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    Jack and The Fountain of Youth
    Jack and The Fountain of Youth
    Jack and The Fountain of Youth
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    Jack and The Fountain of Youth

    By HL Carpenter

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    About this ebook

    Jack Ponsi Dileonardo Thomas is eighteen years old. At least, that’s what he tells everyone. He doesn't like to lie. But he has to, because he celebrated his real eighteenth birthday five centuries ago.

    Some people say the Fountain of Youth is a myth. Jack knows better. He drank from the fabled fuente in 1513. Over the five hundred years since, he’s given up believing his life will ever again be normal–and that he’ll ever rediscover the magical spring. But when he learns the Fountain is located on the property of Nessa Owens, Jack takes up the search once more. And when Nessa captures his heart, his quest acquires new urgency.

    Caught in the midst of a hurricane, surrounded by centuries-old memories and present day mysteries, Jack must risk all for a future with Nessa.

    Will love prove more powerful than the enchanted waters of the Fountain of Youth?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHL Carpenter
    Release dateOct 6, 2013
    ISBN9780988409521
    Jack and The Fountain of Youth
    Author

    HL Carpenter

    Dear Reader,Hi, there! We’re HL Carpenter, a mother/daughter duo. We write family-friendly fiction from our studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like our stories, is unreal but not untrue. When we’re not writing, we enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. We invite you to visit us at HLCarpenter.com for free reads, links to guest blog posts, and other news from Carpenter Country. We also invite you to sign up for our newsletter, which goes out every Saturday thanks to the hard-working team at MailChimp. The newsletter is free, we’ll never spam you, and you can unsubscribe easily at any time (not that you’ll want to).If you want to talk to us, send an email to editor @ TopDrawerInkCorp.com or hl_carpenter @ HLCarpenter.com, or you can connect on Google+ or LinkedIn.Thanks for reading, and welcome to Carpenter Country! Now that we've met, we hope you’ll be a regular visitor.H & L Carpenter

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      Book preview

      Jack and The Fountain of Youth - HL Carpenter

      Jack and The Fountain of Youth

      HL Carpenter

      www.HLCarpenter.com

      Also by HL Carpenter

      The SkyHorse

      Jack and the Fountain of Youth, Copyright © Top Drawer Ink Corp., 2012

      All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information contact Top Drawer Ink Corp., www.TopDrawerInkCorp.com

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Published by Top Drawer Ink Corp., September 2013

      Smashwords Edition

      Thank you for downloading our ebook, which is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting our rights.

      Published in the United States of America

      Edited by Irene Zahava (Thanks, Zee!)

      For the original Ida

      Table of Contents

      Other Books by HL Carpenter

      Editor Acknowledgment

      Dedication

      One

      Two

      Three

      Four

      Five

      Six

      Seven

      Eight

      Nine

      Ten

      Eleven

      Twelve

      Thirteen

      Fourteen

      Fifteen

      Sixteen

      Seventeen

      Eighteen

      Author Bio

      One

      "You want me to do what?" Eighteen-year-old Jack Ponsi Dileónardo Thomas stared at his gray-haired boss, and a memory he’d buried five centuries earlier lurched to life. He clutched the cold metal arms of his chair, fighting off the shock that threatened to topple him to the floor.

      Colby Newman, editor-in-chief and person-in-charge-of-handing-out-assignments at the World Pryer, crunched a peppermint candy and stared back at him without answering.

      During the six weeks Jack had spent as a summer intern for the Pryer, he’d learned Mr. Newman always lapsed into silence after dropping a bomb on one of his reporters. Mr. Newman was a great editor, but he had an odd sense of humor.

      Right now, he didn’t look like he thought he’d cracked a joke.

      Jack took a deep breath and unclenched his hands. The shock died away. The undead memory lived on. He said, Did you ask me to find the Fountain of Youth?

      Yes. Mr. Newman twisted his thick lips into a smile that made him resemble the water-skiing gorilla on last week’s front page. Go prove the Fountain exists, Jack. And I don’t mean another tired story on that moldy tourist attraction in St. Augustine. I’m talking about the real thing.

      The real thing?

      Mr. Newman said, You probably learned about the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in school, Jack. It’s textbook history. He explored many parts of Florida during his search for the Fountain of Youth.

