Between Hope & the Highway (52 page)

I retrieved my duffel bag from my truck. “Don’t let her leave. I have to talk to her.”

“Lizzie’s here ’til dark, cowboy. Now shoo. I’ll keep her in the stable so you can make a grand entrance, no?” She laughed

I scrambled around the gate and into the house, baffled at how fate had brought us together…well, almost. I needed to clean up first so I didn’t repel her. After changing, I washed my hair under the sink and splashed cologne on. Heading to the stable, I wondered how to make a grand entrance. Should I strut in all cowboy and act as though I hadn’t seen her? Or should I yell her name and run to her like I wanted? Would that appear desperate?

As I spotted Lizzie at the end of the aisle with Viktorya, I had to make an effort to breathe. She was so beautiful with her curly hair all pulled back in a ponytail. I’d always teased her about those, but they’d grown on me. Not watching where I was going, my foot hit something with substance…something that moved and yelped. Stumbling, I lost my balance and planted face first into sawdust. A mutt dog streaked past my head as I spit out muck and looked up at the woman I’d never stopped loving. So much for my grand entrance.

Lizzie’s mouth hung open. “Rawson Law?”

I scrambled to my feet and brushed dust from my clothes. “The one and only,” I muttered.

A high-pitched squeal split the air as she ran over to hug me. I was so thoroughly surprised that I pulled a Mackay and let my arms dangle at my side. Never had I imagined a positive reaction from her. She’d been so devastated when she left me at the airport last summer.

She pulled away and blushed. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Viktorya elbowed me. “I’m going in. You two feel free to ride horses…or go somewhere dark and private, no?” She winked.

I watched Lizzie bite her lip and squirm. Clearly, she didn’t feel comfortable with Viktorya’s teasing.

“Uh, do you want to see my new foals?” I asked to break the awkwardness Vikky left in her wake.

“I’d love to.”

Feeling giddy as a high school kid on a first date, I gestured for her to follow and walked behind the stable where Viktorya had let me turn the two foals I’d purchased out to graze. Entering the paddock, I swallowed hard to moisten my throat. I felt more nervous than a hen in a fox hole.

“I bought him in Temeculah. His pedigree’s faultless.”

Liz put her hand on the young bay’s neck and closed her eyes. As the foal nibbled at her shirt, she rubbed him and talked in her sweet voice horses loved—that I loved.

“He’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.” She was.

“Do you want to ride?”

“Yeah.” She must think me the king of idiots with my one word responses, but it was all I could manage with my tongue-tied mouth.

She led me to the tack room where I saddled a large black that reminded me of Goliath. “That’s Bo Jangles,” she said as she led a bay roan out and started loving on him. “And this is Strawberry Patches. I call him Patches to make him feel manly.”

I chuckled as I tightened straps. “I’m sure he appreciates that.”

She walked away without saddling her horse. I marched out after her. In the arena, she grabbed hold of the mane and swung herself onto Patches’ back. I’d seen her do it before at the ranch, but had never gotten over the surprise. Lizzie was so delicate; the horses so massive. Yet she could jump, pull, and swing all in one flowing motion and be on the back of the mighty creature as I sat with my mouth gaping open wondering how she’d done it.

Liz sank onto the gelding’s back, her head cradled into its neck with a contented smile. As her boot dug into his side, Patches took off. She clung to his mane as she guided him around the arena with her fingers along his ears—a trick of hers I’d never been able to duplicate.

I climbed onto Bo Jangles and trotted after her. “You sure you don’t want a saddle?” I asked.

“I haven’t been on a horse since I left Montana. I’m kind of enjoying riding bareback.”

I had to admit, she was breathtaking all molded into the roan’s body. After several laps around the arena, we walked our mounts.

“Could I take you to dinner?”

Her expressive brown eyes widened. “Do you want to?”

“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

“You must really be hungry.”

I stifled a grin. “You could say that.”

