MiaThe 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
MiaHopeful 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.
CarterEverything 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 sh
MiaThe stars and crescent moon shone brightly against the dark sky as Mia walked through the dark to the house. Fall was definitely on its way. The night air was cold and crisp and she found herself wishing she'd worn her sweatshirt from the barn. The thin material of her shirt was not enough outside tonight. It wouldn't be long before the frost and snow arrived from the high country. She shivered.And then, suddenly she was warm. Carter placed his flannel jacket over her shoulders. It was still warm with the heat of his body. She looked up at him surprised, but he just smiled at her and kept walking to the house.She followed behind, pulling the collar around her. The jacket smelled like him. It smelled so good that she caught herself burying her nose in the fabric and taking a deep sniff in while he wasn't looking. She decided he was never getting his coat back now. It was warm and it smelled good. It was hers now.Carter held the kitchen door to the main house open for her. Welcom
MiaMia stood in the stall, taking it all in and enjoying the quiet that came after the birth. Lily was still asking both Laura and the vet questions about the birth process and the science of what had just happened. She was so excited it looked like she might never sleep again. The two boys had passed back out in the hay again.Carter was in the birthing stall watching the foal. The little stallion stood on wobbly but determined feet. He was working on getting his walking legs steady. Carter stood off to the side, watching him with proud eyes.He'd make such a good father, the thought came to Mia. She shook it away. He didn't want kids.She turned from him and checked on the boys. They had woken up and been excited to watch the birth. Alexander said it was gross and Grayson's eyes had gotten bigger than Mia had ever seen, but they'd done well. They'd certainly learned something and she was glad they'd experienced the miracle of life. It was something she'd never seen before either.S
MiaMia was pouting and she knew it. She didn't like that she was pouting, but she wasn't about to stop. She was committed to the pout now and there was nothing that was going to change it. It was the last day on the ranch. The sun shone as if nothing was changing. The breeze blew colder, but still, it didn't feel as if everything were coming to an end. The kids were grumpy and worked slowly as if taking more time to do their chores would make their time here last longer. They were pouting, too.Mia wasn't going to miss having to rearrange her work schedule to fit in these trips, but she was going to miss just about everything else. She'd found herself looking forward to these visits, not for the time on the ranch, but because of Carter. He'd made these days brighter and the best parts of her week.She wasn't sure how she was going to see him again. The kiss in the kitchen still burned in her thoughts, but it was just a kiss. After the birth of the horse, they didn't have a chance to
MiaThe doorbell chimed. This time, it made Mia grin and race to the door to get it. She opened the door, fully expecting to see Carter. She had a feeling he'd be wearing some sort of fancy suit and look like a million bucks. She was rather excited to see how he cleaned up.But, he wasn't at the door. She tried not to show her disappointment to the uniformed man standing at her door.“Ms. Amesworth?” the man asked. He wore a crisp blue uniform with matching hat. “Your transportation, ma'am.”He turned and motioned to a huge stretch limo taking up half the apartment complex's parking. Mia's eyebrows went up in surprise.“Just let me grab my purse,” she told him, reaching inside and picking up her small handbag. It was the nicest one she owned. It was a knock-off, but it looked real enough that she hoped it wouldn't look too strange with the dress.She followed the uniformed driver out to the limo. As she walked, she could hear blinds going up as people peeked out of their windows to ta
CarterThe Vegas skyline came into view with all its lights and brilliance. For a moment, Carter wondered if he'd overdone things, especially for a first date. Taking a girl to Las Vegas was a bold move, but he'd wanted to do something that Mia would never forget. He wanted to do something amazing for her, and this was the first thing that had come to mind.He looked over, afraid she'd be overwhelmed only to find her with her nose pressed to the window like a little kid. She looked over at him and pointed to the city, her eyes full of excitement. She bounced up and down in her chair as she peered back out.Nope, he decided. Definitely didn't overdo it.He loved seeing her like this. She was so excited and happy that it filled the cabin with infectious enjoyment. This was the happiest he'd felt in months. He wasn't thinking about cars or horses or his business with her beside him. He was thinking about her and her happiness. It was something he could certainly get used to.The dress ce
Mia“Mia, where are you?” Grayson asked over the phone. “You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”Mia put on her turn signal and worked her way to the edge of the highway so she could get off and head up to the ranch.“I'm really sorry, Grayson,” Mia replied, checking her mirrors. “The traffic today is terrible. The snow is just slowing everything down.”“How long until you get here?” the little boy asked, obviously pouting.Mia raised her eyebrows at the phone. Grayson usually didn't care when she got to the ranch. In fact, the later she was, the happier he was because it meant more time in the barn with Star Dancer. He loved that little colt.“Five minutes, tops,” she promised, stepping on the gas and zooming up to the dirt road leading to the ranch.“Okay!” Grayson replied cheerfully and he ended the call. Mia shook her head and kept driving. Everyone seemed to be behaving oddly today.First, Laura had asked the kids to come work at the ranch today, even though it wasn't thei
MiaMia glanced at the office door on her way out and recoiled. It was a miracle the man hadn't gotten through. Just a few more moments and he would have had them. The door on the opposite side of the office was in tatters and stamped with blood. She could only assume it was the man's with his attempts to get in.She wasn't far behind Carter. She could see the blue of his shirt as he disappeared out the front door. A sea of uniformed security stood in her way, but she wiggled between them hot on his tail. She had to catch him.Outside, the police had finally arrived. Ten squad cars all stood in the big driveway loop of the ranch with more lining up down the road. It hurt her eyes to look at all the lights, but she did see an officer putting a man into the back of one.He was tall and relatively good looking. He had the dark uniform of the security team, though it didn't seem to fit him very well. The man looked up, and she saw his eyes. They were ice cold and full of such fury that sh
