Yeah,well,how are you doing planning out your own lifeat the moment?The memory of her crumpled truck brought a lump to her throat as they clomped around a fallen log occupying the middle of the street. She’d temporarily forgotten how abruptly things could be strippedaway. She lifted her shoulders and held her face to the cold sky.
“Move it, Cullen,” Archie called. “If that hillside goes, we’ll be safer inside than out.”
“Yes, sir.” Cullen picked up his pace, causing her to tighten her hold.
She darted a look at the barely visible landscape at the end of the street. The trailer she called home was in a quiet suburb fifty miles away from this town. She’d never been to Grandlake, but she could see the appeal. It was nestled in a valley with picturesque views of the foothills trickling down from Mount Ember. They were more like mountains than hills, and if the volcano belched loose another mass, gravity would speed it right down in one lethal flow.
Cullen coughed. “How about a little looser?”
She forced her arms to slacken around his neck. “Sorry.”
He made good progress, and Kit was already squirming off his back before he could lower her properly.
“Thanks for the lift.”
“Anytime, Kit Garrido.”
Her name sounded significant on his lips. She wondered what he really thought of her, the woman he’d met under such bizarre circumstances. He’d said he admired her courage, but there was a difference in her mind between courage and desperate self-preservation. What other choice was there besides fighting to survive? That didn’t require bravery, just a deep-seated instinct.
Archie handed the key to Cullen, who unlocked the heavy wooden door. The interior was cold and dark, but they’d brought flashlights. The simple mom-and-pop shop was a combination grocery and convenience store, complete withan old-fashioned cash register with actual keys. A candy bowl on the counter offered wrapped green-and-white mints. Her flashlight beam revealed aisles crammed with everything from canned goods to basic first aid to clothing and books.
Cullen picked up the clunky rotary phone at the checkout.
“Nothing,” he said in disgust. “Worth a try, though.”
Archie jutted his chin. “First stop, shoe department.” He plodded down the second darkened aisle, which Kit and Cullen illuminated with their flashlights.
Kit sighed. “When I was a kid, I dreamed about being locked in a shopping mall overnight and being able to pick out whatever I wanted. This is as close to that dream as I’ve ever gotten.”
Cullen smiled. “Me too. Read this book once about two kids who hole up in a museum.”
Kit straightened. “Really? I know that one.”
“A gem,” Archie called over his shoulder. “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Grandkiddos loved it.”
“That’s the one.” Cullen glanced at Kit. “You read it?”
“Many times.” Thrilling, for some reason, that these two men she now depended on for survival had read the same childhood favorite.
Cullen sighed. “When we get out of here, I’m finding myself a copy of that book.”
“Me too.”
“Might as well see the positive side of the adventure.” Archie clomped to the shelves filled with winter boots and a collection of socks.
Cullen snagged a wooly striped pair and tossed them to her. She could hardly stop from caressing them. Warm, dry socks. She would never again take them for granted. After she reached safety, she intended to buy up the first few packages she came across and donate them to the nearest homeless outreach.
He chuckled as he took in her expression. “I’ve got a new appreciation for socks now too.”
But how would she pay? She’d crammed her wallet in the duffel, but she didn’t carry much cash.
“I got it,” Cullen said quietly, as if he’d read her mind. “Don’t worry about the money.”
Impossible. There was never an occasion in which she did not worry about money. Her thoughts jumbled up. “I have a debit card, but only a little cash. I could—”
“I said I got it, Kit.” He looked squarely at her, his intense gaze glittering in the flashlight glow. “Pick what you need.” It was a command more than a suggestion, and she didn’t like it.
“I’ll reimburse you for everything if ...” She exhaled. “When we get out of this.”
