I climbed (and it was a climb) up into the passenger’s seat—which was made of a bright red leather with some black trim, on the off chance it wasn’t already aggressively macho enough—and he closed the door.

He sauntered around to the driver’s side, where he, too, had a bit of a climb to get inside. This thing was made for giants like the Moses twins, not mere mortals.

Have you ever seen the interior of a Hummer H2? I’m sure, as conceived by the US military, the ginormous transport was the model of efficiency. But I was confident that driving down the streets of a small Oklahoma town to run errands was not what its creators had in mind.

It was absurd.

And the thought of Aunt Esha’s face when she first saw it made me chuckle.

“What?” he asked, as he started the monster and eased it out of the parking lot.

“Take a right, then at the next stop sign turn left onto Angel Avenue,” I told him, pointing in the opposite direction of Boots Boulevard from yesterday. “And I was laughing at what your aunt’s reaction must’ve been to seeing this thing.” I indicated the car. “Did she freak?”

“Au contraire. She was the one who wouldn’t allow me to trade down to a sedan.”

My eyes bugged. “Get out!”

“Not whilst I’m driving,” he murmured with the barest hint of joking. “Her point being that neither of us are particularly accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road here in the States, so we might as well hedge our bets in terms of surviving a potential head-on collision by having the superior vehicle.”

“Huh. She makes a good case. Grim, but good. Also, maybe don’t share that story with Grandma Jo until you’re about to leave.”

“Ah, yes. Noted.”

I pointed ahead. “Turn right here on Dasher Drive and then we’ll turn left onto Jolly Lane and stay there for about half a mile.”

“These names are absurd.” But he turned right as instructed. “And, as it so happens, Auntie Esha has also always wanted to drive one of these.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

“Well, she’s full of surprises.”

“Your father said the same thing.”

My whole body tensed and my breath caught like some massive, celestial hand had grabbed me around the torso and squeezed.

“What—when?” I eked out.

“When I went to get the keys. He and Auntie are playing chess and it would seem she has already bested him in two matches. They were gearing up for a third go when I found them in the library.”