The Winning Summer (3 page)

“I’ll tell you later,” she said. “Let’s go. I’m starved!”

“Hey, thanks for showing me all your stuff anyway.” Skye stood. “After we eat, I want to show you my favorite hobby. It isn’t an it; it’s a he, and he has a room down in the barn.”

“Let me guess.” Katie grinned mischievously as she stood. “Could ‘it’ possibly be a pig?”

The girls laughed as they walked together out of the room.

Chapter Three

H
ey, Mom,” Skye said as she and Katie entered the dining room. “I thought you said supper was ready.

There’s nothing on the table but a vase of wildflowers. I’m not hungry for weeds and seeds!”

Skye and Katie giggled as they stopped at the table.

“I have a little surprise for you two.” Mrs. Chambers glanced at the girls while she packed sandwiches into a basket.

Morgan busied herself taking cans of soda from the refrigerator and putting them in a small cooler. “Katie, do you like picnics?”

“Do I?” Katie said. “Picnics are absolutely my favoritist way to eat. Where are we going?”

“I have a feeling it won’t be far,” Skye said. “It’s probably within walking distance. Right, Mom?”

“You guessed it. We’re walking over to our own picnic grove,” Mrs. Chambers said. “What desserts would you girls like? Brownies, chocolate chip cookies, or pecan pie?”

“You know I’m a brownie addict,” Skye said.

“Chocolate chip cookies for me,” Morgan said.

“I’ll sample all of them.” Katie’s round face beamed. “In the house or out, desserts are the best part of any meal.”

And you look like you could eat them all
, Skye thought.

“C’mon, desserts, you’re invited.” Mrs. Chambers laughed as she stuffed the basket and then glanced at the girls again. “I don’t want the pecan pie to get a complex in here all by itself. Skye, why don’t you two head over to the picnic grove. Morgan and I will be along shortly.”

“Where are the boys—and Dad?” Skye asked.

Morgan motored to the table, placed the cooler on it, and reached to the counter for a bag of chips. “You know he’s a picnicking nut too. He took the boys in the truck back to Piney Hollow. They’re gonna do their macho thing.”

“In fact,” Mrs. Chambers added, “tonight they’re sleeping in a pup tent back there. Tom said he couldn’t see such a crystal-clear day, or night, going to waste. He loves camping out under the stars, so the four of them will be roughin’ it.”

“Where—what—is Piney Hollow?” Katie asked.

“It is so cool,” Skye said. “It’s a campsite in the back of this place. It has a chuck wagon and outdoor chapel and everything. We have youth retreats there sometimes.”

“And meals cooked on an open fire.” Morgan flipped her hair back. “Your little ol’ taste buds never had it so good.”

“Ummm, I’m for that,” Katie said. “When do we get to do that?”

Mrs. Chambers finished packing the picnic-ware. “We weren’t quite sure you’d enjoy that, Katie. Your mother says that you spend most of the time with your equipment in the bedroom. But—”

“Well, I’d sure like to try camping.” Katie’s whole face lit up. “That sounds so cool. And I’d love to try the food. I’ve never had anything cooked on an open fire.”

“Then you haven’t lived.” Skye could hardly contain herself. “Wait until you taste bacon and eggs and—”

“Skye, let’s take care of one meal at a time,” Mrs. Chambers said. “Right now we’re going to have cold sandwiches—without a fire! Now you two get going.”

“Okay, Mom,” Skye said, tugging at Katie’s shirtsleeve. “C’mon, Katie.”

“Just let me grab your elbow, and I’ll follow, okay?” Katie folded her cane into four smaller sections and stuffed it into a nylon pouch that hung from her belt.

“Hey, that cane is neat. I didn’t know you could fold it like that,” Skye said. “What’s it made of?”

“Graphite,” Katie answered. “Light as a feather but strong enough to take a lot of grief from a kid like me.”

In another frenzy of giggles, the two girls made their way out the sliding door and down the porch ramp. To their right, they followed the sidewalk that bordered the white pasture fence, Skye acquainting Katie with the grounds every step of the way.

“Hey, let’s stop here for a minute,” Skye said. “I told you I wanted you to meet someone. We don’t have to wait until after supper.”

“You mean it’s time to meet your pig?” Katie laughed.

“Yeah.” Skye played along with Katie. “I want you to meet Oinkers.”

