Page 26 of Pick Me
“I…” Goodman hesitated. “Technically yes. My cousin Fenn forced me to learn. I haven’t done it in a hot minute, and never on crowded mountain roads, but how hard could it be? It’s like riding a bike, right?”
“Oh, sure,” Drew agreed. “Like a two-ton bike. A bike with a clutch, if you will. Just take it slow and you’ll be fine.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Drew was right—the only way to learn how to drive these roads was to do it, and Goodman was probably a competent driver, so he’d be fine. Plus, the roads were so busy around here these days, he wouldn’t be going above a crawl until he hit the highway.
Still, the idea of him going alone gnawed at me for reasons I couldn’t put a finger on. I envisioned him going down one of the steep embankments just five or ten miles outside of the Hollow in a soaking rain—I mean, sure there was no rain in the forecast, but you never knew—and stalling out or sliding.
The thought made my chest go tight.
All is well with me.
I am in control.
It would be ludicrous formeto take him, obviously. I wasn’t his boss. But someone else really should.
Webb was frowning down at his phone again, so I kicked him gently under the table.
He looked up. “Huh?”
“Goodman doesn’t have much practice on a standard, and parking might be tricky in the city. What do you think about that?” I lifted an eyebrow significantly, trying to convey what Ithoughthe should think about that.
“Oh. Uh. I’ll drive you, Gage,” Webb offered.
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary—” Goodman began.
“It is, though,” I interjected, despite no one asking my opinion. “Route 26 around here is like one giant pothole. And do you know how many moose-related driving accidents there are in Vermont each year? Moose are like incredibly tall cows, Goodman. Cows on steroids. Like, if The Rock and a cow had a hungry, aggressive baby, it would be a moose.”
“Oh.” Goodman’s jaw dropped.
Drew snorted. “In no realm is that accurate, Ranger Rick, and you know it. Besides, this time of year, that part of the drive is thirty minutes of flatlanders creeping along at five miles an hour. And once he’s on the highway, he’ll be fine.”
This was almost definitely true.
And yet I found myself saying, “What about when he’s coming back in the evening? Moose are out a lot at dusk.”
“So, Gage will be cautious.” Drew shrugged like he didn’t get my problem. “Right, Gage?”
We both turned to Goodman, who nodded vehemently. “Yeah, no, I… yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Webb,” I said sharply again.
“Huh?” Webb blinked up from his phone again. “Oh. Totally. Yeah, I agree with you,” Webb said, clearly not understanding what he was agreeing to. “Sounds good.”
Drew shook his head and smiled. “And people sayI’m the strangest Sunday.” He set down his mug and pushed up on his crutches. “Come on, Hawk. Best way to remove glitter is with baby oil, and I just happen to have a bottle kicking around my bathroom drawer from the last rave I went to.”
“So, when do you need Webb to take you to Boston?” I asked as the others left.
Goodman scraped up the last of his oatmeal. “Anytime. Today’s great. Tomorrow’s fine. Monday’s good. I don’t know if they’re open on the weekend.”
Webb opened his mouth to speak, but then his phone vibrated audibly, and he scowled down at it.
“Oh, shoot! Dad!” Aiden called breathlessly, rushing back into the kitchen. “I forgot Mr. Williams says I need a show-and-tell thing that starts with the letterV! What do we have that starts withV? Dad?”
Webb glanced up distractedly. “What? Sorry, kiddo, I wasn’t paying attention.”
“I’ve got this. I have a perfect idea for you, Aiden,” Goodman piped up. He grabbed his bowl and jumped up from the table. “Come look in the fridge with me.”
Webb began typing on his phone and barely noticed when they walked away, which wasn’t like him.
