On the Victory Trail Page 6

  “My mom and I never exactly went camping.”

  “It’s so great! Mom even makes biscuits over the campfire. After breakfast we usually go hiking and, of course, we have horses for trail riding. We spend a lot of time sitting around the campfire here and singing camp songs. Chad brought his guitar the last time, and Bobby brought his harmonica. Pastor Newman comes for supper on Friday. Then he talks to us at the chapel area.” Skye plopped down on a stump and grabbed a stick to poke at a pile of ashes in the center of the fire circle. “Probably the first thing we’ll do on Friday is go on a hayride.”

  Behind her, Sooze found a wooden crate and pulled it up next to Skye. “No way! You mean — that’s it? Except for the horses, that sounds totally boring. Camp songs? Why can’t we play our CDs and have some real fun?”

  “Get off it, Sooze,” Skye answered. She ran both hands through her hair. “The campouts are fun.”

  “Well, you never know. After all, I’ll be there,” she smiled devilishly. “In fact,” she added while reaching into her jeans pocket and pulling out a handful of pills, “look what I have now.”

  “Where’d you get those?” Skye asked with alarm.

  “What, you think they wouldn’t give me something to kill the pain?” She took four tablets from her hand and popped them into her mouth. “Want some?”

  “Sooze, you can overdose on that stuff. What are you trying to do — hurt yourself?”

  “Hey, get off my back. Right now it’s the only way I’m going to get through this. And you better not snitch.”

  “Like Mrs. C. isn’t going to notice how fast they disappear.”

  “I’ll just tell her my head felt like it was exploding. Man, I’m dying of thirst.”

  Skye rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s a real scorcher today,” she said in a feeble attempt to change the subject. “We should’ve brought canteens.”

  chapter nine

  The excitement of the week-long Snyder County Fair ran through Skye’s veins like electricity in a string of party lights — fun rides, pizza, and carnival games in perfect weather. But nothing made her heart pump as fast as the sights and smells of the horse show held every afternoon. For months, she and Champ had practiced for the Advanced Trail Class.

  Skye’s class finished and the gate opened, allowing her and the rest on the field to exit the show ring. With her glowing smile, she maneuvered Champ around the perimeter of the corral past dozens of horse trailers. The Chambers, Morgan and Blaze, and Sooze with Pepsi had all clustered along the show ring fence, waiting for Skye to join them.

  Skye’s hair, drawn back into a tight bun, rested securely under a suede cowboy hat, complete with hawk feather and leather braid. Her leather-fringed vest over a checkered shirt had the number “65” pinned on the back. Her blue necktie, cowhide gloves, and polished leather boots made Skye a perfect match for Champ.

  Champ’s shiny bridle with blue brow band set off a leather-cut saddle with a poncho roll highlighting his glistening sorrel coat. A lather of sweat added to Champ’s sparkle as he tossed his head and snorted, showing off the shiny red ribbon attached to his cheek strap.

  “Way to go, Skye!” Mr. Chambers applauded.

  Mrs. Chambers patted Champ’s neck. “In that tough class, second place is something to be proud of.”

  “Awesome,” Sooze said, holding Pepsi’s lead chain.

  Morgan smiled underneath her tan Stetson, her folded arms resting across the horn of her saddle. “I told you the gate would be no big deal.”

  “Yeah, thanks, guys.” Skye glanced at the packed grandstand and back. “The only problem we had was the water obstacle. Did you see Champ pause and then step to the side just a little? I think that cost us the blue ribbon.”

  “Nonetheless, you did a great job,” Mr. Chambers said. “By this time — ”

  “Attention, ladies and gentlemen,” the loudspeaker blared, “all contestants for the Beginner’s Showmanship Class please line up at the east gate. Calling all contestants for the next event, the Beginner’s Showmanship Class.”

  Skye glanced at the grandstand again, looking for Chad. When she didn’t see him, she focused back on Sooze, whose pallid face portrayed a strange mixture of panic and courage.

  Sandwiched between the horse and the fence, Sooze fussed with Pepsi’s halter and arranged the horse’s banded mane one last time. Sooze’s blue Stetson sat squarely on top of her wig. A black necktie, red plaid shirt, jeans with a silver belt buckle, and black cowboy boots had totally changed her looks. Somehow, Sooze’s painfully thin frame looked stunning. Pepsi’s blood-bay coat shimmered, and her black tail had been groomed to silky perfection.

