Chapter One

Chapter One - Laura

Note to readers:  Chronologically, this novella takes place after “A Forever Kind of Love” but before “A Wonderful Kind of Love”. It also contains characters from “Saltwater Kisses” and “Yours Completely”. You do not need to have read any of these books to enjoy this book. If you like this story, “A Wonderful Kind of Love” picks up where it leaves off.

Laura

“Oh God, it's him.”

Laura wished she could just melt into the floor and vanish for a few hours. Of course he had to come to this. He was the last person she wanted to see today.

“Who?” Mia asked, looking around. She still had brochures in her hands as she tried to organize the table.

“Ethan. Ethan White,” Laura answered. She tried to move behind Mia to hide, which wasn't too hard since Mia was pregnant and due in just a month. Mia shook her head and kept organizing the information table.

“Ethan?” Mia turned so that Laura couldn't hide as easily. “He's a sweetheart. I like him. Why don't you?”

Laura watched as he walked across the open space between the barn and the house. He hadn't seen her yet, which she was incredibly grateful for.

“We, kinda, sorta...” she shifted her weight, trying to find a tactful way to describe why she didn't want to see him. “We have a history.”

Mia raised her eyebrows, interest sparkling in her eyes. “Oh, I'm gonna need more than that.”

Laura sighed. “It was at the Christmas party two years ago.”

“Okay. That doesn't tell me much,” Mia told her, crossing her arms and waiting for more.

“We had a thing.” Laura shrugged. “At the party.”

“Okay. More.”

“We were both drinking and it was snowing and beautiful. There was mistletoe.” Laura blushed a little. “There was a lot more than just mistletoe.”

Mia looked at her and then back over to where Ethan was talking to another guest. She shrugged. “Just a thing? I would have jumped his bones, personally.”

“Mia!” Laura looked at Mia's very pregnant belly.

“What?” Mia asked innocently. “He's cute.”

“You'd jump his bones?” Laura looked aghast. “Aren't you married? And pregnant?”

Mia rolled her eyes. “I'm not saying I'd do it now. Sheesh.”

Laura just shook her head and went back to making the information table for the day's events look nice.

“So, did you jump his bones?” Mia asked after a moment.

Hot memories of Ethan's touch flashed through Laura's mind. She could almost feel the way his caress felt on her bare skin. And good lord, those kisses. They'd stolen her breath. She grinned.

“I did,” she admitted with the hint of a blush.

“You go girl,” Mia congratulated her. “Didn't I hear that that party was in a museum?”

Laura nodded. “I will never look at the Rocks, Gems, and Crystals exhibit the same.”

Mia laughed. “You have to give me more than that. I need details. I mean, details of why you don't want to see him now. Not necessarily what happened in Rocks, Gems, and Crystals.”

“Things were great. He gave me his cell phone number. Then I called him and his secretary picked up,” Laura explained with a shrug. “She told me to never call back. That he wasn't interested.”

“Ouch,” Mia replied. She frowned and looked over at Ethan. “That doesn't sound like him. Did you ever try again?”

Laura nodded. “I did. He turned off his number. He had my number, too, Mia. He could have called me, but he didn't.”

Laura tried to shrug off the hurt that filled her chest. It was just a stupid one night stand thing. It shouldn't matter, but somehow it did. It hurt more than she expected it to. Even now.

“So, why don't you go talk to him?” Mia asked. “Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. He's a good guy.”

“How do you know he's a good guy?” Laura asked, crossing her arms.

“He's business partners with my husband, so I see him at all the meetings about moving the design team of W Motors to Denver,” Mia explained. “Plus, remember that charity event Carter threw me in the fall? Carter couldn't go, so he had Ethan take me.”

“So he's a good guy because Carter made him take you to a charity function?” Laura asked.

“No,” Mia replied. “He's a good guy because he's a good guy. Also, when I mentioned the ranch, he knew your name and he asked about you.”

“He did?” Laura didn't mean to have that much hope in her voice. “He remembered my name?”

“Yes, he did. He seemed interested,” Mia said. “You should talk to him.”

“He probably remembered me because he thought I was annoying or something,” Laura responded. “Besides, it was a year and half ago. Things are different now.”

Laura looked down at the floor and tried to ignore the tears creeping into her eyes. When would the pain of what happened stop surprising her, she wondered.

Mia squeezed her shoulder. “You deserve some happiness too, you know.”

“I know,” Laura replied. She shrugged, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I just don't have time for it.”

