Between Hope & the Highway Read online

  Chapter 7

  Liz

  The tinkling of silverware contacting china shattered the awkward silence in the country-red dining room. I stabbed a bite of medium-rare steak as Benny spoke to me.

  “Can you pass the rolls, please?”

  Reaching for the serving bowl, I set it next to him.

  The adorable kid grinned. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” I ate a forkful of potatoes and wondered if he’d had anything to do with his dad inviting me to eat with the family. Not that I would complain. The cuisine and atmosphere beat the bunkhouse hands down.

  “Are you riding after supper?” Mrs. Law asked. She was her handsome husband’s opposite—gentle to his rough, quiet to his bark, and kind to his brusque manner. I liked her. So did her daughter, Addie, who’d vacated her seat to play in her mom’s hair from behind the buttermilk wood chair.

  “Pretty,” she said in her deep voice.

  I tried not to let her distract me, but her habit of wandering around the table and touching everyone disturbed me. I wiped my lips. “Yes. We’ll probably ride out to the ridge.”

  As Addie messed up her mom’s shoulder-length brown hair, I thought I caught a smile cross Mr. Law’s face. He was a difficult man to read. Having been coddled all my life by my dad made being treated so gruffly by my new employer unsettling. Did he approve of me or not? The question nagged at me. Eating beside him increased my anxiety. I couldn’t help wondering if he judged the way I held my fork or slurped my soup. What if I said something inappropriate, like pronouncing almond with an Al instead of an Awl sound; that freaked Mom out big time.

  “We’re watching Phantom Menace tonight. Can you keep Addie out of our hair?” Benny asked.

  Hearing her name, his sister ran over and pointed to his plate. She grunted and tapped her fingers to her lips in the sign for eat. Benny scowled, but gave her the last of his roll, even though her own plate of food sat untouched.

  “Sure,” Mrs. Law replied.

  When I smiled at Benny, he blushed. The poor kid seemed to have a crush on me. Too bad the cute bugger wasn’t a few years older. I wrinkled my nose as I considered reality. Mom must have cursed me because I’d attended the one church congregation in small town Montana containing an eager young man determined to date. When he pestered me, I agreed to dinner, but made it clear I’d pay my own way as a friend. If he wanted a girlfriend, he needed to search elsewhere. My heart wasn’t up for that.

  After supper, I shoved my man problems aside and saddled up Blue Boy Renegade. I’d enjoyed getting to know Benny as we exercised horses each evening. He’d surprised me by the depth he revealed during our conversations. Maybe being handicapped had forced him to work on inner qualities rather than relying on outward appearance alone. He was a cool kid, and fast becoming a friend.

  “Are you going out with that city slicker from church again?” he asked.

  “Yep. We’re going to a movie tomorrow night.”

  He made a face. “Why do you like that nerd?”

  His jealous words made me feel special, not desperate like Mom did. She’d never been picky where men were concerned. Nerdy, good looking, arrogant, shy, homeless—she didn’t care, as long as I dated whoever asked.

  “First off, he’s just my friend. Mackay knows that.” Knowing and believing were two different things though. I knew he liked me more than he should even though I brought up horrid subjects while we ate like baseball, diseases one can get from working with horses, and all my flaws. “Secondly, he’s not that nerdy. He’s definitely not ruggedly handsome, but he’s okay.”

  Benny wrinkled his nose. “You deserve better than okay.”

  I giggled. “I could kiss you for that remark.”

  “I’m serious.”

  I shrugged and focused on the rays of sun shining through low-lying clouds. “Looks are overrated. I’ll take kindness over a pretty face any day.” And Mackay was kind. I had to give him that. He hadn’t even batted an eye when I described how I threw up for three days after my appendix was taken out because I was allergic to anesthesia.

  “I think you should go for a guy who’s both kind and handsome.”

  I had. And doing so had broken my heart. I leaned down to pat Blue Boy. “That combination is rare. Do you have anyone in mind?”

  He turned three shades of red as he urged Han into a trot. “I might,” he called back. “And he’ll be light years ahead of that fuzzball Mackay, I promise.”

