CarterFire engulfed the parking garage, a demon of red and orange that relentlessly pursued him. The heat of the flames licked at his skin and singed his eyebrows. His lungs struggled for oxygen as the fire stole it with every desperate inhale.Carter coughed and tried to run from the fire, but his feet were stuck to the ground. He forced his legs to move, but every step was like through quicksand. His eyes watered with the acrid smoke of burning plastic and metal. Sweat drenched his body as he struggled to get away.Somehow the flames grew. Carter panicked, his feet turning to stone as the flames consumed him.And then he woke up.Carter sat straight up in bed, gasping for air and clawing at his bed-sheets. It was just a nightmare. It was the nightmare he'd had every night since the incident.He sucked in the clean mountain air, trying to convince his lungs that he wasn't still trapped in the smoke and fire of the dream. His heart rate was through the roof, and he was going to need
MiaMia appraised the brown quarter horse in front of her, not quite entirely sure how confident she felt getting back up on the horse by herself. The gelding looked steady enough, but it had been a long time since Mia had been on a horse. She remembered it being fun, but she didn't remember the horses looking quite so big. She decided to wait a moment before getting on. The kids would probably need her help.“Why do I have to wear a helmet?” Alexander asked, looking askance at the riding helmet they all had to wear. He held it in front of him like it smelled as he waited to get up on his horse. “Cowboys wear hats.”“You wear it because I like your head in one piece,” Mia told him. “And you need more practice to be a cowboy.”Alexander opened his mouth to complain, but Carter held up a helmet of his own.“I'm wearing a helmet,” Carter informed him, putting the heavy helmet on his own head. He shrugged like it was nothing. “These don't blow off in the wind, so I actually like it better
MiaLaura led the line of horses up a path away from the ranch. They were still in the foothills, but it was close enough to a mountain ride to feel on top of the world. Wildflowers, pine trees, and panoramic views for as far as she could see surrounded her. The scent of pine and dry grass warmed by the sunshine filled her nose. Peaceful was the best word Mia could think of to describe the beauty of the mountains.Mia and Carter talked and laughed as they rode their horses. They stayed slightly back behind the kids, enjoying their private conversation. Mia couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this hard. Carter kept cracking jokes and flirting with her the entire ride up into the foothills. This was the best day she'd had in a long time.After about an hour, the path opened to a small meadow. The yellowing grass waved gently in the cool breeze with the mountains capped in snow behind in the distance.“Who wants to go a little faster?” Laura asked the kids as Mia and Carter cau
Mia“Grayson!” Mia screamed again, urging her horse to go after him. Her horse refused to budge. She had no idea what she was going to do, but Grayson was in big trouble. The horse was flying across the meadow and he was barely hanging on, his hands tangled in the mane and his little legs gripping on tight.Carter was three steps ahead of her. He knew what to do and had his horse ready to go. Using his larger horse's speed, he easily caught up to Grayson's panicked mare. He was able to use his own horse to slow down the terrified mare and finally bring her to a stop.“Grayson!” Mia finally got her horse to stop being afraid of whatever he saw in the grass and she galloped him over to where Grayson was. His poor little face was sheet white and his eyes the size of dinner plates. Carter helped him unclench his hands from the mane and slide down onto the hard ground where his knees promptly gave out.Mia was off her horse and hugging the boy as fast as she could move. Grayson shook like
CarterThe piece of fabric hanging from Carter's porch fluttered in the slight breeze. It would have been picturesque, if not for the words “YOUR FAULT”, which were written in what could either be blood or red paint. Carter hoped it was paint.Carter's hands shook as he came back into the house. He no longer felt safe here. He felt like running to the nearest police station and simply taking up residence. But he was done running. Whoever was doing this was going to chase him across the globe. It was best to stay here, where he could control things and make plans. He held the high ground, even if it didn't feel like it at the moment.“Are you okay, sir?” Brian asked, coming up behind him.“I'm fine.” Carter already knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. The dreams of fire were already in his mind.“The bomb squad says that it would never have gone off,” Brian informed him. “The threading on the head of the pipe bomb wasn't tight enough.”“That's comforting.” Carter turned fr
MiaThe sun slowly slid down behind the mountains, pulling them up over herself like they were a giant blanket. The sky was awash with pinks and golds that reflected off the snow capped peaks making the world look more like a painting than real life. Mia took a deep breath in and tried to save this moment. It was going to be their second to last time on the ranch, and she wanted to remember it like this.The window was basically paid off. Even if Carter only had paid the kids the barest of wages and purchased the most expensive window possible, the work was still done. They were only on the schedule one more time. It made Mia's heart ache in a way she hadn't been expecting. She found herself looking forward to these trips. Though, if she was really being honest with herself, it was seeing Carter that she really looked forward to, not the horses and watching the kids work.“Mia?” Laura asked, touching her arm and pulling her away from the sunset. She wore a hopeful smile. “I wanted to
MiaHopeful Dreamer was inside a large stall, looking huge and ready to pop, though Mia would never tell her that. The mare's tail was neatly wrapped up and tied back out of the way and she looked at the two of them as they entered. Mia could have sworn the mare rolled her eyes at them as if to say, “Oh good, more people to watch me. Fabulous. Just what I wanted.”“I actually had some more questions for you on the car design,” Carter murmured, still looking at the mare. He'd dropped his hand when they'd reached the stall and Mia found herself wishing he'd put in back on her.“I'm happy to help,” Mia replied. Her stomach got all giddy again at the thought that she had an excuse to be with him.He motioned to a bench along the back side of the barn and together they sat down and started talking.“What did you think of the trunk? Was the trunk size appropriate?” Carter asked, pulling up the designs on the phone.“Depends on if you like some junk in your trunk,” Mia replied automatically.
CarterEverything was quiet in the black of the night. The barn was dark and the only sound was the gentle breaths of breathing creatures. Moonlight softly filtered through an open window and the electric lantern was turned down as low as possible while they waited. Carter was sure that he was the only one awake in the entire world, and right now, that was okay with him.Mia was sleeping on his shoulder. He didn't dare move, despite the fact that his nose itched, his right foot was asleep, and there was a piece of straw poking at his left ankle. The last thing in the entire world that he wanted was to wake her up and have her move away from him. The way her body pressed against his, even just platonically, was heaven.He smiled at her as she slept. They'd been sitting on the bench, talking about the kids and cars and various other topics. The conversation had drifted back to his cars, and she'd asked him some questions that took a while to explain. He'd started talking and realized sh