AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where’s the first aid kit?” Carly asked.
“Are you hurt?” He rose quickly to his feet and headed to the wagon.
“No, but you said Sam’s paws would be sore. I wanted to put some cream on them.”
Justin shook his head for some reason but got out the antibiotic cream. Sam was not happy about having the greasy substance smeared on his paws, but he submitted to it with a sigh.
Justin took the cooked rabbit off the spit and cut it up on their plates before adding a helping of canned corn from the simmering pot. “Bon appétit.”
“Merci beaucoup,” Carly replied.
“Parlez-vous français?” He sounded a little surprised.
“I took it for two years in high school. What about you? I know you took Arabic, but do you speak anything else?”
Justin shrugged. “A couple of others.”
Hearing that made Carly feel a little better. Apparently Justin was one of those people who made everyone around them look dumb by comparison. Carly speared a piece of rabbit with her fork and popped it in her mouth. Her eyes widened. “This is delicious!”
“You sound surprised,” he said. She’d noticed that his eyes crinkled at the corners when he teased and it always made her smile too.
“I know it’s one of those stereotypes, but it really does taste like chicken.”
“It’s the secret ingredient.”
“What’s that?”
Justin lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in close. “Salt.”
Carly giggled and gave his shoulder a playful swat.
He glanced over at the book she’d left lying open on top of her sleeping bag. “A bilingual girl who reads Pynchon for fun.” He shook his head in amusement. “Why didn’t you go off to college, Carly?”
“I took some classes at the local branch campus. The thing is, I could never figure out what I wanted to do. I was happy where I was, and honestly, it didn’t seem worth it. My dad really wanted me to go, which is why I took the classes. Mom took my side and said I shouldn’t have to go if I didn’t want to, but Dad said he wanted more for me than being the manager of a souvenir shop and getting married to some guy who ran a fishing charter, or something. I felt like I let him down in that respect.” She took another bite and chewed it while she wondered about Justin’s education. As smart as he was, he would probably shrug and say he had a double doctorate in Sanskrit and particle physics. “What about you, Justin? Did you go to college?”
“No.”
Carly waited for him to elaborate but all he did was finish his food and take his plate over to the bucket to wash it. She finished her last few bites and brought him her plate as well. Justin washed them, and Carly silently dried them and put them back into the backpack where he stored their cooking and eating gear.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Carly caught a glimpse of his dark eyes as he glanced up at her. “For what?”
“It seems that’s a sore subject with you, and I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s not a sore subject, and I’m not upset. I just... didn’t go, okay?”
“Okay.”
Justin puffed out an exasperated breath. “All right. The real reason is I don’t read all that well.”
She blinked in surprise. She’d seen him reading books once or twice, and he played Scrabble like a champ.
“Most of the books I’ve ‘read’ were audiobooks on my MP3 player. Since the Crisis, I’ve been trying to force myself to pick up reading books again since the batteries won’t last forever. I was almost hoping it was something I’d outgrow, but apparently I’m stuck with it.”
She hoped she wouldn’t offend him by asking, since he seemed to be sensitive about it, but her curiosity was irrepressible. “Is it dyslexia or something like that?”
Justin nodded.
