The Winning Summer Page 6

  Chapter Nine

  Whoa, Boomer!” Katie screamed. She yanked the reins to her left. In a hoofbeat, the champion barrel racer cut sharply in that direction.

  Boomer went one way, and Katie went another. She flew off the horse’s back and plunged into the pond with the biggest belly flop Skye had ever seen.

  Splash!Water exploded like a mushroom cloud. Weeds and mud flew everywhere.

  “Katie!” everyone yelled at once.

  Mr. Chambers kicked his horse into high gear toward the pond. Close behind rode Skye and Mr. Thomas.

  Katie’s chubby arms and legs flailed like mini paddle wheels. More water, weeds, and mud flew. Somehow, in seconds, she managed to turn herself around. She sputtered and gagged, trying desperately to regain her balance on a bed of slippery stones.

  Splash!

  Back she flopped, fighting the waist-high water that forced her into an unwanted sit.

  “Don’t move!” Mr. Chambers yelled.

  “C’mon, Champ.” Skye urged her horse into a full gallop.

  “We’re coming!” Mr. Thomas’ voice had risen an octave.

  “I’m okay.” With both hands, Katie fought clinging hair, weeds, and mud, wiping them away from her face. “I’m okay, I said.”

  Paying no heed, three anxious riders and their horses galloped full speed ahead.

  Again, Katie tried to stand.

  Splash!

  This time, only the girl’s head and shoulders remained above the water. “Oh, I give up!” she shrieked.

  Suddenly, as though an invisible feather had teased her nose, Katie started to giggle. By the time the horses slid to a stop, she was laughing like a drenched hyena.

  “Katie, I’m here!” Mr. Chambers jumped from his horse, ran into the water, and led the girl out.

  Skye and Mr. Thomas made quick work of dismounting.

  “Does anything hurt?” Mr. Thomas asked.

  “N—No!” Doubled over in laughter, Katie forced her words out. “Just my sides—from laughing.”

  “That was pretty dumb.” Skye’s fear suddenly dissolved. “And what’s so funny?”

  “I—I’m okay . . .” Katie could barely speak. “That—ha, ha, ha. That was my bath for today. ”

  Skye, now giggling herself, pulled muddy clumps away from both sides of Katie’s headgear. “You look ridiculous! Pond grass is sticking out from under your helmet. You look like one of Mom’s potted plants.”

  “You do look kind of funny.” Relieved, Mr. Thomas snickered. “I’m sure glad you were wearing that helmet.”

  “But helmets only protect heads, not belly buttons!” Mr. Chambers’ comment delivered the final verdict.

  Peals of laughter exploded. Even Champ joined in with a whinny.

  Friday evening, while Mr. and Mrs. Chambers played table games with the boys in the dining room, Katie, Skye, and Morgan played Scrabble in Katie’s bedroom. With the Braille board on the bed, they had almost finished their second game.

  “Find an open A on the board, and I can make QUAIL,” Katie said. She grabbed a handful of pretzel sticks from a bag and shoved them into her mouth.

  “So that’s where that nasty Q’s been hiding,” Morgan said. “You had it all along.”

  “Yep.” Katie’s full cheeks smiled as she felt her small wooden tiles. “And I just got a U,” she mumbled.

  Skye studied the board and spotted an A. “Hey, there’s one. Down in the lower left corner. You can place your word across. Wow, that’s a triple word! You’re gonna get mega points for that one!”

  Katie fingered each letter near the corner of the board until she found the A. She placed two letters on each side of it. “That should be forty-five points, right?”

  Skye handed the letter bag to Katie. “Morgan, me thinks we is getting skunked. And bad.”

  Morgan giggled. “We’re gettin’ beat up by a blind kid. We are in big trouble.”

  “You should see me bowl!” Katie joined in the giggles. “Mom took me once last summer, and I scored almost a hundred!”

  Skye and Morgan raised their eyebrows and smiled.

  “Hey, speaking of bowling,” Morgan said, “our youth group is going sometime this month. You should go with us.”

  Skye placed four letters on the board and added her score. “Ten points. And speaking of the Youth for Truth group, our picnic is tomorrow afternoon back at Piney Hollow. Katie, you’re coming, aren’t you?”