Skye stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

From the bottom of the pasture, a small herd of horses started galloping. Up through the field they came, long manes and tails bouncing with the thrill of the run. The ground rumbled with the beat of six sets of hooves. At the front of the herd ran a smaller horse, as fast as the wind and shining like a brand-new penny.

Clinging tightly to Skye’s arm, Katie moved back. “That sounds like more than one horse, Skye. And they sound dangerous. Are they gonna run over me?”

“No, you’re fine.” Skye slipped her arm away from Katie and took a step forward. “There’s a big white fence between them and us.”

In seconds, the horses lined up along the fence, their heads bobbing over the top rail and reaching toward the girls.

Skye reached out and grabbed Champ’s halter. “Katie, I’ll introduce you to the horses, one at a time.”

Katie took another step back. “I really don’t need to meet any stinkin’ horses. Let’s go.”

“Aw, c’mon. There are only six of them.” Skye was beaming with pride. “They won’t hurt you. Here, grab my arm, and I’ll move you a little closer.”

“Um, I don’t know—”

“Like it or not, you came here to learn to ride. Well, guess what? You have to touch a horse before you climb on one. Here, reach out, and I’ll let you pet my horse, Champ. He’s reddish brown and the best horse that ever lived.”

Katie edged her hand forward as if feeling the heat from a red-hot stove. “I—I don’t like this,” she said. “I’ve never been around horses. You don’t exactly see them in the city every day.”

“He won’t hurt you,” Skye promised. “Just feel how soft he is.”

Katie reached a little farther, her hand finally coming to rest on Champ’s velvety soft nose. He nickered, and Katie pulled back. “What was that?”

“That’s Champ’s way of saying hello,” Skye said. “Isn’t he soft?”

“Well, yeah.” This time Katie reached with less reluctance. “And fuzzy. He kinda feels like my stuffed animals.”

“Now do you wanna meet the others?”

Without waiting, Skye grabbed each horse by the halter one at a time, letting Katie touch each one. Finally, they came to the last horse.

“Now, this little guy’s name is Boomerang,” Skye said. “His breed is pinto. I think Mom and Dad want you to learn to ride him. He’s as gentle as a lamb, and he’s very good with beginners. We call him ‘Boomer’ for short.”

With growing confidence, Katie reached out to pet him. “Why do you call him Boomerang? And what’s a pinto horse?”

“Well, he’s our barrel-racing horse. And he’s so fast, he reminds us of a boomerang going down and back. A pinto is either brown and white or black and white. Boomer is brown and white.”

“What’s barrel racing?” Katie’s curiosity had finally gotten the best of her.

“It’s an event in horse shows and rodeos. Three barrels are set up in a cloverleaf pattern in a corral. When the horse and rider charge into the arena, a clock times how fast the team can run around the barrels and cross a finish line. This fella and Mom have won blue ribbons in that event. Even though he’s a small quarter horse, he is one fast dude. He’s almost as fast as Champ.”

“And they’re gonna stick me on a horse like that? No way.”

“He won’t barrel race with you,” Skye said. “When you’re taking lessons, he’ll just walk around slowly in the corral. Just wait, you’ll see. Boomer’s a perfect gentleman with the ladies.”

“Does Champ barrel race?”

“No, he does other events.”

“Did he ever win anything?”

“Sure. He has lots of blue ribbons too.”

“Wow. That is so neat.” Katie edged her body forward. “Can I get closer to Boomerang?”

“Yep,” Skye said. “Here, let me help you.”

Slowly, Katie moved her hands forward. Skye held Boomer’s halter while the blind girl’s fingers wiggled freely, coming to rest on the horse’s receptive nose. She felt the horse as though sculpting a piece of clay. Her hands crept upward, gently feeling the strength of his face and forehead and the stiffness of his long eyelashes that closed over large Bambi eyes. Her hands slid down both sides of his face, over his strong cheekbones and halter, and down around his velvet muzzle and fuzzy chin.

“His lips are furry! Wow! I never imagined a horse would feel like this,” Katie said. “All I ever knew was that they were big. But he’s—he’s gorgeous!”

“His color and markings are gorgeous too,” Skye said. “His head’s brown except for a white blaze. That’s a stripe down the middle of his face. His mane and tail are white with black mixed in. The rest of him is massive blotches of brown on white. He is one pretty picture.”

“Oh, I wish I could see him,” Katie said.

“Well, you can—in your own way,” Skye said. “Feeling Boomer is a lot more than most city kids have the chance to do.”

