Harper grinned as she started moving down the aisle. Nothing was sorted how she expected so she had to read each label. “I want to be Michonne. She has great hair and knows how to handle a sword.”
Zander shot her a pointed look. “I know how to handle a sword.”
Jared almost choked when he picked up on the double entendre. “Oh, geez.”
His reaction was enough to garner a smile from Zander. “Harper and I have already planned out our zombie apocalypse. We’re going to totally rock the end of civilization.”
Harper was no longer certain that was true. “I’m totally up for trying to survive the apocalypse.” She paused for a beat. “I would prefer things stay normal, though. Maybe that’s just me.”
Jared smirked as he grabbed several cans of beans. “If the apocalypse involved hammocking, you would totally be in charge, Heart. Since it doesn’t, though, I think Shawn and I are going to be the ones doing the heavy lifting. That means we’re Daryl and Rick.”
“Since you’re law enforcement, that means you’re Rick,” Shawn pointed out. “That leaves Daryl for me.”
Jared shrugged. “I’m fine with it.”
Zander didn’t look as if he was fine with it – his mouth was already moving to argue the Daryl point – but Harper had already tuned them out. She left them to their conversation and cut down a nearby aisle to check out the offerings. At the end of the aisle, there was a counter, and two women stood behind it watching the ghost whisperer with skeptical eyes.
“Oh, hey.” Harper felt awkward, which was not necessarily a normal feeling for her. She was good in social situations. “This is a really nice store you have.”
One of the women, who wore a name tag that read “Betty,” shifted from one foot to the other as she regarded Harper.
“We’re just picking up a few things because we’re camping,” Harper volunteered, feeling an overwhelming urge to fill the uncomfortable silence. “We won’t be here long.”
“I’m not the shopping police,” Betty noted after a beat. “Do what you need to do.”
“Um ... thanks.” Harper was happy when she heard footsteps on the linoleum, right up until she realized it was Zander joining her. “I don’t think they have what you need,” she offered hurriedly.
“Well, it still can’t hurt to ask.” Zander pasted the brightest smile in his repertoire on his face. “Good afternoon, ladies. It’s lovely to be in your part of the state, where talk of the apocalypse goes with the territory and steamed milk hasn’t yet been invented for coffee. I was wondering if you might have some Pureology products I can browse.”
Betty’s expression never changed. She also didn’t respond.
“I would also take Paul Mitchell at this point,” Zander offered hopefully. “Heck, who am I kidding, I would actually buy Aqua Net if it’s all that was available.”
Betty let loose a long sigh. “There’s a shelf over by the cold medicine with some stuff on it. If you want a specific brand, you’re going to have to head over to the Ulta Beauty place.”
Zander brightened considerably. “Oh, yay. I love Ulta. Where would that be located?”
“Over in Marquette.”
Zander’s brow furrowed. “And where is that?”
“About an hour from here.”
“Oh, well, great.” Zander’s scowl was back. “This is the worst kind of living, Harp. I don’t even want to survive the zombie apocalypse if there’s no hair gel.”
Harper tried to hide her smile, and failed. “It will be okay.” She gave Zander an absent pat and shot Betty a rueful smile. “It turns out that we’re not outdoorsy people. We genuinely thought we were ... but apparently wishing and dreaming is different from reality.”
“Bummer.” Betty rolled her eyes. “You’re staying up at that campground, aren’t you?”
Harper nodded. It seemed best to get off the topic of hair products. “We are. We’re participating in their inaugural event.”
“That’s a mistake.”
Harper was taken aback. “I’m sorry but ... what?”
“It’s a mistake,” Betty repeated. “Those folks up there are nothing but trouble. You should totally turn tail and run.”
For a brief moment, Harper wondered if Harris had gone so far as to set up a harbinger of doom in the middle of the tiny town. If he had, it would’ve been a stroke of genius. She very much doubted he’d gotten that far, though. That meant Betty was just a complete and total curmudgeon.
“Well, we don’t plan on moving here or anything,” Harper offered. “Right now it’s just a vacation thing. We’ll definitely take your opinion into consideration if we ever think of coming back, though.”
“Oh, we’re not coming back.” Zander was adamant as he shook his head. “I’m not geared to survive camping, Harp. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and it’s simply not for me.” He lowered his voice. “I think it’s designed around the interests of psychopaths.”
That had Harper choking on a laugh. “Well, at least we know now.”
“We do, but what about them?” He jerked his thumb toward Jared and Shawn, who seemed to be having a good time as they perused the limited selection of hot dogs. “They think this is fun.”
Harper glanced at the two men – one who would become her husband in a very short amount of time – and shrugged. “Relationships are about compromise, right?”
“Yes.” He bobbed his head. “They compromise to give us what we want. I don’t want to compromise.”
“I don’t see where you have a lot of choice.”
“Well ... this is just crap.” He threw his hands into the air and looked to the heavens for answers. “Why am I being tortured like this?”
Helpless, Harper held out her hands to Betty. “He’s just a little dramatic. He’s not really a bad guy.”
“Everyone at that camp is dramatic,” Betty replied. “You might want to be careful while you’re up there. Things could get ugly.”
Harper wasn’t certain what to make of the statement. “I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying they’re dangerous?”
“I’m saying that whole place attracts weirdos. Who knows, though?