      I know. Jack knew all about the de León name and its place in La Florida’s past, though not from any school lessons. He said, Juan led an expedition through the area around Everyoung, too.

      Mr. Newman nodded. That means the Fountain of Youth could be right here, in our town. In fact, a reliable source called in that very tip to the hot line yesterday morning. The message was a bit garbled, but I have reason to believe he’s onto something.

      You do? For one shining moment, a beam of hope seared through Jack. He used all his willpower to shove it aside. Over the years, the flame of false expectation had burned him badly. Why do you think so?

      Call it an old newsman’s hunch. Mr. Newman shrugged. Even if the tipster is wrong, the Fountain of Youth makes good copy. I’m excited about this story. I’m assigning you to follow up.

      The still-swirling memories burst through the dam of Jack’s willpower and threatened to swamp him. He didn’t have to follow up, because Mr. Newman’s source was right about the location of the Fountain. It was here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Jack knew that for certain.

      He couldn’t say so, though. As much as Mr. Newman liked weird stories, he’d never believe that five centuries earlier, in the year 1513, Jack had accompanied Ponce de León’s expedition to La Florida, and discovered the magical spring.

      Mr. Newman wouldn’t believe the rest of the story, either. Jack hadn’t understood what he’d stumbled across until years later—specifically, on the day he’d looked at his twin sister Maria and realized she had become a fifty-year-old woman.

      And he was still eighteen.

      On that day in 1553, four decades after his discovery, Maria had gotten sick. To give her doctors the opportunity to find a cure that would save her life, Jack had launched a frantic effort to find the Fountain a second time. He’d had no success, and in the centuries since, he’d given up the quest. He’d convinced himself he’d never be lucky enough to locate the Fountain of Youth again and reverse the spell cast so long ago.

      If he could—NO! He’d rather drink spit-warm swamp water than stir up old dreams about finding the Fountain. He wanted more than anything to refuse this assignment—and then he remembered his promise to Tia Bella, the last remaining member of his family. His shoulders slumped. He had to accept this assignment and pursue the tip.

      Hoping the memories wouldn’t drown him, he tugged a dog-eared notebook from the back pocket of his jeans. He ignored Mr. Newman’s scowl. He was supposed to use his technologically-up-to-the-minute tablet for note taking, but a guy five centuries old had his limits when it came to moving with the times.

      Jack flipped the notebook open, and pulled a short yellow pencil from behind his ear. Anything else I should know, Mr. Newman? What’s the name of the informant?

      Mr. Newman unwrapped another candy and popped it into his mouth. The aroma of peppermint filled the office. His name’s Moran Tennies. He says the Fountain of Youth is on a farm owned by Mrs. Corinda Owens Tagg.

      Poor Mrs. Tagg.

      Jack didn’t know her, but he already felt sorry for her. If anyone found out the Pryer had sent a reporter to look for the Fountain of Youth on her property, she’d have more visitors than she’d ever expected, and not all of them would be nice.

      The Pryer made a lot of money publishing peculiar tales and outlandish cover photos, both online and in print. To keep the stories—and the advertising dollars—coming, the paper offered a big cash reward for information leading to a front-page, just-this-side-of-believable exposé. Some of the people trying to collect the fee didn’t care who got hurt in the process.

      Things were going to change when—if—he and Tia Bella bought the paper. Making an informed decision about whether they would or not was the only reason he’d signed up as an intern this summer, and the only reason he couldn’t tell Mr. Newman to take a long hike off Everyoung’s short pier. He had no intention of dredging up the heartbreak of the past, no intention of getting even the tiniest bit excited about finding the Fountain again, no intention of ever, and he meant ever—

      Earth to Jack. Earth to Jack.

      He jerked upright in his chair, and jotted the names in his pad with his chewed pencil stub. Moran Tennies. Corinda Owens Tagg. Is that all?

      Two more things. Mr. Newman narrowed his eyes and jutted his chin in another gorilla imitation. "First, the Luminary will probably send Sylvester Liaberco to sniff out what you’re up to. If you recall, Sly scooped you with his digital shot of Bigfoot a couple of weeks ago."

      Jack didn’t need the reminder. He vividly remembered Mr. Liaberco and the Bigfoot fiasco. He’d have finished his work at the Pryer already if it hadn’t happened.

      "The Pryer better not lose out again, Jack. That’s a warning. And second..." Mr. Newman rummaged through the mess in his

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