been thinking . . . ,” Katie said.
“Oh . . . about what?” Skye came back from her daydream.
“The horse show’s at the end of the summer, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s the third week in August. It starts the twenty-third or something like that. Why?”
Katie paused before answering.
“Do you have something up your sleeve?” Skye asked.
“My birthday is the twenty-first.”
“And?”
“Do you know what I want more than anything else in the world?”
“To be able to see,” Skye said emphatically.
“No—well—besides that.”
“I give up. What?”
“I want my parents to get back together. Don’t you remember our talk the other day?”
“Oh, right. So what does the horse show have to do with your parents? Or your birthday?”
“Well, when we talked, you said I needed a goal, something to show my parents that I’m getting on with life.”
“And so here we are, on Boomer’s back, goin’ in circles.”
The girls giggled again.
“I wanna barrel race in that horse show, Skye.”
Skye swallowed hard. “Gosh, I don’t know, Katie. That’s only two months of practice time. Are you—”
“Listen, Skye.” Katie’s tone was as determined as ever. “I know I can do this, especially if I know my parents are coming to see me.”
“Well, how will you get them here? And at the same time?”
“For my birthday!” Katie’s excitement was obvious. “I know they’ll both come for that, and then they can stay for the horse show, and they can see me ride this super horse, and—”
“Whoa, Boomer!” Skye said as the girls rode the horse across the finish line. “And whoa, Katie! That’s expecting an awful lot of yourself and your parents in such a short time.”
Skye slid off the horse, and Katie followed. The girls led Boomer to the barn.
“I can do this,” Katie said, smacking her gum. “If I win the blue ribbon, they’ll get back together. I just know it.”
“Well, let’s discuss your plan with Mom and Dad first. And maybe we should all pray about it.” Skye had exhausted her arguments.
“You pray about it,” Katie said. “I’ll just do it!”
Chapter Eight
T he next few weeks found Skye and Katie practicing barrel racing every chance they had. Katie progressed so well that Mrs. Chambers started working the routine with her. Together they rode Boomer in a slow canter.
By the end of July, Mrs. Chambers agreed that Katie was ready to run the course by herself. Despite Katie’s pudginess, her natural riding ability impressed everyone. She credited her skill to her younger years of cheerleading and sports. Most impressive, though, was her new attitude. Casting Skye’s caution to the wind, she believed that her family’s future depended on her winning a blue ribbon at the horse show. Katie had something to prove!
Skye and Katie were becoming the best of friends, sharing their hopes and dreams. Of all the things they loved to discuss, horses topped the list. But Skye had little success convincing Katie to trust more in God. She couldn’t even get her new friend to church or to youth activities.
Through the month of July, Katie’s parents visited only twice, at different times. Mrs. Thomas came on her weekdays off from work. Mr. Thomas came on weekends. Skye wondered if he were intentionally avoiding his wife. Caught in the middle, Katie tried to be upbeat, showing the “new” her to everyone around.
Now, the last Saturday in July, Mr. Thomas was visiting again, and Mr. Chambers suggested a trail ride to take advantage of the beautiful warm day. On a dirt road winding through the backwoods of Keystone, Mr. Chambers and Mr. Thomas led the way on their horses. Skye and Katie followed close behind on Champ and Boomer. Katie fed her mouth a steady flow of candy from a stash in her shirt pocket.
Skye leaned forward and stroked Champ’s silky mane. “Katie, we’re going through some thick woods now. You should see how green everything is.”
“Sh-h,” Katie
“Oh . . . about what?” Skye came back from her daydream.
“The horse show’s at the end of the summer, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s the third week in August. It starts the twenty-third or something like that. Why?”
Katie paused before answering.
“Do you have something up your sleeve?” Skye asked.
“My birthday is the twenty-first.”
“And?”
“Do you know what I want more than anything else in the world?”
“To be able to see,” Skye said emphatically.
“No—well—besides that.”
“I give up. What?”
“I want my parents to get back together. Don’t you remember our talk the other day?”
“Oh, right. So what does the horse show have to do with your parents? Or your birthday?”
“Well, when we talked, you said I needed a goal, something to show my parents that I’m getting on with life.”
“And so here we are, on Boomer’s back, goin’ in circles.”
The girls giggled again.
“I wanna barrel race in that horse show, Skye.”
Skye swallowed hard. “Gosh, I don’t know, Katie. That’s only two months of practice time. Are you—”
“Listen, Skye.” Katie’s tone was as determined as ever. “I know I can do this, especially if I know my parents are coming to see me.”
“Well, how will you get them here? And at the same time?”
“For my birthday!” Katie’s excitement was obvious. “I know they’ll both come for that, and then they can stay for the horse show, and they can see me ride this super horse, and—”
“Whoa, Boomer!” Skye said as the girls rode the horse across the finish line. “And whoa, Katie! That’s expecting an awful lot of yourself and your parents in such a short time.”
Skye slid off the horse, and Katie followed. The girls led Boomer to the barn.
“I can do this,” Katie said, smacking her gum. “If I win the blue ribbon, they’ll get back together. I just know it.”
“Well, let’s discuss your plan with Mom and Dad first. And maybe we should all pray about it.” Skye had exhausted her arguments.
“You pray about it,” Katie said. “I’ll just do it!”
Chapter Eight
T he next few weeks found Skye and Katie practicing barrel racing every chance they had. Katie progressed so well that Mrs. Chambers started working the routine with her. Together they rode Boomer in a slow canter.
By the end of July, Mrs. Chambers agreed that Katie was ready to run the course by herself. Despite Katie’s pudginess, her natural riding ability impressed everyone. She credited her skill to her younger years of cheerleading and sports. Most impressive, though, was her new attitude. Casting Skye’s caution to the wind, she believed that her family’s future depended on her winning a blue ribbon at the horse show. Katie had something to prove!
Skye and Katie were becoming the best of friends, sharing their hopes and dreams. Of all the things they loved to discuss, horses topped the list. But Skye had little success convincing Katie to trust more in God. She couldn’t even get her new friend to church or to youth activities.
Through the month of July, Katie’s parents visited only twice, at different times. Mrs. Thomas came on her weekdays off from work. Mr. Thomas came on weekends. Skye wondered if he were intentionally avoiding his wife. Caught in the middle, Katie tried to be upbeat, showing the “new” her to everyone around.
Now, the last Saturday in July, Mr. Thomas was visiting again, and Mr. Chambers suggested a trail ride to take advantage of the beautiful warm day. On a dirt road winding through the backwoods of Keystone, Mr. Chambers and Mr. Thomas led the way on their horses. Skye and Katie followed close behind on Champ and Boomer. Katie fed her mouth a steady flow of candy from a stash in her shirt pocket.
Skye leaned forward and stroked Champ’s silky mane. “Katie, we’re going through some thick woods now. You should see how green everything is.”
“Sh-h,” Katie
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