  I grinned and urged my horse to follow. The kid was a breath of sunshine after living in a dark cave. His Star Wars obsession made me chuckle. He always threw out quotes and had determined to turn me into a fan. The last three weekends, he’d made me roll a dice to decide which of the six episodes in the space saga we would watch as he filled my mind with crucial data only an uber-geek would know—like whether Han or Greedo shot first in episode IV’s cantina scene. According to Benny, Han shot first in the original version, but George Almighty Lucas changed that in the cleaned up wussy version because he didn’t want Han to come across as a cold-blooded killer. I didn’t know how I’d survived not knowing that.

  Spending time with Benny made me feel like I had a little brother and partially filled the hole in my heart Justin’s death had ripped out. It was easy to see past his puberty-induced acne and scrawny build to know he’d be super handsome someday. His dark hair and eyelashes that framed striking blue eyes were a lady-killing combination. Still, I feared his crooked neck and limping gait would draw all the attention. It’s what I noticed first. Now I realized how blind I’d been, for Bentley was the most beautiful person I knew, inside and out. I just hoped his peers would recognize that. Kids could be cruel.

  Chapter 8

  Bentley

  Placing my sketchbook in my desk drawer, I hobbled over to the mirror to check my reflection. Smoothing my shirt, I practiced holding my neck straight. Over the last week, I’d added twenty seconds to my time. After holding the agonizing position for a minute, I walked next door and knocked. It hadn’t been hard to convince Dad into letting Lizzie eat with us, but he surprised me when he told her she could move her belongings from the closet-sized space over the garage into Rawson’s old room.

  “Come in!” I heard her call.

  When I entered, I found Liz primping in front of a full length mirror.

  “Hey, Benny.”

  “Hey.”

  She curtsied. “How do I look?”

  “Beautiful…like always.” I didn’t see the point of her trying to impress Mackay Benson though. He was as stale as week-old bread.

  “You’re sweet.”

  “What movie is he taking you to see?”

  “I have no clue. Hopefully something light to take his mind off everything that’s happening.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “His dad has prostate cancer.”

  “Oh. That’s a bummer.”

  “Yeah.” She crossed the room to grab her satchel.

  “I can tell he really likes you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How can you tell that?”

  “He holds your hand and looks at you like you’re his world.”

  She rumpled my hair. “You’re full of it.” When the doorbell chimed, she threw her satchel over her head and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I better go. See you in the morning.”

  As she hurried downstairs, I touched my cheek. If she kissed Mackay like that, the poor guy was probably half-way in love already. And Lizzie probably had no clue.

  From my bedroom window, I watched the guy lead her to his rusty Ford Escort with a cheesy smile on his face. I frowned, thinking she could do much better. After they drove away, I puttered around with a new painting until it was morning in Italy. I knew I’d wake Rawson, but wanted to be first to wish him happy birthday. Pressing his face on my home screen, I listened.

  “Hey, Big Ben,” he answered groggily on the fourth ring. “What’s up?”

  I started singing Happy Birthday off ke
y.

  When I finished, he said, “That was truly awful, bro.”

  I laughed. “What you gonna do to celebrate being twenty-three?”

  “I’d like to sleep for three more hours,” he grumped.

  “Be glad I didn’t call you four hours ago.”

  “I might’ve thrown my phone across the room.”

  “Do you have to model today?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  I winced and wondered if I dared suggest he clean up his language. Lizzie would appreciate that when he returned. I’d been trying to curb my cussing. She gave me alternatives to use like gosh, dang, heck, and crap. She didn’t accept my excuse that cows and horses only understood swear words. My brother’s next words would have burned her delicate ears.

  “This freaking job…” except he didn’t say freaking, “…never ends.”

  “You sound upset.”

  I heard him sigh. “Don’t worry about me, kid.”

  “I always worry about you, homey. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Yo dawg, why you got to be all up in my grill so early this morning?”

  I chuckled at his gangster lingo. “Cuz you my bro, man. Now what’s eating at you, dawg? Are you having girl problems?” My brother hadn’t come home for Christmas because of some broad, so I figured a girl must have lured him to Europe.

