by Krista Lakes
Jace shrugged. “I actually have no idea. Babies aren't my thing. Give me a kid, and I'm happy. Babies- not so much. They just sleep and cry. I like them a lot better once they can tell me they're hungry, not scream it.”
“I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure kids can still scream if they're hungry,” Ethan told him.
“Yeah, but they use words,” Jace countered. “I like words. I can fix things if there's words. I don't like the guessing game of just shrieking.”
Ethan chuckled and looked over at Jace's wife. Ella was holding Emma's son in her arms and cooing at him with a big smile on her face.
“You better be careful,” Ethan told his friend. “I hear those things are contagious. She's going to want one.”
“She already does,” Jace replied. A shadow crossed his face and he swallowed hard. He shook himself and smiled at Ethan. “So, you horseback riding with the kids today?”
Ethan paused at the obvious change of subject, but decided not to pursue it. Whatever the issue with Ella and babies was, it was between Jace and Ella.
“That was an option?” Ethan asked. He remembered that Laura was responsible for the horses on the ranch and he felt his stomach tighten.
“Did you look at your invitation at all?” Jace asked with a laugh.
“Nope. Carter just said to come and look pretty,” Ethan told him with a shrug. “I'm just here as eye candy for all you big donors.”
“You can join us. We're supposed to be in the arena after the ribbon ceremony,” Jace replied. He looked over at his wife loving on the baby and Emma waiting patiently to get her son back from her. “I'm going to go save the baby from my wife. We'll meet you there.”
“Sounds good.” Ethan smiled at him. It would be nice to hang out with Jace and Ella. They'd always gotten along well.
Ethan turned and started walking toward the barn and arena. With every step, he realized he was heading into Laura's domain. Nervousness started to snake its way into his stomach and his footsteps slowed. He shouldn't be anywhere near the barn.
Laura wanted nothing to do with him. She had made it incredibly obvious, or rather her boyfriend had when he had picked up the phone. Still, he definitely didn't want there to be an issue, especially not at something Mia was working so hard to make work. He wanted to support Mia, and being around an angry Laura wasn't going to do that.
He stopped walking and sighed. He should just back out of seeing the horses with Jace and Ella. He could go find another part of the camp that Laura wouldn't be at. There were plenty of other places he could go.
“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Jace said, clapping him on the back as he and Ella caught up to Ethan. “I'm looking forward to catching up.”
Ethan gave him a weak smile. It was too late to back out now. Ethan decide it was just best to smile and go with it. Besides, it wasn't like Laura was going to personally be attending to him. She'd probably be too busy to do anything but glare at him.
He could do this. So, with a smile, he joined his friends as they headed into the barn.
Chapter 3
Ethan
The arena smelled like sawdust and hay, punctuated by the smell of horse. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but Ethan preferred the outdoors to being inside with horses. Horses were not his thing. He could see the appeal, but he'd never understood the depth of Carter's love for horses. To him, they were just big, stinky, dogs that you couldn't bring in the house.
Bright spring sunshine filtered through the windows in addition to the house lights being on. It made the whole area festive and bright, which was good for the kids. He hoped they were more excited about the horses than he was.
The arena consisted of a large center open space made of dirt. A metal railing surrounded the dirt, giving a spectator area. Three horses were tied to the railing at various intervals. They each had a saddle and bridle. Ethan didn't know much about horses, but he thought they looked ready to ride. He couldn't see the kids yet.
Carter crossed the arena, his cowboy boots stirring up the dry dust as he walked to greet them.
“Ethan, are you joining Ella and Jace?” he asked, coming up to their group of three.
“I am,” Ethan told him. “It sounded like fun.”
Carter chuckled. “You have no idea what we're doing in here do you?”
“Nope.”
“I figured,” Carter said with a laugh. He patted Ethan's shoulder and lead them over to one of the horses. “This is Sweetness, your horse for the afternoon. As long as she doesn't see any snakes, she'll be a perfect angel for you.”
“Snakes?” Ethan repeated. He glanced around the arena, unsure of where a snake would want to be inside.
“It's a long story,” Carter told him. “You three will have Elliot as your kid. He's never ridden a horse, so we'll take it slow.”
“That's good,” Ethan said under his breath. He wasn't exactly ready to go fast with horses.
“He's super excited,” Carter continued, pointedly ignoring Ethan. “If you need anything, let Laura or I know.”
“Thanks, Carter,” Ella said. She reached over and scratched the horse behind the ear, making the horse sigh in pleasure. “I think we're good.”
Ethan was glad Ella knew how to handle horses. From what he remembered, they had some at her hotel for wedding guests. It meant he didn't have to do much with the animal, which made him happy.
A cute brunette walked over with a little boy. He was probably around six years old with dirty blonde hair. It looked like they'd tried to comb it into something that looked neat, but stray strands poked up on the back of his head. He looked at them with big brown eyes and a nervous smile as he played with a string bracelet on his wrist.