  “How do you feel?” Skye asked Sooze.

  “Like I’m going to throw up.” Sooze made a face. “Not from the chemo. From my stomach doing back flips.”

  Mrs. Chambers walked to Pepsi and checked the halter buckle. “All I can say is thank the Lord your treatment was in the middle of last week. It gave your body time to recuperate. You do feel strong enough to do this, don’t you?” Mrs. Chambers looked into Sooze’s eyes.

  “I’m going in there if I have to crawl,” Sooze said nervously.

  Morgan laughed, stroking Blaze on the neck. “Hey, maybe you can start a Beginner’s Turtle Class!”

  A preoccupied Sooze shifted her attention to the gate. “I think I ought to go. They’re all lining up.”

  “Let’s say a quick prayer,” Mr. Chambers said when he finished checking the last of Pepsi’s hooves.

  While Mr. C. prayed, Skye watched Sooze with half-closed eyes. Her stare never wavered from the ring.

  A little prayer would help you right about now! Skye thought.

  “Amen,” Mr. Chambers finished. He and his wife backed away from Pepsi. “Now take your time, Sooze, and listen carefully to the judge.”

  “Yeah,” Skye injected, “this is no time to be doing your own thing. Be cool.”

  “I don’t have enough energy to do my own thing, thank you,” Sooze joked while leading the horse away. “Pepsi will do her own thing, and we’ll be back with a blue ribbon. You’ll see.”

  “Careful, and don’t rush!” Mrs. Chambers called.

  “And try to get in the center, right in front of the judge when you line up,” Morgan yelled. “Let him get a real good look at one gorgeous hunk of horse flesh!”

  Sooze led Pepsi toward the gate at the other end of the corral. The big, bold number “17” on Sooze’s back distinguished her from the rest of the intermingling pack.

  “Five — no, six others,” Skye said, pointing. She tugged the reins and turned Champ toward the ring. “A piece of cake for Pepsi.”

  Mrs. Chambers leaned over the top rail of the fence. “It all depends on Sooze. Pepsi’s got the confirmation to win this class hands down, but I’m not sure Sooze is thinking straight. Tom, did you get a good look at her eyes? She’s been into her pain pills again. I should have locked them up. This morning I noticed they’re disappearing faster than cotton candy,” she said seriously.

  “Yeah, I noticed too,” Mr. Chambers agreed as he squared his Stetson. “This is no time to be taking a trip without your horse. I think she’s going to learn a good lesson — but it breaks my heart.”

  “Look at her butting into the center of the pack.” Morgan said. “I didn’t mean for her to do it that way. I bet she never even said excuse me.”

  Skye sighed and shook her head in agreement as she studied the contestants leading their horses single file into the show ring.

  Pintos, grays, blacks, and browns, each one prettier than the next, filed in, accompanied by contestants in a rainbow of Western attire. But no horse showed off its muscular perfection better than Keystone Stables’ blue-ribbon mare. Unfortunately, Pepsi appeared to be led by a kid who staggered into the ring like her boots were stuck in mud.

  “Something tells me this is not going to be fun to watch.” Skye frowned deeply.

  Intermingled with a barrage of whinnies and billows of dust,
the seven entries paraded single file into the ring. They walked, jogged, backed their horses, and finally squared them up in the center of the corral. By this time, Sooze had lost the center position to others who cleverly maneuvered their horses in front of her as she struggled to circle the ring. Now she found herself next to last as the judge started his close inspection at the other end of the line. As she had been trained to do, Sooze tugged on Pepsi’s lead chain, prompting the horse to stand at attention. But ignoring the next step in her training, Sooze failed to check Pepsi’s four legs. The front two lined up perfectly. The back two legs stood in a half stretch, the left one far ahead of the right. The horse’s stance and perfect confirmation were thrown completely off.

  “Sooze, check her back legs!” Skye yelled.

  “Don’t bother,” Mrs. Chambers said. “We’re too far away. I don’t think she’d listen if she were standing right by this post. Sooze is in her own little world.”