  Hearing muffled swearing on his end, I said, “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “Nah, kid. It’s not that. You’re the best bro-ster ever, but you’re just so damn perceptive it’s scary. I guess in a way, I’m having girl problems. I came here to get away from my !@#$%&*!” My ears burned at the names he called his ex. “But I’m over her now and want to come home.”

  “Great. When’s your flight?”

  “Hold your horses, kid. I still have six weeks left on my contract.”

  Hope squashed as fast as it’d bloomed.

  “Do me a favor though. Tell old Larry to get my horse in shape. I want to burn through those hills when I return. I don’t need no fat, lazy—”

  “Don’t stress about Darth Bayder. Lizzie’s taking good care of him. She rides him—”

  “What!” he yelled. “That girl,” he said it not very nicely, “is riding my horse?”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled. He hadn’t sounded too impressed when I first mentioned that Dad had hired a girl, but I didn’t think he’d freak out about her exercising his horse. He should be grateful.

  “No one except Larry or Dad is supposed to touch Bayder. He’s incredibly valuable. Why is that girl,” he spat again, “anywhere near him?”

  “Lizzie’s better than Larry with the horses.” Shoot, she was better than about anyone.

  “Let me talk to Dad.”

  I hobbled downstairs to find Dad and listened as he told Rawson that Liz was better than Larry had been even in his prime. I don’t know what else my brother said, but Dad growled, “No! I haven’t gone soft in my old age, except where Larry’s concerned. He’s worked for me for over thirty years and his heart’s bad. I brought Liz in to help him since you’re too caught up in seeing the world to fulfill your responsibilities.”

  I was glad he stuck up for Lizzie, but sad he needed to. Dad handed me the phone and marched out of the room. Rawson always set him off when they argued, which was almost constantly.

  “You there, Big Ben?” I heard him ask as I put the receiver to my ear.

  “Yeah.”

  “Sorry for blowing up.”

  “It’s all right. I can see why you’d worry. You haven’t met Liz, but trust me, she’s amazing. Even Dad thinks so, and you know how difficult he is to please.”

  He grunted. “The amazing horse whisperer.”

  “Exactly. You’ll love her. She’s even a Star Wars fanatic like you. How great is that?” All right, so maybe I stretched the truth since Liz hadn’t even watched Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith until I showed them to her. I thought every American had seen all the Star Wars movies, but apparently not.

  “I gotta go, bud. Thanks for starting my birthday off right with your screeching.”

  “Go back to sleep and dream of Mom’s German chocolate cake.”

  “Oh, that was low, bro.”

  After we hung up, I checked another day off my calendar. Only six weeks left. I knew once Rawson returned and met Liz, he wouldn’t complain, because she was seriously the best thing since French fries and milkshakes. At least, that’s what I thought.

  Chapter 9

  Rawson

  Pink-hued clouds rolled out to the horizon as my taxi turned at the gate to my family ranch. The Bar-M-Law brand had been welded above a symbol of a racing horse to mark the land I called home. As we drove beneath the rustic log entrance, I looked out my window and soaked in lush rolling hills, whitewashed rail fences, Angus cattle, and distant snow-capped peaks. When the green metal roof of the arena appeared, I smiled.

  Home. At last.

  Since it was supper time, I directed the cabbie to pull behind the detached garage so my family wouldn’t see me. “Thanks, man,” I said as I tipped him for driving me out so far.

  “My pleasure.” He hopped out to unload my luggage.

  Hauling it inside the garage, I propped the suitcases against the back wall and approached the house with my carry-on. I couldn’t wait to see everyone’s faces when they saw me. Entering through the mudroom, I discarded my loafers. Near the dining room, I paused and listened. When I picked out Mom’s soft voice followed by Addie’s loud bellowing “Mine,” emotions welled up inside me. I bowed my head, grateful that some things never changed.

  Creeping upstairs, I peeled off my shirt and grinned as I passed Benny’s room. My family had no clue I’d charmed my way out of the last two weeks of my contract. Looking over my shoulder to make sure the hallway was clear, I turned the knob and entered my room.

