Chapter Two

Carter

Carter watched as the small car with the woman and three children drove off his ranch. He shook his head, wondering how in the world that woman was planning on managing those kids. They'd all signed non-disclosure agreements and were supposed to come back the following Monday to start work. He hoped it would go well.

They seemed nice enough, as far as kids went. Carter didn't have much experience with anyone under eighteen, but they seemed well behaved once they were in custody. He could certainly understand and even relate to their actions, but they were still kids. Troubles and liabilities all rolled into one cute package.

“And that's why I'm never having any,” he mumbled under his breath to no one in particular. One of the security guards raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything.

“So, what's the damage?” Carter asked, walking over to his head of security.

To say that Brian was a big man would be an understatement. Brian Cards was a giant of a man who could shoot the legs off a fly at one hundred yards. The man was deadly and incredibly good at keeping people alive. That's why he was in charge of Carter's security.

“It looks as if it really was just two kids sneaking in,” Brian replied. He motioned to the window. “If anything, this was an effective drill. It just shows us that we need to up our response time. I think we can shave another thirty seconds off.”

Carter nodded. His heart was finally starting to come back to a regular rhythm after hearing the alarms go off all over the ranch. He had been sure it was the person who had been sending death threats to his office. He'd moved to his secret ranch to get away from them only a few days ago. This ranch was now his home. It was where he was supposed to be safe.

“We'll get this window cleaned up and replaced,” Brian told him. “But, just to be on the safe side, I'd like to have an extra man on patrol for the next couple of days.”

Carter nodded. “That's fine with me.”

“Why do you think those kids tried to steal this?” Brian asked, picking up the trophy and handing it to Carter.

It was a nice little trophy. It had a good weight to it, and the sculpture of the car cast in some sort of fake golden metal was certainly pleasing, but it wasn't worth much. It was also fifteen years old, so any worth it did had was long evaporated. The title of “Best Car Design, Carter Williamson” decorated the bottom. It wasn't the dollar value of the trophy, but that it was the first step he'd taken to starting his business that was valuable. Carter owned socks worth more than the cost of the actual trophy.

“To show it off,” Carter said, carefully polishing the car with his shirt cuff before putting it back up on his mantel. It needed dusting. “To say that they were bad-ass enough to sneak into a billionaire's home and steal something.”

“I guess that could make a kid cool,” Brian agreed. He shook his head and looked out at the now empty road. “And it seems like those two kids could use some cool in their life.”

“What makes you say that?” Carter asked.

“Did you see their clothes? Second hand. Their shoes? Worn thin,” Brian explained. “The woman that came and picked them up? She was a social worker, not their mom or aunt or anything. Those kids are in the system. No wonder the younger one was getting picked on.”

“So you don't think there was any reason not to believe them?” Carter asked. He hated feeling this nervous, but this was the first break-in at the property. This was supposed to be his safe place, and after what had happened at his office, he was afraid to take any chances.

“I believe them, all of it,” Brian assured him. “They were too scared to have anyone telling them what to do. The break-in was all them. You're safe here, sir.”

“Good.” Carter swallowed his nerves. To anyone watching, he was calm and collected, but deep in his chest the threads of anxiety were still strung tightly. The close calls had him rattled.

“Don't worry, sir,” Brian said. “We'll make sure that whoever is sending you death threats isn't going to succeed.”

Carter nodded. “Thank you, Brian.”

Brian nodded and motioned to his men. They cleared out of Carter's living room and headed out the front door. Carter listened to them set up their posts outside, the sounds of their walkie-talkies never quite fading away.

Carter looked at the trophy on the mantel and wondered what the boys would have done with it after they showed it to their friends. The first thing that popped in his mind was that they would have returned it. Or, rather, the woman- their social worker, would have made them return it.

Mia. The name was short and sweet, like her. He usually liked his women leggy and blonde, which Mia was neither. But there was definitely something about her that attracted her to him. She was full of fire and passion. He could practically still smell the smoke from the flames coming out of her eyes as she protected those boys.

He rather hoped he'd be seeing more of her. He had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't let those boys out of her sight for a moment and the idea of her on his ranch made him smile. He was a little surprised at how the idea of having her around lightened his heart. There was just something about Mia that intrigued him.

He looked out the broken window at the mountains and his ranch. He hoped that working here would give the boys confidence to stand up for themselves. As a kid, he'd been scrawny and nerdy, so all the local bullies had pushed him around too. It had been someone taking a moment to teach him how to work with horses that had turned him into the man he was today, so it was time to pass that gift on.

Carter looked over at his trophy one last time before deciding to go to the barn. He wanted to do something with his hands, something that would keep his fingers busy and his mind off the threats hanging around him and his car company. He had the option of working on one of his cars or working with the horses of his ranch. He decided horses would be the better company.

With a shake of his head to clear his thoughts, he turned and headed to the barn. He let his mind drift to what he would have the boys and their sister do to earn back the cost of the window. He already had plans for them and their fiery guardian.