  “Maybe before the judge gets to that end, she’ll wake up and check the legs,” Mr. Chambers said hopefully.

  Morgan’s despair rivaled the others in their tightly knit group. “She’s going to blow it.”

  Slowly the judge worked his way down the line, checking each horse’s shape, eyeing it from the front, back, and sides, checking its teeth. In front of Pepsi, he raised his clipboard and pen just as Sooze yanked the lead chain. The sudden jerk sent Pepsi into a panic. She pranced in circles with Sooze frantically attempting to quiet her down. The judge stepped back in apparent frustration, and Skye could tell he was not at all amused.

  “Uh, oh,” Skye moaned. “Look at the judge’s face.”

  Mr. Chambers raised his hat in frustration, scratched his head, and then squared his hat across his eyes. “Yep, she blew it all right. I know that judge, and he does not like to wait until you decide to square up your horse.”

  In minutes, the judge finished his tally. The loud-speaker announced the winners, the exit gate opened, and Sooze led Pepsi out and around the corral, returning empty-handed to the Chambers.

  “That stupid judge!” Sooze yelled as she tied Pepsi to the fence. “He doesn’t know good horseflesh when he sees it. He must be blind!”

  Skye rolled her eyes. “Pepsi had every horse beaten without even blinking. You blew it — big time! You have to keep your horse still when the judge is standing right in front of you. Duh!”

  “All right, you two,” Mrs. Chambers interrupted. “It’s over. No use crying over it. But Sooze, we hope you have learned something important today. If you don’t have your head screwed on right, even the simplest of tasks can defeat you. I think you know what I mean, don’t you?”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Sooze remarked. “It was all that stupid judge’s fault!”

  “Sooze, I think your day at the fair is over,” Mrs. Chambers said sternly. “Tom and I are going to load the horses, and you’ll be going home with me.”

  “Why?” Sooze questioned.

  “You not only need to rest, but you also need to clear your head,” Mrs. Chambers added. “But the first thing you need is some food in your system.”

  “I’m not hungry!”

  “Sooze,” her foster mother said more emphatically, “you need something in your stomach. Now, while Tom and I load the horses, I’d like you to go get something to eat. We’ll give you a half hour. Then come back here, and you’ll ride home with me.”

  Skye dismounted her horse and handed the reins to Mr. Chambers. “Thanks, Dad,” she said. “I could use a burger or something. What do you say, Morgan?”

  “Yeah, I could use something to eat too.” Morgan glanced at the grandstand. “But I’m planning to meet some of the kids from church. They were sitting on the top row a while ago. They must be on their way over here now.”

  Mr. Chambers retrieved Morgan’s wheelchair from the truck and set it on the dirt-packed walkway that led from the show ring to the rest of the fairgrounds. Morgan handed Blaze’s reins to Mrs. Chambers while Mr. Chambers loosened Morgan’s legs from the Velcro safety strips on her saddle, gently slid her off into his arms, and placed her onto her chair.

  “Thanks,” Morgan said, glancing at Skye and Sooze. “Hey, you two, come with me. Skye and I don’t have to be back in a half hour, do we, Mrs. C?”

  “No, you have the rest of the afternoon,” Mrs. Chambers said as she tied Blaze to the back of their hauling trailer. “Sooze is the only one who needs to go home.”

  “That’s so not fair,” Sooze whined.

  “Duh. Life’s not fair!” Skye said sarcastically. Then she asked casually, “Hey, Morgan, is Chad here?”

  “He was supposed to be, but I haven’t seen him yet,” Morgan replied with a smile. “Come with me, and maybe he’ll join us along the way.”

  Sooze crowded herself next to Skye. “No, we’ll do our own thing. Thank you.”

  An artificial smile masked Skye’s regret at not getting to see Chad. “Sooze and I can grab something to eat and then we’ll meet you back here.”

  “Sounds good. Then we can do the fair thing with all the kids later, okay? Hey, here they come now.” Morgan pointed across the field.

  Sooze folded her arms angrily. “This stinks! You guys always get to have all the fun.”

  Mrs. Chambers walked from the back of the trailer like she was stomping ants. “Sooze, it’s time you learned that there are consequences for unwise decisions and actions. That’s the way it’s going to be,” she said emphatically.

