What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade #2)(27)

When Kellen scowled, Rae offered her half the sandwich. “Here, Mommy, you’re hangry.”

Hungry-angry. Yes, she probably was. Kellen bit into the whole wheat bread full of mayonnaise, slices of organic turkey, creamy Havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato. She wanted to moan as the flavors hit her tongue. “This is so good. Thank you, Rae. I guess we have something in common.”

“We’re ThunderFlash and LightningBug!” From somewhere in her tutu, Rae pulled the tattered stapled notebook with drawings of the two of them.

“We are!” With every bite, Kellen was feeling more like ThunderFlash. She pulled a peanut butter raisin celery stick out of the bag and bit into it. “That’s a funny tasting raisin,” she said.

“I don’t like raisins. Neither does Daddy. We use prunes.”

Kellen didn’t spit it out. But it was close. “Prunes?”

“I like prunes. I like the orange-flavored ones best. Oo! And the chocolate-covered prunes.”

“Right.” Kellen had fallen into an alternate universe. “Here. Let me put sunscreen on your face.”

“Grandma already put it on me. She thought I was going to camp.” Rae sounded triumphant.

“I thought so, too.” Kellen applied sunscreen on her own neck, face and hands, pulled her hair back and stuck it under her cap. “Do you have a hat?”

“My duck hat.”

“Does it have a bill?” Rae gave Kellen a look that made her feel stupid. “I guess it does if it’s a duck hat.” Kellen opened the bag. “I don’t suppose you remember where you put it?”

“Grandma put it away for the winter.”

“You didn’t bring your duck hat?”

“No!”

Kellen reviewed the conversation in her mind. She had asked if Rae had a hat; not if Rae had a hat with her. Taking her own hat off her head, she adjusted the back strap and fit it to Rae’s head. “Do you have crayons?”

“Are we going to color?”

“Maybe.” Kellen was trying to figure out what in Rae’s bag they could possibly use for weapons and survival. Red crayons could be melted to look like blood and fake someone out.

She looked at Rae. The whole assortment of crayons also could be used to entertain her daughter during the times they were resting. She put them, the ThunderFlash and LightningBug book, and some crumped pieces of plain paper in her bag. “We don’t need this.” Kellen held up the computer tablet.

“My tablet!”

“We can’t use your tablet out here. There’s no electricity and you didn’t bring a charger anyway.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t work.”

“If it doesn’t work, why do you have it?”

“It’s my tablet!”

Kellen found herself wanting to say, “That makes no sense.” But somehow, it did make sense—to Rae. “What’s wrong with it?”

“The battery catches on fire.”

“Really?” Kellen switched it on. It was charged.

“Daddy said not to turn it on because the battery catches on fire.”

Kellen held it while the temperature began to climb, then switched it off. “I heard about this. Wasn’t there a recall?” She looked to Rae for an answer.

Rae peeled a cheese stick and held it out. “I guess. Can I have peanut butter?”

Rae clearly knew nothing about a recall, but if this thing caught on fire, it was like owning a time bomb and that was no end of useful. Kellen stuck the tablet in her bag. “There’s no more peanut butter.”

“I brought a jar of peanut butter!”

“I... Really?” Kellen delved into Rae’s bag and found an entire unopened jar of all-natural organic peanut butter rolling around at the bottom. She laughed in delight. “Dear Lord.” Was that swearing? “Heavens, this is the best news ever. Do you realize how much protein and energy is in a jar of peanut butter?”

Rae examined her as if she was slightly mad.

“I don’t suppose you brought a loaf of bread or some graham crackers, did you?”

“Why? Can I have a banana?”

Kellen almost said no. Then she remembered the battered banana she had packed, pulled it out, divided it in half and passed it to Rae. They ate it piled with peanut butter. Then Kellen loaded the broken computer tablet, Rae’s yellow blankie, Patrick and the cotton-caped princess into her backpack. “Did you bring any extra socks?”

Rae tilted her head and viewed Kellen as if she was crazy.

“Underwear? Clothes? Toothbrush?”

“My Halloween costume!” Rae leaped to her feet. “I’m going as Luna Lovegood!”

That explained the great mop of blond hair in the bag. Rae hadn’t scalped someone. She was channeling her inner Harry Potter.

Kellen noticed parenthood had suddenly created an odd conglomeration of thoughts in her brain, now, at a time when she needed to be thinking clearly. “Let me see your feet.”

Rae pulled off her rain boots and stuck her feet out. Somehow, by the grace of God and Grandma Verona, she wore sturdy athletic shoes and tall socks. “How do your feet feel?”

“Fine.” Rae looked bored.

“Did you bring any other shoes?”