California's Calling (Hunt Family Book 3) by Brooke St. James Read Free Book Online

here."
    "One question at a time," he said with a hand out urging me to be patient. "I was the only man to show up at the arena."
    "I thought you said you were a little kid."
    "I was. But if you're willing to take this type of challenge, the storyteller must always refer to you as a man, no matter what your age."
    I giggled at the solemn face he was making as if this were all so serious. Tess glanced at me when I giggled, but decided everything was fine and put her head back down.
    "So I was the only man who showed up that day," he continued. "They didn't want to let me do it at first. They never dreamed someone as young as me would volunteer for the challenge."
    "Why'd you do it?" I asked. "For the kids," he said. The subtle movements of his facial expression made it seem like he was touched, like he was about to cry. My brother was an actor, so I was used to these types of shenanigans. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Cub took a breath in through his nose as if he was trying to hold back tears so he could finish his story. "I had to do it for the kids," he said dramatically. "My parents had just started the center, and they didn't have the provisions they needed to care for the children of Kenya."
    "So you won the million dollars?" I asked, still biting my cheek a little in an effort to school my expression. I was nowhere near as good at this as my brother or (apparently) Cub.
    He nodded. "The arena full of people watched in awe as I walked among the lions for a full hour with no harm coming to me. I wrestled around with them some, just, you know, for showmanship or whatever. The crowd gasped and cried out, but we were just playing around."
    "You and the lions?"
    "Yeah."
    "You guys were just playing around?"
    "Yeah. You know, to entertain the crowd or whatever. The biggest one, one of the males with a full mane, wrestled me to the ground, pinning me on my back with his paws right here." Cub paused and indicated the places on his chest near his shoulders where the lion's paws had been. "He held me there, staring down at me for what must have been a full minute. Children were crying. Women were covering their eyes. Finally, the male, whose name was Toca, bent down and licked my face with his huge, sand paper tongue." A nostalgic smile crossed Cubs face as he shook his head. "Anyway, I survived the hour and got the million dollars. The rescue center basically wouldn't have survived without my sacrifice. It was the least I could do. It's no big deal."
    I giggled as I leaned over and pushed at his shoulder. "So your friend, Martin, had an injured lioness named Lisa, and you made friends with her?"
    He smiled. "Yes."
    "That's still a pretty cool story."
    He nodded. "She was a cool lion. We were best buds." He winked at me. "Don't tell Tess."
    "Oh, that's okay, you can get another lion if you want. Tess is coming home with me."
    He laughed and then pointed at me with narrowed eyes. "I told you not to get attached."
    "I can't help it if we love each other."
    "It's just because you're here, and you're caught up in the moment," he said. "Before we know it, the week will be over, and you'll go back to America. You'll forget all about her once you're home."
    "Did you hear what he said?" I asked, directing my question toward Tess. "He said I'd forget all about you, which is obviously not true!"
    I glanced at him to see that he was smiling as he watched me talk to her. He reached back and gave my leg a squeeze. "I should let you get some sleep," he said.
    "I thought you wanted to keep us company until my eyes get heavy," I said, scooting into my place in the bed and pulling the covers up to my chin. He stood up a little just to let me adjust the covers before sitting down again.
    "Tell me something about poetry," he said.
    "Most of the time I feel inadequate to arrange words in such a way that I can get across what I want to say. Most of the time, I can't settle on the correct order of words, or the words I want to put