Read Online By the Creek by Geoff Laughton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Geoff Laughton
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buggy. It tilted slightly when he got in. David shivered from the cold and closed the door. He watched the buggy slowly proceed down the drive and turn down the road like it had the last time Mr. Killinger had visited, but this time David felt elation and hope that he’d soon be seeing his friend.
Chapter 7
S PRING had finally come, though it was well into April before the last of the piles of snow melted away. David had seen Benjamin a few times, mostly out gathering wood. A couple times, he’d joined him and helped cut fallen limbs into pieces that Benjamin could haul on his sled. The tree Benjamin and his father had cut had long since been chopped and hauled away. Benjamin had told him everyone in the community was struggling with stretching the fuel they had to heat their homes, and that they were all praying for warmer weather to come soon. And it appeared that on this gorgeous spring day, as David stepped outside into the sunshine, they were getting their wish.
“Don’t forget your jacket,” his mother called from behind him, and David went back inside, taking the jacket she offered him. He didn’t think he’d need it, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.
“Thanks,” he said as she closed the door. David carried the jacket as he carefully walked across the field toward the line of still bare trees near the creek. The trees hadn’t budded yet, but otherwise spring was definitely in the air, even if the landscape still looked a bit bleak. The ground was a bit soggy in places, and David had to be careful where he stepped, but he managed to make it across the field without burying a shoe in the mud. The wooded area around the creek was littered with piles of debris that the wind had blown in, and David carefully made his way along the path by the creek to the summer swimming hole. The usually small creek ran wide and fast, the summer babbling of the water over rocks now closer to a small river. David was careful not to get too close. As he approached the wide clearing where they’d swum the summer before, David noticed a lot had changed. The log he’d sat on near the water had been washed away. The large rock on the far side of the pool appeared to have been pushed downstream. But at least the swimming hole itself was still there, and he hoped this summer he and Benjamin would be able to swim and roughhouse like they had before.
David looked around, finding a newly fallen tree away from the creek bank. Sitting on the log, he watched the water and thought of Benjamin. All winter long, David had thought of Benjamin at night when he was alone. He’d touched him and been touched by him, at least in his mind.
“You’re here.”
David looked up from the water and saw the object of his fantasies standing on the other side of the pool in dark pants and a solid blue shirt, wearing his flat-brimmed black hat.
“I hoped I’d see you here,” Benjamin said as he strode back along the path. David heard the snapping of twigs and the rustle of leaves before Benjamin approached from downstream. “There’s a wide log just down there,” he explained, and David stood up. In his happiness and before he could think, David hurried to Benjamin, embracing him in a tight hug. After a few seconds, Benjamin hugged him back.
“I missed you,” David said to Benjamin, releasing him from the embrace. David felt himself blush—God, he hoped Benjamin hadn’t noticed his body’s reaction to the hug. David turned away slightly and pretended to rummage in his pocket for his phone, adjusting things so they wouldn’t be as obvious, he hoped.
“I missed you too,” Benjamin said with a chuckle.
“Is everything okay with your family? Did you make it through the winter okay?” Since he hadn’t seen Benjamin very often, he’d wondered if they’d made it through the winter with enough wood for heat. The last time he’d seen Benjamin, things had seemed rather dire.
“Yes. It was difficult, and for a few weeks
Chapter 7
S PRING had finally come, though it was well into April before the last of the piles of snow melted away. David had seen Benjamin a few times, mostly out gathering wood. A couple times, he’d joined him and helped cut fallen limbs into pieces that Benjamin could haul on his sled. The tree Benjamin and his father had cut had long since been chopped and hauled away. Benjamin had told him everyone in the community was struggling with stretching the fuel they had to heat their homes, and that they were all praying for warmer weather to come soon. And it appeared that on this gorgeous spring day, as David stepped outside into the sunshine, they were getting their wish.
“Don’t forget your jacket,” his mother called from behind him, and David went back inside, taking the jacket she offered him. He didn’t think he’d need it, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.
“Thanks,” he said as she closed the door. David carried the jacket as he carefully walked across the field toward the line of still bare trees near the creek. The trees hadn’t budded yet, but otherwise spring was definitely in the air, even if the landscape still looked a bit bleak. The ground was a bit soggy in places, and David had to be careful where he stepped, but he managed to make it across the field without burying a shoe in the mud. The wooded area around the creek was littered with piles of debris that the wind had blown in, and David carefully made his way along the path by the creek to the summer swimming hole. The usually small creek ran wide and fast, the summer babbling of the water over rocks now closer to a small river. David was careful not to get too close. As he approached the wide clearing where they’d swum the summer before, David noticed a lot had changed. The log he’d sat on near the water had been washed away. The large rock on the far side of the pool appeared to have been pushed downstream. But at least the swimming hole itself was still there, and he hoped this summer he and Benjamin would be able to swim and roughhouse like they had before.
David looked around, finding a newly fallen tree away from the creek bank. Sitting on the log, he watched the water and thought of Benjamin. All winter long, David had thought of Benjamin at night when he was alone. He’d touched him and been touched by him, at least in his mind.
“You’re here.”
David looked up from the water and saw the object of his fantasies standing on the other side of the pool in dark pants and a solid blue shirt, wearing his flat-brimmed black hat.
“I hoped I’d see you here,” Benjamin said as he strode back along the path. David heard the snapping of twigs and the rustle of leaves before Benjamin approached from downstream. “There’s a wide log just down there,” he explained, and David stood up. In his happiness and before he could think, David hurried to Benjamin, embracing him in a tight hug. After a few seconds, Benjamin hugged him back.
“I missed you,” David said to Benjamin, releasing him from the embrace. David felt himself blush—God, he hoped Benjamin hadn’t noticed his body’s reaction to the hug. David turned away slightly and pretended to rummage in his pocket for his phone, adjusting things so they wouldn’t be as obvious, he hoped.
“I missed you too,” Benjamin said with a chuckle.
“Is everything okay with your family? Did you make it through the winter okay?” Since he hadn’t seen Benjamin very often, he’d wondered if they’d made it through the winter with enough wood for heat. The last time he’d seen Benjamin, things had seemed rather dire.
“Yes. It was difficult, and for a few weeks
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