Dead Woman Crossing J.R. Adler (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

“Hi, sweetie,” David said. “I’m your Grandpa Turner. But you can call me Papa,” David said, smiling back at Jessica.

Jessica opened her mouth wide almost as though she was going to say “Papa” but instead gave the biggest, goofiest grin her sweet little face could conjure up.

“She’s adorable,” David said, his face mimicking hers to get her to laugh and smile more.

The two of them had never met before, and Kimberley was unsure as to how warm his welcoming would be to Jessica as he had grandchildren of his own. But this interaction was a pleasant surprise and made her more confident in her decision to move to Oklahoma.

David gently pulled his finger out of Jessica’s grasp. He straightened up slowly into a standing position. “She’s my first granddaughter,” he said proudly.

Kimberley gave a small smile. “She is, isn’t she?”

David nodded. “Your mother mentioned she was a good baby.”

It wasn’t like she’d know firsthand, Kimberley thought to herself. “She is.”

“Expecting any bags?” David looked around again.

A couple of the baggage carousels had started up.

“Just a few. We packed light.” Kimberley had only brought along what she and Jessica needed. Her apartment in the city was small, so they didn’t have much to begin with—and with how demanding her job at the NYPD was, she barely had any street clothes because she was almost always in uniform. Detectives were allowed to wear business casual attire, as opposed to the full blues, but Kimberley liked the immediate authority the uniform signaled. A bitter taste rose in the back of her throat as she thought about her former job and the well-deserved promotion she was passed over for. There was no good reason for her to have not gotten the job, but she was sure it had to do with Jessica. Her career had been soaring up like a helium balloon released from a child’s grasp… until she got pregnant. Then the balloon popped. Her male counterparts treated her differently, like she was fragile, like she’d break at any moment. It was understandable in a way, but Kimberley thought that after she gave birth and returned from maternity leave, things would go back to the way they were before her uterus was occupied. It hadn’t. They viewed motherhood as a weak spot, but for her, it had become her source of strength. She swallowed the resentment hard, following behind David toward her designated baggage carousel.

Kimberley finished buckling the car seat and ensured Jessica was safe and secure. She double-checked everything once more before closing the back door of the Chevy Impala sedan. She knew it was her mother’s car because her mom had told her about it when she purchased the used vehicle a year before. Kimberley sat down in the passenger seat.

“We got that car seat from my daughter, Emily,” David noted. “It’s yours to keep. Her boys are too big for car seats.”

“Thanks. That was nice of her.” Kimberley looked over at David.

She turned back to check on Jessica once more. Jessica’s blue eyes were still wide, bouncing around the vehicle that sat idle in the parking structure. Kimberley thought for sure her daughter would cry now that she was wide awake and taking in unfamiliar surroundings, but she didn’t. The concrete structure surrounding them must have comforted her. It was after all what she was used to in the city.

“Ready?” David asked, turning on the engine.

Kimberley took a small breath and nodded.

“Let’s hit the road. It’s about a seventy-mile drive—should take a little over an hour,” he said confidently, backing the vehicle out of the parking spot.

“Takes me an hour to travel two miles in the city sometimes,” Kimberley noted.

David arched an eyebrow. “Well, you’ll feel like a time traveler in Oklahoma.” He let out a chuckle and Kimberley gave him a courteous smile.

One hour separated Kimberley from Dead Woman Crossing, her new home. She was looking forward to a fresh start and bringing Jessica up close to her mother, surrounded by wheat fields and flowing creeks, what she gathered Oklahoma looked like from the photos she had received from her mom over the years. No more soaring skyscrapers and endless concrete.

“Your mother tells me you and your boyfriend broke up,” David said coolly, as if he were talking about the weather and not the ruination of her love life.

“Yep. We did a while ago.”

“Why’s that?”

“He didn’t want to be a father.”

David shook his head and quickly glanced over at Kimberley with a somber look. “That’s a damn shame.” He returned his focus to the traffic in front of him as they weren’t out of Oklahoma City yet.

Kimberley could tell he wasn’t used to driving on roads with more than a few vehicles as his shoulders were high and tense, his large hands wrapped around the steering wheel at ten and two and he leaned forward a little. He looked rather uncomfortable. A white sedan in front of them slammed on its brakes.

David pounded his fist against the horn. “Damnit!” he yelled.

A blood-curdling wail came from the backseat as Jessica erupted into tears. Kimberley turned around, reaching back, she tried to comfort her.

“I’m sorry,” David said. “I can’t stand these city drivers.”

“It’s okay. She was due for a tantrum anyway.” Kimberley grabbed her stuffed elephant and a pacifier from the diaper bag at Jessica’s feet. She had been weaning her daughter off the pacifier, and it was now only used for emergencies like tantrums in hour-long car drives.

“It’s okay, Jessica,” Kimberley said in her soothing motherly voice as she handed over the little gray elephant and the pacifier. Jessica cried a little more before taking the pacifier with her tiny hand and popping it between her pouty lips. She held Ellie underneath her arm and against her chest. Her eyes were still wet. Her face was still red. Her nose pushed air in and out quickly as she began calming down.

“Good girl,” Kimberley said with a smile as she faced forward in her seat.

Traffic was moving again. She glanced