Mia

Laura 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 caught up with them. “This field is safe for us to run the horses in.”

“I do!” Lily shouted, urging her horse closer to Laura.

“I figured you would,” Laura said with a chuckle. She moved her horse so that she was next to Lily. “Use your legs and match the horse's rhythm as she goes up and down. Keep your hands low. You can rest them on the horse's neck if you want.”

“Okay,” Lily replied, mimicking Laura's movements. “I can do that.”

Laura grinned. “Start with a canter, then lean forward. Use both your legs to ask the horse to go faster- not the reins,” Laura instructed. “When you want to stop, steady the pace with your reins and sit back into the saddle. No jerky movements.”

“But that's what they do in the movies,” Alexander said, pretending to pull back on his reins. His horse looked back at him like he was crazy, but didn't react to him pulling on the reins.

“Movies aren't real life,” Laura reminded him. “Be gentle with the reins. Would you like someone pulling hard on your mouth?”

Alexander thought about it for a moment and then relaxed his grip. He leaned forward and whispered an apology to his horse.

“Ready Lily?” Laura asked.

The grin on Lily's face was huge. She looked ready to fly with joy. The girl was so excited she could barely contain the excited nod. It made Mia's heart surge. Lily's life was all about taking care of her siblings and surviving. She deserved some fun in her life. All kids did, but especially kids like her with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Lily followed Laura's instructions to the letter. She looked like a professional rider to Mia's eyes as she urged her horse faster and faster. The sweet mare did what she was asked, even going to a gallop for a short time before slowing. The boys cheered their sister on.

Lily's cheeks were flushed and she grinned wildly as she returned. She was on cloud nine and Mia had a feeling this was the happiest moment of her young life. Mia wished she could give this experience to all of her kids.

“Good job,” Laura told her. “Anyone else want to try?”

“My turn! My turn!” Alexander chanted, urging his horse up to where Laura was.

“Okay. Show me how you hold yourself,” Laura said, making sure he knew what he was doing. When she decided he was ready, she rode alongside him, encouraging him and reminding him what he needed to do. Mia held her breath as Alexander took off, but Laura was right with him.

“We went so fast!” Alexander announced, breathless and grinning when they came back. “Did you see me, Mia? Did I look like a cowboy?”

“You sure did,” Mia told him. She was grinning at his excitement. When those horses ran, they were free from their pasts and their worries. If she had a million dollars, she'd have kids do this all the time.

“What about you, Grayson?” Laura asked, coming alongside the youngest kid. “Would you like to go faster?”

Grayson bit his lip and shifted his weight. He looked down at his horse and shrunk slightly. “Um...”

“You don't have to go as fast as Lily did,” Laura told him. “You can trot, which is like walking only bouncier. It's a lot of fun.”

Grayson chewed on his lip for a second and then lifted his chin. “Okay,” he said with a brave nod.

He sat up straight in his saddle, his head lifted and shoulders back. Slowly, his little horse gained speed with Laura right beside him. As the horse increased speed, Grayson started to grin. He lost the trepidation and urged his horse to get ahead of Laura.

“What about you?” Carter asked, coming next to Mia. His leg grazed hers as their horses found a comfortable position to stand. Her heart involuntarily sped up.

“Me?” Mia asked, looking over at him and squinting in the sunshine.

“Yeah, you.” He chuckled and motioned his head toward the field. “You ready to go a little faster?”

The way he said it made her heart thud in her ears. He couldn't possibly have a second meaning, could he? Of course not. She pushed the idea out of her mind.

“I'd love to,” she replied. She meant it both ways, just in case.

“I'll stay right with you,” Carter said. He clucked to his horse and moved out into the field. She followed him out onto a nice dirt path that was perfect for the horses to up their speed safely. It was smooth and hole free, reminding Mia of a racetrack rather than a path. Considering Carter's wealth, she wouldn't have been surprised to find out he'd had this path made just for running his horses safely.

She kicked her heels into the muscled sides of the horse and urged him to increase his speed. The bounce and the rhythm took a second to get used to, but she loved the way it felt. Carter was right beside her, his own gelding keeping steady alongside her.

She laughed and kicked again, up to a canter. Her body naturally matched her horse, falling back on those lessons from so long ago. The wind streamed through her hair and she glanced over at Carter. Without giving him warning, she kicked again, telling the horse to stretch his legs and run.

Jasper was ready. He extended his legs out as far as he could while she leaned forward, keeping her center of gravity down on the horse like a jockey.