  “I sure hope so.” Morgan took her turn and flipped her hair back. “You’ve never met all the neat kids at our church. Don’t you think it’s time?”

  “How many are in the group?” Katie asked between more pretzel bites.

  “Oh, about a dozen,” Skye said. “And they’re all cool.”

  “Listen, guys.” Katie fingered her new letters. “I’m not really into things like that. After I went blind, the kids at my church didn’t bother with me. Mom even took me to youth groups at three other churches, but I guess I cramped their style too. Nothing ever came of it. I’m still waiting for just one of those kids to call.”

  Skye pushed her long hair back off her face. “But our kids are different. Chad’s in the group—and you already know him. Then there’s Melissa, and Bobby, and—”

  “I don’t think so.” Katie started in on another handful of pretzels.

  “You’ve never really given them a chance.” Morgan played three letters and added her score. “Fifteen points. Could I have a pretzel?”

  “Hey, nobody wants to bother with a blind kid, okay?” Katie handed Morgan the bag. “I’ll just stay here in my room with my stuff. I have lots to do. I wanna look up some things about horses on the Web. I’ll be fine.”

  Skye noticed how fast the pretzels were going. “But Katie, we’re gonna have all kinds of food.” That should get her attention.

  “How about potatoes baked on hot coals?” Morgan said between pretzel bites. “Or toasted marshmallows? Yum-my!”

  “Hmm.” Katie’s face had a faraway look. “Nah, I guess not. I’ll just grab something from the fridge here.”

  “Well, don’t you want to be with Boomer?” Skye said, grabbing a pretzel and placing the bag out of Katie’s reach. “If you don’t ride him, someone else will. We’ll be taking all six horses out.”

  “Yeah,” Morgan said, “why don’t you just go for his sake? He’s used to you, not some crazy kids who’ll kick him in the belly all afternoon.”

  “Hmm.” Katie had that faraway look again. “How do all those kids ride only six horses?”

  “They take turns going on short trail rides,” Skye said. “Champ and I usually lead each group. If you go, you can help me. You can ride Boomer all afternoon. Hey, you could show everybody how to ride a horse around the pond!”

  The girls laughed.

  “Hmm.” Katie drifted deep in thought. “I guess I could go, just for Boomer. Sounds like he needs me.”

  Skye and Morgan smiled and gave each other a thumbs-up.

  As Skye had promised, she and Katie spent the afternoon taking four kids at a time on short trail rides around Piney Hollow. At the campsite, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers and Morgan entertained with ATV rides, bug and leaf hunts, and lessons about campfire cooking. Dozens of hot dogs, baked potatoes, and marshmallows later, the youth group encircled the campfire and sang choruses, with Chad accompanying on his guitar.

  From the onset, the Youth for Truth teens welcomed Katie and Keystone’s three other students. Immersed in the chitchat, Katie answered oodles of questions that expressed genuine interest in her, not only as a blind person but also as just another kid.

  Giving Katie the space to make new friends, Skye and Morgan allowed themselves to be distracted, Skye mostly with Chad. During a short break before the evening devotional, Skye joined Katie, who sat facing the embers of the dying fire.

  “So, Katie, how’s it goin’?” Skye asked.

  “That food was super!” Katie exclaimed. “When do we get to do this again? I had well—I won’t tell y
ou all I scarfed down, but that was great.”

  “Yeah, I just love campfire food,” Skye agreed. “And how are you doin’ with the kids?”

  “I don’t believe this,” Katie answered. “Are they for real?”

  “What do you mean?” Skye was hoping for a good report.

  “I think they really like me.”

  Skye let out a long sigh. “Sure they like you. I told you they’re a neat bunch of kids.”

  “Melissa told me how she met you at the Maranatha Treatment Center where you both were clients. She seems really cool.”

  “Yep, she is. We hang out together at school and church all the time.”

  “And who’s this Bobby kid? He cracked me up.”

  “That’s Bobby Noll.” Skye chuckled. “He can be a real pain, but he’s into music big-time. Did he tell you about his trumpet?”

  Katie giggled. “That’s all he talked about. He acts like the trumpet’s his best friend. Speaking of music, Chad is awesome with that guitar.”

