Between Hope & the Highway

by Charissa Stastny

  “Why can’t you take Seth or Chance?” I’d never met out-of-town clients, and didn’t relish the thought of starting now. I worked well with horses, not people.

  “Dad wants to unload Arabella off on him since the guy’s loaded. I thought I’d better take you in case Bella gets in one of her moods. Besides, you’re the boss.”

  “Oh, please. You never cared that I was the boss before.” I didn’t want to drive to Bozeman and blow my schedule to pieces for a high-pedigreed hormonal mare…or man. Rawson Law made me crazy. One minute I wished he’d break a leg so I didn’t have to work with him; the next I was saving his sorry hide from certain death. That tall gray would’ve made mincemeat of him three days ago if I hadn’t intervened. I watched those hoofs stamp right next to his handsome face, yet he walked away without a scratch. I, on the other hand, didn’t fare as well. Sidekick Shooter threw me against the gate and split my eyebrow open before I could get a firm grip on his reins.

  You’d think my heroics and blood donation would have earned a simple Thank You from that arrogant cowboy, but no. Rawson Law was too proud to stoop to such civilized behavior. The jerk disappeared and left all the work to me—again—and then handed me his watch two days ago and considered us even. As if a stupid Swiss watch equated to saving his life. He probably planted the glitzy Tagheuer timepiece on me so he could have me arrested for stealing it.

  “I’ll be done loading horses soon, so get a move on it, boss.” The dang ornery cowboy hung up before I could protest.

  I stomped my boot.

  When I met Rawson at his truck after putting Peaches away, he raised a brow. “I guess I should’ve told you to spruce up a bit.”

  I grit my teeth. “We’re not heading to a beauty pageant.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but Dad said this guy’s big in the horse world.”

  I opened the passenger side door. “Then he’ll understand crap on my boots.” I climbed into the cab of his black beast and slammed the door.

  He jumped in beside me, and silence tensed like a balloon too full to hold one more puff of air. I peeked to see why he hadn’t started the engine, and found him staring at me. Anyone else would’ve been embarrassed to be caught gawking but Rawson had the confidence of ten men. He waggled his brows.

  “What are you looking at?” I tried to sound tough, but failed judging by how he laughed.

  “You’re adorable.”

  “Shut up. You just told me I looked like crap.”

  “I said no such thing.”

  “You said I should’ve spruced up.”

  “You’re a mite dusty, but nothing a little brushing off won’t fix.” He winked. “I’ll volunteer for the job.”

  I folded my arms across my chest. “Just drive, will you?”

  He chuckled and pulled onto the lane leaving the ranch. I took a deep breath, having a feeling this would be a long ride. A few miles down the road, I cringed when he opened his mouth again.

  “When I mentioned sprucing up, I didn’t mean you looked bad.”

  Breathe in…hold. Exhale all doubts. Breathe in the good…hold. I focused all my negative energy into each exhalation since the man beside me wouldn’t shut up.

  “You look great, except for the ponytail.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “And what else do you find wrong with me, oh, mighty model boy? I’m waiting with baited breath for you to list my faults.”

  For a moment, he had the decency to look chagrined. “Just your ponytail. The stern librarian look isn’t quite what I had in mind for this meeting.”

  I couldn’t hold back the deluge that’d built up in me over the years. “Well, let me give you the rest so you don’t feel the need to remind me of them later. I’m too skinny, I have big feet, I bite my nails, I’m small-chested, my hair gets frizzy in the rain, my lips are too thin, my skin’s freckled, my chin’s too pointy, I’m too opinionated and have an obnoxious laugh. Oh, and I’ve worn the same sweatshirt out mucking stalls for the last week.”

  It wasn’t until his hand covered mine that I realized he’d stopped in the middle of the road.

  “Where is this all coming from?” He tilted my chin. “I don’t know who told you all that, but they must have been jealous. I’d call your chin perky. And you’re not skinny, you’re as willowy and graceful as any model. I’ve never noticed your big feet, but don’t know why I’d care unless I was a bug about to be squashed by your boot.”

  A smile formed against my will.

