Page 24 of Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora 1)

“You don’t know what a gun is?” asked Wesley.

“I have a better question. What’s a hand? I mean, I know what a hand is,” Beth waved her fingers in front of Kaevin’s face. “But not the way you used the word.”

“A hand is… it’s how long it takes the sun to set if it is a hand’s width from the horizon.” Kaevin stretched out his arm and turned his hand so his fingers stacked sideways.

“Oh, I’ve heard of that.” Wesley mimicked Kaevin’s pose. “We did this at camp as a way to estimate how much time you have left before sunset. One finger is about fifteen minutes, so all four fingers would be about an hour.” He stacked four more fingers from his other hand. “And two hands would be about two hours. Right, Kaevin?”

He stared at Wesley, shaking his head. “Uhmm… What’s an hour?”

Wesley laughed. “You don’t know what an hour is, and you don’t know what a gun is? I don’t suppose you can learn how to shoot a gun by this weekend, can you? I guess hunting isn’t such a good idea.”

“Wesley, aren’t you a big bow hunter?” asked Beth.

“Absolutely—I prefer bow hunting.” Wesley grinned, pulling out his phone to scroll though his pictures. “Look at this awesome compound bow I won in an archery contest. It’s super lightweight, all carbon-fiber.”

“I bet Kaevin can shoot a bow and arrow,” Beth suggested, turning expectant eyes to Kaevin.

“Of course. I’m gifted with weapons.” Kaevin stretched his mouth in a broad smile, flashing deep dimples. Alora thought he seemed relieved to have something in common with Wesley, although his answer sounded a bit arrogant.

“Gifted, huh? That sounds like a challenge to me. We’ll see how good you are on Saturday.” Wesley crossed his arms over his chest.

“Wait,” said Beth. “I forgot the dance is Friday night. Alora, are you coming? Please.”

“We’ll see.”

Beth made her lips pooch out the way that always made Alora give in to her demands.

“Maybe.”

Beth added an I’m-about-to-cry-look to her pout.

“Okay, probably. But that’s the best you’re going to get tonight.” Alora laughed as Beth clapped her hands, bouncing on her toes.

“I knew you’d come. It’s going to be so much fun.”

“I didn’t say for sure.”

“Yes, but I know you won’t disappoint me.”

Alora knew Beth was probably right, but she couldn’t imagine she’d feel like dancing by Friday. “We’ll see. Thanks for your help, Beth. And you too, Wesley. I owe you—both of you.”

As the two dashed out the back door, Uncle Charles still looked like he’d eaten a lemon. “All right. We don’t need to sort everything out tonight. I think a good night’s sleep will help all of us.” He stood up and stretched. “Kaevin, you can sleep in the guest room. I’ll show you. It’s next door to my room.”

“Uhmm, Uncle Charles? I... uhmm, I don’t think that’s going to work.” She held up her hand, clasped in Kaevin’s.

“Oh, I forgot about that. How long do you have to hold hands?”

“I’m uncertain.” Kaevin scratched his head.

“Do you think the bond started on Sunday?” she asked.

“What’s Sunday?”

“That day when you shocked me in the snow.”

“Right. I’m fairly certain that was the beginning. And then the symptoms began when we didn’t touch the following day.”

She ticked off the days with her fingers. “So from Monday afternoon until Thursday afternoon. That’s three days without touching. Four days if we count from Sunday. How long do you think we have to hold hands to make up for that?”