Skye looked toward the picnic grove and suddenly remembered where they were headed in the first place. “We’d better get going. Mom and Morgan will probably be out in a sec.” She turned toward the horses. “You guys can go finish your supper now!”

As the girls made their way along the fence, the horses turned back into the pasture, each one finding his own spot of grass to nibble. Skye and Katie came to the end of the walk, crossed a dirt road, walked over a bridge that straddled a small stream, and stopped at the pavilion nestled in a cluster of tall pine trees.

Skye led Katie to the picnic table. As Katie sat, Skye stood at the end of the table and studied the scene before her. Her brown eyes darted in a dozen different directions, capturing the beauty of the perfect June day. She took a deep breath of pine scent and then glanced back at the horses enjoying their evening meal. Her glance drifted closer to where she stood, to a gazebo resting near the pavilion, and she studied the intricate designs cut into the fancy wood. She looked up, feasting on the brilliant blue sky, absorbing the entire scene.

“Will you look at that cool sky?” Skye caught herself the second the words slipped from her mouth. “Oh, Katie, I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” Katie said, letting out a long sigh. “I get that all the time. People will say, ‘Oh, look at that’ or ‘Can’t you see that,’ but of course, I can’t. I’m almost used to it. And I do remember what blue looks like. The best skies are the ones with big, puffy white clouds. One of my favoritist things to do was lie in the yard at home and look for dragons and—”

A long pause preceded Skye’s attempt to speak. “Katie . . .”

With a frown on her face, Katie sat still, her pudgy body humped over like an old woman.

“Hey, is there any chance you might ever get your sight back?” Skye’s excitement was obvious in her voice. “I mean, they do all kinds of neat operations to help people see.”

“My mom’s had me all over the place to find out. We’ve seen zillions of specialists. They all say there’s really nothing wrong with my eyes.”

Skye frowned, deep in thought. “There’s nothing wrong with your eyes? Then what’s making you blind?”

“The damage was done to my brain. One doctor said that if he could perfect a certain kind of surgery on that part of the brain, there might be a slim chance that I could see again. I live for that day. But Mom keeps telling me not to get my hopes up. Well, she’s not blind!”

“God could perform a miracle,” Skye said.

“Miracle? What miracle?” Mrs. Chambers asked from behind.

Morgan followed, carrying the picnic supplies on her lap.

“To give Katie her sight back,” Skye said. “Jesus did it when he was here on earth. Why couldn’t he do it for Katie?”

Straightening her back, Katie turned toward the voices.

“Well,” Mrs. Chambers said, placing the basket on the table, “that’s something we can all pray about. In the meantime, let’s enjoy God’s creation and the food he’s given us. And while we’re on that subject, right now we should pray for our meal.”

Morgan maneuvered her wheelchair to the end of the table and laughed. “Mrs. C., are you sure we should pray about this meal, especially since we’re going to indulge in all those luscious desserts? We’ll probably each gain five pounds just looking at them. That sounds sort of sinful to me.”

Everyone laughed.

“Who cares if we gain five or ten pounds? I sure don’t!” Katie declared. “Bring ’em on!”

Chapter Four

I
t was Monday morning at Keystone Stables and time for riding lessons! By nine o’clock the hot June sun had already posted its warning for another scorcher of a day.

Skye and Katie rested their arms over the top rail of the small riding corral. Katie was devouring a candy bar. Next to the barn, Mr. Chambers and Morgan were showing Joey and Leonard, wearing helmets, how to saddle and bridle their horses. In the corral, a young man, looking sharp in western attire including a black Stetson, led a brown horse. Sam, also wearing a helmet, sat in the saddle and held on for dear life. As the young man walked the team in a circle, Skye’s heart went with him.

Chad, you are such a doll.
Skye’s whole being smiled.

“What’s goin’ on now?” Katie asked, finishing her candy. “If everyone’s too busy, I can just wait. I don’t need to do this today.”

“Like Mom and Dad said earlier, Katie, today
you
should take your first ride,” Skye insisted. “So I guess you do need to do this today. And it will be your turn as soon as Chad’s done giving Sam his first lesson.”

“This is so dumb,” Katie snapped, then changed her tone. “Who’s Chad?”

“The sweetest boy this side of heaven,” Skye whispered. “He’s fifteen and in our youth group and blond and super cute!”

“He’s your boyfriend?”

“Nah. Mom and Dad say I’m way too young to be thinking of boyfriends. And Chad’s too busy for girls. He has a part-time job and he plays the guitar and practices preaching to the youth group at church and—”