he got caught staring—at the pendant, not the breasts—Brett turned his attention back to Mrs. Goodsen.
“Mrs. G, good to see you.” He bobbed a brief nod of hello at Ellie, who wasn’t even looking at him, then held out the closest chair for the older woman.
“Thank you,” she said, pointing toward the chair next to Angus. “But I’d like to sit over there by that young man.”
Ellie helped Mrs. G over to the seat, then came back around and took the only chair left, the one closest to Brett.
“Great,” Angus groaned, shifting his chair a little farther away and letting out a loud, obnoxious sigh. “Stuck between Five-Oh and Mrs. Doubtfire. Can I at least sit beside the hot chick?”
“You already are,” Ellie shot back, winking at Mrs. G.
Brett jumped in and began class by having everyone introduce themselves, starting with himself.
“My name’s Brett Hale, and I’m a constable with the local RCMP detachment. Angus?”
He waited a couple of seconds to see if the kid was going to say anything, but all he did was cock his eyebrow.
“Everyone,” Brett said, “this is Angus. He’s very happy to be here, and he’s looking forward to mastering the art of defensive driving. Mrs. G?”
“I’m Edith Goodsen. My grandson, Jeff, seems to think I’m no longer capable of driving a car, so I’m here to prove him wrong.”
Brett could feel Ellie’s gaze on him, but he didn’t need to look back at her to know what it meant. She was just as worried about Mrs. G as he was. At eighty-five, with two hip replacements behind her and unable to walk very far without help of some kind, her reflexes might not be fast enough to help her avoid possible collisions. Despite his misgivings, Brett would do what he could for her and hope for the best.
“Junjie?” Brett said slowly. “Am I saying that right?”
The young fellow next to Mrs. G laughed quietly, then quickly bowed his head again before speaking. “Say like, um, Jay-ung-gee. I move Canada with Mother and Grandmother one year.”
“Junjie.” Brett repeated it again, slower, until Junjie nodded. “And you’ve been in Canada for a year?”
“Yes. One year. We move Taipei. Need drive for Grandmother.”
Mrs. Goodsen reached over and patted his hand. “Your English is excellent.”
“Thank you,” he said slowly. “Miss Goodzen.”
“Call me Edith.”
“Good,” Brett answered, hoping she didn’t notice the way Angus rolled his eyes.
Then he turned and waited for Ellie to speak. The look she gave him was the same one that usually came right before she called him Dudley Do-Right, except this time her face softened and a small, guilty grin tugged at her mouth.
“I’m Ellie, I own the boutique Pandora’s downtown, and apparently I’m a menace on the road, so I’m here to be fixed.”
“What means ‘menace’?” Junjie asked.
With her cheeks glowing pink, Ellie laughed. “It means I’m a very bad driver and I need to be reprogrammed.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “Menace bad.”
It was on the tip of Brett’s tongue to correct her, but he didn’t. She wasn’t a bad driver; she never lost control of her vehicle, she didn’t cut off other drivers, she didn’t run red lights, and she always signaled before changing lanes or turning. The problem with Ellie always came down to speed. If she could learn to go a little easier on the gas pedal, she’d be damn near perfect.
Yup, he mused, letting his gaze linger on her a moment longer. Damn near perfect.
Clearing his throat, Brett pulled up a chair and opened his copy of the book. “So let’s get started. First thing we’re going to go over is the different responsibilities you have when you get behind the wheel. Angus, as a new driver, what do you think that means?”
And so began the longest eight hours of his life. Angus’s participation consisted of an occasional grunt, offered with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and snide comments about how stupid the whole thing was. Junjie was keen but easily distracted by Mrs. G, who tended to veer off the topic if Brett didn’t keep her focused.
As for Ellie, she didn’t say much, but she watched and listened intently, without a single sideways comment about him or his profession. He tried not to look over at her too much, though he could feel her watching him most of the day, even when the others were working on their street-signs sheet.
When he finally allowed himself to glance over at her, he was surprised to see her face set in a deep, studious frown.
“Is