Kathleen didn’t protest but she did glance over her shoulder at Josh. “One wonders what a man like that is doing alone? It seems like an opportunity.”
“It seems like a warning. Maybe he’s a serial killer and he doesn’t like accomplices.” Martha handed over a bag. “Sandwich. Eat. Food will help your brain function and hopefully stop you plotting.”
“I’m enjoying plotting. And it’s beautiful here. A perfect place to stop, you clever girl.” Kathleen stared down at the sun shimmering across the surface of the river. Trees stretched into the distance and overhung the water, creating shadows and shade. “The Ozarks, you say.”
“Mmm.” Martha had a mouth full of delicious pulled pork but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the view.
They stood in companionable silence, both of them eating.
Finally Kathleen spoke. “Josh seems delightful. It’s hard to believe we struck lucky so quickly, don’t you think?”
Martha managed to swallow before she choked. “We did not strike lucky. We greeted a fellow traveler. That’s it.”
“It doesn’t look as if anyone has stopped for the poor man. We should offer him a ride.”
“Kathleen, he is not a poor man, and we are not picking up a hitchhiker.”
“Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker before?”
“Never.”
“Didn’t you say that you were ready to embrace new experiences?”
“Not that kind of new experience.” Martha wiped her fingers and scrunched up the bag. “Are you done?”
“The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced this is a wonderful idea.”
“The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it’s the worst idea in the world.”
“But it would cheer me up. Would you really deny a frail old lady some happiness in what might be her final days?”
Martha rolled her eyes. “I do not respond to emotional blackmail. And if you carry on trying to pair me up with every man we pass, these will be your final days.”
“This convinces me that we need to be spontaneous. I hate to see you so suspicious.” Kathleen patted her on the arm. “We never really know anyone, dear. You and I both have experience that supports that.”
“Mmm.” Martha took some photographs with her phone.
“All we can do is take a chance.”
“Kathleen, this is ridiculous.” She lowered her phone. “All we know about him is that he ‘needed a change of scenery’. Maybe he murdered someone. He could be on the run.”
“But have you seen him close up? Those eyes.” Kathleen finished eating and scrunched up the bag. “What a way to go. And anyway, you’re lucky enough to be traveling with a woman who beaned an intruder with a skillet, so you should feel very safe.”
“I think that experience might have given you a slightly overinflated opinion of your own self-defense skills.”
“This is my trip—it’s up to me who I invite.”
“I’m the driver. I could go on strike.” And then Martha realized she was using all the wrong arguments. “Anyway, there is no room in the car. He tops six foot. Long legs. Not that I’ve been looking—”
“I’ve seen you looking.”
Martha sighed. “There is no way he is fitting in the back.”
“He doesn’t have to. I will fit in the back perfectly and he can sit in the front with you.”
“I’d be trapped with him.”
“Exactly! You never know—the two of you could be a perfect match.”
“That would be a miracle.”
“A good relationship doesn’t require a miracle. It requires the right person at the right time.” Kathleen slid her sunglasses onto her nose. “Onward.”
12
KATHLEEN
ST. LOUIS~DEVIL’S ELBOW~SPRINGFIELD
Kathleen closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
She hadn’t been exactly honest with Martha when she’d said she was fine. She didn’t feel fine at all. Her insides were all churned up, and it had nothing to do with the pulled pork sandwich. Thoughts and feelings that she’d managed to outrun for so many years had all finally caught up with her. They seeped past all the barriers and buried themselves in her brain where she couldn’t shake them off.
It was that conversation with Martha that had started it all. Why hadn’t she shut it down?
It was Martha, of course. Her warmth and kindness had a way of melting all Kathleen’s usual reserve. Shrimp on ice. No matter how serious the topic, Martha still managed to make Kathleen laugh.
And now she couldn’t stop thinking about Ruth.
Should she have opened those letters?
“Are you all right back there, Kathleen?” Martha glanced at her in the mirror, a dangerous glint visible in her eyes before she covered them with sunglasses. “Not too squashed?”
“Never better.” Her discomfort was caused by something less easy to fix than a lack of legroom in the rear seat.
She knew Martha was frustrated that she’d offered Josh a ride, but she was willing to weather her new friend’s disapproval if it meant coaxing Martha out of the little protective bubble she’d formed around herself. Kathleen recognized fear when she saw it. She didn’t think for one moment that Josh was a serial killer, or a threat of any kind. And the last thing Martha needed for the next month was to be closeted with an eighty-year-old, however much they enjoyed each other’s company. The girl needed youth and excitement.
But so far Martha had shown no inclination to engage their new passenger in conversation, so if this was going to happen then it was all up to Kathleen.
Fortunately she’d always been a skilled interviewer. There was no reason why she couldn’t use those skills to discover more about Josh.
“Vermont, you say. I’ve never been to Vermont, although I am partial to maple syrup. Is it home for you, Josh?”
“Home is California. I was visiting friends in Vermont.”
“And Route 66 has always been a dream of yours?”
It took him a long time to answer. “It’s something I’ve thought about doing for a while, but it’s taken me until now to do it.”
Kathleen sensed there was something he wasn’t saying.
Interesting.
Relieved to have something to focus on rather than her own problems, she waited for Martha to follow the obvious lead and ask why it had taken him until now, but Martha was silent, her eyes fixed on the road.