Read Online Francesca of Lost Nation by Lucinda Sue Crosby - Free Book Online

trigger.” At this point, Francesca’s mind veered at a right angle.
    “That reminds me,” she said, “I need to get that gun out of storage and clean it. I guess I'll have to start keeping it under my bed.” Then, her thoughts leaped back to the task at hand. “Well, I think that's it. Now, you try it.”
    She had me rest on her lap, so I could reach the pedals. My arms were twitching. I could barely see through the windshield. Francesca nudged me and whispered she would help me.
    Turning the ignition on wasn’t too bad. Okay … okay.
    “Push the clutch in, and shift it into first,” Francesca said calmly.
    The horrible grinding sound sent chills up and down my spine, and the truck bucked like a champion bull. Babe yowled and tried to crawl under the seat. I yanked the door open and jumped out, accidentally kicking Francesca’s shin as the engine died.
    She tilted her head down at me and said soberly, “I believe you were in the wrong gear. Let's try it again.”
    The last thing I wanted to do was to get back into the truck but she called me “Sweetchild.” And you know how that goes.
    After an hour or so, I was starting to get the hang of it. In fact, I was doing so well that Francesca thought it was time to venture away from the field onto the driveway. Still struggling with the pedals I could barely reach, I looked down just for a second. That’s when it happened.
    CRASH!!
    The jolt, however, was nothing compared to the explosion out of Mr. Mosley’s mouth. He’d pulled into the property at the worst possible moment.
    “Dammit! What in the most fired blazes of Hell do you two think you’re doing? Son of a bitch if I'm not one!” He yelled a ton of other things — including some of those interesting, unfamiliar phrases he’d used before.
    When I saw Mr. Mosley get out of his car, I slunk down onto the floor of the truck next to Babe.
    “Jesus have mercy on me! I have driven this car all over this country. Nothing ever happened to it before! How could you be so careless? So stupid!”
    Francesca wasn't above railing at her own family on certain occasions, but she couldn't stand for someone else to do it.
    “There's absolutely no reason to behave like a screaming Mimi. It was an accident,” Francesca defended me. “And the damage …” She bent over and peered dramatically at the offending mark, “is miniscule.”
    “Why in the Hell were you letting that child drive in the first place? It’s asinine ... completely asinine!”
    Grandmother swallowed some anger before responding calmly.
    “It is the custom hereabouts, to introduce young people to the mysteries of driving early. The practice has saved many lives in an emergency and will doubtless save many more!”
    This was an exaggeration and Matthew called her on it.
    “Bull!” he fumed.
    That’s when they had their first stare-down. Francesca always won these competitions, even when she broke away first. It was uncanny.
    She took on a statue-like stillness. He started strong, refusing to give in. Finally, with three deep breaths, she condescended to speak to him. “We apologize for the state of your car. But you have to admit, the dent is practically unnoticeable. It was an accident, purely and simply. Is there anything else?” Francesca asked. Her voice warned him there had better not be.That sent Matthew storming off.
    Babe and I hid in the wood box for an hour or so. That’s when I overheard Francesca on the telephone.
    “It’s just not going to work out, Daniel. I can appreciate…That’s not fair, Daniel. You know that I couldn’t … You don’t understand … But he … but I … oh, brother. Okay! I’ll give it one more week ,” Francesca said, slamming down the receiver for emphasis.
    I opened the wood box door. “Are we getting rid of him?” I asked hopefully.
    Francesca didn’t even hear me, as she was talking heatedly to herself.
    “What a baboon! The man’s insane, gone completely round the bend and will never