Mia“You killed my daughter. Now, I'm going to kill you.”The words were even and calm, yet so full of hatred that Mia winced. The man on the other side of the door wasn't nervous or afraid. He was calm and ready to deal out the justice he felt the world deserved. A justice with Carter dead.The man started to pound on the door. It shook from every blow and Mia didn't know how long it would hold. It was a heavier door than she was used to, but the man outside was determined, and a little bit of wood and metal wasn't about to stop him. This had to be the man sending death-threats to Carter. He had to have found a way to turn off the security system and phones. She wondered how he'd gotten security to leave.It didn't matter, though. He was here now. He was here and ready to carry out his threats.Carter didn't hesitate. He went to the window, ready with a plan. He grunted with the effort of lifting the big window open. Once it was open, he pushed on the screen, letting it tumble to the
MiaMia stood in front of the ranch house and took a deep breath. The smells of hay and clean mountain air filled her lungs, and she tried to steady herself. Today was the day. Today she was telling Carter.The kids were at school, and she'd told her boss she was taking the rest of the day off, so there weren't any distractions. Today, she wasn't getting sidetracked by cars or kids or anything. Today, she was telling him that he was the father of her baby.Just thinking the words made her heart stumble. She still wasn't sure how he was going to react, and that uncertainty gnawed at her. She loved him, and she was terrified that he might push her away because of this.He didn't want children. He'd said it in interviews and even to her directly. She wanted him to be in her life, to be in their child's life, but she understood if he didn't want to be. This was something he had been very clear on not wanting. She wasn't sure how he was going to respond.Mia glanced around the ranch. It se
Mia“Are you okay, Mia?” Grayson asked, tugging gently on Mia's hand as they walked to the barn for their Wednesday work session.“Hmm? Oh, I'm fine,” she replied, giving herself a shake and smiling down at him. Her thoughts had been on the baby growing in her stomach.“Carter says that you can't let your thoughts wander when you're working with the horses,” Grayson informed her. “You need to use your full brain.”Mia chuckled. “It's a good thing I'm not working with the horses today then, huh?”On impulse, she knelt down and pulled the little boy into a hug. Grayson happily hugged her back. She took a deep breath in, pulling in his strawberry scented shampoo mixed with the sunshine in his hair. It smelled like innocence to her. He would never be this little again. Tears welled up in her eyes.“You sure you're okay?” Grayson asked, pulling back. He frowned a little, and she realized she'd hugged him for a long time.“I am,” she promised. “Go catch up with your brother and sister. I ne
CarterCarter sat in the garage and went over the designs for his next year's car models and felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He wished he could just go to the plant and start on them now. There was so much that needed to be done that he couldn't do from his mountain home. As much as he loved being out on the ranch, it certainly made doing business ridiculously hard. He wished he could go down to the city for at least a couple of hours just so that he could get a few things accomplished.Without access to his office and his usual business interactions, he felt out of control. He had far too much freedom out here, and he missed the hustle of the office. The ranch was great, but he craved the thrill of the deal and the excitement of being around people who shared his dream. He wasn't good at just sitting back and letting things happen, so being out here in the middle of nowhere was hard on him.He sighed and pushed his chair away from the drafting table. If he was feeling like
MiaMia walked down the aisles of the grocery store humming softly to herself. It was the first time in what felt like weeks that she'd had a moment to spend on herself and get to the grocery store. She was nearly out of food, but luckily, the only thing that sounded good lately was cereal, so she wasn't in too bad of shape. However, she'd run out of toothpaste this morning and was now at the store on her lunch break. She could deal with cereal for every meal, but she wanted to have nice breath when she kissed Carter.She wandered through the pharmacy, picking up some antacids. Her stomach had been a little queasy the night before, so she wanted to stock up. As she passed through the aisles, she came to the feminine hygiene aisle.The aisle was relatively unmarked, but there was a half empty stand of chocolate bars on the end-cap, so someone knew what they were doing. She chuckled to herself and tried to remember if she needed to pick up more supplies for herself. She did the mental m
MiaMia kissed Grayson's forehead as his eyelids fluttered shut in the dim light of his nightlight. Even his nightlight was race-car themed with the light coming out of a pair of headlights on the wall. She carefully closed the door and stepped into the common room. The other two were tucked in bed with books and heavy eyelids that didn't look like they were going to last long.Mia thought that the kids were going to stay up all night, enjoying their new rooms. It was the first time they'd each had their own room, let alone a room decorated to suit their preferences, and Mia has figured they'd be living it up.However, the events of the day had worn them out. It was a testament to how well Carter had crafted each room that the kids all fell asleep in less than thirty minutes once teeth were brushed and pajamas on. The kids felt like they were at home and fell asleep with ease.“Well, that was easier than I expected,” Carter announced as they slipped upstairs to the living room. “And t
Mia“We didn't find any sign of the intruder, ma'am,” the police officer told her. She stood on the front porch of Margie's house with police lights flashing everywhere. She was fairly sure the neighbors were going to accidentally rip the blinds off their windows if they kept peeking out like they were.Mia nodded. She could see Brian and Ben talking with two other police officers by the garage. A crime scene camera flashed for what felt like the millionth time at the garage. She turned back to what the head officer was telling her.“The window was broken in with a rock from the yard. We've cleared the house and made sure that no one is inside or anywhere on the property. We made sure they didn't leave any surprises behind in the house,” the officer was saying. “Whoever did this isn't here anymore.”“Thank you, officer,” Mia replied, nodding along. She still felt weirded out by it all though and wasn't looking forward to going to her own empty apartment. Maybe she could get Brian to c