by Krista Lakes
Carter grinned. “The base price is going to be thirty thousand.”
Mia did a double take. She had expected the price to have another zero. “What?”
“That's what's so special about this design,” he explained. He looked over the designs the same way he had looked at Hopeful Dreamer- with love. “We figured out how to get the cost down. You interested?”
“Very.” Mia nodded. “It's still more than I should spend, but it's possible. When will it be available?”
He took a step closer to her and changed the design schematics on the drafting table again. “Soon. Now that the airbag lawsuit is almost finished, this car can go into production. I want to give us enough time to test and make sure it's the safest car on the market.”
“I heard about that lawsuit,” Mia said. “Something with the airbags not deploying properly?”
Carter nodded. His smile fell, and the shadows grew on his face. “Yes. There were injuries and several deaths due to the airbags in an older model of one of my cars.”
“I'm sorry.”
He shrugged, but she could still see the weight on his shoulders. It still bothered him. “We've fixed it, but I want to make sure it never happens again. I want my cars to be safe, even if it means delays.”
“You really care, don't you?” Mia asked, watching his face. His brows were drawn and eyes serious.
He turned sharply to look at her, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
“I mean, billionaires are always painted as uncaring, money-hungry tycoons. But you honestly do care,” she explained.
“Money-hungry?” he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Mia's cheeks heated. She hadn't thought that sentence through. She'd meant it as a compliment, but it obviously hadn't come out as one.
“Okay, not quite that bad,” she revised with a bashful smile.
“I better have my publicist work on my image,” he said. “I specifically requested to be seen as elitist and greedy. I'm going to have to fire all of them.” He winked at her, letting her know there were no hard feelings.
Mia let out a small laugh. “You take that really well.”
Carter shrugged. “I've been called many things. You get used to it after a while.”
Mia's heart ached for him. He didn't deserve to be called any of those things. From what she'd seen of the man, he was the exact antithesis of greedy or uncaring. She was glad she hadn't known who he was. She would have come in with a preconceived idea of what Carter would be like. He was rich, but he wasn't spoiled.
Carter cleared his throat and motioned to the designs. “What features would you want in a car like this?”
“Cup-holders,” Mia answered immediately. “More cup-holders than seem necessary. With kids, you need as many as possible.”
Carter chuckled and made a note on the drafting table, leaning over the table rather than using the chair. “Done. What else?”
Mia took a breath in as she thought. “A built-in vacuum. Smart doors that won't hit things when opened, easy to clean mats, door locks that are easy to take out of child mode... and did I mention cup-holders?”
Carter laughed. “No, I don't think you did mention those. This is why I need you.”
He leaned forward and added her ideas to his list on the table. He was so close that she could smell the soft scent of his soap. It was clean and masculine without being overpowering. It made her tremble with sudden desire.
The room was suddenly warm as her thoughts went from cars to how his muscles moved under his shirt. She wondered what he looked like with his shirt off and what his skin would feel like under her fingertips. Who cared about cup-holders anyway?
As if reading her thoughts, he stopped writing and looked up at her. Slowly, he came to his full height, and as she looked up at him, he reached for her. His fingers were cool and soft as they curled around the small tendrils of hair at the base of her neck. His touch on her bare skin sent desire snaking through her spine and down to her core.
The corner of his mouth turned up in a tiny, but confident, smile, and he leaned forward to kiss her. She forgot how to breathe, but it didn't matter. This felt so right, even with her heart pounding a million miles an hour.
The kiss never happened. Their lips never connected and everything went wrong. Just as their lips were about to touch, a sharp knock came on the garage door. They both paused. The door opened and the moment was ruined.
Mia turned. If it was one of her kids asking for the millionth time for pizza for dinner, she was going to murder them.
Only it wasn't her kids. It was the giant security guard from the first day on the ranch. Somehow, he was even bigger than she remembered. Scarier.
“Is the boy in here?” the man asked, his voice as deep as he was big.
“Which boy?” Carson asked, dropping his hand from Mia's neck.
“The youngest. Laura says he's not with the others. We can't find him.”
Chapter 7
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 know where he might have gone?” the security guard asked. His dark eyes were serious and calm. He didn't look panicked, and that made Mia feel a tiny bit better.
“No.” Mia shook her head. “He wasn't excited about touching the horses since they're so big, but I don't know where he'd go... I'll check the car.”
“Brian, I want the ranch on full alert,” Carter said, still holding her hand. “All hands on deck.”
“Yes, sir.” Brian nodded curtly and grabbed the radio at his shoulder.
Mia didn't wait to hear him call it in. She let go of Carter's hand and ran to her car. She was breathless from sprinting when she got there. It was unlocked.