  Someone coming from the other direction smacked right into me. As delicate fingers splayed against my bare chest, I grabbed onto the yelping intruder and pinned her against the wall. Wide, brown eyes gazed up at me.

  “Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?” I demanded.

  “Your room?” Wisps of blond hair curled along high cheekbones, framing a delicate face.

  “Yes. My room.” The girl struggled as I glared down at her.

  “Let go of me.”

  I gave her a gentle shove. “Tell me!”

  “Benny!” she shouted.

  I stepped back, wondering how she knew my brother.

  Bentley appeared panicked as he threw himself inside my room. But when he saw me, his mouth formed an O. “Rawson?” He hobbled in and threw his arms around my bare torso.

  The girl scowled as she straightened her shirt and put distance between us.

  “Lizzie,” Benny laughed, “it’s my brother. He’s back.” A goofy grin made his eyes light up. “When did you get here? I thought you weren’t coming home for two more weeks. Oh, it’s so good to see you.”

  As he hugged me, I perused my room…or what used to be my room. Obviously it wasn’t anymore. My navy blue and brown decor had been replaced by a feminine turquoise and yellow palette. Though my king bed still sat below the arched windows, a frilly, white, eyelet comforter proclaimed it wasn’t mine now. I’d been displaced.

  I ruffled my kid brother’s moppy hair. “It’s good to be back.” My gaze snapped to the sour-faced girl with the poofy ponytail standing next to a wicker bureau. She must be the new hand my brother had told me about. I still couldn’t believe Dad had hired a female, and put her in my old room to boot. What was he thinking?

  Benny beamed as he looked between us. “This is Liz Ruthersford. She’s—”

  “—the new girl riding my best horse.” I cut him off.

  She straightened and threw out her hand. “And you must be Rawson.”

  Benny grinned, unaware of the tension building between us. I grudgingly shook her proffered hand. “The one and only.”

  “Thank heavens for s
mall mercies,” she muttered.

  I clenched her fingers. “Since I’m home now, I’ll be handling Bayder.” I lowered my voice. “You might steal my room, but you won’t steal my horse.”

  She shook loose of my grip. “I didn’t…uh…I…” Going by how she couldn’t piece two words together, I’d flustered her.

  I tipped an imaginary hat. “Nice to meet you,” I said coldly as I slipped out the door and marched to Benny’s room.

  My little brother followed, energy almost making him bounce. “I can’t wait until Mom sees ya.”

  “Settle down, kid. Let me get dressed.” I tossed my offending garment on the floor and retrieved a fresh T-shirt from my carry-on.

  He contorted his lips and nose into one of his goofball faces. “And I just thought you were trying to impress Lizzie by flaunting your six-pack.”

  “Ha ha.” I snapped my fingers and pointed to his bed-stand. “I want my lamp back. I’m gonna need it to get out of this slimy mud hole.”

  He didn’t miss a beat. “Mud hole? Slimy? My home this is.”

  I pulled him into a bear hug. “Your Yoda impression is improving.”

  “I watched all the Star Wars movies this past month with Lizzie.”

  I bit my tongue at the mention of the intruder’s name.

  “Hurry. I’m dying to take you downstairs and surprise everyone.” Benny’s head slumped onto his shoulder as he twisted his fingers together.

  Feeling anxious to see the rest of the family as well, I checked my reflection. “Let’s go shock ’em, kid.”

  I couldn’t wait to spring my surprise.

  Chapter 10

  Liz

  My heart threatened to pound out of my chest as I slipped into the dining room. Mr. Law glanced up from his iPhone and tossed me a rare smile.

  “Lithie!” Addie boomed across the table.

  I forced a smile, then cleared my throat. “Um…I…just ran into your son upstairs. Rawson.”

  All eyes focused on me.

  “He seemed…um…quite upset I was in his room. Uh, maybe I should move back out to the garage.”

  “Nonsense,” Mr. Law snapped his words like a command. “Rawson gave up right to that room when he took off to Europe. Besides, Charity already redecorated. If my son wants yellow butterflies and daisies on his walls, I might disown him.”