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“Wow, I haven’t seen someone start a car with an actual key in a long time.”
“Nice you can still slum it with us common folk, huh Crawford?”
“You really should upgrade to something with better safety technology. Like do you even have a rearview camera in this car?”
“No, Crawford. I turn my head, just like every other driver has in the last hundred years.”
“I’m just saying, it’s about safety not luxury.”
“Sometimes, safety is a luxury.”
“That doesn’t even make sense, Sweeney.”
“Shut up, Crawford. And put on your seatbelt.”
She pulled out onto the street and turned right. She headed in the right direction at least. “Stay here until you reach the highway, and then just take it north for about an hour.”
She nodded and stared straight ahead. I closed my eyes and thought I’d rest awhile. But when I closed my eyes, a light lavender scent piqued my interest. It was fresh, soft, and feminine. It couldn’t be Sweeney, could it? I opened my left eye a sliver and glanced at the driver’s seat. I glimpsed her legs beneath the steering wheel. Her navy skirt had ridden to her upper thigh and the muscle flexed each time she pressed the gas pedal. I never knew Sweeney had nice legs. I had always liked the shape of Sweeney’s mouth but I had never noticed her legs before. Huh.
One manicured hand held the lower part of the steering wheel as she drove while her other hand lay on her bare leg. She absently caressed her skin, slowly making circles over her flesh and my gaze shot up to her face to see if she was messing with me.
“What?” she asked, turning her head to look at me.
I narrowed my eyes, but her creased forehead and head tilt seemed genuine.
“Nothing,” I said and closed my eyes tightly, trying to forget the image that had flashed in my mind. The image of my hand—instead of hers—laying on her leg, inching up her thigh.
Fuck that!No way. I can’t be so desperate as to want Meany Sweeney. I must be overtired, and not thinking, just reacting to a soft, bare, feminine thigh.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” she said.
“Excuse me?” I asked, confused by the insult in her voice. Did she catch me staring?
“You’re pretending to sleep so that you don’t have to talk to me. But you don’t have to worry, Crawford. I am perfectly comfortable with silence. You’re not making me uncomfortable at all.” She pressed on the gas and shifted in her seat, causing the skirt to ride just a little higher.
Now I’m the uncomfortable one. Is she doing this on purpose?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sweeney. I was asleep. And I prefer not to hear your voice either. Let’s just do ourselves both a favor and not talk for the rest of the way up. Deal?”
She nodded once, but I saw it. Then she turned to stare at me, and raised her eyebrows pointedly. “I thought you were sleeping?”
“You’re unbelievable, you know that?” I grumbled. Turning over to my right side, I closed my eyes and shoved Sweeney and her bare thighs out of my mind.
7
Grace
I’d been driving for nearly two hours and Luke had been asleep for most of that time, offering only basic directions before he drifted off. The scenery was consistent but soothing. Large, empty fields surrounded us on either side of the highway.
It was nearly four in the afternoon when I turned off the highway and onto a dirt road. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, promising rain soon. I wanted to reach the cabin before the downpour.
I leaned over and shoved Luke’s shoulder. “Wake up, Richie Rich.”
“Ow! Ugh! What’s your problem?” he grumbled when I continued to shove him.
“Oh please. You weren’t really sleeping. You were too quiet to be asleep.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll try to snore and mumble next time for you.”