Carter let out a surprised sound but quickly urged his horse to match hers. Together, their horses raced along the dirt path. Each horse wanted to win the imaginary race to an imaginary finish line, so they kept pace with one another until the dirt path came to an end.

The horses came to a stop, each of them breathing hard. Mia laughed, feeling free and light. When she was on horseback, nothing could touch her. There was no problem she couldn't outrun. There was nothing but freedom.

“You're a natural,” Carter told her as they turned their horses around to head back to where the kids were waiting. They went at a gentle trot now, letting their horses recover from the sprint.

“I haven't done that since I was a kid,” Mia breathlessly told him. She was grinning like an idiot.

“Didn't look like it,” Carter remarked. He smiled at her as they rejoined their group and she felt her cheeks heat with the compliment.

“I want to do that!” Alexander shouted. He looked ready to take off.

“Next time,” Laura told him. “You still need to work on the trot and canter.”

Alexander looked sly. “So, that means there's a next time?”

Laura laughed. “If you're good.”

Alexander whooped. Lily grinned, and even little Grayson looked pleased with the idea of going riding again. To be honest, Mia wanted to do this again. This was a perfect day. The weather was good, the kids were happy, and the company was amazing.

She looked over at Carter. He looked so confident up on his horse. It looked like he belonged there, as much as he looked like he belonged in that garage. Both versions of him were incredibly attractive.

He caught her looking at him and grinned. She blushed hard and turned her horse back in the direction of home. The last thing she needed was for the billionaire to know she had a crush on him. She could only imagine the way he'd smile at her if he knew how much she liked him.

Laura was in the lead once more, leading the parade back to the barn. Alexander and Lily were animated up front, talking about how they wanted to practice their riding so they could gallop like Mia and Carter did. Laura was giving them pointers and promising to help.

Mia didn't see what spooked Grayson's horse. All she saw was the small gray mare suddenly shy at something on the ground and then take off running.

Time slowed, and Mia saw every blade of grass, every fiber of the horse blanket, and every hair on Grayson's head as the horse panicked and took off at a gallop through the field. It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Grayson!” Mia screamed, urging her horse to go after him. Her horse refused to budge. She had no idea what she was going to do, but Grayson was in big trouble. The horse was flying across the meadow and he was barely hanging on, his hands tangled in the mane and his little legs gripping on tight.

Carter was three steps ahead of her. He knew what to do and had his horse ready to go. Using his larger horse's speed, he easily caught up to Grayson's panicked mare. He was able to use his own horse to slow down the terrified mare and finally bring her to a stop.

“Grayson!” Mia finally got her horse to stop being afraid of whatever he saw in the grass and she galloped him over to where Grayson was. His poor little face was sheet white and his eyes the size of dinner plates. Carter helped him unclench his hands from the mane and slide down onto the hard ground where his knees promptly gave out.

Mia was off her horse and hugging the boy as fast as she could move. Grayson shook like a leaf in her arms. The mare was frothing at the mouth, so Carter took her and walked her. He spoke low, soothing words as he let Mia take care of Grayson.

“Are you okay?” Mia asked, her hands checking him for any sign of injury. He had managed to stay on the mare the entire time, so it only looked like he was just terrified rather than hurt.

“I don't wanna ride anymore,” he whispered, burying his head into her shoulder. He started to cry, the shock of what happened finally hitting him. Mia just held him and rocked back and forth.

When his breathing finally came back to normal, he sat up and wiped his eyes. His little face was blotchy and his eyes swollen with tears.

“I want to go home,” Grayson whimpered. His hands held onto her shirt like the ground might take off running like the mare did and Mia was the only solid thing in his world.

“Okay,” Mia told him. She wiped the tears from his cheeks and helped him stand up.

Home was a long way away. They'd ridden the horses quite a distance, but if Grayson wanted, she was ready to walk them all the way home, even if it took until dark. She looked out at the long path back and chewed on her lip.

“How about you ride with me for a bit?” Carter asked, coming up beside them guiding the horses with him. He'd tied Grayson's mare to walk behind his horse. The mare looked exhausted and somehow embarrassed as well. “It's a long walk otherwise. Do you think you're safe with me?”

Grayson looked up at him and nodded. “You saved me.”

Carter smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “I'll get up first, and then Mia will help you up. You'll sit in front of me.”

Carter swung up into his saddle in a smooth motion and then made sure there was space for Grayson. With Carter's help, Mia lifted Grayson up and helped settle him in Carter's protective arms. Carter looked at ease, but Mia could see in his eyes that he wasn't going to let anything happen to that boy. She'd never seen someone look so determined and protective at the same time.

