Page 5 of The Journey That Never Ends

A sneaky smile stretched across the woman’s weathered face. “Montana.”

CHAPTER3

After leaving her grandmother’s house, she called her father and filled him in on the entire conversation.

“I really don’t know that I can take that much time off from work. I shouldn’t have agreed to drive her, but she seemed so determined.” Elana took a left on her way home.

“Actually, I think it’s a great idea.” Her father sounded pleased.

“You do?” Elana slammed on her brakes to keep from hitting a crazy driver who was weaving in and out of traffic. Sometimes she entertained the idea of living in a small town where the pace was much slower.

“Yes, I do. Once you get her to Montana and she realizes what a fool she has been, she’ll agree that she needs help to manage her finances. And don’t worry about your job. I’ll call Mark and work everything out for you.”

Elana cringed. “You don’t have to do that. I can call him myself.” She wasn’t a child anymore. She could take her of her own business.

“Whatever you want. And Elana, I just want to say how proud I am of you. I knew you were the right person for the job.” He ended the call.

Her gut tightened. Why did this feel so bad for Grandma Cecilia?

The second she pulled into her driveway by her one-bedroom cottage in the older part of town, her phone buzzed with a text.

She glanced down. It was from Anna.

Your grandmother sent a list of clothes you’ll need to get for the road trip. She says you guys are leaving at six a.m. sharp, so don’t be late. Plan to be gone for almost three weeks ~ Anna.

She groaned. “I don’t need new clothes. I have clothes.” Grabbing her purse, she headed inside.

When she stepped inside her cozy little home, she breathed a little easier.

She dumped her keys and purse on the table in the small foyer and went into her bedroom.

Kicking off her shoes, she opened her closet and pulled out the largest suitcase she had. She would have to stuff three weeks’ worth of clothes in one bag.

She pulled out a pair of sneakers, some black flats, and one pair of heels. She’d wear the sneakers while driving and the flats and heels whenever they went out to eat.

After packing the rest of her clothes, which included a lot of jeans and T-shirts, along with a few pairs of slacks and blouses, she glanced up at the top of the closet at the big floppy hat she always wore to the beach. It might come in handy if they stopped along the way to do some sightseeing. Standing up, she grabbed the hat and tossed it on top of her suitcase.

Packing done, she headed into the kitchen to fix something for dinner.

Elana opened the refrigerator and pulled out some leftover pasta salad from the night before. There wasn’t much left, so she didn’t bother getting a plate. Instead, she grabbed a fork and ate right out of the plastic container.

Turning on her laptop, she sat at the tiny kitchen table she’d thrifted. She typed in how far it was from South Carolina to Montana. Her fork froze halfway to her mouth when she saw the results.

“Holy cow. It’s going to take a week of driving just to get there,” she muttered to herself. Grabbing her phone, she put in the directions.

It was going to be a long trip. She wasn’t sure if Grandma Cecilia understood just how long.

Maybe her grandmother would see how baffling this road trip was and get Elana to turn around.

Closing the laptop, she went over to the sink and rinsed out her container before sticking it in the dishwasher.

She glanced out the window into the backyard. It was dark, and morning would come way too soon.

Elana padded into her bedroom to get ready for bed and the adventure that she’d somehow found herself in.

CHAPTER4

Elana looked on in horror as Grandma Cecilia went through her packed suitcase to pare it down.

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