, enjoying his new secret. “If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not going to tell you.”
Mia crossed her arms and glared at him, but it just made him chuckle again. Apparently, he wasn't as intimidated by her “tell me now” stare as her kids were.
Fine, she thought, turning away from him. I'll just look him up later. I've got pretty good G****e skills.
“Laura, will we get to work with the horses today?” Lily asked Laura, drawing Mia's attention.
Laura shook her head. “Not today. I needed to see what you knew how to do. Next time we'll work with the animals.”
Lily looked crestfallen, but then quickly picked up her shovel and grinned. She waved to Mia and went into the next stall, ready to earn her place at the ranch.
“Would you like a tour of the ranch?” Carter asked Mia.
She turned, surprised by his question. He stood in the doorway, all sexy jeans and easy smile and for a moment, Mia completely forgot how to speak.
“Um, don't I need to watch them?” she finally managed to get out, stumbling over every word. “You know, make sure you're getting your money's worth?”
Carter chuckled. “I'm sure Laura will make sure that they are working hard and being safe,” he assured her. “Tour?”
Her bottom lip was between her teeth as she hesitated for just a moment. She glanced over to see Laura showing Alexander a better way to shovel and telling Grayson he was doing a great job.
“Okay, I'll take your tour,” Mia said, putting a smile on her face. It would be fun. Maybe she'd even get some hints to his identity.
“Excellent,” Carter replied, a grin filling his handsome features. “I'll give you the twenty-five-cent version.”
“Isn't it usually a 'ten-cent' tour?” Mia asked, puzzled as she followed him out of the barn.
Carter winked at her. “My tour is worth the extra charge.”
CarterCarter wasn't exactly sure what had prompted him to offer Mia a tour. There were a million things that he needed to do, and walking a social worker around the ranch wasn't one of them. Yet, now that he had made the offer, he found he was actually excited to show her around. He was curious what she was going to think of the place.He took a step back from the big barn doors and motioned grandly to them. “Here, we have the barn and the stables.”She laughed, her nose crinkling slightly and her eyes sparkling. The sunlight hit her light brown hair and made it gleam. It caught him by surprise, and he lost his train of thought for a moment. She was beautiful. She turned her smile onto him, and his stomach tightened with desire and something much deeper.“Where are all the horses?” she asked, glancing about. “I didn't see any in there.”“They're out in the pasture while it's still nice out,” he replied. He motioned off toward the paddocks. “You want to see them?”She nodded eagerly.
Mia“I've got the kids, Margie, so you go to your doctor's appointment and take your time,” Mia said into her phone as she pulled up to the school pick up/drop off area. She was about ten minutes early, but that was good since it meant she got a better spot.“Thanks, Mia,” Margie, the kids' foster mother told her. “I know this wasn't the plan. This was the only time my doctor could see me, though.”“The plan was for you to take these kids because no one else would. I pulled you out of retirement because I was desperate for these kids to have one more chance,” Mia replied. Margie had been one of Mia's best foster parents before she retired and Mia had begged her to come back. “You were the only person I knew of that would take three kids out of the blue. Especially three troubled kids on the verge of being separated.”“I just wish I were younger so I could keep up with them better,” Margie said, sounding glum. “You were right. They're good kids.”Mia smiled. “You're doing more than I c
MiaThe three kids chattered excitedly as Mia drove them to the ranch. She let them talk without interruption, listening to their conversation and chiming in only when they asked her a question. They were there in the space of what felt like only several hundred questions, which was faster than Mia expected.“Laura said I get to groom the horses today,” Alexander announced proudly.“She said we all get to help groom today,” Lily corrected him.“Do I have to?” Grayson asked. He shifted nervously in his booster seat. “Horses are really big.”“You don't have to touch them if you don't want to.” Alexander reached over and gently squeezed his arm. “But I want to. It'll be cool.”Grayson chewed on the inside of his lip and nodded. He didn't look completely convinced at the coolness of horses yet.“This is going to be so awesome,” Lily said, getting out of the car. She went and opened the back door up and helped Grayson out.“You know this is supposed to be work, right?” Mia asked, jokingly.