His school backpack was in there, but not him.
Her hands started shaking, and the world grayed out. She'd never lost one of her kids. She made sure she was always conscious of where they were. She had helped search for runaways, but no one had ever gone missing while under her care. She hated this feeling. She wanted Grayson safe in her arms.
“It's okay, Mia,” Carter told her as he caught up and found her holding onto the car. “We'll find him. He has to be on the ranch somewhere.”
Mia was already imagining the worst. Rattlesnakes, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, kidnappers, open wells, and rabid dogs were all running through her mind. Her heart rate was through the roof, and her whole body wound like a too-tight spring. It took everything she had not to start running around screaming his name.
“Let's check the stables again.” Carter took her arm and calmly led her down the neat stone path to the stables. Mia tried to concentrate on how steadying he felt next to her instead of her own panic. Grayson had to be okay. He had to be.
“I'm so sorry,” Laura told her as they walked in. Her eyes were big and full of worry. “He was just here. He didn't want to touch the horse just yet, so I let him be for a moment. He was just sitting right there on that stool, and I turned around, and...”
“It's okay, Laura,�
� Carter said. He reached out and gave Laura's shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You keep the other two calm while we look around.”
Lily and Alexander looked up from the horse they were grooming. Mia did her best to smile. They didn't realize their brother was really missing, which was good. If they knew, they would only panic too and make things worse.
“I looked everywhere,” Laura whispered. “I told them he probably had to go to the bathroom.”
“We'll find him,” Carter told Laura. He sounded so confident that it had to be true. Mia needed to hear him say it as many times as possible. She was so glad he was staying calm and directing them because she felt like a total mess. His calmness and assured manner was the only thing keeping her from going off the deep end and completely freaking out.
“Where could he have gone?” Mia asked, looking around. The stall doors were all open with the horses out in the pasture, so she knew he wasn't in one of them. Everything was airy and open, which was nice, but it made for no good hiding places.
Carter got a thoughtful look as he glanced around. “Did you check the hayloft?”
“It was the first place I looked,” Laura told him.
“Did you go up there? Or just stick your head up?” Carter asked.
“I just stuck my head up,” Laura replied. Her eyes widened with hope and whatever idea Carter already had.
“Come with me, Mia,” Carter said, tugging on Mia's hand. “I know where I'd go if I were a kid here.”
Mia tried to take deep, steadying breaths, but her lungs weren't working right. The shallow panicky breaths were just too easy. She knew she had to calm down, or else she'd be no good in a search. In her mind, she was already making the phone call to the police, to her boss, and to Margie. What in the world was she going to say?
“This way, Mia,” Carter said softly. She'd frozen in the middle of the barn. He took her hand and tugged gently. She focused on him. He was calm, and she latched onto that, needing his serenity.
Together they went to the hayloft and climbed the ladder. Mia sneezed halfway up. It was dusty and smelled like clean hay. It was a nice scent, just one she wasn't used to.
“There's nobody up here,” she moaned, looking around as she followed Carter up. All she could see was piles and bales of yellow hay everywhere. Panic clawed at her throat again and twisted her stomach into knots. “What if he's hurt?”
Carter walked around a stack of hay. “He's over here,” he called softly.
Mia gasped with relief as she ran over the slippery hay. Carter was kneeling next to a sleeping Grayson. He was curled up like a little barn cat on the soft hay. A small smile was on his petite features as he dreamed.
Relief was a physical sensation that washed over her. Her voice cracked as she said his name. “Grayson.”
The little boy's eyes fluttered open from whatever dream he was having. Mia was on her knees hugging him to her chest.
“I was tired,” he announced, pulling back slightly. Several pieces of hay were stuck in his dark hair. He yawned. “What are you guys doing up here?”
Mia hugged Grayson close, ignoring his protests. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she knew it was going to turn into an ugly cry at any moment, but she didn't care. “You scared us,” she whispered.
Grayson looked up at her confused. “I was just resting. It's quiet up here.”
Carter ruffled the boy’s hair. “Next time, let someone know before you come up here. Okay?”
Grayson nodded, his eyes still full of sleep. As far as he knew, he'd just found a comfy spot and the adults had rudely woken him up. He looked back and forth between Mia and Carter like they were both crazy.
“I'll go tell Brian to call off the search,” Carter said, rising to his feet.
Mia grabbed at his pant leg. “Thank you so much, Carter.”
He smiled and gently squeezed her shoulder before heading back down the loft ladder. Mia hugged Grayson to her again, sniffling as he held him tight.
“You okay, Mia?” Grayson asked. He let her hold him but clearly didn't understand what all the fuss was about.
