Chapter 1

Mia

“Are you the parent or legal guardian of Grayson and Alexander Fitch?”

The cold voice on the other end of the phone made Mia's heart drop.

“I'm their social worker, Mia Amesworth,” she replied, slowly stopping as she walked through the outdoor parking lot of the grocery store. “Are they okay?”

“The boys broke into Stone Mountain Ranch, ma'am.” The voice was authoritative and uncompromising.

“Grayson and Alexander did what?” Mia came to an immediate and abrupt halt. It was a good thing no one else was leaving the building yet, or she probably would have been hit by a car since she was standing in the middle of the road.

“They broke into Stone Mountain Ranch, ma'am,” the voice repeated. “The boys said the person to contact about this was you.”

“Have the police been contacted?” Mia asked as she started walking as quickly as possible toward her car. If she sped, she might be able to make it to the ranch before the police took the boys into custody. She thought about dropping her groceries and just running to the car.

“No ma'am,” the male voice replied. “We wanted to inform you first.”

Mia threw her groceries into the trunk without looking and slammed the door shut. “I'll be there in five minutes,” she promised. “If yo

u could wait to contact the police until I get there, I would appreciate it.”

“Five minutes,” the voice repeated and then hung up.

Mia cursed and sent a plea out into the universe that there wouldn't be any speed traps on the ten-minute drive to the ranch. She was afraid the universe might put all red stoplights on her route just to spite the boys. It seemed like the universe didn't like them much recently.

She gunned the engine in her small car and flew like a bat out of hell from the grocery store parking lot. She didn't care that her eggs were squished up against the milk or that the pint of mint chocolate-chip ice cream she had treated herself to was going to melt. She was going to save those boys.

Luckily, all the cops seemed to be elsewhere as she flew up the winding road to Stone Mountain Ranch. Mia racked her brain trying to come up with a valid reason for Grayson and Alexander to be at the ranch. Stone Mountain Ranch was a local horse ranch in the small mountain town of Silver Springs with nothing particularly special about it. It was said to be owned by a billionaire, but that he was almost never there. It was more of a local rumor that a billionaire owned the place than an actual fact. Even the name of the supposed billionaire owner changed based on who was telling the story.

There was no good reason for the boys to be there. Grayson was seven and Alexander was eleven, so they couldn't be looking for work. They'd both been raised in the city with their older sister, Lily, and as far as Mia knew, neither of the boys had a reason to want to see horses. Lily maybe, but not the boys.

Mia stepped down harder on the gas pedal, needing to get to the ranch as quickly as possible. If the police were involved, it would be the end of the small family she had worked so hard to save. Lily and her brothers were on their last foster home. If anything happened, they were going to have to be broken up, and that was the last thing Mia wanted.

A girl was walking alongside the road as it turned to gravel from pavement. Mia slammed on the brakes and skidded slightly on the empty road to come to a stop next to the young woman.

“Lily?” Mia called out, rolling down her window.

Lily coughed and waved away some dust. Her shoulders sagged as she saw who it was. “Hi, Mia.”

“What are you doing out here?” Mia asked.

“Going for a walk?” Lily shrugged and offered a fake smile. “You know since I can't drive for another month?”

“Sure. That sounds almost reasonable.” Mia shook her head and gave the girl a hard stare. “Get in the car. I've got to pick up your brothers.”

Lily’s shoulders slumped further as she hurried to the passenger door and got into the car. She belted herself in and stared at her dusty tennis shoes saying nothing.

Mia just put the car back into gear and continued toward the ranch. One of the big horse barns was visible coming up over the hill. Mia was headed for the main house, though. She had been to the ranch once for a fundraiser, so she at least had some idea where she was going.

“Mia?” Lily bit her lip as dark hair fell across her furrowed brow. “How much trouble are Grayson and Alexander in?”

Mia kept her eyes on the road, looking for the sign that pointed to the main house. “I don't know. I'm hoping to beat the cops there, but I'm about thirty seconds late at this point.”

“Cops?” Lily shrank in her seat and wrapped her arms around her small frame.

“Yes, cops,” Mia replied. “You were supposed to be watching them.”

“I don't know what happened. We were all in the kitchen together, and then they said they were going to watch a movie.” Lily shrank a little further into herself as her hair fell further in front of her face. “I came to make sure they weren't watching one of the scary ones that gives Grayson nightmares, but they were gone. They'd left cartoons on so I wouldn't hear them leave.”

“And you didn't call me? Or Margie?” Mia asked, frowning at Lily. “Your foster mom should have been the first call.”

“Margie was at her bridge game, and you know how hard it’s been for her with the three of us in her house,” Lily explained. “I didn't want to bother her. I thought I could find them before they got into trouble and no one would ever know.”

Mia stopped sharply in front of the big farm house, making both of them lurch in their seats. She turned and looked at Lily. “Cops, Lily. They are going to call the police on your brothers. You should have called me.”

“I'm sorry, Mia,” Lily said softly, staring at her feet. “Please don't let them take my brothers away from me.”

Mia recognized the tone of Lily's voice. Heartbreak with a touch of terror. It nearly broke Mia's heart. The two boys were all Lily had, and Lily was all those boys had. If she were just a few years older, Lily would have taken custody of both of them. Mia knew how hard Lily was working to keep her small family together.

“I'm going to do my best, Lily,” Mia promised, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. “I don't want them to break you up, you know that. I think you need to be together. That's why I got Margie out of retirement to take the three of you when no one else would.”

Lily nodded and looked at Mia with big brown eyes. “I know you'll help us, Mia. You're the only one since Gran who has ever helped us.”

Mia gave Lily's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and put on a confident smile. “Let's go get your brothers out of trouble.”

“Can I come in with you?” Lily asked, her brown eyes fierce. “It's my fault that they were out here.”

Mia paused, about to tell her to stay in the car, but she changed her mind. Having Lily as a backup to help keep her brothers calm while Mia dealt with the adults would be useful.

Luckily, the only cars in front of the farmhouse appeared to be security hired by the ranch rather than police cruisers. Mia breathed a small sigh of relief as she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She squared her shoulders and put on her best 'I'm in charge' face.

The door swung open, revealing a tall man in ranch gear. He was tall and obviously built for hard labor. His plaid shirt hugged his shoulders down to a trim waist with well-worn cowboy boots on his feet. Blue eyes peered at her from a sun-tanned face and wind-whipped dirty blond hair.

“These your boys?” the man asked gruffly, crossing his arms. He opened the door a little wider to reveal Alexander and Grayson sitting nervously on a couch surrounded by four armed guards. It seemed a bit of overkill for an eleven and seven-year-old, but given that this was a billionaire's play ranch, she wasn't too surprised. A billionaire could afford the best.

Tags: Krista Lakes Kinds of Love Billionaire Romance
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