Kissing Kate Read Online Free PDF Page A

I first started, too. And I still felt goofy saying, “Over” and “Ten-four.”
    “Good girl,” said Darlin, her voice rich and full, despite the tinny reception. “I’ve got a pick-up for you at Canoe, going to 112 Arbor Gate Drive. Over.”
    “I’m on my way,” Ariel said. “Over.”
    “Got one for you, too, Lissa. Stop by Sotto Sotto before delivering your Babette’s order. It’ll save you the trip back. Over.”
    I picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button. “Ten-four,” I said. “Over.”
    She gave me the second address, along with the nearest big intersection for reference, and I did a quick calculation of the best route to get there. Then I picked up both orders and headed north on Peachtree Road. Taillights danced in front of me, and the smell of warm bread drifted from the carrying case to my right. This was what I loved about this job, the smooth peace of being alone on the road. It reminded me of being little, of driving somewhere late at night and hearing Mom and Dad chat softly in the front seat. Sometimes Dad talked about stars, which he’d loved. I remembered him telling Mom how the stars were all moving away from each other, and Mom saying something about how sad that was. But Dad said no, that was just the way the universe worked. Everything changed. It was a fact of life.
    Mainly what I remembered was how safe I felt, with Beth asleep in her car seat and my head resting against the window. Mom would rub Dad’s neck when he got tired, and he’d reach over and rest his hand on her thigh.
    “Uh, Darlin?” Ariel said over the walkie-talkie. “I think I’m lost.” Dead air, and then a click. “Over.”
    I frowned. I waited a few seconds, not wanting to give up the floaty feeling I’d achieved. But it was too late. I raised my walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.
    “Um, hi,” I said. “This is Lissa. Darlin’s probably not listening; she only uses the walkie-talkies to relay orders. Where are you? Over.”
    “Oh,” Ariel said. “Well, I’m kind of near the big chicken. Under it, actually.” She laughed nervously. “There are all these cars behind me. I think I’m causing a traffic jam.”
    I started to reply, but she cut back in.
    “Over,” she said. And then, “Sorry. I keep forgetting.”
    A heaviness settled inside me. First of all, the big chicken, which was literally this huge fake chicken guarding a KFC off Highway 41, was way out by Marietta—nowhere near Ariel’s destination. But on top of that, there was something about Ariel’s voice that niggled at my brain. It sounded familiar, although I knew I didn’t know anyone named Ariel.
    I raised my walkie-talkie. “Take 41 south to West Paces Ferry—that’ll take you about fifteen minutes. From there it’s not that hard.” I gave her directions, which she repeated. “Well, good luck,” I said. “Over.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “Over.”
    I put the walkie-talkie on the seat and tried to ease back into autopilot. I turned right off Peachtree onto East Wesley, appreciating the diminished traffic. I relaxed my shoulders, which I hadn’t even realized were tense.
    “Hey,” Ariel said, cutting back into the silence. “These walkie-talkies are pretty cool, aren’t they? I mean, we could be spies. Or security guards. Or truckers, yeah. What’s your twenty, good buddy? Want to form a convoy?”
    My fingers gripped the steering wheel.
    “Lissa? You still there? Oh, hey—there’s East Conway.” I heard car horns and the squeal of brakes, and then an abrupt silence, which meant that Ariel had released the talk button. I grimaced, imagining why.
    “So anyway,” Ariel said, coming back on and sounding as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “What were you saying?”
    I grabbed my walkie-talkie. I took a deep breath and tried to sound reasonable “Listen, we should really leave the line open in case Darlin needs to get through. Over.”
    “Ten-four,” Ariel said. “Guess