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

impressive trick of your own for the next time Duncan starts flexing his muscles at you.” Rana then pressed the button to lower her window when the small red car backed up and stopped beside them again. “If you’re heading to Missy Maher’s,” she said to her glowering husband, “I don’t believe she’s returned from her grange meeting yet.”
    “What makes you think I’m going to Ms. Maher’s?”
    “I can’t imagine why you would be driving down this road other than to show off your fancy new car to the most eligible spinster in Spellbound Falls,” Rana said, reaching over and squeezing Peg’s arm when the woman started choking.
    “I’m down here to see
my wife
.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I must have missed your
phone call
.”
    He had the good grace to look contrite. “It appears I left without my phone this morning. Therefore,” he went on when she tried to speak, “I decided to simply ask you in person to have lunch with me today.”
    “I’m rather busy today, Titus,” she said as she started raising the window. “Try
calling
me later on in the week.” But she suddenly stopped the window halfway up as she made a point of running her gaze over his newest purchase. “Did the motorcycle turn out to be a little too spirited for you?”
    “I purchased this car so you would be comfortable on our
dates
.”
    “Oh,” she said with a pronounced pout. “I was looking forward to our zooming through the countryside on that motorcycle together. You remember how I used to wrap my arms around you and hold on for dear life, don’t you, my love?” she said in a husky purr as she slowly started raising the window again, “when I’d sneak away to meet you in the meadow and we would race the wind on your powerful warhorse?” She started the truck, then gave the slack-jawed blackguard a jaunty wave as she headed out the camp road at the speed of a racing turtle.
    “I want . . .” Peg cleared her throat. “I want to amend what I said earlier. I don’t know whether to admire or pity
Titus
.”
    “I specifically asked him not to drop in unannounced,” Rana explained, only to mutter a curse—in Greek, for Charlie’s sake—when the truck stalled again.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me and Charlie to take a hike?” Peg drawled when Rana’s window lowered
without
her touching the button.
    “Why are you driving the MacKeages’ vehicle?” Titus asked when he halted beside them again. His eyes suddenly widened. “Zeus’s teeth, you don’t drive!”
    “Of course I do. I’ve been driving for nearly four years.”
    “Electric carts on resort
paths
.”
    “Same concept, different applications,” Rana said. “We’re leaving on our errands now, and I would appreciate it if our vehicle continued running.”
    “Wait. You didn’t say why
you
are driving.”
    She gave a negligent shrug. “Peg was kind enough to let me try out her truck to see if this is the model I should buy.” She made a production of running her gaze over the small red sports car again, wondering how the man had folded himself inside it. “But maybe I’ll buy myself something more fun. Good-bye, my love. Enjoy this beautiful day.”
    “Thank you,” Peg murmured when Rana started driving down the road again.
    She glanced over in surprise. “For what?”
    “For making
my
day. So, how about we drive to Turtleback so I can pick up a couple of bags of chicken feed? That way we’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”
    Rana gently braked to a stop when they reached the main road. “You expect me to drive all the way to Turtleback Station? It’s over thirty miles one way,” she added, frowning. “And what two birds are we killing?”
    “One, you’ll be driving like a pro by the time we get back,” Peg said. “And two, we really will be doing errands, so you didn’t just lie to your husband.”
    “If a woman can’t lie to her husband, who can she lie to?”
    Peg’s beautiful blue eyes widened.