Looking for a Hero Read Online Free PDF

Captain Jack. They’d kept her company after Joe had died. They’d had make-believe sword fights with her in the living room and helped her dig for buried treasure in the backyard. Kate had never discouraged Casey’s imaginativestreak, and it was time to give in to it once again.
    There was nothing else to do on the island—so they might as well have fun.
    â€œSo, Case, where do you think we’ll find your pirate?”
    â€œIn the fortress.”
    â€œGreat. Wanna race?”
    A wide smile crossed Casey’s face. “Yeah!”
    â€œLast one to the fortress is a rotten egg.” Kate sprinted away from the boat, listening to Casey’s giggles as she ran close behind. They dashed across the beach, past an immense pile of palm fronds and cypress boughs that had blown against a sand dune, and jumped over puddles of water left from the storm. They laughed, as if the hurricane had never occurred, as if they had nothing at all to worry about.
    Blocking Casey’s way when they reached the entrance to the ancient island stronghold, Kate bent over, hands on knees, and took a long, deep breath. “Okay, Case. Let’s not rush. He might still be inside.”
    She took Casey’s hand and together they crept into the cavernous fortress.
    â€œThis way,” Casey whispered, tugging Kate through the maze of empty rooms.
    The light breeze whistled through holes and cracks, making the place seem eerier than it was. She tried to imagine the stronghold as it had looked hundreds of years before, with a pirate captain leaning against the wall and half a dozenof his crew standing about swilling rum and stout, while buxom wenches swirled their skirts and touted their wares.
    Casey’s pull on her hand tore her from her imaginings.
    â€œHe’s just around the corner,” she said, and Kate suddenly began to believe Casey’s pirate might really exist.
    Kate stilled her daughter and put a silencing finger to her lips.
    Gripping Casey’s arms, they cautiously peered around the opening and into…an empty room.
    Under her fingers, Kate could feel the sag of her daughter’s shoulders, her disappointment. In her own heart, she too felt a nagging sense of defeat.
    â€œHe’s gone, Mommy. I told you we should have come earlier.”
    Maybe they should have, but it was too late now.
    â€œI doubt he’s gone far, Case. There’s no way off the island, except in our boat, and it’s not going anywhere.”
    â€œDo you think we’ll see him tomorrow?”
    â€œI don’t know about you, but after the stories you told me, I’m bound to have nightmares about him tonight.”
    Casey finally laughed. “Did I tell you he had rings in both ears? Did I tell you about his cutlass?”
    A picture of Casey’s pirate was beginning to form in Kate’s mind, and she definitely wasn’t seeing Errol Flynn.
    â€œI think you told me everything about him except his name. Do you think it might be Black Heart, the pirate who used to live here?”
    Casey’s lips twitched back and forth as she thought. “He didn’t look at all like the pictures in Daddy’s books.”
    â€œThose sketches aren’t very good, Case. They’re old, and they were usually drawn from someone’s imagination, or from what they’d heard about a person.”
    â€œWell, if it is Black Heart, do you think he might be watching us, waiting for us to fall asleep, so he can snatch us up and take us prisoner?”
    â€œOh, I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”
    â€œBut that’s what pirates do, Mommy.” Casey poked her head through the gap of a window that looked out on the approaching darkness.
    â€œDo you think his pirate ship might be off shore somewhere?”
    Kate walked across the room, curling her arms around her daughter, giving her comfort, seeking the same for herself.
    â€œWhat do you think your