Free Finding Kate Huntley by Theresa Ragan Page A

said.
    She placed her weapons on the floor and waved the list between them. “Anything else?”
    “Toothbrush...toothpaste. Shampoo and Advil. Let’s see, another T-shirt.” He pointed to the list. “And a few other things I wrote down. That should do it. There’s a hotel a few miles from the strip called Pete’s Palace,” he said. “They have rooms for cheap. We’ll go there, get cleaned up, and figure out what to do next.”
    Kate opened the car door and climbed out.
    “One more thing,” Jack said.
    She stuck her head back inside. “What is it?”
    Taking a tissue from the box between the seats, he touched the tissue to his tongue and used it to wipe a smudge of dirt from her forehead. When he finished, he said, “Be careful.”
    “I always am.” She turned and headed for the entrance.
    The automatic doors swept open and Kate stepped inside. The cool air hit her face the moment she entered, shocking her and making her feel as if she’d stepped into another world. A kaleidoscope of colors and shapes bombarded her senses, making her dizzy.

    It took her a moment to figure out what to do. An elderly woman grabbed a cart. Kate did the same and followed the woman down the first aisle, watching to see what items the woman might select. Kate’s fingers clamped tightly around the metal bar as hazy images of her mother lifting her into a grocery cart flooded her mind. She hadn’t thought of her mother in years. Had her mother’s eyes been blue or green? She couldn’t remember. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed onward, determined to get through the damn store without falling to pieces.
    The sheer number of items to choose from was overwhelming. She went in search of Advil and hair dye, certain that all eyes were on her, watching her every move.
    She found scissors, a hairbrush, and a tube of lipstick and threw it all in the cart. “Pucker your lips...like this,” she heard Mom say. She watched her mother lean toward her, felt the coolness of her mother’s fingers on her chin as she tilted her head upward. Kate blinked. Her mother was gone. The same woman who had entered the store before her was watching her now. Kate left that aisle and headed down the main corridor until she found the food aisle. She tossed snacks and water bottles into the cart. A light yellow sundress with matching sandals for $9.99 caught her eye, and she threw them both into the cart along with a three pack of T-shirts and a few pair of underwear. Briefs for him, lacey panties for her.
    Her cart was full by the time she headed for the check-out stands. The cashier told her she owed eighty-three dollars and fifty-four cents. Reluctantly, she handed over a crisp hundred-dollar bill. The man held the bill to the light before he turned toward the cash register to gather her change. “Do I know you?” he asked.
    “No.”
    He shut the cash drawer. His dark eyes bore into her. His thick fingers remained curled around her change, despite the fact she’d been holding her hand out, palm up, for too long.
    “I’ve seen your face before. Sure you’re not somebody famous?”
    “I’m sure. Could you give me my change? I’m in a hurry.”
    He chuckled, his bug-eyes twinkling as if they were playing a fun little game. He wagged a finger in front of her face. “Patience is a virtue,” he said.
    Kate fidgeted. She didn’t like the feeling that washed over her and made her feel like everyone in the place was watching her. She drew in a breath and waited, refusing to let her temper get the best of her. This wasn’t Haiti anymore. She needed to learn to relax a little and think before acting.
    The woman in line behind her let out a ponderous sigh, showing her displeasure at having to wait so long and prompting the cashier to drop Kate’s money onto the counter. Kate scooped up her change and her groceries and left.
    As soon as she exited the store, Jack pulled the car up against the curb. She loaded the groceries into the backseat