He glanced behind them. A car was speeding toward them, coming up fast. The road was straight and clear, however. “Just drive,” he told her. “He’s got plenty of room to pass if he wants to.”

“Okay.”

The driver slowed down suddenly, pulled around them and gave her a sign that made her flush.

“And that was damned well uncalled for,” Gabriel said shortly. He pulled out his cell phone, called the state highway police, gave them the license plate number and offered to press charges if they caught the man. “She’s barely eighteen and trying to learn to drive,” he told the officer he was speaking to. “The road was clear, he had room to pass. He was just being a jerk because she was female.”

He listened, then chuckled. “I totally agree. Thanks.”

He closed the cell phone. “They’re going to look for him.”

“I hope they explain manners to him. So many people seem to grow up without any these days,” she sighed. She glanced at her companion. It had made him really angry, that other man’s rudeness.

He caught her staring. “Watch the road.”

“Sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just...well, it was nice of you, to care that someone insulted me.”

“Nobody’s picking on you while I’m around,” he said with feeling.

She barely turned her head and met his searching black eyes. Her heart went wild. Her hands felt like ice on the wheel. She could barely get her breath.

“Stop that,” he muttered, turning his head away. “You’ll kill us both.”

She cleared her throat. “Okay.”

He drew in a breath. “You may be the death of me, anyway,” he mused, giving her a covert glance. She was very pretty, with her blond hair long, around her shoulders, with that creamy complexion and those soft gray eyes. He didn’t dare pay too much attention. But when she was fully grown, she was going to break hearts. His jaw tautened. He didn’t like to think about that, for some reason.

“Now make a left turn onto the next road. Give the signal,” he directed. “That’s right. Look both ways. Good. Very good.”

She grinned. “This is fun.”

“No, fun is when you streak down the interstate at a hundred and twenty and nobody sees you. That’s fun.”

“You didn’t!” she gasped.

He shrugged. “Jags like to run. They purr when you pile on the gas.”

“They do not.”

“You’ll see.” He smiled to himself. He already had plans for her graduation day. He and Sara had planned it very well. It was only a couple of months away. He glanced at his companion. She was going to be absolutely stunned when she knew what they had in mind.