She arched an eyebrow, and his libido gave another lurch.
“What did you have in mind?”
He tossed her his keys. “Let’s go for a drive.”
Chapter Ten
‡
Ethan led her outside to where his pretty little Infiniti coupe sat neatly on the street in front of her house.
“You drive.”
If he’d kissed her as a distraction, it had been an extremely successful maneuver, so much so that she was having a hard time making sense of what he was saying now.
The man had wonderful lips.
And a wonderful car, too. That he was telling her to drive.
She looked down at the keys in her hand. “Seriously?”
“Why not? You can drive stick, right?”
A bit of the crushing sense of defeat lifted.
“How do you know that?”
“Call it an educated guess. You being a country girl and all. Am I wrong?”
Aunt Pansy had been right; Carrie had always wanted to drive a car like this. The sleek lines of the vehicle spoke of speed that Ethan had kept tightly controlled, the few times she’d seen him drive it. And he’d been even more conservative when she’d been in the passenger seat.
She touched the sparkling red paint on the driver’s side door. “Oh I can handle her.”
“I’ll give you pointers, if you need them.”
She opened the door and slid behind the wheel. She adjusted the seat and mirrors until they were all exactly where she wanted them, then pushed the button.
Instantly, the engine roared to life, the powerful growl sending excitement racing through her body.
She gripped the wheel. Everything about the car was tight, snug, beautifully put together and ready to respond to her every command.
“Don’t worry, you won’t break her,” said Ethan. “We can find some back roads if you like. Open her up.”
His gentle encouragement spawned a wild desire to show him that she was more than whatever fragile girl he supposed her to be.
Gravel spit beneath the tires as she whipped the car into gear and took off down the quiet street.
“Holy God, woman.” Ethan grabbed the oh-shit bar above his door. “Wait until we’re out of town, at least!”
“Hang on to your hat, cowboy.”
He thought she needed help driving? She’d show him a thing or two. He was angry on her behalf, that was fine. But she didn’t need that. She could fight her own battles, especially with her family.
She could handle Cherry Lake.
A sense of her own power ripped through her like lightning in a stormy sky. She’d handled herself in San Francisco, hadn’t she? And she’d been ten years younger, and alone there.
This was a family scandal to be sure. But she was a grown woman. She had Jess. Aunt Pansy, probably. Nothing embarrassed her. Grandfather too, if Pansy put in a good word.
And despite their conversation, Carrie knew that deep down, she had her mom on her side as well. She might not want to admit it, but she’d always choose her family over the town. Wouldn’t she?
And, then, Carrie thought, there was Ethan.
A kind of insanity fell over her. Suddenly she needed to be wild and crazy, to, as he said, blow every thought out of her head and just move. Fly.
Be free.
The car fishtailed as she turned off Second onto Swan Street.
“Not to be nit-picky,” said Ethan, “but you’re aware of the speed limits, right?”
“Side roads,” she said, taking a quick left to head up the mountain. The car hugged the road like a miracle. “Cops won’t bother us out here.”
“How about paramedics? Will they be able to reach us?” The force of the turn flattened him against the passenger seat door. “Or you planning to have us explode on impact?”
She laughed and leaned forward over the wheel. This was better than she’d even imagined.
“Whoo-hoo,” she yelled. “I love this car.”
The road stretched out in front of them, two narrow lanes of smooth black-top, mile upon mile with no other traffic, no stop signs, no lights, nothing.
The fields were neatly fenced on either side and she knew exactly where the crossroads were, which spots were prone to potholes, where the grass might be tall enough to hide a rabbit or coyote.