“This is Elliot,” the brunette introduced him. She smiled and gave his shoulders a squeeze. “These nice people will show you the horse, okay? I'll be right over by the door if you need anything.”
The little boy nodded without looking at her. He was too busy looking at the horse.
“Elliot is a little shy,” the woman explained. “He has a hard time with eye contact, but he's very excited.” She squeezed his shoulders one last time before leaving to go help another kid.
Ella dropped down to his height, putting a knee in the dirt. “Hi, Elliot. I'm Ella.”
Elliot didn't look at her. He tried, but he couldn't maintain eye contact. “It's very nice to meet you,” he said softly.
“This is Jace, and my friend Ethan,” Ella continued.
“Hi.” Elliot smiled, but didn't look at anyone's face. That's when he saw the dog. “Can I pet your dog?”
Ella smiled. “He's not wearing his working vest today, so yes. You can pet him.” She made a hand motion and Jupiter came over from his spot, his tail wagging as he approached. “His name's Jupiter.”
Elliot's face lit up and he looked at Ella's face for the first time. “Like the planet?”
“Yeah, just like the planet,” Ella told him.
The boy held his hand out for the dog to sniff before attempting to pet him. He gave the golden dog long, soft strokes. “Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It's the biggest planet, too,” Elliot informed them. “It has a big red spot and over sixty moons.”
“Wow, you know a lot about space,” Jace said, kneeling next to the boy and petting Jupiter with him. “I'm impressed, Kid.”
“My name's Elliot,” the kid said politely. He stopped petting the dog and looked at Ella. “Where are your other seven dogs?”
Ella cocked her head to the side, confused. “Seven other dogs? Why would I have seven other dogs?”
“Because there are eight planets in the solar system. This is Jupiter, so did you bring Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune with you, too?” Elliot asked, his small face completely serious.
Ella grinned. “No, we just have Jupiter. Only one dog.”
“What about Pluto?” Ethan asked, inserting himself into the conversation.
“What about Plu
to?” Jace asked, looking up at him.
“You guys forgot Pluto,” Ethan said. “And there's nine planets. Not eight.”
Elliot shook his head, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “No, I didn't forget Pluto. Pluto isn't a planet.”
Ethan scoffed. “Pluto isn't a planet? It's the ninth planet. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto.”
“Have you been living under a rock?” Jace asked, looking at Ethan in disbelief. “They demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet in 2006. I can't believe you didn't know that.”
“They did?” Ethan asked, not quite believing what he was hearing. “But it's my favorite planet. How is it not a planet?”
“Pluto is actually smaller than our moon,” Elliot said, jumping in like he was a Wikipedia article. “It doesn't have enough gravitational strength to qualify as a planet.”
“Says who?” asked Ethan.
“It just didn't meet the criteria to be a planet. Neil deGrasse Tyson and some scientists decided this like ten years ago,” Jace said.
“I think you just ruined my day,” Ethan told Jace. He looked over at Elliot. “What about you, Elliot? What's your favorite planet? Hopefully they don't take it from you when you're my age.”
“My favorite planet is Mars,” answered Elliot. “NASA is planning a mission to go there. I'm working really hard at school so I can be the first kid on Mars.”
“That's pretty ambitious,” Ella said with a smile. “I like it. Did you know Mars is red and there's a robot named Curiosity on it right now?”
Elliot nodded and gave her a shy smile. “There are actually four rovers on Mars. Their names are Sojourner, Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity.”
“Wow! Did you know that since it is smaller than Earth, the gravity is less?” Jace asked him.
Elliot turned to Jace. His shy smile turned into a real grin. “I heard that you can jump three times as high on Mars as you can on Earth.”
“Yep,” said Jace. “I saw it on TV so it must be true.”
Elliot looked back and forth between Ella and Jace like he'd just found the two most amazing people on the planet. “You guys know a lot about Mars.”
Jace laughed. “And I'm sure you already know about Olympus Mons?”
“It's the biggest volcano in the solar system,” Elliot replied.
Ethan shook his head at the three of them as they sat in the dirt next to the horse sharing space facts. They were so engrossed in their discussion about Mars that they didn't see the little girl and boy approach them.
“Do you need help with your horse?” the girl asked, looking at the two adults and kid not paying any attention to the horse.
“I think they're okay,” he told her. “Do you work here?”
The little girl was probably around Elliot's age with dark red hair tied back in a ponytail. The boy was a couple of years younger. His hair was more brown than red, but they both shared the same bright green eyes.
“I'm the official helper,” the girl told him. She pointed to a sticker on her blue polo shirt with the word “HELPER” printed on it. “So's my brother.”
The boy pointed to a matching sticker on his matching blue polo shirt. They looked very official together.
“The official helper, huh?” Ethan asked. He looked over to see Ella and Jace still doting on Elliot. If they decided to do anything with the horse, he knew they would be fine. They both had experience with horses.
“I'm good with horses,” the girl explained. “Plus, my sister is the barn manager here. I can get her if you need something.”
Ethan's smile paused. “Your sister's the barn manager?”
