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“You promised,” Faye said, as if once again, she could read Kaylee’s mind.
She let out a sigh. Shehadpromised, had just said she’d doanythingto salvage this book. And it was only for a week. So really, how bad could it be?
“Okay, when do I leave?”
Three days later, Kaylee squinted through the windshield searching for a sign for the town of Bartlett, her eyes itchy and tired from driving the last ten hours. She’d made the trip in two days, deciding to drive instead of fly, figuring the twenty-hour road trip would be easier on Gladys and might be fun. Road trips always looked so great in the movies.
The drive hadn’t seemed so bad when she’d first looked at it: get on I-90 and stay there until she reached Montana. But she hadn’t factored in the late summer heat, the monotony of the long stretch of highway, or the struggle to find rest stops and hotels that could accommodate both her and the dog’s needs.
She blew her bangs out of her eyes, praying she wouldn’t lose serviceagainas she searched for the exit her navigation system was instructing her to take. She’d already taken two wrong turns as she’d tried to find the small town. The Montana sky was indeed big as it stretched bright and blue in front of her, the highway seeming to go on forever through acres of fields and farmland. But there wasn’t a town in sight.
“Why am I doing this again?” she asked Gladys, whose head was resting on the console between them, the rest of her pudgy body sprawled across the passenger seat. The dog groaned but didn’t offer much more of an answer.
She picked up the coffee she’d grabbed at the last gas station and brought it to her lips. Her hand jerked as the car hit a bump in the road and the dark liquid splashed down the front of her new Western shirt. Shrieking at the hot liquid, she pulled to the side of the road as she grabbed a stack of napkins and dabbed at the pearly buttoned front.
She’d already been regretting the ‘Western’ outfit the salesgirl had talked her into at the only shop she’d found in Chicago that carried anything resembling Western wear. The girl had assured her this was what women wore in Montana. But the outfit was nothing like Kaylee’s normal attire. She liked soft tones, pastel colors, and from the looks of her closet as she’d been packing, a lot of black and beige. The kind of colors that let a person blend into the background.
There was no blending in this outfit.
The hot pink shirt was too bright for her taste, the high-heeled, pointy-toed cowboy boots had been pinching her toes all day, and the sparkly rhinestone belt was sure to draw too much attention.
She held back tears as she dabbed at the front of her sticky shirt. Her back was damp with sweat, her feet hurt, her head ached, and she was exhausted after a restless night’s sleep in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable motel bed.
“What am I doing here?” she asked the dog.
Gladys belly-crawled across the console and into her lap. She licked the coffee from Kaylee’s chin and then rested her head on her human’s chest. Kaylee dropped her chin, nuzzling her face into the dog’s furry neck. The corgi might not have any answers, but she always knew how to make her feel better.
“It’s not too late to turn around. Who would know?”
Her cell phone rang, and Kaylee let out a groan as she saw Faye’s name on the screen. Faye would know. She swallowed, trying to pull herself together as she remembered her promise and answered the phone.
“Have you made it to Bartlett yet?” Faye’s voice blared through the speakers.
“Not yet. I think I’m lost. I’ve taken two wrong turns already. My navigation says my turn is right up ahead, but there’s no town in sight. All I see is this giant circular thing that looks like it could contain a missile or something.”
Faye chuckled. “That’s not a missile site. It’s a grain elevator. And if you can see that, then you’re almost there. Your turnoff is right before it. You can’t see the town because it’s down in the valley along the river. Wait ‘til you see it, though. It’s gorgeous this time of year. Nothing beats summertime in Montana. You’re going to love it.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Uh-oh. What’s wrong? Spill it, Kaylee.”
She already had, right down the front of her shirt. “It’s been a bit of a rough day. And this is all so new and different.”
“And nothing like your perfectly controlled environment.”
Kaylee sighed. “Yes, but it’s not just that. It’s having to make small talk and trying to hold interesting conversations with folks I’ve never met. And you know I’m not good with people.”
“This isn’tpeople. This is just my brother. And a bunch of animals, and they don’t care if your conversation is interesting, as long as you feed them.”
A semi truck sped by, too close for Kaylee’s comfort, and she gripped the steering wheel tighter as her car rocked in its wake. “Are you sure there isn’t another way?”
“I’m sure. Besides, you promised you’d give this a try. It amazes me how you’re so apprehensive in real life, but you can write these bold characters like Sassy and Duke who are smart and brave and constantly throwing themselves into new adventures.”
“Because those characters arefictional. They’re how IwishI could be, but they’re not me.”
“They could be. Listen, I’ve got another idea.”
She gulped as her stomach clenched. “Oh gosh, I’m still trying to get up the nerve to go through with your first idea.”