  Dreamboat Chad! Skye glanced toward a cluster of boys laughing near the chuck wagon. Chad stood in the middle. He’s probably telling his latest string of jokes. “He just does everything so-o-o well.” Skye sighed.

  Katie giggled again. “Now how did I know you were gonna say that?”

  Skye’s face flushed hot. “Oh, never mind,” she joked.

  “Okay, kids!” Mr. Chambers’ powerful voice commanded attention as he stood near the fire. “Gather around one last time. We’re going to wrap up the day with devotions and testimonies, so think about what you’d like to say.”

  The campers quickly gathered, sitting on crates and buckets around the fire. Morgan parked her Jazzy next to Katie.

  Skye glanced to the left of the chuck wagon where Champ stood lined up at a hitching post with the other horses. At a table in front of the wagon, Mrs. Chambers bustled about, finishing her supper chores.

  “I sure hope he doesn’t call on me.” Katie’s whisper drew Skye’s attention back to the circle.

  “Don’t worry,” Skye said as she eyed Chad directly across from her. “Saying anything is strictly voluntary.”

  “Phew-w-w.” Katie let out a long sigh. “I don’t exactly have anything to praise the Lord for anyway.”

  Mr. Chambers opened in prayer. After giving a devotional from the book of Psalms, he delivered a short challenge. “Would any of you want to tell what the Lord has done in your lives? You could be a great encouragement to the others. Anyone?”

  With a warm smile, the man glanced at each teen. Finally, his stare settled on Skye. It burned a hole right through her.

  Uh-oh. I don’t like that look. Panic shot through her body like ice water, and her heart started racing. She gnawed her lip, her fingers running swiftly through her hair.

  The Lord has been good, Skye told herself, but I’ve never given a testimony in front of the whole world! And I don’t plan to! Her darting eyes found Bobby. And at our last youth meeting, I told him to get lost. He’ll think I’m a hypocrite!

  Skye scanned every face in the circle, her breath short and choppy. Somebody say something! But not me!

  Seated next to Chad, Joey beamed a Cheshire grin from under his ten-gallon hat. An oversize tin sheriff’s badge shone proudly from his western shirt. The beaming boy jumped up, charged toward Mr. Chambers, and wrapped him tightly with both arms. “Jesus loves you, Mr. C., and I do too.”

  Mr. Chambers folded his muscular arms around the boy. “And I love you, Joey.”

  Joey, still smiling broadly, dashed back to his seat and squared his hat just as he had seen Mr. Chambers do many times before.

  A nervous silence settled over the campfire. The teens sat in their tight circle . . . staring at the coals . . . waiting . . . as eager to say a word as the dying coals were willing to burn.

  Mr. Chambers folded his arms and waited. “I’ll give you a moment to think about what you’d like to say.”

  Finally, Chad raised his hand. “I’d like to say something.”

  “Go right ahead.” Mr. Chambers grabbed at the chance to let someone else speak.

  Chad stood, and his dimples highlighted a set of perfect teeth. “I just wanna say that the Lord has really been good to me. He allowed me to get two jobs this summer, one at the hardware store and one here at Keystone, helping kids learn to ride. All that money goes into my college fund. So I just wanna thank him.” He sat and sent a special smile in Skye’s direction.

  Whoa! Skye’s racing heart tore for the finish line, out of her chest and up her throat. Chad, you are too cool. Her face was anything but.

  “Thanks,” Mr. Chambers said. “Anyone else?”

  With the wave of her hand, Morgan got the man’s attention.

  “You’re on, young lady,” he said.

  Morgan took a deep breath and began. “Most of you know that I was born with cerebral palsy, and I’ve never been able to walk.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Well, for a long time I was really mad at God for letting me be born like this. There was a time when I thought I was useless. I didn’t even want to live. No one in my family is a Christian, so we never went to church. But then I came here to Keystone Stables, and I learned that God has a special purpose for me. It was only after I accepted Christ that I could see that. I just wanna thank Mr. and Mrs. C.—and God—for showing me the right way.”

  “Thank you, Morgan.” Mr. Chambers smiled again and ran his fingers down both sides of his mustache. “Sooner or later, we must all make the decision whether we want to turn it all over to God. Does anyone else have a testimony?”

