Page 52 of The Lady on Esplanade

“I hope it has all the latest safety features, since you’re going to be driving it in New Orleans.And may I suggest throwing a couple of extra spare tires in the trunk?”

He laughed and then took my elbow to stop me as I moved to stepinside.“You need to practice.And yes, it does have all the latest safety features, because I’d hoped that you would be a frequent passenger.Or driver.You really do need practice, Nola.Especially if you’re getting that Mustang after Thanksgiving.”

I looked at the car and then back at Cooper.“But it’s brand-new.And I’m not the most confident driver.”

“I know.But you will be.And I trust you.”

I bit my lip.“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Absolutely,” he said, guiding me toward the driver’s side and pulling open the door.

I slid inside, feeling the soft leather beneath me and trying not to be intimidated by the flat digital instrument panel in front of me.“I feel like I’m in the cockpit of a plane.And I’m feeling really stupid because I don’t see where to insert the key.”

Cooper walked around to the passenger side and sat down beside me.“I’ve got the key fob in my pocket, so just put your foot on the brake and push the ignition button.”He indicated a discreet button on the dash.The engine purred to life, the sound almost unnoticeable inside the car—unlike Bubba’s engine, which made occupants feel as if they were riding under the hood.

“I could get used to this,” I said.

“Good.”Cooper looked at me and smiled, and I was surprised by the ensuing flash of heat that washed over me.We were just friends, I reminded myself.I must have been feeling lonelier than I’d thought.“Give me your phone and I’ll get it hooked up with Bluetooth so you can use CarPlay for hands-free calls and messaging.You can even play your music without looking away from the road to change tracks.”

Just as he was finishing, my phone rang through the car’s impressive speakers, playing “Tubular Bells,” the theme from the movieThe Exorcistand the new ringtone that Sarah had programmed into my phone during her last visit so that I’d know it was her when she called.She said it was because we were near Halloween at the time, so theringtone needed to be spooky.I had to ask her how to change it, because it was now almost Thanksgiving.

“I’ll be quick,” I said, hitting the green Answer button on the phone screen.

“Did you forget something?”I asked Sarah.It had barely been an hour since we’d finished texting.Maybe she was ready to tell me what I was supposed to be prepared for.

“Yeah.Grandma Ginny had a strange dream last night,” she said, referring to Melanie’s mother.

“Okay.Was it about me?”

“Not technically.”

“All right.So what was it about?”

“She said I was riding in a really big old car, and I was behind the wheel like I was driving.I think she was talking about Bubba, because she mentioned that the windows had those manual thingies.”

“You mean window cranks?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

I sighed.“Go on.And please hurry.”

“So, I was driving along when all of a sudden there was, like, a loud squealing and a big bang, and then everything went black and she woke up.”

“Well, that kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?Aren’t you nearing your midterms?”

“Funny.Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure it out, and it occurred to me that her dream couldn’t be about me, because I don’t know how to drive.”

“Like I said, maybe it was metaphorical and it actually was about you.Hey, can I call you back?Cooper and I are on a tight schedule.”

“Ooh, Cooper.”Sarah made obnoxious smooching noises into her phone.“He is smokin’ hot.”

“Just so you know, he’s sitting next to me and you’re on speaker.”

Long pause.“Oh.Hi, Cooper.”

“Hi, Sarah.”He somehow managed to keep a straight face as he spoke.

To interrupt the awkward moment, I said, “I’ve really got to hurry, so if you could tell me what—”