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

David pointed toward Kimberley’s passenger window. “Over there is our little downtown, I guess you’d call it. Coffee shop, laundromat, pharmacy, and a convenience store. All the basics.”

Without David naming them off, she wouldn’t have known what any of them were as their lights and signs were turned off, just little brick buildings full of glass windows.

Dead Woman Crossing appeared rather deserted save for the lit-up windows of the local bar, The Trophy Room, which was in the center of the town at its only four-way stop. The siding of the building was an unintentional off-white, presumably because it was dirty. Various tacky neon beer signs were hung in the windows. The gravel parking lot was around half full of trucks and motorcycles. She could see people shuffling around inside. Several picnic tables were set up off to the sides of the front door. A few men sat at a table, smoking what she thought were cigarettes but couldn’t be sure, and they clearly noticed her, as their eyes were fixed on her. David rolled down his window and waved at them, but their line of focus was like a laser beam with their target being Kimberley. She might not be from a small town, but Kimberley knew that look. It was suspicion. It said you don’t belong.

“That’s The Trophy Room,” David said proudly. “A nice place for us men to blow off steam.”

“I guess I’ll have to check it out sometime,” Kimberley said with a smirk.

David drove through the four-way crossing, continuing through the town.

Dead Woman Crossing would be quite a change for her. In Manhattan, Kimberley could walk past a thousand people in a day and not one of them would look at her, let alone notice her presence. But here, she already had a sense that everyone was always watching.

Kimberley turned around, checking on Jessica again. She had fallen asleep, the pacifier in her lap, her head craned to the side and her hands crumpled up in tiny little fists. She glanced through the back window at The Trophy Room; the men’s necks were twisted in her direction, their eyes lit up like tiny yellow orbs, still watching her. She turned in her seat, facing forward again.

“Over there is our grocery store. Pearl and Bill own that. It’s small, but they have most of what we need.” David pointed to the small shop on the corner that was also closed.

It seemed Dead Woman Crossing shutdown early, save for The Trophy Room.

“There’s a Walmart in Weatherford, about fifteen minutes from the farm, but we try to support local first and foremost,” he added.

“I was the same way in New York City, local first,” Kimberley said with a nod.

“Good. You’ll fit in just fine around here then.”

David pulled the car into the long gravel driveway of the family farm. She could only see as far as the headlights shined at first until the spacious white weather-boarded house with a wraparound porch came into sight. David put the car into park right in front of the home, and Kimberley couldn’t pull her eyes from the beauty of it all. She definitely wasn’t in New York City anymore, as her entire apartment there could have fit within the porch alone. Excitement for her new life and her temporary home swelled inside of her as she thought about Jessica running back and forth across the large porch, rolling around in the wheatgrass fields, and jumping in the dark with hands splayed trying to catch fireflies. A large gust of wind swayed several of the wooden rockers on the porch, almost like a ghostly greeting for Kimberley and her daughter.

2

Kimberley climbed out of the passenger door and made her way to the back to grab Jessica, who was still sound asleep. She couldn’t believe how exhausted her little girl was, but she welcomed it; it made for a smooth transition and easy travels. She thought of her little girl waking up in a new house. No more sirens. No more loud neighbors banging and clamoring around at all times of the day. No more crammed subway rides. No more absentee mother and deadbeat father. Here, in Oklahoma, she would have peace and quiet, space to run around and be free in, a family, and a more attentive mother. With a less demanding job, she’d have more time to spend with her daughter.

David killed the engine and meandered to the trunk, loaded up with Kimberley’s belongings, before returning to the front of the car. He waited and watched the process unfold as Kimberley removed Jessica and all the accessories and equipment required to keep a small child running smoothly and cleanly.

“That’s a lot of stuff for such a little girl,” David said with a small grin.

Kimberley looked down, noting everything she had in tow—a diaper bag, a stroller, a tote bag, a backpack and Jessica.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I think it takes a caravan of random products.” Kimberley returned his smile.

David let out a small laugh.

Jessica barely stirred, still tired from all her travels, while Kimberley lumbered forward. With her daughter in tow, she eyed the large white farmhouse with excitement. While Oklahoma wasn’t her first choice for relocating post-New York City, a house would be a big upgrade from her dingy five-hundred-square-foot apartment that was, in all honesty, not enough room for both her and her daughter. But like everything else in her life, Kimberley made it work, and she’d make Oklahoma work too. She had considered moving to the Midwest, but she was over cold, snowy winters. She had considered another southern state, like North Carolina, but her motivation for moving was to give Jessica a better life and childhood, and she knew Jessica needed more than just Kimberley. She needed a family, people that loved and cared for her. That was why she had landed on Oklahoma.

“Alright, I’ll show