We looked at each other, trying to read almost a year’s worth of emotion in each other’s eyes. Patches bit Bo’s neck, breaking the spell. I slid off my horse and led him to his stall. We untacked and brushed our mounts before Liz headed to a Fiat that’d seen better days.

“I’ll drive so we don’t have to unhitch your trailer.”

She drove us to a Wendy’s. When I’d asked her to dinner, I planned on somewhere fancy and quiet, not fast and easy. But with her driving, I’d lost my man card. Trying to earn it back, I touched her hand as she ejected her keys.

“Let me get your door.”

I stepped out and jogged to her side. Opening her door, I reached for her hand. “My lady.”

She grinned at my Prince Charles impression and placed her dainty hand in mine. It was all I could do to keep from clutching her to me. We walked inside and stood in line to order. When she dug into her purse, I shook my head.

“Are you trying to de-man me? I asked you to dinner, so I’ll pay.” I handed my credit card to the pimply faced teen.

“I don’t want to feel obligated to—”

I placed a finger over her lips. “You’re under no obligation to sit and talk. I hope you will. I came all this way hoping to find you, but if you still don’t want anything to do with me, you can leave. I’ll walk back to Viktorya’s.”

The cashier returned my card and receipt. “Your number’s 203.”

Liz shocked me by grabbing my hand and yanking me to a corner booth. I willingly became her victim. She pushed me onto the bench before scooting across from me.

“You came here to find me?” I’d never noticed how cute the stress lines between her eyebrows were.

“Yeah. I’ve been looking for you online for months. Viktorya told me you’d gone to South America on some adventure, so I didn’t think I’d have any luck. I know I hurt you, Liz, and I’m so sorry, but—”

“No, I’m sorry.” She reached out to grasp my hands, and I noticed tears in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have run away like I did. I was just so shocked and angry still with the man who killed Justin. When you told me about the accident, I kind of lost it. It wasn’t fair to take out my—”

I stood and growled. “Scoot over.”

Sliding onto the opposite bench, I threw my arm around her. And just like that, the tension between us disappeared. Lizzie laid her head on my shoulder and the last miserable year fell away as my senses received sweet overload.

I traced hearts into her upper arm. “Can we start over?”

She sniff-laughed. “Please. I’ve learned a lot over the past year and hope I’m better now.”

I caressed her face. “You’re perfect.”

“203!” A worker yelled our number.

Releasing an irritated breath, I rested my forehead against hers. “Don’t move a muscle.”

“I’ll be here.”

Practically running to the front, I returned with a tray of food and gave her a silly grin as I divvied up our chow. “You know, when I asked you to dinner, I was thinking more along the lines of a fancy steak house, but this is so much better.”

Her laugh came out a sharp bark, and her elbow jabbed me.

“Oww. What was that for?” I chortled as I bit into my hamburger. “You trying to get fresh with me, woman?”

She laughed in the middle of sipping Coke. I patted her back as she held a hand to her mouth until she could swallow. “Stop making me laugh.”

“Stop making it so fun to watch you laugh then.”

My inner organs were drunk with happiness as we stared at each other, unable to get enough of each other’s faces. I ran my thumb across her knuckles.

“I’m so glad you found me,” she murmured.

As she went on to tell me about what she’d gone through over the last year, I soaked up her every facial nuance and emotional tone. How I’d missed her! A glance at my watch as I finished my Frosty showed we’d been talking for over an hour. I didn’t want to stop, but we were in a dang Wendy’s and a crowd of rowdy teens had taken over the booth behind us.

We walked out to her Fiat. As I opened her door, I reached up and brushed her curly long bangs to the side. “I like these. You don’t look like a strict librarian anymore.”

“You’re obnoxious.”

My cheeks hurt from grinning. “And you’re more beautiful than I remember.” I blew her a kiss as I walked around the car to claim my seat next to her. We returned to Viktorya’s, but when she parked behind my trailer, neither of us opened our doors.

“I’m sorry about your dad.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I miss him.”

