Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,72
I didn’t point that out.
“And you’ll be a nanny?”
“Babysitter,” she corrected.
“They also go by nanny,” I pointed out.
“Oh, then yes. I’ll be watching the triplets.”
I parked the car and got out to walk around and open the door for her.
“What are we doing here?”
“You said you wanted to learn to drive.”
“Now?” her eyes were even bigger than usual.
“It’s as good a time as any. No one’s here today, so it’s safe.”
“Okay,” she said. “I can do this.”
She walked around the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. I wasn’t sure how much she knew about cars, so I took things very slowly. I showed her how to adjust her seat, the steering wheel, and all her mirrors. We went over the basics, like gas pedal, brake, turn signals, lights, and gear shifter.
I got into the passenger seat. “Okay, keep your foot off the pedals and turn the key.”
The car roared to life.
“I did it!” Emma looked so proud of herself and we hadn’t even really begun yet.
“Great job.” I chuckled. “Now foot on the brake.”
The engine revved and she backed off the gas pedal.
“Other brake.”
She rolled her eyes. “I got the sarcasm that time.”
“See, you’re catching on. Now, left pedal, foot on the brake this time.” I watched to verify. “Good girl, now use the shifter to put it into reverse, that’s the R.’
She nervously did as I told her.
“Perfect. Now ease off the brake and it’ll naturally drift back. Start turning the wheel to the right, more, more, and stop.” It wasn’t perfect, but for her first time, it wasn’t bad either. “Keep the foot on the brake and this time move your shifter until it goes to D for drive.”
“Easy enough.”
“Ease your foot off the brake, and then move it to the gas pedal this time, but don’t…” the car lurched forward, and Emma squealed. “Don’t slam your foot down on the gas pedal.” At least she had the common sense to press down the brake instead of the gas when she started freaking out. “You’re still in gear. Foot off the brake and slowly on the gas this time.”
“I’m doing it!” she cheered as she drove slower than Tarron’s Nonna.
“When you get to the end, slowly brake, and turn the wheel. Apply the gas as needed to speed up, and the brake to slow down.”
“Easy,” she announced as she drove up and down each aisle practicing her turns and stops without me even telling her to.
“See, you’re a natural.”
“So I can drive now?”
“We probably should practice a little more first.”
“Can I drive home?”
I gulped. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, but looking into her big brown eyes I couldn’t form the word no.
“Sure,” I conceded.
Emma did a good job on the drive home, but unlike her cautiously slow, practice driving in the parking lot, she had a lead foot on the real road. With the twists and turns coming down the mountain, I was holding on for dear life and begging her to slow down. She just laughed and kept going until she pulled into the parking lot and came to a screeching halt.
“How did I do?”
“Great,” I said in a strained voice. “Maybe a little slower next time.”
“You worry too much.”
“I told you, that’s my job.”
“Explain. How is worrying your job?”
“Okay, so when we get a new mission, part of my job is to look at it from all angles, all the worst case scenarios. I find the weak spots and our potential vulnerabilities.”
“And you get that from worrying?”
“Exactly.”
“Did you worry about getting sabotaged when you got shot?”
“No, but I won’t underestimate them again.”
“New worry to add to the checklist?”
“Yup.”
“Did you worry about finding me?”
“No, because I didn’t think it could happen to me. I would have worried about that exact scenario for one of the other guys if I had known what we were up to though. Mainly because Grant found his mate on a mission, so now, it’s a concern.”
“Grant found Taylor on a job?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought she was always part of the team.”
“No. She hasn’t been with us all that long, just a few months.”
“Will you always worry about someone finding their mate on the job now?”
“Absolutely.”
“What did you mean by ‘if you knew what they were up to’?”
“It was my birthday. We were in Vegas. I thought we were there for fun, not for a job. For some sick reason, they thought that would be fun for me or something.”