Adult Romantic Adventure
Date Published: February 2022
AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER.
One part, exotic, jungle setting, one part romance, two parts gripping, heart-pounding suspense
Jake Bennett knew a couple of things for sure: he needed a job, he didn’t want to die in the jungle… but he’d never met anyone like nurse Brockman.
The two clash when Jake discovers that Katherine Brockman’s mission has nothing to do with checking the condition of malaria in native villages.
The possibility of saving tens of thousands of lives unites them as they venture into the steaming jungle to discover if the “Legend of the Riverman” is true.
Soon, the dangers of the jungle wrapped in the unforgiving heat, threatens to end, not only their mission, but their lives.
But nothing can prepare them for what they discover, hidden deep in an unexplored jungle basin.
A new, action-packed, adult adventure
EARLY
DANGER
Jake used
his paddle as a rudder to guide the dugout away from the bank then pulled hard
for a couple of strokes to gain some momentum. He fell back into the pace that
Katherine had set and studied the sweat stained back in front of him. Memories
of massaging the muscles under her pale white skin resurfaced. Not unpleasant
ones. They hadn’t spoken of last night over morning breakfast, but he had been
impressed that, despite moving slowly, she had packed up her tent and helped
carry equipment and supplies down to the river bank. He studied her stroke,
which was slower than yesterday. The way her shirt clung to her back, he didn’t
think she had her brassiere on today. He shook his head to dispel the direction
his thoughts were going, and studied the row of canoes ahead.
They paddled at a relaxed pace,
the dugouts spread out, Tanum ahead, choosing a camp site and setting up before
their arrival. Jake felt there really was no hurry. He was convinced that it
was only a matter of time before they turned back. The heat and pace of the
day, along with the less than ideal sleeping conditions would soon take its
toll. If they went far enough, they would encounter rapids that would force
them to drag the dugouts up river through them, or worse, to portage around
them. The strain of carrying the supplies and the swarming bugs would finish
them off.
“How much further until we stop for
lunch?” Katherine asked, laying her paddle across the gunwales. She
straightened her back, twisting left and right.
“Should be any time now. How’s
your back? Take a rest if you need one.”
“My back is sore but I shall
manage.” She paused. “In no small part, due to your ministration of … well due
to your help. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Be damned. “Any time.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass, Mr.
Bennett.”
“No, Ma’am,” he said grinning,
studying her back once more. A splash shifted his gaze to the dugout ahead.
“Shit! Shit! Katherine, paddle. Quickly!” He dug his paddle in, pulling hard
with rapid strokes, trying to close in on the dugout ahead and the bearer who
had fallen into the river. “Paddle, Katherine. Harder!”
Jake saw that the momentum of the
dugout had carried it past Duda who still held onto his paddle, stuck upright,
jutting out of the water. Jake pulled harder, closing the distance. The man
called to his fellow paddler who had managed to stop the dugout. Jake checked
the bank, fearing the worst, but didn’t see any crocs. They were thirty feet
away when he saw a telltale ripple and the croc’s eyes just above the water.
“Swim, Duda! Swim! Do kumaau!” Jake yelled. Duda turned at
Jake’s voice and saw the eyes. He screamed, abandoning the paddle, lurching
through the water towards the dugout. The croc silently disappeared below the
water. Even as he dropped his paddle and opened the flap of the holster, Jake
knew it was too late. But he pulled the 45 caliber Webley and cocked the hammer
as their dugout glided towards Duda.
The crocodile’s jaws closed on the
man’s waist. In a second, the scream was cut short as he was jerked under. The
water erupted as the croc rolled Duda, the surface turning red, flashes of man
and beast appearing in the churning water. Then it was calm, the still red
surface tranquil. All traces of the crocodile and Duda gone.
“Oh my god! Oh my god!” Katherine
repeated over and over.
* * *
About the Author
An avid reader as a youngster, Daniel began a teaching career at twenty, peppering his life with trail rides on his horse Kelly, scuba diving in the murky Great Lakes of Ontario and taking fencing lessons.
He married Lynda, five months after they met in a bar on a Thursday night. With her, he raised a family, wrote and produced school plays, built their log home, restored a classic Mustang, a '69 Mach 1 for enthusiasts, and took their three boys on many canoe trips in northern Canada.
Twenty years later, unable to find a science fantasy adventure he liked, with encouragement from Lynda, he wrote The Reedsmith of Zendar. Expedition Borneo is his sixth novel.
His books are varied, but whether suspense, a thriller, or an adventure story, all contain characters in trouble that you will care about and root for. He's never perfect and neither is she, but the attraction is inevitable as they learn about each other on an adventure seldom of their choosing.
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