“We’ll see.”
Sheila was in a fit of giggles by the time Tucker accidentally mashed the button to unlock her car. All at once, all the doors on the vehicle opened up.
“Whoa.” Tucker sounded like a twelve-year-old at his first tractor pull. “Okay, I knew they did that, but that is really awesome.” He ran his hand over the back falcon wings, then slid into the front seat. “It’s like a cockpit in here.”
“Sure is.” She gave him a quick rundown, not wanting to torture him further, although it was kind of fun watching him try to figure it all out.
He slowly pulled out onto Main Street and then rolled up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. “This thing is wild. The ride is so smooth. Of course, I am used to diesel-powered heavy machines.” He went the speed limit, but seemed completely impressed with the car.
She looked at him with surprise. “You’re not going to gun it?”
“Can I?”
“Go for it.” She shook her fist toward the windshield. “Let’s do this.”
“I know the road really well. There’s a good long straight stretch coming up. Hang on.”
They came out of a tight curve and then he pressed the accelerator, and she could’ve sworn she could see his heart pounding.His grin was so wide that all she saw in the dim colored lights from the dash was his teeth.
It was a smooth and exhilarating ride, and she was so glad he’d done that, because she’d been sort of dreaming about it, but was too chicken to try it herself.
“That’s incredible. Did you see how fast we were going?”
“I felt the centrifugal force!”
“You did not. But it was cool. Should we try the hands-free?”
“I wouldn’t dare. You do it, but not fast.”
He let off the gas and rolled back down to a legal forty-five miles per hour. “Here we go.”
Sure enough the Tesla kept them right between the lines.
“That’s freaky.”
He put his hands back on the wheel and took over control. “That was amazing. Thank you.Merry Christmas to me.” But now he swerved off the side of the road. “Now it’s your turn to be amazed.” He put the car in park and sat there a second. Then he looked at her. “Can you get us out of this tin can?”
She pressed a button, and the doors opened.
“Thank you. That was much faster. It might have taken me all night, and you’ve got to see this.” He jogged around to her side of the car and gave her a hand. She stood, and he grabbed her hand and walked over to the wall at the edge of the overlook.
“Oh my gosh!” Sheila pulled her arm up against his body. The cold air nipped at her nose, but the view… it was breathtaking. He was right about the colored holiday lights across the valley. They seemed to twinkle as far as the universe. “This must be how it looks to Santa as he’s looking for those of us on the nice list.”
“Definitely.” He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Warmer?”
“Yes. Very nice.”
They stood there looking out over so many miles of tiny light dots. Homes where people were celebrating with their own special traditions. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of the season.
The thought made her shiver.
“You’re cold.” He pulled off his coat and draped it around her shoulders, then ran his hands up and down her arms. “Better?”
“Thank you” came out in just a whisper. “Thank you for bringing me up here. I could look at this every night.”
“We can. It’s always changing. The seasons, the temperature, the wildlife. You never know what you’ll see.”
“There’s a lot more to life up here than I ever realized. I guess I can understand Natalie’s decision a little better now.”
