Under the Dusty Sky (Holloway Farms)

right?”
    I nod as I focus on his hands. One pushes down abruptly then the other pulls up. It’s an awkward movement.
    “ You transition,” he continues and redoes the movement with his hands, this time moving one up and one down slowly and in time with the other.
    I look at him, then at my feet still hovering over the pedals. It makes complete sense. Why had I never thought of that? Oh, right, because my jackass brothers would rather laugh at me then explain it to me.
    “ That makes sense.” I state, and he smiles.
    “ Try again?”
    I take a deep breath and replace my feet and hands where they need to be.
    Slow. Smooth. Transition.
    Patience.
    When the engine revs, I ignore my impulse to pull my foot off the clutch. The truck inches. It stutters and jerks forward, and Ben is yelling at me to go slow, to keep going slow. I press in the gas and pull off the clutch at the same speed. The jerking stops, and the truck is moving.
    My eyes get wide, and my first instinct it to scream. Which I do, then I look at Ben as the truck continues to move.
    “ I’m driving.”
    “ You’re driving. But you have to switch gears.” He points to the rpm needle, which is climbing into the redzone. My eyes get wider. Switch gears?
    “ Press in the clutch and shift to second.” Ben is hovering over me, his hand over my hand, watching the dash meters.
    “ Shift, Gracie.” He repeats, and I slam in the clutch, the engine reving loudly.
    “ Take your foot off the gas!” Ben yells over the grinding of the gears as I try to pull the stick down to second.
    “ Gracie, gas.” I press the gas harder. The gears screech. I can’t concentrate. I don’t know what he’s asking. I pull both my feet up and the truck shakes to a stop and stalls.
    My hands are shaking. Bentley is laughing but not a happy laugh, a manic laugh like he’s releasing tension.
    “ That was good. That was okay.” He pushes his hair from his face and tears sting at the back of my eyes. If getting my license wasn’t my ticket to freedom, I’d quit. Right now. I glare at the steering wheel.
    After a few moments, Ben looks up at me again.
    “ I have an idea. I’ll shift for you. Shifting is the easy part, it slides naturally from gear to gear and you’ll get a feel for that quick. It’s the clutch and gas you need to worry about.”
    I don’t want to and have no clue how that’s even going to work.
    Ben shifts to get closer to me, and he places his hand on top of mine on the gearshift. He wiggles it, but I’m tense. He keeps wiggling until I give up and let my arm loose under his grip.
    “ Okay, so don’t even think about the gears. All I want you to focus on is transition. Make it as smooth as you can. I’ll say shift, and you push the clutch and let off the gas. When I say drive you push the gas and let off the clutch. Sound good?”
    I nod, and he tells me to start the truck again.
    “ Shift.”
    I push the clutch and he slides the gearshift and my hand into first gear.
    “ Drive.”
    I focus on my feet, ignoring my heart hammering and my hand shaking on the steering wheel. I let off the clutch slowly and press the gas. The truck only stumbles a few times. I pick up speed, and my heart beats even faster.
    “ Shift.”
    I want to slam my foot down, but I stop myself. I push the clutch and let off the gas. Ben pulls down on my hand, and the gear shift just sort of clicks into place. He’s right. It’s a smooth and natural movement.
    “ Drive.”
    I transition. It’s smoother this time. No grinding.
    We shift to third, and he tells me to hold the speed. He lets go of my hand, and I put it on the steering wheel. We make our way slowly down the road, and I have a huge smile on my face. Leaning forward, I watch the road get sucked under the truck.
    “ Normally, I’d tell you to throw it in neutral and just break, but on your test they’ll make you downshift. It’s the same basically, but backwards, and you can press the brake and clutch at the same time.”
    Ben takes my hand from the wheel and puts it back on the gear shift. We slow down until we stop. I get excited and pop my foot off the clutch while it’s still in first and stall it.
    Ben and I both lean back and rest our heads against the seat, breathing heavy, our chests heaving in sync. I let my head fall to the side so I’m looking at him, and he does the same.
    “ Well, that was fun,” he says.

CHAPTER 18
    Graceland
    Lacy’s arms are crossed in front of her chest as she