“Mosquito repellent,” she echoed dully.
“And towels, of course,” Paul muttered with a frown. “I think maybe we should make a list before we go shopping.”
“A list.” Jeanne Louise sighed. They hadn’t been awake much more than an hour, but she was already exhausted. A shopping trip wasn’t in the least appealing, but they had little more than the clothes on their backs. It had to be done, she acknowledged, wincing as they stepped out into bright morning sunlight. She’d need to feed again soon if he kept walking her about in the sun, she thought. And then recalling the dog they’d left in the motel room during breakfast, she asked, “What about Boomer?”
“We can hardly take him shopping. He’ll be fine in the room for a couple hours,” he assured her, and then glanced toward the sky with a frown of concern and suggested, “Maybe you should wait here under the awning while I get Livy in the car. I’ll drive back and pick you up. You probably shouldn’t be out in direct sunlight anymore than necessary.”
Jeanne Louise stopped at once with relief, but she kept her attention on Livy as he carried her to the car and set her inside, making sure the jostling didn’t wake the child.
Once in the car, Jeanne Louise found a small notepad and a pen in the glove compartment and wrote down everything the two of them came up with as Paul drove.
“How’s Livy’s head?” Paul asked as he turned into the parking lot of a huge mall.
Jeanne Louise ripped off the list she’d made and slid it in her pocket as she turned to peer at the girl. She slid into her thoughts briefly, like dipping her toe in the tub to check the temperature, and relaxed when she felt it pain free.
“She’s good right now,” Jeanne Louise said with relief, and urged the child back awake much as she had put her to sleep.
Livy blinked her eyes open, almost instantly alert. “Are we there yet?”
“Yes,” Jeanne Louise said on a laugh.
“It looks busy,” Paul muttered, driving along the rows of parked cars.
“It’s Saturday,” she pointed out.
“Hmmm. I’m going to drop you two off here at the doors, find parking, and then catch up to you,” he decided, heading toward the nearest mall entrance.
“I have to pee,” Livy announced.
“Actually, so do I,” Jeanne Louise acknowledged.
“Right,” Paul chuckled. “Well, so do I. I’ll meet you two at the bathroom closest to this entrance then,” he said as he slowed to a stop in front of a set of doors.
Nodding, Jeanne Louise slid out, wincing at the harsh sunlight that immediately struck her. She closed her door, opened Livy’s and quickly leaned in to unbuckle her seat belt and get her out.
“See you in a few minutes,” she said, and then closed the door and hurried Livy to the mall entrance.
They stepped into air-conditioning that felt almost cold after the heat outside. Jeanne Louise let a little sigh slip from her lips now that the sun was no longer beating down on her. He’d let them off by the food court, a large area with tables in the middle and a variety of restaurant vendors circling it. Fortunately, it was past breakfast time and too early for lunch yet, so the food court was relatively slow, mostly empty tables with a few people chattering over coffee or cold drinks.
A quick glance around revealed the universal sign for washrooms to their left. Jeanne Louise caught Livy’s hand and led her that way, weaving around one or two people who crossed their path. The bathroom wasn’t busy and there were several stalls to choose from. Jeanne Louise ushered Livy into one in the middle of the row of stalls.
“Do you need me in there with you?” she asked uncertainly from the door.
“No, thank you. I’m a big girl,” Livy said easily and slammed the door closed.
Something about the way she said it made Jeanne Louise grin. Shaking her head, she turned and paced to the sinks to lean against them while she waited. She’d barely rested her hips against the counter when a middle-aged brunette entered the room. Jeanne Louise returned the woman’s smile, and inhaled to offer a greeting, but froze at the scent that wafted up her nose. Blood. The aroma was heavy in the air as the woman passed, though it was doubtful a mortal would notice. The scent made Jeanne Louise’s fangs ache. She was suddenly aware of how hungry she was, and not for food but for the tinny liquid presently filling the air in front of her. The woman either had an open wound on her somewhere or was having her period.
Jeanne Louise inhaled the heady scent again, her eyes now tracking the woman as she walked along the row of stalls. When the brunette chose the larger handicapped stall at the end, Jeanne Louise didn’t even think, but pushed herself away from the counter. She followed her into the stall, sliding into the woman’s mind to control her as she went. By the time she pushed the stall door closed behind them, the woman had paused and tilted her head to the side.
Jeanne Louise caught a glimpse of the woman’s blank eyes staring at the ceramic tiles in front of them as she brushed her long hair out of the way, and then she concentrated on masking the woman’s thoughts and pain as she sank her fangs into her throat.
Livy was standing uncertainly in the open door of her stall when Jeanne Louise slipped out of the end booth moments later.
“Oh, there you are,” the girl said with a smile as she spotted her. “I was afraid you’d left.”
“Never,” Jeanne Louise said lightly, joining her at the sink and lifting her up so she could reach the soap and tap.
“I think Daddy likes you, Jeanie.”