"Right." Dawn leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. "That's why you've been scowling for a while now."
"I have not been—" He caught himself. "Is there something you need?"
"Just reminding you that you're scheduled to take the ladies driving at two. Which is in…" She glanced at her watch. "Ten minutes."
Jude nodded. "I haven't forgotten."
"Good." Dawn lingered a moment longer. "You know, whatever's bothering you, it might help to talk about it."
"Nothing's bothering me."
Dawn's knowing look told him she didn't believe him for a second. "If you say so." She pushed off the doorframe. "I'll let you get back to glaring at that report."
After she left, Jude leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. He needed to get himself together. This was just a driving lesson—a simple task that required him to be professional and focused. He could manage that.
He stood and grabbed his jacket. After stopping briefly to chat with the guys in front of the monitors, he stepped out into the cold end of January air. The sun was shining brightly, creating a glare off the snow that had him blinking as he pulled his sunglasses from a jacket pocket and slid them on.
Reaching the garage at the main house, he let himself in, then stared at the cars parked there. Most were top of the line and expensive. He wanted a vehicle that wouldn’t intimidate Angela and Kiara.
Finally, he settled on a compact sedan that was the cheapest of the vehicles there, even though it was still fully loaded and top of the line. He went to the cabinet that contained all the keys and punched in the code to open it.
After he retrieved the keys to the sedan, he went to the car and unlocked it. He slid behind the wheel, grunting as he had to scrunch his body to fit.
Once he’d adjusted the seat and started it up, he opened the overhead garage door and backed the car out onto the large cement parking pad outside the garage. He parked it so that it pointed in the right direction. He didn’t think the ladies were ready to tackle backing up just yet.
As he got out of the car, the door to the house opened, and Angela and Kiara appeared, both wearing jackets and knit caps.
Kiara waved enthusiastically when she spotted him, then she headed in his direction. Angela followed more slowly, her eyes not quite meeting his.
"Ready for your first driving lesson?" he asked, keeping his voice professionally neutral.
"More than ready," Kiara said, practically bouncing with excitement. "I've been watching YouTube tutorials all morning."
"That's… good initiative," Jude said. "But there's a big difference between watching and doing."
“Is this the car we’re practicing in?” Kiara asked, looking at the car he stood next to.
“Yes. Which one of you is going first?” he asked.
“Me,” Kiara said without hesitation.
Jude motioned to the driver’s door. “In you get then. Angela, you can sit in the back, probably behind her because if you sit behind me, you won’t have much room.”
Kiara was behind the wheel in no time flat. Once both were in their seats and buckled up, Jude slid into his.
For the next couple of minutes, he walked Kiara through adjusting the seat and mirrors. He wasn’t a driving instructor, but his goal was to get the two women comfortable with the car and maneuvering it before turning them over to a professional.
"Okay," he said once Kiara had everything adjusted properly. "Before we start moving, let's go over the basics. The brake pedal is on the left, accelerator on the right. Your right foot does all the work—you'll never use your left foot for anything in an automatic transmission vehicle."
Kiara nodded eagerly, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
"The most important thing to remember is that this car is much more responsive than you might expect. A tiny bit of pressure on the gas pedal goes a long way when you’re first starting out."
"Got it," Kiara said, though Jude could see her knuckles were white from how tightly she was holding the wheel.
"Relax your grip a little," he instructed. "You want to be firm but not death-gripping it. Now, put your foot on the brake and shift into drive."
The car lurched forward slightly as Kiara released the brake, making her gasp. Angela’s hand gripped the back of Kiara’s seat, her gasp also audible.
