Free Heartbreak Highway 1 by Harper Whitmore Page A

comfortable booths that were made from the former horse stalls. George Vanderbilt had spared no expense on his horses and the roomy stables and tack house allowed plenty of room for a beautiful, comfortable restaurant and chic little shops. The booths in the restaurants were former horse stalls and when Eva remarked about how cool she thought that was, Simone said,
    “It’s just a restaurant.”
    Eva was about to comment when Marshall suddenly said,
    “You have to look deeper, Simone.” Surprised and delighted, Eva grinned and hid behind her menu as she listened to what happened next.
    “Look deeper?” Simone said, sarcastically. “What does that even mean?”
    “Just what I said. This used to be a huge stable, filled with horses and carriages and tack rooms and farm offices. Think about all of the people who worked here, the horses that were born and died here…it’s so much more than just a restaurant.”
    Simone rolled her eyes and looked at Eva. “I think the two of you have gone as crazy as the old man.”
    “Stop talking about him that way,” Marshall told her.
    “I’m not saying anything that you yourself wouldn’t say….or Eva for that matter.”
    “It’s different,” he told Simone, again delighting Eva.
    “How?”
    It was as if he’d read Eva’s mind earlier in the day when he said, “Because Eva and I loved him. When we say it, it’s with endearment. When you say it….well, it’s just mean.”
    Simone was quiet after that through lunch, only coming alive when they finished and made it to the shops where of course she talked Marshall into spending a ton of money on her. She didn’t seem offended that the jewelry shops were located in a barn. She was even willing to accept a pair of diamond stud earrings that Marshall bought for her, after she pointed them out, of course.
    Their next tour was of the Historic Farm Village. The village had been the center of life for the estate workers in the earlier history of the estate. Simone dragged Marshall off to the shops the village sported now as Eva spent her time watching blacksmiths, woodworkers and other craftsmen demonstrate their skills. She walked through the corn bale maze and the petting zoo even though she seemed to be the only adult there without children. She looked at the display of old farm equipment and sampled frozen treats at the creamery. When Marshall and Simone found her, she was in line for the hay ride.
    Marshall tried to lead Simone into the line but she held back saying,
    “No way! I paid a hundred and forty dollars for these jeans. I’m not sitting on a clapboard trailer covered in hay in them.”
    Marshall once again looked torn. As he was trying to decide what to do, Simone sidled up next to him and slipped her arms around him. Stepping up on her toes, she pressed her mouth to his. Eva saw Marshall look at her before she turned her head away. Simone got her way and when Eva got back from her hayride with a phone full of pictures, they were waiting on one of the metal benches for her.
    “Finally!” Simone said when she saw her. Marshall shot Simone a look and asked Eva,
    “Was it fun?”
    “It was,” she said with a smile. “There were more deer along the trail and wild turkeys. The landscape is incredible. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
    “The landscaping is pretty. Maybe we could copy some of it along the backside of Granddad’s estate,” he told her as they walked towards the tram that would take them back to their car.
    “I’m sure now that Henry is gone, Eva will find more interesting things to do than hang around that stuffy old house,” Simone said. “Besides, if you’re going to make upgrades, the inside is what needs updating.”
    “I love the interior of the house. Granny did it all herself. She had a great eye for that sort of thing,” Eva said.
    “Yes, If you’re a seventy year old southern woman, it’s fine,” Simone told her. Then she hooked her arm through Marshall’s and