Chapter 15Cruising down Highway 80 and having passed Omaha and Lincoln, just as the owner of that small motel in Des Moines had outlined, Billie Briar found herself within the bounds of Lake McConaughy after two days of easy driving. The lake wasn’t nearly as big as Lake Michigan, of course, but Wilhelmina appreciated the opportunity to take a brief six-mile detour from her charted path and get some respite from the heated asphalt. As soon as she saw this peaceful oasis, homesickness overwhelmed her. She had never been so far from home and she missed her family. To make things worse, she was running out of the home-cooked food her mother and grandma had prepared. The cake was long gone and the pastry had made its noble sacrifice earlier that morning. Yearning for home, Billie decided to sp
