The Barlows

316 pages print edition, 98,142 words, Contemporary southern fiction, suspense, drama, romance. Appalachian Culture HeritageFrom Chapter 1: A cold sweat gathered on Catalena's skin as she gripped the steering wheel. She didn't want to move a muscle, was afraid to draw a breath. She was scared out of her mind. Her overwhelming fear of heights had her feeling paralyzed. A sheer rock wall towered on the left side of the vehicle with a cliff of dizzying proportions dropping straight down on the right side. It reminded her of the Road of Death in North Yungas, Bolivia where hundreds of people die each year driving the road. She had driven that road once, and only once, on a motor bike. She shook for two days afterwards and promised herself she'd never get into such a situation again, and here she was, reliving the fright. How did she manage to get herself into such a situation?More important, how was she to get out of it? No way could she back up the Jeep on that narrow strip of road without going over the edge. She was almost as terrified of driving forward."Stop it!" she demanded of herself. "Get a grip. Don't be cowardly."She had obviously taken a wrong turn several miles back. The map of Back Roads of the High Country showed a decent road crossing over a mountain with spectacular views. The road appeared safe when looking at the map. The author of the book and map stated he traveled this road for sheer pleasure when he visited the mountains of the North Carolina. The word sheer brought a lump to her throat and unwanted tears to her eyes. It was a sheer drop down the mountainside. She had convinced herself facing her fear by traveling that road might be the cure for her fear of heights, but it hadn't worked. If anything, her fear was worse. Traveling this rough, narrow, semblance of a road was not what she had intended. She had obviously taken a wrong turn somewhere, which would have been easy to do in the maze of backroads."I don't believe this," she said, hoping the sound of her own voice might give her comfort. "I never allow myself to get lost." Not even when visiting her father's relatives in Arizona, or going with her mother to Chicago, or all the other places she had traveled. It was a fact she was good at reading maps and finding directions even in remote out-of-the-way places.