Second Chances at Love by Cathy McDavid

Author:Cathy McDavid [McDavid, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cathy McDavid Books, LLC
Published: 2021-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

The Less Serious Aspects of Driving

by

Cathy McDavid

“WATCH OUT FOR THAT PICKUP!” Casey shoved her right foot into the SUV’s floorboard, her toes searching blindly for the brake pedal. Adrenalin swept through her with the force of a tsunami. “Stop now!”

Instantly, the vehicle screeched to a halt, thrusting her forward and causing the seatbelt’s taut harness to bite into her flesh. Her fingers reached for the steering wheel and clutched only thin air. What the...

Wait. She wasn’t the one driving.

Drawing in a deep breath, she willed her erratically beating heart to slow. Nothing bad had happened. No screaming sirens, no ride to the hospital. They were safe and sound.

When a horn abruptly blared from behind, she jerked reflexively, her hand clutching her chest.

“You okay, Mom?”

She turned to face her teenaged son in the driver’s seat, unclenched her jaw, and spoke in a carefully measured tone. “Okay, Max. Let’s try this again. Ease the car slowly forward. Be sure to check the side and rear-view mirrors first.”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to keep reminding me.

She could hear the eye roll in his voice but refused to let that deter her. “Light pressure on the gas pedal.”

Four tires emitted an ear-splitting squeal. The force of the accelerating vehicle propelled Casey backward, jamming the side of her face into the headrest.

“Not so fast! There could be children playing.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the inevitable collision that, thank God, never came. Cracking open one eye, she peered around before daring to open the other. By some miracle, she and Max were tooling along at a moderate clip through the quiet residential neighborhood in which they lived.

Casey straightened and dried her sweaty palms on her yoga pants. She should have gone along with Steve’s suggestion they enroll their son in driving school rather than teach him themselves. The stress was going to give her a stroke.

Then she remembered the hefty price tag for those schools. Nope. Not going to happen. They simply couldn’t afford the extra expense.

“This is cool.” A goofy, not-a-care-in-the-world grin bloomed on Max’s face.

Only by conjuring cherished memories of cradling her firstborn in the hospital moments after his birth was Casey able to prevent herself from reaching across the front seat and strangling him.

Just joking. She would never hurt her precious son. But she might make him wait a while longer to get his license. Clearly, he lacked sufficient maturity. What was the state of Arizona thinking when they allowed kids—babies, really—to legally drive?

“Max, driving may be cool, but it’s also a very serious business.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You’re operating a huge machine capable of immense destruction and even death if you’re not careful.”

“Mooooommmm.” Another verbal eye roll. “This is a loser cruiser, not some Army tank.”

“Loser cruiser?” Casey loved her SUV. “Doesn’t matter. It’s still a huge machine.” She squinted at the speedometer. “You’re going twenty-nine miles per hour.”

“So?”

“So, the speed limit’s twenty-five.”

“That’s only four miles over.”

“Even one mile over is breaking the law. Slow down. You don’t want a ticket, do you?”

“Dad says you can go five miles over the speed limit before a cop will pull you over.

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