  “What else did you say?” His grin turned mischievous as he looked south. “Your girls are just fine, like your chin.”

  I sputtered and pushed his head up into a proper position.

  He chuckled. “Your lips”—he traced them, making goosebumps form all the way down my arms—“they’re just right. You don’t want no Angelina Jolie’s hanging out there to catch flies, do you?”

  As I laughed, he gave me a tender smile that stopped me cold. It wasn’t the cocky one he usually sported or the mischievous one…not even his sexy one. I’d only seen him smile this way at his sister. He reached out and ran a finger over the bandage above my eye—the one I’d earned saving his stupid life.

  My body went nuts, tingling and mingling and jingling like a Vegas casino. If I’d been thinking straight, I would have smacked his fingers and not been tempted by the devil. I’d always believed Satan was real, and if he showed himself to mortals it wouldn’t be in some demonic form with horns and a creeper-stache, but rather he’d take on the form of the hottest man alive—one like Rawson Law with his luscious looking lips, beautiful Caribbean blue eyes, and just enough stubble on his face to make a girl all weak-kneed. Who could say no to temptation like that? You’d have to be saint-sitized to resist a man who looked like Rawson Law when he acted all tender and sweet, which I’d never been on the receiving end of so far.

  “I like your laugh and your freckles. And when you get on a horse and ride, I think you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.” The sexy bass tone of his voice hypnotized me. He smiled, and dang if his smile didn’t do things to me that were totally not right. I’d have to repent as soon as I made it home.

  My breath hitched in my throat as he pulled the elastic from my hair. As crazy curls tumbled over my shoulders, I self-consciously smoothed them back to pen up again.

  He caught my hands. “No, leave it. Your hair’s gorgeous.”

  He had to be kidding. Suddenly, it dawned on me that he was totally messing with me. All his words were a joke. Mortified that I’d been played, I pulled back and glared at him.

  “We’re going to be late.” I folded my arms over my small, not perky, chest and clenched my jaw. He was the cruelest man alive.

  “You okay?” he asked as he pulled forward. He almost sounded like he cared, but I wouldn’t be fooled twice.

  “Where’s my elastic?”

  He lowered his window, making curls whip about my face.

  “Give me my hair band.”

  Rawson waved his fingers in front of me. As I reached for my black elastic, he tossed it out the window.

  “Aghhh!” I punched his shoulder. “I needed that to hold back this mess.”

  “Believe me, I did you a favor.”

  I scowled at the window and ignored the dumb man until we arrived at the campus and unloaded horses. After meeting the Lincolns—father and daughter who owned a horse-racing business in Kentucky—we set to work. Or rather I did. Rawson schmoozed as I saddled and unsaddled horses for him to parade around the arena. The man preened like a peacock for Mr. Lincoln’s daughter, who had to be thirty if she was a day. Though she claimed to be country, her thick makeup, stylish clothes and gaudy jewelry screamed city-bred princess. Mom would have loved her.

  At one point, I had the unfortunate luck to stand beside her as Rawson rode past on Admiral Rackbar, an athletic black gelding. She dished attention on him thick as gravy, clapping and squealing like a high school cheerleader hyped up on Mountain Dew.

  “That
man is so scrumptious. I’d love to—” I won’t repeat the rest of her crude monologue. I must have hissed, because she turned and drawled, “Oh, sorry, honey. Are you two a thang?”

  “Most definitely not.”

  Her tittering laughter was phonier than her eyelashes. “I knew that, hun. I’m just playing.” The snide jab stung more than I liked.

  As Rawson rode up to us, she fluttered her eyelashes and kicked into cougar mode. Rubbing Rawson’s leg, she said in a breathy voice, “I love the horse, but I only want him if it comes with you attached, sugar.” Her hands moved up to his powerful thigh. “Seriously, if you want a change of scenery, you have a job at our racing facility…and whatever else you want.”

  I rolled my eyes and made a hasty exit. As I saddled Houdini, I hoped the arrogant man would take her up on her offer. He deserved the horrid woman.

  A few minutes later, he sidled up behind me and scared me out of my boots when he grabbed me around the waist.