“Viktorya told me you moved in with your mom.”

She nodded. “She tried to overdose on some pills after the funeral.”

I closed my eyes. “That sucks.”

“I won’t lie. It’s been hard.”

I touched her chin. “I love how loyal you are.”

“Your
Love Triangle
game saved me. Remember how you used to make me play that with you?”

“You hated it.”

“I’ve learned its value. After Dad died, I discovered Mom had bipolar disorder. I seem to trigger her nasty side, so I’ve had to become a pro at your game to survive her verbal attacks.”

The thought of anyone belittling Lizzie angered me. For it to be her own mother made me absolutely furious. I took a long, cleansing breath to keep from ranting. “Can you give me a demonstration? All I recall is how much you sucked at the game. You came up with the lamest loves—like your toes or your beating heart.” I gasped. “Not that you suck or are lame. Gosh, that came out terrible.”

She laughed. “No, you’re right. I sucked. It was so hard to see anything good in myself when Mom had told me for so long everything that was wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. I definitely have my share of faults, but the past few months have forced me to dig deep in order to keep from succumbing to despair.”

“I love your smile.”

She gifted me with another one. “I love my smile too.”

“What else do you love?”

“My hair, especially in a stern librarian ponytail.” Her lips twitched as I reached to pull the elastic from her hair. Curls fell around her face and over her shoulder. “I also love my hair curling wildly around me.” She closed her eyes as I ran my fingers through her vibrant curls. “And I adore my hair when your fingers get all tangled in it.”

“My, my. You have become skilled at this game. What else?”

“My neck.” I watched her gulp and peek up at me.

“What about it?”

Her minty breath brushed my forehead as I leaned in to plant my lips on the graceful tilt of her throat.

“I love how sensitive it is to your lips,” she sighed.

The emergency brake dug into my side as I leaned over to properly nibble. She’d given me all the permission I needed with those words.

“Oh, Rawson, I’ve missed you.”

I trailed kisses down her neck and worked my way back up to her chin. “Not a day’s gone by that I haven’t missed you too, sweetheart.” I flicked my tongue out and heard an accompanying moan. The way her throat vibrated with sound aroused me like gas on a flame. I forced myself to pull back so my brain could function.

As she caught her breath, she said, “I can’t believe you want anything to do with me after I ran away when you needed me. That was cruel.”

I pressed my finger to her freckled nose. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for girls named Lizzie.”

She frowned. “Are you okay now? Did rehab help?”

“I’m much better now, especially now that I’m with you.” She raised a pretty eyebrow, so I explained. “I didn’t know you were gone until I got home at the end of summer. When I discovered you left and Damon had been sent to prison, I got super depressed. I tried to stay busy—volunteering in Benny’s Scout troop, putting in extra time at the ranch—but nothing helped.Then Addie got sick and needed a kidney. I was a match, so I gave her mine in November. I had complications and only started getting up and about two months ago. But saving my sister’s life turned my own around. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did to my brothers, but it’s meant everything to me.”

Her eyes glistened.

“I’ve been going to church too.”

She smiled.

“God’s been good to me. Life hasn’t been perfect. Heck, some of it’s been plain miserable, but I feel peace now that I never did before. I’ve accepted the part I played in the accident, but know my life doesn’t consist of that one moment. I can be a better man today than I was yesterday.”

“I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You love me?”

A tear trickled down her cheek. “Yes, Stash.” Though quiet, her answer echoed in my heart.

“That’s good, Praline, because I felt complete those months we were together, and have had a huge chunk missing from my heart since you left. I’m glad you left though, because I had to dig deep to find myself, and I feel a tiny bit worthier of you now than I did back then.” I paused, but couldn’t look away from her misty brown eyes. “I know I’m not perfect; heck, I’m as imperfect as they come, but I don’t have any secrets to hide from you anymore, and I know that no man can offer you the love I have. It’s real. It’s true. And it’s all yours if you’ll just say you’ll marry me.”