The Reluctant Traveler by Corrine Aarsen

Author:Corrine Aarsen [Aarsen, Corinne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Indie Author Project

Chapter Thirteen

It took a few minutes for Kimberly to re-emerge from her dazed state and grasp that they’d reached their destination. It took greater effort for her to focus on the outline of her young companion.

Even in the dim starlight, his state of exhaustion was apparent. He sat hunched over the oars with his elbows on his knees. He seemed entirely spent.

“Jazper?” Kimberly asked in a small voice. “Are you okay?”

She made to move forward but winced when she grabbed the edge of the boat to steady herself. She’d forgotten about the splinters in her palms.

“Jazper?” she asked again with more volume, reaching to tap his knee.

“Don’t! Don’t touch my hands,” he whimpered.

Kimberly could only imagine how sore his hands must be from the incessant hours of hard rowing. If only her mother, who was an experienced emergency nurse, was here. She’d know what to do.

Kimberly felt a wave of homesickness. She missed her mom. And not just on account of having been absent for two days, but because she’d been emotionally absent for months. She was so ready to go home. As soon as her aunt did whatever it was that Jazper’s Lord Loxley needed done, they would return. And Kimberly would apologize and hug her mom again and again until everything would be okay again. As okay as anything could be without her father. But first, her and Jazper had to find her aunt.

Kimberly struggled to maneuver each of the long oars so that the flat ends rested inside the boat. Then she carefully moved past the hunched form of Jazper, whispering her reassurance that she wouldn’t bump his hands. She briefly rested a hand on his shoulder for balance before leaping onto the pebbled beach.

She turned toward the boat to address Jazper. “Brace yourself. I’m going to pull the boat up.” She ignored the discomfort in her hands and tugged as hard as she could on the pointed prow of the boat, but it didn’t budge. “Or not,” she added under her breath. She heaved again with all her strength, but the boat barely moved.

“Holy heavy, Batman,” she muttered. She moved to stand beside Jazper. “I don’t suppose getting your feet a little wet will make things any worse. Come on. I’ll help you out. I won’t touch your hands,” she repeated.

As she helped Jazper stand and step out of the boat, she felt his skinny frame trembling with exhaustion. Together, they staggered up the short graveled slope. Kimberly helped him sit with his back against a tree.

“The skiff. You have to hide it,” Jazper mumbled.

“I know.” Kimberly scrambled back down to the boat. Now that it was empty, she managed to pull it a little farther onto the shore, but she didn’t have the physical strength to pull it all the way up the steep bank and into the trees. All she could do was securely tie its long rope around the nearest branch.

When she rejoined Jazper, she saw that he rested his hands palms up on his outstretched legs.

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