  “Come on,” Skye said to Sooze, tugging her arm, “you only have a half hour. Don’t waste it arguing.”

  Mr. Chambers pulled a wallet from his back pocket. “Do you girls have enough money?”

  “I do,” Morgan answered. She moved ahead slowly. “Where else can I spend that megabucks allowance you give me?”

  “I’ve got money,” said Sooze.

  “Me too,” Skye answered. “So I guess we’re out of here.”

  Morgan stopped in front of Skye, her troubled eyes reaching beyond her smiling face. “Skye,” she pleaded, “don’t you think you should go with us?”

  chapter ten

  Well — ” Skye hesitated. I would like to see Chad, she thought.

  “Morgan, we don’t need bodyguards,” Sooze huffed. “Right, Skye?”

  “Skye — ” Mrs. Chambers’ voice oozed with caution.

  Mr. Chambers glanced back as he led Blaze to the trailer. “Remember, girls, you’re on the honor system. We’ll trust you as long as you don’t give us any reason not to. And Sooze, you’re already up to your neck in quicksand.”

  Morgan looked down the walkway. “Here come the guys now.”

  Sooze grabbed Skye’s arm, abruptly pulling her away. “Come on. Let’s go!”

  “Later.” Skye said to Morgan. I’d rather be going with you, she thought. She glanced back at the three approaching friends. Each yelled hello and waved.

  “Come on!” Sooze tugged Skye’s sleeve harder. “We’re history.”

  “All right! All right!” Skye yanked free. “Give me a break. I’m coming. See you later!” she yelled warmly to the group.

  The two girls soon blended into the bustling crowd, losing themselves among the buildings packed with antiques, arts and crafts, and farm gear. In the livestock section, pens and open barns overflowed with the com-motion of prize calves, sheep, and pigs. Branching from the fair’s core were narrow alleys blasting with music and hucksters yelling at passersby, “Win a prize every time!”

  Food stands, squeezed into every plot, satisfied the whims of an endless parade of empty stomachs. Sour barn smells faded into those of barbecued chicken, pizza, and funnel cakes. Skye’s mouth watered as she peered down every lane for a stand that sold burgers and fries.

  “Over there!” Skye zeroed in on the Bill’s Buffalo Burgers stand. “I love those, and they have great curly fries.”

  “I’ve got better things to do than eat,” Sooze said, her dog-tired words sliding out from under her blue hat. “I’ve got a
surprise for you.”

  “If it takes longer than twenty minutes, I’m not into it. Don’t be any dumber than you’ve already been today. I’m getting a bison burger. What do you want?”

  “Hey, I said I’m not hungry, and I mean it. Get what you want. Then we’ll head over to the midway.”

  “Why? What’s over there?” Skye asked as they walked toward the stand.

  “Just wait and see.” A silly smile flashed across Sooze’s face.

  “Don’t tell me you want to get on some rides! You already get sick to your stomach from the chemo. Besides, we don’t have enough time.”

  “Just hurry up.”

  Skye ordered a burger, fries, and chocolate shake. While they headed for the midway, Sooze carried the box holding the fries and shake. Skye scarfed down her food and gulped her creamy shake.

  “This is too good.” Her milky mustache confirmed her pleasure. “Want some?”

  “Nope,” Sooze said, balancing the cardboard tray while they weaved past a string of sideshows toward the Ferris wheel.

  “Not that thing!” Skye griped through the last mouthful of food. She tossed the garbage in a trash can, and then her eyes followed rotating buckets on the humongous light-flickering wheel. “I can’t believe you want — ” Skye glanced at her watch. “Sooze, we only have ten minutes to get back! I don’t even have time to see the motorbikes!”

  “Just cool it!” Sooze demanded. She took the lead on a walkway behind the wheel. “Come on down here behind the restrooms.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I see them. They’re here!”

  “Who?”

  “Come on. You’ll see.”

  Skye trailed after Sooze, who puffed her way past the cinder-block bathroom building to a cluster of shady maples.

  “Sooze!” I am getting bad vibes, Skye thought. Her panic now had nothing to do with the time.

  “Hey, Sooze! Skye!” a voice bubbled from the shade of the trees. “Look at you two. Ride ’em cowboy! Where’d you get those rags?”