The Oasis Read Online Free PDF Page A

Lena’s fixation on the body. She lifted her gun quickly and thought about pulling the trigger to scare off whatever could be attacking Jasper.
    “What is it?” she asked nervously, trying to see where he was in the store. She quickly considered her options. She decided against going back to the car. Instead she tiptoed around the corner. Jasper leaned over the shelves examining something closely.
    “They’re all out of cobbler!” He stood up, a smile on his face.
    Fighting the urge to slap him, she lowered her gun and started searching the shelves herself. “You’re an ass, you know?” She couldn’t help but smile at herself as he walked past her. She watched his back as he went to grab his bag. When he turned back to her their eyes met and he paused. In a way, it helped that he found levity in their situation.
    “Grab what you need,” he said, pursing his lips as he turned away to grab some water.
    She looked around, trying to force her brain to remember what she might like to eat. Being in this store made her miss the fresh eggs and milk on her farm. But wherever they were going was hopefully going to be safer than her farm right now. She grabbed a can of fruit and decided to show her companion that she knew a thing or two about making a cobbler.
    He’d already filled his bag with supplies when she met him at the truck, her arms full of a few toiletries and everything she needed to make a peach cobbler. He nodded at her as she jumped into the car. His hesitation made her again aware of their predicament. She was no longer in the safety of her farm. He remained by her door, looking around as if he knew something she didn’t. She watched intently, looking between his stern face and the surroundings. Everything was quiet.
    Her fear broke as he turned to smile at her, his face already covered with a few days’ growth of beard. He stepped into the car and started the engine. They drove on in silence.
    They drove for miles, neither of them talking as they navigated the obstructed road. Abandoned cars filled the highways making their venture slow and more difficult. They covered much less distance in several hours than they would have if the roads had been clear. When Jasper turned off the highway, Lena perked up. “Are we getting close?”
    His chuckle filled the cab of the truck, warming her. “Close?” he asked not slowing his pace.
    “To wherever it is we are going.” She hesitated, realizing that she had no idea what was in Coronado—or what Jasper expected to be there. “What’s out there, anyways?”
    His smile spread to his eyes and she could feel a blush coming across her face. “Well, right now we are going to stop for the night.” Deliberately, he avoided her question and pointed down the road. Her eyes followed as her questions were replaced with her concerns about their shelter. A hotel. Up ahead was what looked like a once very nice hotel. “Not the hotel,” he said like he was reading her mind. She frowned, confused.
    “Too many places for someone to hide out and sneak up on you in a building like that.”
    Lena sat silently for a while. “How long have you been on the road?” It was a question she had wanted to ask for some time. Something she knew she should know, but had been too afraid to ask, and now it was out there. The question hung between them as she watched his profile. He concentrated on the road but she saw his knuckles clench slightly on the wheel. What was he hiding?
    He pulled the car past the dark hotel and drove past a sign that showed campgrounds ahead. Somehow she thought camping wasn’t the best of ideas either, but with the setting sun might come dangers she wasn’t even sure she knew about.
    He pulled into an empty lot at the far end of the campsites. A small cottage rested among the bushes and she had a sudden thought that he had been here before. Jasper unloaded his camp sack from the truck and grabbed his pistol to take a look inside. Lena hesitated by the