Not Strictly Business!: Prodigal Son / The Boss and Miss Baxter / The Baby Deal

She shook her head. “Don’t hold your breath on that one. George was always interested in surprising people. I doubt he wrote a boring will.”

He believed that. “If he left the company to me, I’m selling.”

She stiffened. “Just like that? Your father gave his life to this company.”

“I know that better than anyone, except maybe you.”

“I loved him, which means I can forgive his flaws.”

The implication being Jack should do the same.

He wanted to ask her how that was possible. How could she give her heart to a man who made sure she always came in second. But he didn’t. There wasn’t any point. People who were supposed to love you left, one way or the other. Some disappeared into work or circumstances. Some walked away and some died. But at the end of the day, everyone was alone. He’d learned that a long time ago and he didn’t plan to forget it.

Chapter Seven

Samantha was reasonably confident that driving lessons were a bad idea all around. For one thing, Jack should be really mad at her. For another, the situation had the potential to turn into a disaster.

“Second thoughts?” he asked from the passenger seat of the old import parked in an empty parking lot.

“Oh, I’m way past them. I’m on to deep regret and remorse.”

“You’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s easy. Think of all the crazy people you know who can drive.”

“Telling me I’m likely to encounter the insane isn’t a way to make me feel better,” she told him. “Really. Let’s talk about all the safe drivers instead.”

“There are a lot of them. You’ll be one of them. All you have to do is relax.”

Oh, sure. Because that was going to happen. She peered out the windshield and was dismayed to note there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. Not even a hint of rain or bad weather or impending anything that would give her a good excuse to call off the session.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said. “I could hire someone.”

“I don’t mind. It will be fun.”

Maybe for him. She curled her fingers around the steering wheel and sighed. “I don’t think I’m up to it.”

“Of course you are. You’re afraid, which makes sense, but once you let go of the fear, you’ll be fine. Think of the end goal. You’ll be driving. You can go anywhere you want. You won’t be dependent on bus schedules or trains. You’re free. Close your eyes.”

She looked at him. “I may not know much about driving but even I know that’s a bad way to start.”

He laughed. “You’ll open them before we go anywhere. Close your eyes.”

She did as he asked.

“Now imagine yourself driving on a big highway. The lanes are wide and it’s divided so you don’t have to worry about oncoming traffic. There are only a few cars and none of them are near you. It’s a pretty day. You’re going north, to Wisconsin. Can you imagine it?”

She did her best to see the road and not the flashing telephone poles or trees beckoning her to crash into them. She imagined herself driving easily, changing lanes, even passing someone.

“Now see yourself getting off the highway. At the top of the exit, you stop, then turn into a diner. You’re completely comfortable. You’re driving and it’s easy.”

She drew in a deep breath, then opened her eyes. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Good. We’ve been over the basics. Tell me what you remember.”

She talked her way through starting the car, putting it in gear and checking her mirrors. Long before she wanted him to, he told her it was time to replace visualization with actual doing.

She started the engine. Of course it sprang to life. She carefully shifted into D and then checked her mirrors. They were blissfully alone in the parking lot.

“Here I go,” she murmured as she took her foot off the brake and lightly pressed on the gas.

The car moved forward. It wasn’t so bad. She’d had a couple of driving lessons back in college and she’d enjoyed those. These weren’t all that different.

“Signal and turn right,” Jack said.

Signal? She flipped on the indicator then turned. Unfortunately, she pulled the wheel too far and they went in a circle. Instantly she slammed on the brakes.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he told her. “Don’t worry about it. We’re here to practice. If you could get it right the first time, why would you need to practice?”

He was being so logical and nice, she thought. Vance would have been screaming at her the whole time.

“Let’s try that turn again,” Jack said.

“Okay.” She drove straight, put on her signal, then eased the car into a turn. It did as she asked.

“Wow. That was pretty easy.”

“Told you,” he said with a smile. “We’ll make a couple more laps of the parking lot, then go onto the street.”

“The street?” she asked, her voice a screech. From the back seat Charlie raised his head as if asking what was wrong.

“You can’t stay in this parking lot forever,” Jack said.

“Of course I can. It’s a great parking lot. I like it. I could live here.”

“You’ll be fine. Come on. More driving. That way.”

He pointed in front of them. She drove for another five minutes, making turns and coming to a stop when he told her. Despite her protests, he managed to convince her to head out onto the actual street.

“This is an industrial park,” he said. “It’s Saturday. There aren’t going to be a lot of cars. Deep breaths.”

She held in a small scream then took the plunge. Or, in this case, the driveway onto the street. Up ahead was an on-ramp to the highway and all the open road she could want. Like a cat let out of a carrier, she traded freedom for safety and took a side street. The highway would still be there tomorrow.

“And?” he asked as they cruised the produce section of the local market.

“You were great,” she said. “Just terrific. Patient, calm and happy to explain everything fifty times.”

He shook his head. “While I appreciate the compliments, they weren’t the point. Admit it. The driving wasn’t so bad.”