  “Play along,” he whispered. “This woman’s a nightmare.”

  He kissed my cheek and stood tall again, clasping my one hand as his other tugged one of my curls.

  The busty blonde gaped at us. I felt as stunned as she appeared.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Rawson said, “come on back and keep Kelsey company while I talk business with her father. We’re done looking at horses. He wants Admiral and Indigo…maybe even Bella.”

  The blonde’s eyes narrowed. “You told me you two weren’t an item.”

  Rawson’s hand clenched mine.

  “You asked if we were a thing,” I said slowly, trying to help him for some inexplicable reason, “and we’re not. Thing implies an inanimate object. We don’t use such sterile words to talk about relationships out here in the West. We’re a couple.”

  He guffawed, making me smile. But as he wrapped an arm around me again, I froze even as my body buzzed as though an electrical current zipped through my veins. I frowned, confused by my treacherous reaction to his touch. His hand dropped to my waist, keeping the current alive.

  “Lizzie’s an English major. She takes words way too literally. Drives me crazy.” He leaned down to plant another kiss on my cheek. “But I still love her…crazy, analytical mind and all.”

  I scowled. He’d totally used me to save his arrogant neck, and now had the audacity to mock me? I wanted to smack him, but instead, found myself enduring the bimbo’s company as he finalized the sale with Mr. Lincoln in an air-conditioned office downstairs. Miss Hoochie ramped up the crass factor when we were alone.

  “How’s that man in bed, hun? I bet he’s incredible.”

  I pushed an obnoxious curl over my ear. “We don’t believe in premarital sex. We’re saving ourselves until marriage.”

  A wicked gleam sparked in her overdone eyes. “You mean Rawson Law’s a virgin?”

  “A virgin piña colada.” It was the only drink I could think of offhand. Feeling like a dweeb, I hurried to excuse myself. “I need to start loading horses. Nice to meet you, Miss Lincoln.” A bold-faced lie if ever I told one.

  As I finished loading the last horse, Rawson materialized and wrapped his arms around me again. I jumped as he nestled his stubbled chin into my neck. The tingling sensation he evoked sent delightful shivers clear down to my toes.

  “You ready to go, babycakes?”

  Goosebumps erupted as he rubbed his chin against my neck. I tried to escape, but Blondie stood nearby and Rawson acted for all he was worth. Twisting me, he pulled me close and leaned in to kiss me. I threw my hand over my mouth just before his lips made contact. At this angle, the bimbo couldn’t tell he kissed the back of my hand quite passionately. Thank goodness for small mercies. I might have passed out if he’d gone at my lips with such gusto.

  When he paused to wink at me, I whispered, “I hate your guts.”

  His blue-green eyes crinkled. “I know.” He grabbed my slobbery hand and said over his shoulder, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Kelsey.” He doffed his hat and closed the trailer. Opening my door, he helped me inside his flashy truck. “There you go, sweetheart.”

  When he climbed in the driver’s side, I hauled off and punched his leg. “I can’t believe you kissed my hand like that.”

  “I was going for your lips.”

  “Gross!”

  He laughed and glanced out the window. Catching Kelsey watching us like lab rats, he leaned over to peck my cheek.

  “Kiss me again and I’ll deck you,” I said between clenched teeth.

  “It might be worth it, especially if you move your hand.”

  “You’re impossible.”

  He waved as we pulled away from the arena. “I owe you big time for saving me from that blond nightmare. Thanks for playing along.”

  “You kind of forced me to,” I grumped.

  His grin caused havoc in my heart. “Did you see her face when you said all that garbage about what thing implied? It was difficult to keep a straight face.”

  I stuck my tongue out, making him chortle.

  “Ah, Lizzie, you’re all right.”

  “And you’re an idiot.”

  He grabbed my hand. “How about we stop for ice cream? You deserve something decadent for your acting skills.”

  I pulled my fingers away. “Just get me home.”

