Free Secret Guardian by Jill Sanders

that big head of yours.”
     
    He chuckled at her. He jumped a small ravine and then turned to help her across.
     
    “I have a photographic memory. Actually, my sister has it, too. I guess we got it from our mom. I could never get away with anything when I lived at home.” He chuckled again.
     
    She watched his back, almost tripping over a small tree that had fallen.
     
    “Well? Go on…”
     
    He turned and looked over his shoulder at her.
     
    “What?”
     
    “Tell me about your mother.”
     
    He smiled and held a large branch aside for her. She noticed he made a point not to break it. If anyone was following them, they would have a hard path to follow.
     
    She felt like they were zigzagging through the jungle, turning at every third tree. She noticed they never headed in the same direction for too long. If he did have a map in that brain of his, she was very impressed.
     
    “Well, I was raised as an only child, so I got too much attention from my loving parents. At times I wished for my older sister’s return so I could have someone to take the blame once and a while. No matter what I did or said, my mother’s memory was long and always correct.”
     
    “How about your dad?”
     
    “My dad is a lot like me. He likes to hunt, fish, and spend time with his two brothers. They live near my parents in Washington. My parents had known each other all their lives, but a year after my sister was stolen, they fell in love and married. I came along a while later.”
     
    “I always wanted a sister or brother, too. I guess that’s why I was so happy when Blake came along. Even though he’s half my age, I spoil him.” She smiled and realized that they had more in common than she’d thought they did to begin with.
     
    An hour before nightfall, Ann was so worn out she could barely lift her feet. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, her hair had come undone from the braid, and she just felt frazzled. She could see that Ethan didn’t look any better than she felt. Not having to carry her bag did help a lot, but her feet were just so heavy, she desperately wanted to stop for the night.
     
    “Ethan?” He stopped and turned to look at her. “Can we stop soon?” She could see him think about it, then he looked around like he was trying to gauge where they were. There was no possibility that he knew where they were. They had continued to zigzag through the thick forest for the remainder of the day. At this point, she wasn’t even sure which way the sun was setting. The clouds were thick and hung low in the trees. There was even a mist hanging around the top of the trees. It was still in the high eighties, and she wanted another shower in a cold waterfall.
     
    “There’s a small creek with a pool near here. It’s only about half a mile away. Can you make it that far so we can clean up?” She nodded. Okay, so if he knew there was a creek a half a mile away, she was going to stop underestimating him.
     
    A short while later, they cautiously approached the stream. There was a very small waterfall and the water was only a few feet deep, just deep enough that she could probably sit in it. There was no cave in case it rained again that night. They’d just have to get wet. She’d gauged all this as he was scouting out the area to make sure no one was around.
     
    “It’s a popular camping site,” he told her as they sat by the stream. “We’re about half a day’s hike from civilization. There are a few small towns we will have to pass through. We’d better do it in the middle of the night, so we aren’t seen by anyone.”
     
    She nodded her head in agreement, but in truth she was only half listening to him. She’d sat down by the pool on a large round rock and had removed her shoes. Nasty red blisters covered her heels and when she dipped her feet into the cool water, she almost cried at the relief it provided. She stood up and walked cautiously over the large rocks right into the clear water, clothes