  Impulsive Bobby jumped up and poked his glasses back off the tip of his nose. “I wanna thank God for my trumpet!” He dropped back down abruptly, nearly overturning his bucket.

  Peals of laughter erupted.

  “And your father tells me he’s thankful for earplugs!” Mr. Chambers chuckled. “I’m with him!”

  More ripples of laughter.

  Skye sat like a statue, her heart playing havoc in her chest.

  But this was nothing new. Staring at Chad or being near him set her heart off like a flurry of butterflies or, worse, like a beating drum on the warpath. She could count on it!

  Thumpity thump. Thumpity thump. Definitely not butterflies!

  Skye had just about had enough. Cut it out, heart!

  But wait.

  Skye’s thoughts had long since drifted away from Chad, back to the others and what they were saying. What was going on?

  Thumpity thump. Thumpity thump . “It’s your turn.” Someone seemed to be speaking to Skye.

  Skye looked at Mr. Chambers, whose eyes had already found hers. Their message was loud and clear.

  Now, to make matters worse, busy Mrs. Chambers just happened to look toward Skye. “It’s your turn!” That same voice spoke through the woman’s beautiful blue eyes.

  But I can’t! More than ever, Skye wanted to crawl inside the crate on which she sat.

  Thumpity thump. Chick-en . . . Skye!

  Am not . . . am not . . . am not!

  “Anyone else before we close in prayer?” Mr. Chambers fired his question right at Skye.

  Skye’s glance swept the circle. Every pair of eyes, without exception, had found the same person.

  Dad means me! Gulp!

  Skye had been a Christian long enough to know that in times of crisis, the best thing to do was pray.

  And the crisis is now! God, I need you. Right this minute. I do have a lot to thank you for. So if it is my turn, I’ll do it!

  Finally, Skye’s chicken heart mustered a swell of newfound strength. Like an electric charge, courage coursed through every nerve in her body. In an instant, Skye the Coward became Skye the Brave!

  She could do this.

  She would do this—for her Lord.

  Slowly, Skye stood.

  Chapter Ten

  Skye, go right ahead!” A smile of victory beamed from Mr. Chambers’ face.

  A circle o
f eyes riveted on Skye.

  Mrs. Chambers strolled from her table and stood behind Joey. She folded her arms and gave Skye an assuring wink.

  “I—I—”

  “You can do this,” a Voice whispered deep in Skye’s soul.

  Skye took a deep breath, determined.

  Amazingly, words started flowing from her lips as fast as her heart was pounding. “I just wanna say that I used to be a pretty rotten kid. I blamed everybody else for all the trouble I caused. I ran away from everything and everybody, even God. But when Jesus came into my life, he gave me the guts to face my problems. I found out that it was him I was running away from all along. Now I know he’s with me through anything. He’s the best friend I have. That’s all!” Skye looked at her foster mother for approval, released a deep, long sigh, and sank back down onto her crate.

  Eyes watery, Mr. Chambers took a moment to find his voice. “Thank you, Skye. The Bible says that Christ wants to be as close as a brother to those who ask. If any of you would like to talk to me privately about your walk with God, see me afterward. Your testimonies were excellent. Let’s stand and we’ll close in prayer.”

  As Mr. Chambers started, Skye glanced at Morgan, who gave her a quick thumbs-up. Out of the corner of her eye, Skye watched Katie, who slowly stood with her head hung low. Her solemn face seemed set in stone.

  Now what’s goin’ on in that brain of hers?

  Skye just had to find out.

  Sunday and time to go to church!

  Katie surprised everyone. Dressed in her Sunday best, she arrived first at the breakfast table. She smiled all the way to church—and through it! It seemed to Skye that Katie actually listened to the video in teen class and to the pastor in the main service, as well. At dinner as at breakfast, Katie used her best manners, taking only one serving of every dish. Something was definitely different!

  Skye studied her new friend as though Katie had grown an extra head. Despite prodding from Mr. and Mrs. Chambers as to why she had decided to attend church, Katie simply said, “I just wanted to. That’s all.” Not until the afternoon when the girls were grooming their horses in the barn did Skye have the chance to find out what was really going on.