I chuckled, shoulders shaking in pure glee, replaying the first time Sierra tried to drive—after a bit of convincing—in my head.
CHAPTER TWENTY
hayden
MARCH, SOPHOMORE YEAR
Are you sure this is safe?” Sierra drew circles in the dirt with her boot.
I patted the hood of my dad’s old pickup. “Totally safe. I’ve been driving since I was like ten.”
She grimaced, her nose wrinkling. “I’m not sure if that makes me feel better.”
“Everyone around here drives young. Besides, we’re just going around the ranch, not on the actual highways.”
“What if we get in trouble? Or crash?”
I waved her off. “I’m not going to let that happen. And what my dad doesn’t know won’t kill him. Ask for forgiveness, not permission, right?” When she hesitated, I added, “Think of it as your first driving lesson on the road to getting your license.”
“Okay…” She drew out the word, her bottom lip drawn between her teeth.
“We’ll go slow. It’s not like we’re driving on a racetrack.” I opened the driver’s side door, gesturing for her to get in.
“I still don’t know about this, Hayden.” It looked like astorm was raging in Sierra’s mind, a raging tornado of things that could go wrong.
“Do you trust me?” I blurted.
She looked at me, eyes glazed with confusion. “Yes.”
I did my best to reassure her, knowing there were risks but choosing to ignore them anyway. We were in a safe, controlled environment, and we wouldn’t go more than half a mile away from the house. “Then we’ll be fine. Nothing bad will happen, I swear.”
“All right, then, if you say so.” She climbed into the driver’s seat, and I gently closed the door before racing around the front of the pickup to the passenger side.
“It’s not a manual, so make sure you use only one foot for the pedals. That’s super important, okay? You don’t want to end up like my cousin, who ran into her house by accident because she was using two feet and accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.”
Sierra’s head whipped toward me, panic settling in her eyes. “Why would you tell me that?” she screeched.
“So you don’t make the same mistake she did, duh,” I teased, flashing her a grin that probably looked goofy in hopes of easing her nerves. “Man, my family made fun of her foryearsafter that. She never lived it down. My uncle put one of thoseSLOWtraffic signs by their front door for a few months. Everyone called her Crash for like a year, too.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Sierra scoffed.
I nodded. “Yeah, because you’re not going to make the same mistake she did. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll keep you safe.”
I could have been wrong, but I swore I heard her mumble, “Safe.”
“Okay, first thing’s first. Seatbelts,” I said as I pulled my seatbelt across my body, clicking it into place.
Sierra put hers on, too, then reached for the key in the ignition.
“Ah-ah, not yet,” I tutted. “Now, check your mirrors, and make sure they’re adjusted so you can see. You don’t want to do that while you’re driving.” Although, I had to admit, sometimes I forgot to adjust my mirrors and did exactly that.
“I may be wrong, but I’ve definitely seen you adjust your mirrors while driving,” she quipped.
“Yeah, but I already have my license. I’m teaching yougoodhabits.”
To my surprise, she didn’t argue further, fixing her mirrors then looking at me. “Okay, Teach, now what?”
“Now, you can start it. Then you want to put your foot on the brake and put the vehicle in drive. You’re going to slowly ease up on the brake, then move your foot over to the gas and lightly press down on it.”
