Kissing Arizona by Elizabeth Gunn

Author:Elizabeth Gunn [Gunn, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
Published: 2010-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

When the fat toke was finished Freddy O. looked at his watch, stretched lazily and said, ‘Well, ladies, I guess we better be gettin’ along up the road, whaddya say?’

Bernice said, ‘Fine with me, baby.’

Stella, afloat on her smoky high, said, ‘Sure, honey, whenever.’

Freddy said, ‘Probably a little too breezy on the road with the top down, huh?’ and put it up. When everything was clipped into place he looked straight across the seat at Vicky, serious for once, and asked her, ‘You got all your stuff with you? You ready to go?’

Vicky said, ‘Yes,’ and waited for him to show her now how this was going to work. Was he some kind of a magician? But Freddy just smiled a small, contented smile, looking like a cat about to lick himself, and drove around the block to a gas station. ‘OK, Stella,’ he said, as he parked by a pump. ‘Show time.’

‘All righty then.’ Stella opened the car door, stretched her long legs out onto the cement apron and stood up in one lithe move. ‘Show time it is!’ While Freddy gassed up, she walked into the station, carrying the large black patent shoulder bag Vicky had noticed on the back seat as they drove around.

Bernice stayed put, with her eyes on Vicky.

Vicky said, ‘Guess I better do that too,’ and moved to open her door. But Bernice put a restraining hand on Vicky’s arm and said, ‘Just wait till Stella gets back, honey.’ Her voice was friendly enough, but somehow Vicky felt she had no choice.

She watched people dodging in and out of the gas station across the lanes of cars, but never saw Stella come back. Presently a slim young man in jeans and a black leather jacket walked up to Freddy at the pump and said something quietly. He had a brown Mexican face with broad cheekbones, two small gold hoops in each ear, and black hair, slicked back and oiled till it was shiny as . . . the patent leather bag he was carrying? Freddy looked him over carefully and nodded, and the two of them came over to her door and opened it.

‘Your turn, now, darlin’,’ Freddy said. ‘Stella here done turned into Dick, as you see. So now Bernice gonna take this bag and go in the rest room with you, and she’ll help you get all fixed up nice so you can be Stella at the Border. You won’t need that,’ he said as she climbed out carrying her backpack. He moved to help her take it off but she held onto it fiercely, shaking her head and making little protesting noises. Freddy glanced around, saw a couple of people watching his group curiously, and seemed to decide her backpack was not worth a fuss in public.

Good, now I know. Freddy’s game, whatever it was, evidently depended on looking cool. He kept his self-satisfied smile on his face but his eyes were very businesslike as he nodded to Bernice.

Bernice took her

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