“Mia, where are you?” Grayson asked over the phone. “You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”
Mia put on her turn signal and worked her way to the edge of the highway so she could get off and head up to the ranch.
“I'm really sorry, Grayson,” Mia replied, checking her mirrors. “The traffic today is terrible. The snow is just slowing everything down.”
“How long until you get here?” the little boy asked, obviously pouting.
Mia raised her eyebrows at the phone. Grayson usually didn't care when she got to the ranch. In fact, the later she was, the happier he was because it meant more time in the barn with Star Dancer. He loved that little colt.
“Five minutes, tops,” she promised, stepping on the gas and zooming up to the dirt road leading to the ranch.
“Okay!” Grayson replied cheerfully and he ended the call. Mia shook her head and kept driving. Everyone seemed to be behaving oddly today.
First, Laura had asked the kids to come work at the ranch today, even though it wasn't their usual day. She said there was something important that she needed them to work on, but she was tight lipped about any other information. When Mia called Margie to let her know, Margie wasn't surprised. In fact, she seemed to already know about it.
Then, her boss had been strange all day. She had come and taken the kids' paperwork a couple of days before for an audit but was refusing to give it back. Mia had no idea what that was about.
Now, on her way back from work, Grayson was calling about her being late. Mia tried to think if there were any birthdays or anniversaries that she was forgetting about. She couldn't think of anything. There was no good reason for everyone to be acting so strangely.
“Must be a full moon tonight,” Mia murmured, pulling up to the ranch. “Everyone's just turning into werewolves. Or maybe they were all abducted by aliens and I'm the only human left.”
She chuckled as she pulled into the ranch. It was probably just her and her hormones. Being pregnant was doing strange things to her body. She'd never known until now just how much her state of mind depended on her hormonal balance.
As she came to a stop in front of the ranch, the front door opened and Grayson ran out. He raced to the side of the car with a huge grin on his face. He didn't have a jacket or coat on, and the white snow stood out against his dark hair.
“What are you doing out here?” Mia asked, getting out of the car. “Where's your coat?”
Grayson shrugged and took her hand, pulling her back to the house. “Come with me.”
The little boy practically vibrated with excitement. Mia wondered what in the world had him in such a state. Alexander was waiting by the door, hopping up and down as they came in.
“She's here!” Alexander yelled into the house as Mia took off her coat and set her bag down. She had to hurry because both boys grabbed her hands and pulled her down the stairs to the basement.
Carter and Lily were waiting in the common room, both with grins to match the boys. Mia was sure something was up. They had some sort of surprise for her. Her hands went to her belly. Did they know?
“What's going on?” Mia asked as Grayson and Alexander released her hands and went to stand next to Carter and Lily.
“We've been adopted,” Lily announced. Her whole face lit up with a smile as she said the words.
“What?” Mia felt the wind go out of her. No one had told her they'd been adopted. These kids were special to her. They couldn't just go to anyone! No wonder her boss had stolen their files! “Who adopted you?”
Carter stepped forward with a guilt
y smile. “I did.”
The anger of her children being sent to a stranger went out like a candle. She needed to sit down.
“What? How?” Questions swirled around in her mind, never combining to form complete sentences. Instead, she just went to the couch and sat down hard.
“Your boss and I are getting to be very good friends,” Carter replied. He sat next to her, taking her hand in his and smiling.
“You adopted them?” Joy started to warm in her heart and spread through her chest and out to her fingers and toes. If she couldn't adopt them, then Carter was the only other person in the world she was okay with them being with. She pushed away the small hurt that they would be his and not hers. That wasn't important.
“Yes,” Carter replied. He glanced at the kids who all nodded vigorously. He then took a deep breath, cleared his throat, slid off the couch and got down on one knee in front of her. “Would you join us? We're not a family without you.”
Mia stared at him as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. He flipped it open and held it out to her. Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring she'd ever seen.
“Mia Amesworth, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?” Carter asked, holding out the box.