Heartbreak Highway 1 by Harper Whitmore Read Free Book Online Page B

the time she cleaned up and stepped out she was feeling, if not human, at least closer to the species than she had before. Brushing her teeth and fixing herself up a little bit moved her along the spectrum and by the time she emerged from the bathroom she was one step above a Neanderthal.
    “Better?” Marshall said when he saw her.
    “Yes, much,” she said. Then grudgingly she added, “Thanks.”
    He still looked amused but he had the decency or the good sense not to laugh again. You’re welcome,” he said. “You ready to go get some breakfast? When I was out at the market I saw a really nice little riverside café.”
    “No breakfast,” she said, “But coffee sounds wonderful.”
    “Maybe some toast,” he said, “You need something on your stomach.” Eva rolled her eyes but she didn’t argue with him. She put on her sweatshirt and grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.
    * * *
    Two hours later, they were back on the road, headed to Asheville. Eva hated to admit that Marshall had been right…about everything, but she did feel like a new woman. As Marshall drove, she skimmed through the “guide” that Henry had left for them. There were at least three major things he wanted them to see or do while they were in Asheville. There was no way they’d be able to do them all in one day.
    “How long are we going to stay in Asheville?” she asked Marshall.
    “I don’t know, it looks like there’s a lot he wants us to do while we’re there,” he said, “But we really don’t have to do it all.”
    Eva looked over her shoulder at the urn on the seat and said, “I feel like we do. I feel like he’s still watching us and he’s going to be upset with us if we start skipping things.”
    Marshall shrugged and said, “I’m not in a big hurry to get back…I mean, I miss Simone a little, but other than her…”
    “I’m not in a hurry either,” Eva said, not wanting to talk about Simone. “I’m guessing from looking at what he wants us to do that the stay will have to be at least three days.”
    “Okay then, do we count today?”
    Eva looked at the clock, it was eleven fifteen, “We’re about forty-five minutes away now. Let’s say from noon today until noon on Friday. That will give us seventy-two hours exactly.”
    “Sounds like a plan,” he said, “You want to start calling hotels?”
    “I was thinking…”
    “Uh-oh,” he said.
    “Stop it! I was thinking that maybe we could camp out.”
    “Like, sleep in the car?”
    Eva laughed, “No silly, in a tent. We could stop at a sporting goods place when we get to Asheville, I’m sure there are lots of them, and we could buy what we’d need.”
    “Sleep in a tent, huh?”
    “Oh come on, I know Granddad took you camping.”
    “The last time he took me camping I was fourteen and I complained all weekend because my phone wouldn’t get service. He never offered again, and I never asked.”
    “Okay, then be prepared for your phone to not get service because I’m not listening to you whine.”
    He just shot her a look. When they got into town they saw that Eva was right. Asheville was a hotspot for outdoor activities and there seemed to be a sporting goods store on every corner. Marshall pulled into the lot of one of them and they went inside.
    “So what do we need?” He asked her.
    “Everything,” she said, “A tent, sleeping bags, cook stove….”
    “A cook stove? Can’t we just drive into town and get something to eat?”
    “Yeah, we can. But I thought it would be nice to make coffee and hot chocolate and maybe breakfast one day.” Eva was a lot more excited about the prospect of camping than Marshall was. While she was browsing the tents, Marshall was looking through the rack of brochures near the entrance. He found one that peaked his interest and he picked it up. A while later, Eva found him still there.
    “Hey,” she said, cart laden with camping supplies, “What are you doing?”
    He grinned at her and said, “I’m