Elusive Hope Read Online Free

grabbed the Brazilian guide and stole away for a few hours of exploring. As he’d been doing since they’d arrived at the abandoned settlement over two months ago. Trouble was, he wasn’t finding anything—not a footprint, not a scrap of clothing, not a discarded bowl or pot. Nothing that would indicate humans had inhabited these forests for years. So, where could his father have gone?
    The immigration officer in Rio had given Hayden the exact location of the clearing and huts that now made up their colony of New Hope. Though the colonists had been overjoyed to find fields already cleared for planting and shelters already erected, Hayden’s disappointment couldn’t have been more devastating. He’d come so close to ending his fifteen-year hunt for the man who had ruined his life—to finally receive the satisfaction of watching his father pay for what he’d done—that to have missed him by only a month gnawed away at Hayden’s soul. A soul that seemed to grow more empty with each passing day.
    He started forward again, asking Thiago about the many plants and trees that surrounded them. So far they’d seen tree ferns, bamboos, lofty palms, acacia, cassia, mango trees, and breadfruit and lemon trees. A green lizard scrambled over Hayden’s boot. A thick black spider skittered up a tree trunk, while monkeys howled in the distance. the smell of sweet blossoms and rich earth wafted beneath his nose. A paradise teeming with life.
    Yet, paradise or not, if Hayden didn’t find any sign of a settlement in his next two trips, his best bet would be to go to Rio and ask the immigration agent if he’d heard from Hayden’s father. Perhaps The man had returned to the city for supplies or to change his colony’s location. Or, even worse, to book passage on a ship back home.
    Perhaps Hayden could take Thiago along to Rio. Especially since Hayden wasn’t altogether sure how to find the city over land. And the guide had been more than willing to accompany him on most of his treks into the jungle. In fact, Hayden had enjoyed his companionship.
    “Thiago, how is it you know English so well?”
    “My father is an American dentist.” He chuckled.
    “A dentist?”
    “Yes. Much needed in Brazil. We have few dentists.” He tapped Hayden on the shoulder and spread his mouth wide, proudly displaying rows of strong, glistening teeth.
    Hayden grinned and stomped onward, scanning the ground for any sign of human footprints. “I see the advantage in having a dentist for a father.”
    “Yes, senhor. Not the least is I learn English. Though we not speak it much at home. Father want to only speak Portuguese.”
    “And your mother?”
    “A native of Brazil. From long line of Portuguese royalty. I have royal blood in my veins. But it is nothing here. The emperor rules all.”
    A band of monkeys swung through the vines overhead, some stopping to chastise the humans below, no doubt for some jungle infraction, before they scampered off to join their friends. Hayden wondered about the emperor. He had seemed a nice enough fellow, but just how much freedom would they have if their new colony became a successful, burgeoning town?
    “Instead of becoming dentist like my father,” Thiago continued, “or working at a trade, I become interpreter for English-speaking immigrants. It is good job. I meet many interesting people.”
    Hayden chuckled to himself. More like the easiest vocation in the world. Thiago got free food and lodging just for talking with people and making sure they weren’t stealing the emperor’s lands. Hayden should have thought of that years ago. It would have settled on his conscience better than swindling people out of their money.
    “Like Mrs. Sarah,” Thiago added.
    Good thing the man talked for a living. He was certainly good at it. “What of her?” Hayden nudged aside a thicket of vines then ran a hand over the sweat lining the back of his neck.
    “She very pretty. And nice. Is she not?”
    “I suppose.”