Between Hope & the Highway (55 page)

“All right. I’ll let you off with a warning, but if I catch you out here canoodling with your wife again, I’ll have to book you. Your warning is this: get up with the babies when they fuss at night. If you don’t, these steamy windows won’t be happening ever again.”

Rawson reached out to shake his hand. “Warning noted.”

“Congratulations, you two. That’s great news.”

As the Sheriff pulled away, Rawson waggled his brows. “Where were we my over-achieving wife?”

I giggled as he once more pushed me down onto the seat to kiss me senseless. Not even two minutes later, another tap on the window interrupted us.

Rawson growled. “You’d think I pulled over on the I-5, not the I-don’t-know-where-the-heck-I-am.”

He lowered his window to find Ben staring at us. The kid had been driving for the past two months. He still couldn’t get his driver’s license because of his physical limitations, but Bart let him drive around the ranch as long as he didn’t go too far. This probably straddled the
too far
mark, but I wouldn’t tell. His confidence had soared with the freedom to get around on his own.

“What are you two doing out here? Did your truck stall or run out of gas?”

Rawson grinned as I finger combed my curls into a semblance of respectability. “I was running low on kisses, bro. Lizzie’s refueling me. I think I just got her pregnant.”

I punched his side. My husband thrived on shock value.

“And get this, Ben. I’m so good at this whole marriage thing I knocked Lizzie up with not just one kid, but two. Efficient, am I not?” He turned to wink at me. “You can thank me later, honey.”

Benny made a face. “You two are gross. Are you really having twins?”

A girly squeal escaped my lips. “I am. Isn’t that exciting?”

“It’s awesome! Have you told Dad and Mom?”

“We will soon.” Rawson started closing his window. “As soon as I finish kissing my wife. We keep getting interrupted.”

Benny grimaced. “Well, if you’re not stranded, I’m leaving you losers.”

My husband made good on his promise to finish kissing me. I could hardly think after he pulled back and gave me a smug grin.

“I’m more in love with you than ever, Lizzie.” He started the truck as I fastened my seatbelt. Pulling me close, he steered onto the road and hit the gas.

Closing my eyes, I snuggled closer and tried to ignore his speed. “I love you more too, Lead Foot.”

Driving with my husband made me analogize, if that was a word. Life could go by real fast—like his truck down the highway—but if we concentrated on those we loved and hoped for the best, we would eventually get to our destination safely. That’s at least what happened to me. Halfway between hope and the highway, I lost my heart to Rawson Law, and thankfully, I don’t think he’ll ever give it back.

I’m okay with that.

Acknowledgments

Oodles of thanks go to my beta-readers: Summer Bell, Larry Skelton, Taylor Dean, and Jennifer Peel (especially because some of them had to read it twice. Sorry). Your honesty, friendship and support means the world to me and helps me write better books. I owe a debt of gratitude to Maria Hoagland, my amazing editor, for making this story shine and building me up when doubts started to rise. My talented sister, Tiffany Skelton, took beautiful photographs for my cover, and my incredible daughter, Christina Perry, used her crazy-mad design skills to create the pleasing cover. I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell my family how much their support and love means to me. Without them, I would write tragic tales of woe; because of them, my stories end happily ever after.

To my Readers

Thanks for reading
Between Hope & the Highway
. I hope you enjoyed it. If you loved the story, please leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads to help me spread the word. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just write your honest opinion (no one grades you. I promise). Reviews help other clean romance readers find great books and are the lifeblood of an author’s success or doom. Please click
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Other books by Charissa Stastny:

Eyes of Light (Bending Willow Trilogy #1)

Secret Keepers (Bending Willow Trilogy #2)

Hands of Mercy (Bending Willow Trilogy #3)

About the Author

Charissa Stastny is married to her high school sweetheart and has four children who are the light of her life. She’s an avid reader, happy writer, BYU graduate, and lover of irises, clouds, chocolate, sushi, and nature. Though born and raised in Las Vegas, she has never pulled a handle of a slot machine and can’t shuffle cards to save her life. She shuffles kids, laundry, and church responsibilities rather well though. She currently lives in Utah with her family, where shuffling cards isn’t required.