“You comfortable?” Carter asked Grayson. Grayson made sure that Carter's arms were tucked firmly around him before he nodded. He looked far less afraid with Carter holding him in place.

Carter nudged his horse into a slow walk. Grayson gripped the saddle pommel with one hand and Carter's arm with the other. The worry crept back into his face.

“You doing okay, Grayson?” Mia asked, walking alongside them with her hand on Grayson's leg. Carter led his horse in the direction of Mia's gelding.

“Carter will keep us safe, right Carter?” Grayson turned to look back at Carter.

“Super safe,” Carter promised. He gave Grayson a small hug. “Nothing will happen. I promise.”

Grayson nodded and gave Mia a weak grin.

“You did great, Grayson,” Carter told him. “I'm really impressed. The first time that happened to me, I fell off in an instant. I landed in a bush.”

“A bush?” Grayson turned to look at him.

Carter nodded. “A prickle bush. I was pulling prickles out of my hair for weeks.” He pretended to pull something out of his hair while making a goofy face. Grayson giggled.

“You should get your horse, Mia.” Carter nodded toward her gelding. “I've got him.”

Mia gave Grayson's leg a gentle squeeze, not wanting to let go of her kid just yet. But, if they were to get home, she needed to be mounted as well. It took two tries to get up in the saddle this time, and her face was blazing as she finally settled herself.

Carter didn't say a word about it as they walked their two horses back to where Laura was keeping Alexander and Lily occupied.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked as soon as they got close. Worry and concern filled her face. “Laura said we needed to stay here.”

“She was right. You did good waiting,” Carter told her. Relief filled Lily's face. She'd been the caretaker for her younger brothers until Mia had come along. Lily was used to taking care of them, so being told to stay away would have been hard for her.

Mia brought her horse alongside Lily and patted her leg. Lily gave her a small smile.

“What happened anyway?” Alexander asked. He still looked worried for his little brother.

Carter shrugged. “She saw something and spooked.”

“What did she see that scared her that bad?” Lily asked, glancing around at the meadow like something might jump out at them.

“Sweetness doesn't like snakes,” Laura replied. “If she thought she saw one, she might have bolted.”

“Snakes?” Mia frowned. “Isn't it a little cold for snakes?”

“It's been warmer lately, but it could have been a stick that looked like a snake,” Laura replied. She frowned at the mare trailing Carter's horse. “She's usually our best-behaved horse. I would never have put him on her if I thought she'd do that.”

Mia nodded. So much for Sweetness being the easy horse.

“But, Grayson did great. He kept his head and held on,” Carter said. “I'm very impressed.”

“I'm basically a cowboy then, huh?” Grayson asked, his grin getting bigger as he thought about it.

Carter mussed the boy's hair with his hand. “Most definitely.”

The ride back was much less uneventful. Alexander tried to convince Laura to let him gallop again, Laura said no, and Alexander continued to ask. To keep him from trying to anyway, Laura had Lily and Alexander work on various riding drills and techniques.

They crested a small hill and the barn was back in sight. Mia's heart rate was almost back to normal and she no longer felt like she was running on pure adrenaline anymore.

She looked back to see Carter and Grayson whispering secrets. Grayson kept giggling at whatever Carter said. Grayson looked completely comfortable and safe with him.

Mia thought of the interview she'd read on Carter where he said he never wanted kids. It was a shame. He was so good with Grayson, Alexander, and Lily. Not just anyone could have Grayson giggling and happy after such a scary afternoon.

They were almost to the barn when Carter pulled his horse to a halt.

“Before we finish, you have to ride Sweetness home by yourself, Grayson,” Carter announced.

Grayson's hands tightened and his face paled. “I do?”

Carter nodded and dismounted, leaving Grayson up on the horse by himself. He looked so small and afraid up there that Mia almost said no.

“Yes, because I don't want you to be afraid of horses.” Carter reached for Grayson and picked him off his horse. He walked him over and placed him up on the gray mare's back. “I'll be right here the whole time. I'll make sure you're safe.”

Grayson swallowed hard. “Okay. I trust you, Carter.”

It went against Mia's instincts not to run over and rescue Grayson from this, but she was so proud of the brave face he was wearing. She also knew how important this was.

When you get thrown off a horse, you have to get back on, she thought. Even though Grayson wasn't thrown off, he was scared. This was necessary to prove to himself that he could do it.

