Read Online Spellbound Falls [5] For the Love of Magic by Janet Chapman - Free Book Online Page B

down her shirt. “It kept getting in the way every time I wanted to do something . . . un-queenly.”
    “Yeah, I could see where that might be a problem. But instead of leaving it hanging on your bedpost, couldn’t you have sold it for at least enough money to buy a truck with an automatic transmission?”
    Rana looked up in surprise. “You don’t think I can drive a standard shift?”
    “Oh, no, of course you can,” Peg said, nodding vigorously. “And I would love to teach you. When do you want to start? I’m free today until the bus brings my tribe back from school. How about I go get Charlie then swing back here and pick you up? You ladies should be done enjoying your tea and fruit by then, shouldn’t you?”
    Rana eyed her suspiciously. “Will I see a marina coffee cup in your hand when you pick me up?”
    Peg started backing away. “No offense, but Maude is a bit scary.”
    “But is that not a quality you would want in a midwife? Oh, and Peg?”
    She halted. “Yes?”
    “The driving lessons will be our little secret?”
    “Not a problem. Um, any particular reason you asked
me
?”
    Rana set her hand on the doorknob. “Why, I would think the reason is obvious. I assumed any woman who would willingly marry Duncan MacKeage surely must have nerves of steel,” she said, stepping through the door when Peg burst out laughing.

Chapter Five

    “
This
is why I want boys,” Peg said as she led Charlie over to a tree on the back side of Rana’s garage. She then positioned the three-year-old in front of her and bent to unfasten his pants. “Potty training them is a breeze, especially if they come in pairs,” she continued as she leaned him forward to brace his hands against the tree. “Because just as soon as they realize they can compete to see who can pee the farthest, they don’t want to waste their precious body fluids on a diaper. Okay, let her rip, big man.”
    Rana looked down at the small plastic card Peg had handed her. “You said Duncan . . . made this for me?”
    “Yeah.” Peg straightened as she continued holding on to Charlie’s jacket to keep him steady. “Hey, don’t worry; I didn’t mention our lessons. I only told him you bought a truck, but that you didn’t have an actual license. I swear the man pulled one out of thin air faster than I could say abracadabra,” she said, batting her eyelashes, “because he somehow got the notion that seeing him make magic turns me on.”
    Rana slipped the license in her purse. “Yes, our men do love to impress us with their tricks,” she said, walking to her pickup when she saw Charlie had finished drowning the tree. “I’m ready to begin if you are.”
    “Wait,” Peg said, carrying the boy to her SUV. “I thought about it on my way back from the marina, and I think our first lesson should be in my truck.”
    “How is driving your truck going to teach me to drive mine?”
    Peg turned from buckling Charlie into his car seat. “I think you should get used to working a gas pedal and brake before we add in a clutch and shifting. All of which,” she added, “you’ll have to do at the same time.”
    Rana glanced at her battered and rusted pickup, then looked at Peg’s much newer SUV, which although muddy, was completely devoid of dents. “But what if I hit a tree or drive into a ditch? I would pay to have your truck repaired, of course, but how would you explain the damage to Duncan?” She eyed Charlie in the backseat, just now realizing she might well be putting the child in danger. “Maybe we should do this another time.”
    “Pfft,” Peg scoffed as she opened the front passenger door. “You’re not going to hit a tree because you already know how to drive.”
    “No, I don’t,” Rana said, rushing around the truck when Peg got in. She opened the driver’s door and climbed in behind the steering wheel. “I’ve never driven a vehicle.”
    “Sure you have. I’ve seen you drive snowmobiles and Nicholas’s boat, and you