Mia nodded, her mouth tight. She gave Laura a quick hug, her pregnant belly pushing into Laura in the process. “Make sure you take care of yourself, too.”

Laura didn't know quite what to say, so she just nodded. Luckily, she was saved by Mia's husband. Carter came over and kissed Mia's cheek.

“The guests are starting to arrive,” Carter told them. “You two ready?”

“As ready as we're going to be,” Mia replied, looking nervous for the first time. Today was her day to shine. “Do I look okay?”

Carter looked his wife over and smiled. “You look stunning. Radiant.” Mia smiled and blushed at his compliment.

“What about me, boss?” Laura teased. She grinned at Carter.

“On the advice of my lawyer, I plead the fifth,” he replied, keeping his face straight.

“Very funny,” Laura replied with a smile. Carter was a great boss. He owned W Motors and was a billionaire, but you'd never know it. He was incredibly down to earth. Laura managed his horses at the ranch, so she had gotten to know him on a more personal level than many of his other employees.

“Are the kids ready?” Carter asked, going back to Mia.

“They're all in the barn with Kenna, the social worker,” Mia told him. “Lily has the horses ready in the barn and everything else is set up. We're ready.”

Laura nodded to her words. Lily, Mia and Carter's adopted teenage daughter was a hard worker. Lily had even taken over for Laura when her world collapsed. If there was anyone Laura trusted with getting the horses ready, it was Lily.

“What about the boys?” Carter asked.

Mia chuckled. “They are 'helping' Lily,” she replied.

“They do help,” Laura replied, coming to the two boys' defense. Grayson and Alexander were Lily's younger brothers. They were good kids, even if they were a handful. They really did try their best.

“I'm sure they do,” Carter said with a chuckle of his own. It was Grayson and Alexander's antics that had led him to the meeting of Mia. They'd broken a window, and Mia had convinced him to let the boys earn back the cost by working at the ranch. “At least the weather is behaving, even if the kids aren't.”

Mia pushed his shoulder and frowned at him. “Don't jinx it!” she told him. “It's sunny and perfect now, but you know how fast spring snowstorms roll in.” She quickly rapped her knuckles on the wooden table to ward off bad luck.

Laura knocked on wood, too. Her younger brother and sister were going to come to this event, and the last thing she wanted was for weather to become a factor. She checked her watch to see that they'd be arriving from the babysitter's house in just a few minutes. She quickly started trying to finish off the table so she could go help with the horses before her siblings arrived.

Carter moved in closer to his wife, putting a hand on her belly. “How are you doing? Do you need anything?” He was like a concerned Papa Bear, and Laura loved to see it.

Mia smiled up at him. “I'm good. Just nervous. I want this to go well. I want this to work.”

“It will,” Carter assured her. “You have an amazing plan, Mia. You're going to do great.”

Mia's shoulders relaxed slightly and she kissed his cheek. She then looked proudly out at the ranch and nodded. “I think you're right.”

Laura had to agree. The foundation Mia was setting up was amazing. She was opening a special ranch to help foster kids. The ranch was technically Carter's, but he'd given her the space to make it all about kids.

Mia had all sorts of amazing ideas for this place. She wanted foster kids to come and learn tools to make their lives better, to give them confidence, and mostly a place to belong. Mountain Hope Ranch in Silver Springs was going to change a lot of kids' lives for the better, Laura knew it in her bones.

Today was a soft opening. They were slated to officially open in two months for summer, but today was about getting more investors. W Motors was a major contributor, but the more companies and wealthy investors they could bring on, the more kids they could help. Today was to show the investors what this place was about.

“Okay, it's time,” Carter said, looking at his watch. He smiled warmly at his wife. “Let's go cut the ribbon, and then there's some people I want to make sure you meet.”

Mia nodded. She flashed a smile at Laura and took a deep breath before heading toward the entrance to greet her guests. Laura was impressed with how calm Mia was. There were at least ten of the hundred richest people in America here, all wanting to see what Mia was doing.

Mia had arranged for kids from the local foster care system to come and enjoy the ranch with the billionaires. It was important that things go right. If they did, Mia's ranch would be off to a great start.

Laura watched Mia walk away with Carter before checking the information table one last time. It looked great. She needed to get to the barn before her siblings arrived so she could make sure that the horses were ready for the billionaires and kids.

Laura looked around before heading off, seeing if Ethan was still around. He was nowhere to be seen.

“It's for the best,” she told herself. He was a distraction she didn't need. She hated the way her heart fell that he wasn't there anymore. He wasn't interested, and she needed to remember that.