“You ready?” Carter asked, handing Grayson the reins to his horse.

Grayson pressed his lips together as tight as they would go and gave a short, tight nod. Mia loved how brave this kid was.

Carter started them at a walk, then moved to a trot. He jogged alongside the horse, never letting go of the horse, and making sure that Grayson was in control. They made a sharp turn into the far paddock and kept running. Mia held her breath as they came around back into view.

Grayson was smiling. The fear was gone and he was enjoying the ride now. Laura moved into position just in case something happened, and Carter let go of the horse and let Grayson trot on his own.

Grayson did marvelously. He turned the horse toward Mia and his siblings and came up to them. His siblings praised him for his bravery and he beamed with pride. The fear was gone, which was exactly what Carter wanted. Carter looked rather proud of himself as they all turned to bring the horses back to the barn to groom them after the ride.

Once at the barn, the kids all rushed inside after tying up the horses to get the brushes and prove that they knew what they were doing. If they took care of the horses, they knew they would be more likely to be able to go riding again. Laura was teaching them well and Mia was grateful.

Mia brought Jasper to the fence just outside the barn and then frowned. Where the kids knew exactly what to do, it had been a long time since she'd groomed a horse. Jasper looked over at her as if to say, “what the heck lady? Get this stuff off me!”

Mia undid the saddle and fumbled with it before taking it off. It was heavier than she expected, but she got it on a nearby saddle rack with an “oof.” The saddle blanket was much easier. She looked around the stall, searching for the curry comb.

“Looking for this?” Carter asked, holding up a curry comb. He walked over and greeted Jasper while he handed her the comb. “I'll help you.”

“You don't have to,” Mia replied, but secretly she was glad of the offer. She didn't remember exactly what to do next, so having him here would be a huge help. “Don't you have to do your horse?”

Carter worked on Jasper's hooves, picking out the dirt and checking for stones. “The kids are taking care of Max,” he said. “One of the perks of being the boss.”

“Oh,” she replied, picking up her brush and working alongside him.

Everything was quiet. Jasper slurped at some long strands of grass but was otherwise content to stand quietly while they groomed him. The sounds from the kids nearby were muted and soft. Mia felt hot and could tell that her cheeks were flushed as she worked next to Carter.

Having him this close was actually unnerving. She was trying her best not to think of how nicely his arms moved, or how good his jeans looked, or even just how he made her feel warm and tingly. She was becoming twitterpated and she knew it. The worst part was that she could feel her attraction to him growing with every moment they were alone together.

“Here,” he offered, handing her the stiff brush. Their hands touched briefly and Mia gasped. His touch was electric and sent desire and heat straight down her spine and into her toes. She hadn't been expecting her reaction to be so strong for such a simple, accidental caress.

She looked up and straight into Carter's eyes. They were so blue and held a smolder that made her insides go gooey. It didn't help when he gave her a cocky half-grin that told her he knew exactly the effect he was having.

“You're doing great,” he told her. He leaned toward her, tucking his head as though he might kiss her. Her back went against the fence post and every inch of her hoped that he would press her against the post and kiss her senseless. Yet, at the same time was nervous. It had been a while since she'd let someone other than kids into her life. Plus, she wasn't exactly feeling sexy and desirable. She was covered in horse sweat and grass, but then again, so was he.

She was past simply wanting a kiss. She wanted him to press her up against this fence post and take her completely. Even then, that might not be enough to put out the flames of desire growing in her core. If he didn't make a move, she was going to.

Instead of kissing her, he simply reached and put a grooming brush on the fence behind her before stepping back and out of her reach. Her heart was going a million miles an hour with the possibility, and it hadn't happened. Did she imagine the attraction between them? They'd come close to a kiss in the barn, but that was a week ago.

“Looks like you've got this under control,” he said, his voice low and gravely. He smiled that cocky grin again that told her he knew exactly the effect he was having and was enjoying teasing her with it. “I'll see you next week.”

He stepped back, leaving her wanting so, so much more. She was practically panting with wanting more. She watched, open mouthed as he sauntered away, nodded to the kids and went to speak with the security guard coming up the path toward him.

The stiff brush fell out of her hand. She'd forgotten that she'd even been holding it. Jasper nickered at her that she wasn't done grooming him yet.

Mia shook herself, trying to break the spell Carter had just put over her. She still ached to feel his touch, to taste his lips, and to release this energy. She reached down and picked up the brush, watching him walk away. She couldn't have wanted him more if she tried.