Mia wiped her face. “Yeah. You just really scared me. I didn't know where you were.”
Grayson's eyes got big as he realized that she had thought he was missing or had run away. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, not this time.” Mia shook her head and gave him another hug. “Just don't ever do that again. Tell somebody where you're going. Always.”
“Yes, Mia.” He tucked his chin into her shoulder and snuggled into her. “I'm sorry I scared you. I'll never do it again.”
“I'm just glad you are okay.” Mia let out a shaky sigh and hugged him to her as she waited for her heartbeat to slow down. It took a couple of minutes before she was ready to let him go. “Let's go back down. I'm sure your brother and sister will want to see you.”
He gave her one more hug before standing up and brushing the hay from his shirt. Together they climbed the ladder back down to the stables.
Carter was in the stall with the other two children, helping them groom one of the horses. Mia didn't recognize this horse, so it wasn't Hopeful Dreamer.
“And that's all you have to do,” Carter explained, showing them something with the brush. Both of the older kids were listening to him with rapt attention. He smiled as Mia and Grayson came into view. “Here they are. See? Safe and sound.”
Lily and Alexander's shoulders relaxed. Even though they didn't know just how missing their brother had been, they had been worried. Lily pulled her little brother into her for a quick hug before picking a piece of hay from his hair.
“You want to touch the horse?” Lily asked her youngest brother. “This one is nice.”
Grayson looked apprehensively back and forth between his sister and the big animal.
“You don't have to if you don't want to,” Mia told him. The last thing she needed was more drama today.
“What if I show you the secret trick to make horses love you?” Carter asked. He dropped down to a squat, so he was the same height as Grayson. “That way, you'll always know what to do.”
Grayson smiled shyly at Carter and nodded. Carter patted him on the shoulder as he rose and went to the far end of the stable to retrieve something. He came back with an apple.
“This horse's name is Heartbreaker,” Carter told him. He pulled out a pocket knife and efficiently cut the apple into slices. “Hold out your hand.”
Grayson timidly held out his small hand for Carter to place an apple slice. Carter then moved behind the boy and helped support Grayson's hand with his own.
“Hold your hand out with the apple flat in your palm,” Carter instructed. “Keep your fingers straight so that she won't accidentally catch them. There you go.”
Mia held her breath as the horse daintily took the apple slice from Grayson. Grayson's face went from one of uncertainty to one of joy as the horse munched happily.
“It tickles,” Grayson said with a giggle.
Carter gave the boy a gentle squeeze before letting him go to stand up. “Now she knows that you're her friend and that you give apples. She'll always be nice to you.”
Grayson reached out a tentative hand to pet the horse's strong neck. Heartbreaker simply chewed on her apple slice. Grayson grinned and gained confidence, petting her more enthusiastically each time.
“She's not so scary now,” he said.
Carter chuckled and put his hands on Grayson's shoulders. It was such a pretty picture that Mia wished she had a camera. It could have been staged for a publicity shoot to improve Carter's image for how perfect it was. It made her heart happy because it was real.
Grayson let out a huge yawn that cracked his jaws and made Mia check her watch.
“It's time to go,” she said, hating that she was the one ending the day.
A chorus of disappointed childrens' grumbles followed her announcement.
“We'll be back tomorrow,” Mia promised. “But we have to get you home for dinner.”
>
The older children put away the grooming supplies without too much more whining. Mia helped, but she watched Carter and Grayson from the corner of her eye as she stacked brushes and cloths.
“You did well with the horse today.” Carter knelt before Grayson with a hand on his shoulder. “No more scaring Mia and I'll teach you how to ride a horse. Deal?”
Grayson's face split into a giant grin as he looked up at the horse and then back to Carter. “Deal!”
Mia smiled, her heart suddenly lighter than she remembered it ever being. His biography said he didn't want children, but he sure was a natural with them.
“Come on, guys,” Mia called, leaving the barn and heading to the car. Three kids and Carter followed reluctantly. “Make sure to buckle up.”
Lily helped Grayson with his booster seat buckle since it seemed to always stick while Alexander got himself settled.
“Thank you, Carter,” Mia said, coming around to the side of the car next to him. The words didn't seem like enough.
“Anytime,” he replied, watching the kids in the car.
Mia paused for a moment, but then hugged him. He froze at her sudden gesture, but then wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. His arms felt safe and strong wrapped around her. It wasn't the same as the almost kiss in the garage, but there was definitely something between them. It was a short embrace, with Mia pulling back before she could embarrass herself. He smelled so good, like hay and sunshine, that there was a very real risk of her not ever letting go.
Chapter 8
Carter
Fire 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.
