The Road to Grace (The Walk) Read Online Free PDF

and some mutual funds.”
    “How is she?” I asked.
    “She’s doing great. She got that inheritance.”
    “I didn’t mean financially,” I said.
    “Oh. Well I wouldn’t know about that. She sounded well.”
    “Did she mention Kailamai?”
    “Who?”
    “I guess not.”
    “She asked about you. She wanted to know if I’d heard from you and how you’re doing.”
    “Tell her I’m still walking.”
    He laughed. “I’ll do that. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she sounds a little smitten.”
    “With who?”
    “Who do you think?”
    I wasn’t sure how to respond so I changed the subject. “Something weird is happening. McKale’s mother …”
    “Pamela,” my father said. I was surprised he knew her name. But of course he did. He and Sam had been neighbors for more than a decade.
    “Right. Pamela,” I said. “She’s following me.”
    “Following you? In her car?”
    “On foot.”
    “She’s walking with you?”
    “Not with me. She’s following me.”
    There was a long pause. “What does she want?”
    “I’m not sure. She says she wants to talk to me.”
    “About what?”
    “No idea.”
    “Why don’t you ask her?”
    “I’m trying to avoid her.”
    “I saw her at McKale’s funeral,” he said.
    “I know. So did I.”
    “Maybe you should just find out what she wants.”
    “Maybe she should just go home,” I said.
    He didn’t say anything. After a moment I said, “Remember that time you threw me that birthday party and we went to the zip line?”
    “Yes. And that German girl got her hair stuck in the pulley.”
    “She was Hungarian.”
    “That’s right. What about it?”
    “Thanks,” I said.
    “For what?”
    “For throwing me the party.”
    He was quiet for a moment. “You’re welcome.”
    “I’ll talk to you next week,” I said.
    “Okay. Be safe.”
    “Bye.”
    I hung up the phone, stowed it in my pack, and kept walking.
     
    Homemade Pie. Wall Drug
     
    Fast Food. Wall Drug
     
    Homemade Ice Cream. Wall Drug
     
    Wall Drug as seen on CMT
     
    5 cents Hot Coffee. Wall Drug
     
    Western Wear. Wall Drug
     
    Something to Crow About. Wall Drug
     
    Homemade Donuts. Wall Drug
     
    Free Coffee and Donuts for Honeymooners
     
    That night I slept behind one of the Wall Drug signs—an advertisement for five-cent coffee. The road was flat and smooth, which made walking easy, but there were no services. Ted Hustead’s father-in-law was right,this place was as “Godforsaken” as you’ll find on the planet. Fortunately I was prepared. I had asked about this stretch at the grocery store back in Rapid City and was told that there was nothing until Wall. I had packed several liters of water, which, in spite of the weight, I drank sparingly.
    This led me to wonder: where was Pamela getting water?

C H A P T E R
     
    Six
     
    My stalker has forced my hand.
    Alan Christoffersen’s diary
     

I didn’t sleep well that night. The ground felt harder than usual, if that was possible. My water was warm and free ice water at Wall Drug was sounding pretty good. Dorothy Hustead was a smart lady.
    At breakfast I noticed that a field mouse had gotten into my pack and chewed off the corner of a peanut butter Clif Bar. I broke off the spoiled corner, then ate the rest of the bar, along with some bread and my last can of fruit cocktail. I packed up my sleeping bag then started off, my back aching a little. I was ready for a real bed.
    After two miles the landscape opened to a valley—a welcome relief from the tedium of endless plains. The signs were still there.
     
    New Dinosaur. Wall Drug
     
    Camping Supplies. Wall Drug
     
    Great Hot Coffee 5 Cents. Wall Drug
     
    After such a psychological assault, could anyone possibly not stop at Wall Drug? This was clearly an instance where, like the California Raisins or Pepto-Bismol, the advertising became greater than the product.
    After five miles I passed the town of Wasta. Strange name. I have no idea what it means.
    Wasta wasn’t much of a