“Did you know about this, Lily?” Mia asked, looking over at their sister.
She shook her head vehemently. “No. I mean, I knew the other kids were giving him a hard time, but I didn't know just how much.”
“We didn't tell her because we didn't want her to get in trouble,” Alexander quickly explained. “We wanted her to be able to go to a good foster home if we got caught.”
“I'm not leaving you guys,” Lily told him. She put her arm around Grayson's shoulders over Alexander's arm. “No matter what. We stay together.”
Mia swallowed down the heartache growing in her chest. If the cops were called on this, then it wouldn't be Lily's choice. They were out of foster home options for three kids together who had a bad history.
“Okay,” Mia said with a sigh. She did her best to smile at the three children who were now depending entirely on her to save them. “Let me go talk with the manager, and we'll see what we can do. Thank you for telling me what was going on.”
Three sets of dark eyes watched as she slowly stood and went back to where the tall blond man was waiting for her.
“Mister... I'm afraid I didn't catch your name,” Mia apologized as she came to the doorway where he was leaning.
“Carter, ma'am. My name's Carter. And I heard what those boys said,” he told her. Something about him softened as he looked over at the kids. He was a good-looking man, with a strong jaw and broad shoulders. He looked a lot calmer and less like a caged tiger now that he had heard the boys' explanation for the broken window.
“Mr. Carter, I know the boys broke your window, but can you please not press charges?” Mia wondered if getting on her knees and begging would help, but decided against it. “They really are good kids. They just need a chance.”
Carter looked thoughtful. He glanced over at the window and then back to the boys. He evaluated Mia for a long minute before a slow, small smile spread across his face. Mia couldn't help but notice how the smile seemed to light up his features and turn him from good-looking to devastatingly handsome.
“I won't press charges if they pay for the window,” he told her, crossing his arms and looking rather pleased with himself.
Mia glanced at the window. It wasn't exceptionally large or ornate, but it certainly cost more than a couple of foster kids with no money to their names had to spend.
“Um, we would be happy to take you up on the offer, but they don't exactly have a lot of money right now,” she explained. In her head, she started mentally checking her own bank account balance to see if she could swing it herself.
“I'll take sweat payment,” Carter told her. “There's always things that need to be done around here. They can earn the window by doing jobs here.”
“You'd let them do that?” Mia asked, surprised at his generosity.
“I would,” he told her with that same slow smile. “They're just kids in a bad situation. You said to give them a chance. That's what I'm doing.”
Mia nearly hugged the man. “I'll go tell them,” she told him. “You won't regret this.”
“I'm sure I will regret it, but it's the right thing to do.” He let out a wry chuckle as she turned and went to kneel before the kids again.
“Okay, he's agreed not to call the police, but you have to pay back the window. You can earn the cost of the window back by working here,” she told Alexander and Grayson.
“We can do that,” Alexander promised her immediately.
“I'm good with horses,” Grayson informed her. “I'll ride them and get them to do stuff like they do at the circus.”
“I doubt he'll have you working too much with them,” Mia replied with a gentle smile. The idea of the scrawny seven-year-old training a thousand pound animal to do tricks wasn't quite the work she imagined they'd be doing.
“I'll help too,” Lily announced.
“You didn't break the window, Lily,” Mia reminded her.
“No, but I was supposed to be watching them,” she replied. “Besides, if I help, they'll earn it back faster.”
“Okay.” Mia looked at the three, suddenly hopeful children in front of her. “So you'll work here to pay for the window? It's a deal?”
All three nodded enthusiastically.
“Excellent,” Carter said, coming up behind Mia.
She stood up quickly, nearly colliding with him in the process. He reached out a hand to steady her as she stepped back. His touch was strong yet gentle at the same time.