CarterThe inside of the garage was cool and dark after the bright sunshine outside. Mia had to blink several times to adjust to the dimmer lighting as she stepped through the doors. As soon as her eyes could focus, she gasped.Three sports cars were tucked neatly off to the side. She didn't know exactly what they were, but she recognized them from posters she'd seen over boys' beds during her home checks. She knew enough to know that these were dream cars and probably worth more than six years of her salary.The center of the room was set up just like her local mechanic's shop. There was a deep pit like what the oil change people used and a huge selection of tools. A bright red sports car was being worked on that she recognized from yet another boy's dream car poster.“Wow,” she whispered, looking around at the expensive cars.“Oh, not those.” Carter shrugged as if they were nothing. “This is what I want your opinion on.”He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to a f
Mia“What do you mean, 'can't find him'?” Mia asked, the blood draining out of her face.“Laura was working with the older two, turned around, and he was gone,” the security guard explained. He looked around the garage. “She thought maybe he followed the two of you here.”“You mean you don't know where Grayson is?” she clarified, needing to hear the words.“No ma'am. We don't know where he is.”Mia's stomach dropped out, and her knees felt shaky. Luckily, Carter reached out and steadied her. If he hadn't grabbed her hand, there was a very real chance that she would have fallen over. She focused for the moment on his fingers and the strength in his grip. He was the only solid thing in the world for a moment as worry flooded through her.“We'll find him, Mia,” Carter promised. “He can't have gone far.”His promise was sweet to her ears, and she tried to nod in agreement. He still had her hand, and it helped keep the panic from clawing its way up her throat and strangling her.“Do you kn
CarterFire engulfed the parking garage, a demon of red and orange that relentlessly pursued him. The heat of the flames licked at his skin and singed his eyebrows. His lungs struggled for oxygen as the fire stole it with every desperate inhale.Carter coughed and tried to run from the fire, but his feet were stuck to the ground. He forced his legs to move, but every step was like through quicksand. His eyes watered with the acrid smoke of burning plastic and metal. Sweat drenched his body as he struggled to get away.Somehow the flames grew. Carter panicked, his feet turning to stone as the flames consumed him.And then he woke up.Carter sat straight up in bed, gasping for air and clawing at his bed-sheets. It was just a nightmare. It was the nightmare he'd had every night since the incident.He sucked in the clean mountain air, trying to convince his lungs that he wasn't still trapped in the smoke and fire of the dream. His heart rate was through the roof, and he was going to need
MiaMia appraised the brown quarter horse in front of her, not quite entirely sure how confident she felt getting back up on the horse by herself. The gelding looked steady enough, but it had been a long time since Mia had been on a horse. She remembered it being fun, but she didn't remember the horses looking quite so big. She decided to wait a moment before getting on. The kids would probably need her help.“Why do I have to wear a helmet?” Alexander asked, looking askance at the riding helmet they all had to wear. He held it in front of him like it smelled as he waited to get up on his horse. “Cowboys wear hats.”“You wear it because I like your head in one piece,” Mia told him. “And you need more practice to be a cowboy.”Alexander opened his mouth to complain, but Carter held up a helmet of his own.“I'm wearing a helmet,” Carter informed him, putting the heavy helmet on his own head. He shrugged like it was nothing. “These don't blow off in the wind, so I actually like it better
MiaLaura led the line of horses up a path away from the ranch. They were still in the foothills, but it was close enough to a mountain ride to feel on top of the world. Wildflowers, pine trees, and panoramic views for as far as she could see surrounded her. The scent of pine and dry grass warmed by the sunshine filled her nose. Peaceful was the best word Mia could think of to describe the beauty of the mountains.Mia and Carter talked and laughed as they rode their horses. They stayed slightly back behind the kids, enjoying their private conversation. Mia couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this hard. Carter kept cracking jokes and flirting with her the entire ride up into the foothills. This was the best day she'd had in a long time.After about an hour, the path opened to a small meadow. The yellowing grass waved gently in the cool breeze with the mountains capped in snow behind in the distance.“Who wants to go a little faster?” Laura asked the kids as Mia and Carter cau