Cinderella in Overalls - By Carol Grace Page 0,61

next thing she knew she felt his hand on her shoulder.

“The Island of the Sun, remember?” he whispered.

Her eyes flew open and she swung her legs over the edge of the straw mattress. She gazed into his blue eyes, which contrasted with his tanned face. Running her hand through her tangled hair, she managed to smile in the semidarkness.

“I hope you remember how to paddle that boat,” he said, returning her smile as if they’d never had that conversation last night.

She nodded reassuringly and pulled on her long pants and sweatshirt over her nightshirt. Silently, as the gulls swooped overhead, they walked across the reed-lined path once again. They pushed off in the balsa boat they’d borrowed from Miguel under stars that shone in the thin mountain air, much brighter than in La Luz, brighter even than in Catherine’s backyard.

Seated single file, they quietly dipped their paddles in the water and headed out of the lagoon toward the Isla del Sol. She didn’t ask him where he’d slept or if he’d slept. She wanted to forget about last night. And it was easy, as they paddled in perfect harmony, to believe their hearts and souls were also traveling on the same wavelength.

She couldn’t see Josh, who was sitting behind her, but she imagined his muscles flexing as he pulled his paddle through the water. And she pictured his body bending forward and back in time with hers. When the moon set, it was a ball of gold in the dark sky. Catherine gasped at the sight and dragged her paddle for a moment.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Josh said, his voice so close and so deep she could only nod in agreement.

She reached over her shoulder, and he took her hand and held it tightly for a moment. She felt tears prick her eyelids at the sheer beauty of the sky and sea. She would never forget they had shared this moment together. Then they turned the boat in the direction of the island.

In a half hour they reached their destination and climbed a steep slope to the first of the ancient terraces that rose like huge steps to the top of the island. In the darkness Catherine stumbled and slipped backward into Josh’s arms. Leaning against a large rock, he held her while she caught her breath. She closed her eyes and let him support her, feeling the muscles in his chest through his jacket.

“Take it easy,” he murmured in her ear.

“I don’t want to miss it,” she said breathlessly. “This is our only chance.” She reached for the rocky ledge above her, and with a boost from Josh she pulled herself up. In a moment he was beside her. “Thanks for being there to catch me,” she said.

“I’ll always be there,” he said, his warm breath on her cheek. And he hoisted her to the next level.

Always. Forever. Those were just words. If anything was forever, it was her farmland, as close to a sure thing as there was in this world, and yet it was gone forever.

Near the top of the slope the outline of a rectangular pile of stone stood against the sky, the remnants of the House of Inca. One doorway was left. Out of breath and caked with dirt, Josh pulled Catherine up to stand there. Framed in the doorway, their shoulders touching, they stood waiting silently.

Suddenly the sky in the southeast lightened and the sun burst forth in golden splendor just as it had for the Incas. Just as it had for centuries. Catherine breathed a sigh of pure delight. She looked at Josh, and he tightened his arm around her shoulders.

“So Old Pedro changed his mind,” he said. “I wonder why.”

Catherine stared straight ahead, watching the sun and the sky, not daring to believe that Josh, too, might change his mind. “He had a dream,” she explained, “where the padrón told him not to be afraid anymore.”

Josh shielded his eyes from the dazzling sun. “If I go, will you come along?”

“Of course.”

Without another word they climbed down over rough stones from terrace to terrace until they reached the shore below and their boat. This time the sun and the wind were at their backs as they paddled to the village. The boat seemed to fly effortlessly over the waves.

The wind ferry took them to the mainland. They carried their bags to the train station, over the cobbled streets, still feeling the motion of the boat beneath their feet.

“When would we go to the mine?”