It took Mia a moment, but then she remembered hearing something sexual about gerbils and butts and she realized what she said. She had been looking for an innuendo, so she just decided to go with it.
“Some of my kids have gerbils,” she informed him. “Why? Were you thinking about gerbils in my trunk?” She fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him. “It's quite an experience.”
Carter made a choking sound and quickly cleared his throat before looking over at her.
She gave him an innocent smile. “We're just talking about cars, right?”
“Right.” He shook his head and put the phone back in his pocket. He'd clearly given up on the innuendo game, and she was glad. This was not her flirting forte. He smiled at her and leaned back against the wooden barn wall. “Do you know why I'm building this car?”
“I'm guessing it's for the chicks,” Mia replied. “Chicks love cars. Cars with trunks.”
“Definitely for the trunks.” Carter chuckled. “And carrying gerbils.”
“So, why are you building this model?” Mia asked, trying to get back to a conversation that didn't make her want to wash her brain out with soap. “You said this one would be an electric like your other models, but far less expensive. Plus, this design doesn't scream 'luxury car' like the other models do.”
“I want everyone to have a safe, reliable, and awesome car,” Carter explained. He paused for a moment before continuing. “I've been toying with this idea for a long time, but a little over a year ago I finally saw how important this was.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asked. She liked how close he was sitting on the bench with her. It was doing strange things to her insides that had her wanting to scoot closer to him.
“A young woman died in one of my vehicles. It was an older model and they'd tried to upgrade it with my new airbag system, but something went wrong. The accident killed her. If she'd been driving a safer car, that woman would still be alive.” Carter's eyes focused on the far wall, but that wasn't where he was looking. He was looking into his past and seeing the dead.
“I'm sorry to hear that,” Mia said softly. She put her hand on his and gave him a squeeze. He didn't pull away, so she kept her hand there.
He took a deep breath that seemed to shake the distance from him. “Accidents happen in cars,” Carter said. “I want to offer my technology to everyone in this car so these accidents don't happen. Especially just because someone can't afford a better car.”
“That's very noble,” Mia told him.
He looked over and smiled at her. “Noble? You're the one literally saving children. That's noble.”
Mia blushed. “I'm just doing my best to help.”
“If these kids are any indication, you're doing a good job.” Carter smiled. “Other than the whole window thing.”
“Yeah,” Mia agreed. “But, you'll notice we haven't had a single window incident since, so we're improving.”
Carter laughed. He still hadn't pulled his hand away or made any indication that he was going to do so. She wondered for a moment what it would feel like to have him touch other parts of her and her body warmed.
“Is this what you always wanted to do with your life?” he asked her.
For some reason she wasn't sure of, Mia paused before giving her usual easy answer of “yes, of course!” She looked at his blue eyes and felt something inside her want to give the real answer.
“No,” she said slowly. “I mean, helping kids is what I've always wanted to do with my life. Especially disadvantaged kids and kids in the system with no one else. I want to help them, but the being a social worker isn't my dream job.”
Carter raised his eyebrow. “So what do you want to do?”
Mia bit her lip. She didn't usually tell people this, but she felt a connection with Carter. He told her about his desire to build a safer more affordable car, she could at least tell him her reasons for wanting to do more than just be a social worker.
“I want to help more kids. I want to do so much more than what I can legally do now,” Mia explained. “As a social worker, I'm trained not to get too close. I have paperwork and bureaucratic issues that I have to do. I want to do so much more, but my hands are often tied. I have to do what the system says, not what's necessarily needed.”
“What's the dream then?” Carter asked.
“I want to open a camp for foster kids,” she explained. “A place for kids to come for a season and have an experience that builds them up. I want to fill in their educational gaps, find solutions to behaviors, and give them a positive experience with resources they can use for the rest of their lives. I want to give kids a chance. I want them to taste success, so they know it's possible.”
“What's stopping you?” Carter asked.
“Funds. Time. Support.” Mia shrugged. “Most of the kids I want to help aren't the cute little kids that look good on a poster. They're usually the kids with bad pasts and records to match. It also takes a lot of money, and right now, the system is always short. Something like what I have in mind would take millions of dollars and never be profitable. I don't have enough experience with charities even to get started. I don't even know where to get started.”
Her hand was still on his. She could feel the heat from his body and now that she was talking about something she was passionate about, she was suddenly very aware of how warm she was. And how warm he was.