He looked closer at her. The girl had the same shade of dark red hair. The eyes were the same too. He could practically see what Laura must have looked like as a little girl. He blinked twice before looking up and finding Laura. She was showing a kid how to feed a horse an apple.
Their eyes met and she froze. She stood there, the apple long gone, but with her hand still under the horse's mouth. He quickly looked away and back to the girl and her brother.
He saw that Ella and Jace had Elliot petting the horse now. They were back on track for what they were supposed to be doing.
“I think we're good here,” he said. But, his curiosity got the best of him. “What's your name?”
“I'm Ivy,” the girl replied with a smile. “This is my brother Dallas.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you both,” Ethan said, trying to ignore the tightness in his chest. These were Laura's siblings. The woman he was trying very hard to avoid. “Thank you for your offer of help.”
“Can I pet the dog?” Dallas asked, pointing to the golden retriever puppy sitting patiently off to the side of the arena.
“Um, sure.” Ethan shrugged.
Dallas walked over to the puppy and held out a hand to introduce himself to the dog. Elliot turned from the horse.
“That's Jupiter, like the planet,” Elliot told him.
“Jupiter has a red spot. It's a storm,” Dallas replied, giving the dog a good scratch behind the ears. The two boys grinned at one another, a friendship already forming.
“Do you know if Pluto is a planet?” Jace asked Dallas. Ethan glared at him.
“Pluto isn't a planet. It's a dwarf planet,” Dallas said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jace laughed. “See? Everyone but you knows!”
Ethan rolled his eyes at him, which just made Jace laugh harder.
“I'm going to go make some very important phone calls. You all stay here talking about planets and which one you're going to do away with next.”
Ethan turned and walked out of the arena with Jace's laughter following behind him.
Chapter 4
Laura
Laura put the saddle back on the holder and wiped her brow. She glanced around the barn, seeing a million things that still needed to be done. It seemed as though there were always a million things that needed to be done. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like she was ahead of her work.
Still, she was enjoying the quiet of the barn. All the billionaires and children where at the main house eating dinner. She could only imagine what the conversations must have looked like between billionaire CEOs and foster kids. It must have been an interesting dinner.
She had stayed away from the party. She told herself it was because she was busy, but she knew the real reason. Ethan was in there. He was the last thing she wanted to think about, yet he seemed to be everywhere. Every time she turned around, he was there.
It didn't help that he looked good enough to eat. It didn't help that her body remembered exactly the way he made her feel. It certainly didn't help that she couldn't stop thinking about him. Why did he have to be here?
She groaned and pressed a hand to her temple. Now she was thinking of him. Now she was remembering.
One year ago...
W Motors Christmas parties were always spectacular. Employees eagerly awaited their invitations each year to the party of the season. W Motors always put on an elaborate party in an amazing location. This year was no different.
This year, the party was held at the California Science Museum. W Motors had rented out the entire building with all the exhibits open for guests. There was a live band with dancing near the dinosaurs, a buffet by the mummies, and an open bar by space exploration exhibit.
Laura had never seen anything like it. She wandered around the museum, admiring the different exhibits and pretending to learn as she went. The museum provided docents at each exhibit to answer questions, and Laura suspected, to make sure that drunk people didn't decide to try and ride the T-Rex.
She reminded herself that she needed to thank Carter again for sending her to the party this year. It was above and beyond what she expected as an employee. Technically, she wasn't an employee of W Motors. She was an employee of its Chief Technical Officer, Carter Williamson. But he decided that she should go, so he'd given her the w
eekend off, a plane ticket, a hotel room, and some money for cabs and food. She didn't know that bosses could be that awesome.
She took a sip and moved on from the exhibit on butterflies in Patagonia toward the music. She wasn't quite ready to dance, but she wanted to see the dinosaur exhibit. She wandered along, looking at displays as she went. She stopped to admire a display on the mating behaviors of dinosaurs. Apparently, the penis of the T-Rex was supposed to have been around twelve feet long.
“Damn,” she murmured, taking a sip of her wine. “I'm not sure if I'm jealous or really, really glad I'm not a female T-Rex.”
She kept walking, reading more on the proposed behaviors of long extinct animals. It amazed her that scientists could figure out that much about them by just looking at bones and how other living animals used similar bones. It was fascinating.
The band announced they were taking a short break. They put on some fun pop music for people to dance while they prepared to perform another set. So far, she had liked their music. Whoever was in charge of this party had done an excellent job of picking entertainment.
“You should be careful where you stand,” a male voice said from behind her.
Laura turned to see a man in a suit holding a wine glass looking at her. He was tall with broad shoulders and closely cropped blonde hair. The first thought that hit her mind was that he was gorgeous. The second thought was to wonder if he was anything like a T-Rex. She blushed at her own dirty mind.
“What? Why?” she asked, looking around. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be in this part of the museum?
The man motioned to something above her head. “You're under the mistletoe.”
Laura looked up quickly to see the small green branch with red berries and a white ribbon. Someone had hung it up directly where a person would stop to read about the mating behaviors of dinosaurs.
