Read Online From Pharaoh's Hand by Cynthia Green - Free Book Online

a hurry. And where’d you get all this here cash?  You get caught stealin’?”
                  “I’m not a thief. Or a liar and kidnapper,” she spat back. “What are you going to do with me, just keep me out here in the wilderness to be some kind of slave?”
                                “I ain’t decided jest yet. You best be watchin’ that sharp tongue. Old Catfish might jest cut it out with this here knife.” He took the stainless steel knife off the bar, unfolded it, and pointed it toward her. “This here will skin a buck quicker than you can say ‘Jack Rabbit.’”
                  Beth’s eyes widened. She bit her lip, and then the tears began to form and roll down her cheeks. The shock of the last two days began to spill over and out from her, and her shoulders shook in heaving sobs.
                  “Oh God… God,” she cried hysterically. Then she began coughing violent, heaving coughs, as if she were going to throw up again. She could not get her breath.
         A look of shock crossed Catfish’s face, unnoticed by Beth. He laid the knife on the counter and crossed to where she was. He started to hug her, and then backed off, not knowing exactly what to do with his hands. He put one hand on her shoulder.
                  “Listen here, missy. Stop crying. Settle down. No use makin’ yerself sick again. You act real good. Just settle down. Once they stop lookin’ for you and the heat is off, then maybe you can go wherever it is you was a headed. Okay?”
              “ Okay.” Beth mumbled. Catfish took a dirty handkerchief from his back jean pocket and held it out to her. She took it, hesitated slightly, then dried her face. “Can I please just have a drink?”
                  “What you want, a beer? Naw, of course not.  I got a Coke.   I got a little bit of drinking water left...hafta get more tomorrow down at the store.  That dern well man couldn’t get through the limestone. Wanted six thousand dollars to haul his fancy equipment all the way out here. I figgered when I got me the money to build the new house, I’d take care of getting’ a well dug then. No sense in runnin’ a line to this heap of metal.”
         Her crying had tapered to light sniffling at this point as she sipped from the can of off-brand cola he had handed her. Beth looked around her in disgust.
                                “Sit down. Youn’s been through a lot.” 
         “ Why did you take me?” she asked, trying to sound calm as she moved piles old newspaper out of a dumpy green stained recliner.
              “ Well, see, here’s the thing,” Catfish began. “They had this here Amber alert out on the radio. That’s how I figured out who you was. And about two miles before we got into Jackson, right along where I planned to let you out, there was a bunch of State troopers on the other side of the Interstate checking trucks and cars. I had no choice but to roll on through, and the same was happening when I got to the other side of town. Luckily, it was right past the exit I turned off on. I could see the roadblock up ahead of the Law Road exit. By that time, I had done decided that you was on the run for something bad. I just figured it would be easier for you to hide if I brought you up here. You was runnin’ and hidin, warn’t you?”
                  She did not want to tell him the truth. If he found out she was pregnant, he might go berserk and kill her. So she lied.
         “ I...uh...was running away to see my boyfriend. He got sent to Memphis to a private military prep school. My parents hated him.  I was going to come home after a few days.”
               “ Uh-huh. Sneakin’ off to see that there young buck done caused you a heap o’ trouble, missy.”
                  If you only knew, she thought, but