Bailey’s Estes Park Excitement (15 page)

“Sure,” Lance said. “I'll wait here for you.”

The foursome went to the front yard and looked up to the fourth floor window.

“There he is!” Kate pointed at the image.

“Cool!” Justin said. “I've never actually seen him before.”

“We've always heard about this, but never saw it for ourselves!” Joe added.

“Okay, so we know he's showing up right now,” Bailey said. “Let's go to the room to see if we can figure out how it's happening.”

Lance escorted them to the fourth floor and unlocked the door. The room was bright, flooded with sunlight.

“Look at the etching on the glass now,” Bailey said. “You can see a lot more of it with the sun shining directly on it.”

“Yeah,” Kate agreed. “I can see the whole image of the cowboy now.”

“Why couldn't we see it before?” Bailey asked Lance.

He smiled. “You were right about the etching on the glass. When the sunlight shines directly on it, you can see all of it. But some of the etching is done so lightly that it only shows up under bright light. That's why you couldn't see the whole image this morning.”

“Look!” Joe said. “A shadow is starting to move across the window.”

Bailey and Kate looked at each other, eyes wide. “That must be what makes it look like the cowboy's turning toward the wall before he disappears!”

“Exactly,” Lance said. “You guys are pretty smart.”

“But wait a minute,” Kate said. “If it depends on the sunlight to make it appear, then wouldn't it show up at different times of day depending on the time of year? You know, with the rotation of the earth and all.”

Lance laughed. “Now you're really thinking! And you're right. You just happen to be here when the sun shines on it around noon. Other times of the year it's earlier or later in the day.” He leaned toward Bailey and said in a mock whisper, “That makes it more mysterious.”

“Wow.” Bailey walked to the window and ran her hand over the etching. “I can't believe we figured that out.”

“Well, we might not have if it weren't for Alex's help about the etchings,” Kate reminded her.

Lance looked at his watch. “I'd better get back to work.”

“Thanks for showing us all this and confirming our theory,” Kate said as they all left the room.

Closing the door behind him, Lance said, “My pleasure!”

Bailey turned to the boys. “I think we'll go out on the porch for a while. If we're not in our room when you're ready to go to the hospital, you can find us down there.”

Joe nodded. “Okay, see you this afternoon.”

At the hospital, everyone grew quiet. They'd chatted all during the ride, but when they turned into the parking lot, Justin and Joe were back to their usual grouchy faces. Justin's eyebrows made a sharp V-shape over his eyes.

Bailey and Kate walked in silence with the boys' family. When they came to Grandpa Perkins's room, Bailey could hardly believe it was him in the bed. Tubes snaked from his arms and nose. His face was bruised and swollen. His silver hair stuck out in odd places and lay too flat in others.

Grandma Perkins was sitting in a chair by the bed but stood when they entered the room. She motioned for Justin and Joe's dad to take her seat. The others sat on chairs that were brought in and put around the room. Bailey and Kate sat on the far side of the room while Justin and Joe parked themselves close to the door. Their mother stood on one side of Grandpa's bed and Mr. Perkins, now in Grandma's chair, took his father's hand.

“Hi, Dad. We're all here—Janice, Justin, Joe, and even our friends, Bailey Chang and Kate Oliver from down the hall at our hotel. Remember? They cheered you on during the bugling contest at the Elkfest.”

Grandpa Perkins's eyelids fluttered then opened slightly. A faint smile crossed his lips.

“You don't have to say anything, Dad. Save your strength for getting better.”

Bailey heard a chair scrape and saw Justin leave the room, followed by Joe. She looked at Kate, wondering if they should go. Kate nodded and they went into the hallway where they found Justin and Joe arguing in loud whispers.

“We can't tell!” Justin snapped.

“We have to,” Joe said. “They'll find out sooner or later and it would be better if they heard it from us.” “Justin? Joe?” Bailey said.

The brothers' heads jerked toward them in surprise, their eyes blazing.

“Look, we don't mean to intrude, but maybe we can help.” Bailey walked closer to Justin and Joe.

“What do you know about anything?” Justin barked.

Kate spoke gently. “We know you seem to be in trouble and we'd like to help.”

“No one can help us,” Joe said, tears filling his eyes.

“That's not true. If we can't help, we know who can.” Bailey's voice was strong and confident.

“But first you have to tell us the problem.” Kate stood waiting for their reply.

The boys remained silent.

Justin drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He eyed Joe, who nodded. Justin looked at Bailey and she noticed his chin quiver. Tears pooled in his eyes. “It's our fault. My fault, really. Joe tried to talk me out of it,” he finally whispered.

“What's your fault?” Bailey thought she knew, but she figured it was important for Justin to say it himself.

“The stampede. All of them. And Grandpa's injuries.”

“How is it your fault? What did you do?” Kate asked.

“We—I—scared the elk. I shot around them with my airsoft gun to spook them. I never shot directly at the elk. Only in the trees and bushes around them. Joe came along because I pressured him. He didn't want to be involved.”

“Why did you want to scare the elk? Didn't you see how it made them stampede?”

