It made sense that it was someone from the airbag lawsuit. There were hundreds of people affected, many with deaths. The level of planning to get to him out here required true hate. Death could cause that. He had thought the fiasco with the airbags was behind him, but apparently, it wasn't. The settlement had been more than fair, but there wasn't a real way to put a price on a human life.
“The police are searching, but they haven't found him yet,” Brian continued. “They believe he's fled to Wyoming, judging from his credit card purchases.”
“It's almost over then, isn't it?” Carter asked, feeling his shoulders start to relax.
Brian nodded, and the smile came to his face. “Once he's in custody, you can go back to your regular life. You can go back to the city. You can go home to California.”
The words didn't excite Carter like he thought they would. California suddenly seemed very far away from here. From Mia. From the kids. He would miss them all terribly. He found himself not wanting to leave after all.
He hadn't expected to fall for them like he did. They were the highlight of his days, and the idea that he would leave them behind was actually rather sad. The thought of saying goodbye to Mia made his heart tremble. She meant too much. Their conversations late at night cuddled together meant too much for him to just leave.
He loved her. He loved those kids.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. It wasn't lust or friendship. It was love. He loved those kids like they were his own, and he loved Mia even more. She completed him in a way that he never expected to find.
As much as he wanted to go back to his old life, his heart wanted to stay here too. He wanted both lives. Was it possible that he could have his life here and in California?
“Thank you for telling me, Brian,” Carter said, putting a smile on his face. This was supposed to be good news. “Let me know when he's been apprehended.”
Brian nodded and turned to continue patrolling the ranch. Carter watched him for a moment before turning around and going back to Star Dreamer and his mother. The colt whinnied and danced like it had been weeks instead of minutes since Carter left him. He was going to have to leave Star Dreamer too, he realized.
The little horse tucked his head under Carter's hand, positioning his head so that Carter would scratch the spot behind his ears that always seemed to be itchy. Carter chuckled and began scratching as the colt sighed with pleasure.
Carter stood in the meadow with his horses and stared at the horizon. He was trying to come up with a way that he could still be here and at his plant in California. Or maybe Mia could move? But the kids were in the system here. They couldn't go to California, and there was no way that Mia would leave them.
He sighed and shifted his feet. There had to be a way that he could have his old life with the people that he loved in his current one.
There had to be.
Chapter 31
Mia
“Are you okay, Mia?” Grayson asked, tugging gently on Mia's hand as they walked to the barn for their Wednesday work session.
“Hmm? Oh, I'm fine,” she replied, giving herself a shake and smiling down at him. Her thoughts had been on the baby growing in her stomach.
“Carter says that you can't let your thoughts wander when you're working with the horses,” Grayson informed her. “You need to use your full brain.”
Mia chuckled. “It's a good thing I'm not working with the horses today then, huh?”
On impulse, she knelt down and pulled the little boy into a hug. Grayson happily hugged her back. She took a deep breath in, pulling in his strawberry scented shampoo mixed with the sunshine in his hair. It smelled like innocence to her. He would never be this little again. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“You sure you're okay?” Grayson asked, pulling back. He frowned a little, and she realized she'd hugged him for a long time.
“I am,” she promised. “Go catch up with your brother and sister. I need to go talk to Carter.”
“Okay,” he agreed before sprinting off down the path and into the barn.
Mia blinked back the sudden surprise tears and tried to gather herself. The hormones had her crying at everything it seemed like. It made what she was going to do today even harder. She knew she needed to tell Carter about the baby.
“I don't want kids.” Carter's voice whispered through her mind. The conversation rippled through her head, telling her that this was a bad idea. He didn't want to be a father. He wouldn't want this life growing inside of her.
Tears threatened to fill her again. She wanted this life. And she knew she needed to tell him. It was the right thing to do.
Why tell him now? A voice in her mind whispered. What if you miscarry? Why not wait until things are more certain?
She sighed. She'd had this conversation with herself for the past twenty-four hours nonstop. She wasn't sure what was the right time to tell him was, but she knew that the sooner she did, the less she'd stress over it. Honesty was the best policy. That's what she told her kids, so she needed to be a good role model and do it herself.