Discovery Read Online Free

was a good ten miles back to the spot he’d left his motorcycle. He doubted she had a phone, either. If she had, she would have certainly used it by now.
    “Do you speak English?” He felt a trace of her body heat through the unusual material covering her leg as he traced a path along the limb to the rocks holding it captive.
    She remained silent. He glanced to her face and saw the fear and trepidation growing though the apparent pain.
    He tried something different. “ Français? Español? Uh, German, Greek?” Her body shivered steadily and he could feel her trembling under his hand. “Latin? Well, scientific names aren’t going to do much by way of introduction.”
    He carefully lifted a rock, set it aside, reached for another. She said nothing. He glanced up. “You’re not deaf, are you?” He wondered how in the world they’d communicate if that were the problem. He only knew a little sign, and having watched interpreters in his lectures a couple of times, knew how sensitive deaf people could be about being treated like they were stupid. Like who could blame them?
    One of the rocks he’d shifted aside toppled and slid, making that familiar sharp, falling-brick clattering sound as it tumbled down the slope. The girl flinched.
    No, she wasn’t deaf. She just didn’t speak English.
    “You can breathe, you know,” remarked Kent, realizing the grumpy expression he felt on his face wasn’t presenting the reassurance he tried to project. He forced a smile. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
    A small but definite curve trembled on her lips.
    A chilling gust of wind whipped around them. “Damn all amateurs to Holiday Inns,” he muttered. “What are you doing out here by yourself—in the middle of the night yet?” He glanced around. “You are by yourself, aren’t you?”
    He dislodged the rocks with care and revealed a narrow, booted foot. Kent frowned at the smooth bottoms. Not exactly what he would recommend for hiking. No wonder she slipped. And what was up with the blue glowing strips along the outer edges? “Good grief!” he muttered. “Fashions! What next? You’ll fit right in back on campus. But you’d better be able to tell people where you bought your boots.”
    His fingers probed and squeezed gently through the material covering her lower leg and foot. He murmured apologies for the tiny whimpers of pain that escaped her. “I have to make sure your bones aren’t seriously damaged. I don’t think anything is broken.” He demonstrated with his hand. “So I’m going to guess a bad bruise or a sprain. Let’s hope so.”
    “Jasr’re ene,” whispered the girl.
    Kent liked the husky lilt of her voice and wished he understood the exotic-sounding words. “She could be telling you to take a flying leap for all you know,” he mumbled. Don’t fall for another female schemer, he thought. Get her off this butte and she could take a flying leap herself. Her and the rest of her sex. Manipulating, conniving, take a guy for a ride with fluttering eyelashes and sweet talk.
    She shrank back just a bit from the glare he turned her way, making Kent feel a bit guilty. “Jasre’ene,” she said again, with a curious half-nod and downward sweep of her dark fluttering lashes.
    After considering her tone and action, he decided she was thanking him. He listened closer to her soft syllables. Didn’t sound like any Japanese or Asian language he’d ever heard, although that little head action resembled a nod of respectful politeness.
    “Nihon ga wakarimasu ka?” tried Kent. “Do you understand Japanese? Apparently not. Well, good thing for me, because my pronunciation is awful, or so I was told, and that’s all I know. Besides those words I need to know for ordering sushi, of course. I’ll take you to my camp, since you can’t tell me where yours is. Then again maybe you’re so disorganized you don’t even have one.”
    He offered his hands to help her rise. “No, no, don’t thank me. You can’t walk