“Yeah, I saw,” Justin replied. “That was the point. I remember when Joe and I were little and we'd come here to visit my grandparents. This place was awesome. It was so beautiful. But over the years the tourists began coming and it started to change. They didn't care about taking care of this place since they'd be going home in a week or two. They acted like they owned the place just because they threw their money around in all these shops.

“The Elkfest used to be just for the locals,” he continued, “but now all these fancy tourists were joining it. It made me sick. I wanted Estes Park to be peaceful like it used to be. It was our special place with our grandparents until those tourists ruined it. So I hoped the elk would scare them away.”

“How did you know where to find the elk? It seems like you always knew where they were.”

“I just looked for a wallow and knew they'd be close by.”

“Just as we thought,” Bailey said.

“Where there are wallows, there are elk.” Justin smiled, but his eyes were sad. “Wait a minute. You
knew
that? Did you know what we were doing, too?”

Bailey nodded. She turned to Justin and put her hand on his arm. “It's okay, Justin. We're still your friends. We'll explain later. But you need to tell your parents.”

Justin shook his head. “I can't.”

“Sure you can. We'll go with you,” Kate said. “And God will give you the strength to do what you need to do.”

“You talk about God like He's standing right here with us,” Justin said.

Bailey laughed. “That's because He is!”

“I wish I had faith like that,” Joe said.

“You can!” Kate assured him. “You just have to ask God for it. He loves to help people believe.”

Justin shook his head. “Seems like God wouldn't want anything to do with someone like me.”

“That's the cool thing about God,” Kate said. “He's not like people who only love popular, nice-looking people, or those who never mess up. He especially loves those who need help and who have done things they shouldn't.”

“When you really think about it, that includes all of us.” Bailey could hardly believe they were having this conversation. She knew the Camp Club Girls' prayers were giving her and Kate the courage to tell the boys about God.

Justin looked at them. “Maybe you're right.” He looked toward the hospital room door. “I guess it's time to tell them.”

Bailey and Kate followed Justin and Joe back into Grandpa Perkins's room.

“I—I have something I need to say,” Justin began. “I owe you a huge apology. I don't know if you'll be able to forgive me.”

“Forgive you for what?” Mrs. Perkins looked surprised. “For causing all this trouble.”

“This isn't your fault, son,” Mr. Perkins said. “No one could have stopped those elk.”

“That's where you're wrong.” Justin told the story to his parents and grandparents. “So if I hadn't been so stupid and wanted everything the way it used to be, I wouldn't have shot at the trees and bushes around the elk to spook them and this never would have happened. Grandpa's hurt because of me, and I'm so sorry.”

Mr. Perkins's forehead creased with worry, but his words were gentle. “I'm disappointed in what you did, Justin. I always taught you to be responsible with guns and never to use them for harm. You used your airsoft gun inappropriately, and there will be consequences.” Mr. Perkins put his arm around his son's shoulder. “But it takes a strong man to admit when he's wrong. I'm glad you told the truth.”

“You know you could never do anything to make us stop loving you,” his mother said. “Not even this.”

“I know.” Justin's face relaxed. “You guys are the best.”

Mr. Perkins turned to his younger son. “And Joe. I'm proud of you for not taking part in this. Even though you went with him, you did try to talk him out of it.”

Joe ran to his father's arms and hugged him.

“However,” Mr. Perkins added, “even if you couldn't stop Justin, you should have come to Mom or me. You should always speak up and tell an adult if you know someone is involved in dangerous activities. Maybe none of this would have happened.” Justin's face was white, and Joe's ears went red. “You will both have consequences.”

A tap at the door shifted their attention in that direction. “Hello?”

“Mom!” Bailey cried, glad to have the tension broken.

Mrs. Chang and Trina entered.

“How is he doing?” she asked.

“The doctor says he's making progress,” Mr. Perkins said. “His vital signs are good. It's just a matter of time and healing now.”

“He certainly is in our prayers,” Mrs. Chang said.

“We appreciate that,” Mrs. Perkins replied.

Mrs. Chang turned to the girls. “Kate, are you ready to go get Biscuit?”

“I'm more than ready!” Kate replied. “I can't wait to see him.”

“Where is that cute little dog?” Mrs. Perkins asked. “On a playdate?”

“Oh no,” Kate said seriously. “He's at the animal hospital. He was hurt in the stampede.”

“No!” Mrs. Perkins went to Kate and took her hands in hers. “You were kind to come see Grandpa Perkins when Biscuit had an injury to be concerned about. I'm sorry I didn't know about it sooner.”

“At least Biscuit is recuperating.” Kate looked at Grandpa Perkins. “I wish Grandpa could go home today, too.”

“He'll be home before we know it,” Grandma Perkins piped in. “And stirring up trouble, no doubt.”

“We'd better go,” Mrs. Chang said. “You girls ready?”

“Yeah,” Bailey said. Then turning to Justin and Joe, she said, “We'll be around if you want to talk or anything.”

Justin smiled. “Thanks. We just might.”

On the way to the vet, Bailey and Kate told Mrs. Chang and Trina what they'd learned.

“You're kidding!” Mrs. Chang said.

“Nope. And here's the cool part,” Bailey said. “We got a chance to tell them about God and how He loves them no matter what they've done.” Bailey's smile was as big as a watermelon slice.