  He pouted, which looked extremely good on him. After we left Bozeman behind, I couldn’t help notice how he squirmed like a five-year-old needing a bathroom break. Maybe he did. I certainly wasn’t going to ask. Staring out at snow-capped mountains, I tried to pretend he wasn’t there. Unfortunately, he was like a scratch on a disc. I couldn’t stop replaying how arousing his stubbly jaw had felt against my neck. Oh my. My body resonated even now. An evil part of me wished I had let him kiss me for real just for the experience. I doubted I’d get a chance like that again.

  The truck pulling onto the side of the road snapped me out of my wicked trance. Rawson threw the truck into park and hopped out his door. When he ripped off his shirt, I gasped.

  “What are you doing?”

  Air stuck in my throat as he glanced up at me. The sight of his wide shoulders, muscular arms, and gorgeous pecs flooded my body with warmth. Satan, in all his manly glory, stood on a lonely stretch of highway in Montana, and I could not tear my gaze away.

  “I need to change shirts or I’ll lose my mind. That’s why I wanted to stop at DQ.” He pointed to my boots. “Can you reach under your seat and grab my duffel?”

  What a strange man.

  After I handed him his bag, he pulled out a silky red shirt. Although the material seemed feminine, it looked amazing once it outlined his ripped muscles.

  “Why do you change so much?”

  He shrugged. “A glitch in my system. Clothes itch, like ants biting my skin. Sweat magnifies the sensation until I can’t concentrate. Trust me. I’ll drive safer with a fresh shirt.”

  “So you’re not just vain?”

  He snort-laughed, making my stomach flip flop. I really liked his laugh. “I’m sure my vanity doesn’t help, but no, I change when I can’t endure the itching. My body has a psycho sensitivity to detergents and materials.”

  “Sounds horrible.”

  “I’m used to it.” His dazzling eyes took on a mischievous glint. “Did you really tell Kelsey I was a virgin?”

  Heat licked my cheeks.

  “No wonder she pulled me aside all hot and bothered. You made me that much more enticing by telling her I was an innocent.”

  I huffed and turned to look out the window.

  “She wanted to dig her claws into a fresh slab of meat.”

  “Oh, shut up.” I realized he was teasing me. “You’re such a fruitcake.”

  “A fruitcake? I’ve never been called that before.”

  As he hopped back in, I relaxed. He wasn’t the vain, arrogant jerk I’d pegged him to be…not completely. He had some good qualities, and didn’t seem out to get me anymore. Saving his life had reaped some benefits.

  “So,” h
e drawled, “what’s your real major, my little English Nazi who doesn’t think thing implies a relationship.”

  “Food science.”

  He appraised me for several long seconds.

  “Watch the road.” I gave him a gentle shove.

  “Oh, please. It’s straight for the next five miles.” He glanced back at me. “Food science, huh? You want to be a dietitian?”

  “Mercy, no. I’ve taken too many difficult science classes for that. I want to work for a large food manufacturer as a research chemist.”

  “Why’d you drop out and come here?”

  I frowned. “Life yanked the carpet out from under my feet and made me fall flat on my face. I haven’t quite recovered.”

  Thankfully, he didn’t push for details. “Life’s done the same to me. Almost makes me scared to stand again.”

  Usually, whenever I mentioned how difficult life was, I received platitudes meant to inspire and remind me how precious each day was. But Rawson’s honest acknowledgment soothed me in a way no faith-filled words ever had. He got it.

  “I received some helpful advice though.” He broke the comfortable bond.

  “What?”

  “Sith happens.”

  I groaned. “You and Star Wars. Do you want to be a Jedi warrior when you grow up?”

  “Jedi knight,” he corrected. “No. That’s Benny’s dream. I want to go into the bounty hunting business with Boba.”

  “You’re a nerd.” An extremely handsome, sarcastic nerd.

  After we reached the ranch and parted ways, I couldn’t help thinking how Rawson Law was like his crazy-beautiful eyes…always changing and shifting colors. Sometimes he acted chauvinistic and crude, other times he surprised me with gentleness. Today, he’d made me laugh, and I hadn’t done that in forever. I didn’t know quite what to think of him. Certainly I didn’t trust him—he was the biggest tease around—yet his kind, witty side had charmed me completely.

  Which one was the real man?

  Chapter 29