Blue Ribbon Champ (3 page)

O
h, give me a home, Where the buffalo roam, And I’ll show you a carpet that stinks!”

At a Saturday morning cookout, Chad strummed his guitar while he sang his own version of “Home on the Range.” Around the Piney Hollow campfire with Chad sat Joey and the other summer students, laughing hysterically and holding their sides. Skye giggled at Chad too while she cracked eggs into a large black skillet on the open fire. Mr. Chambers, in a chef’s hat and red apron, was bent over the pan, scrambling the eggs. Tippy and Tyler, the two West Highland terriers, sat with the students and eyed the cooking eggs. Mrs. Chambers and Morgan were busy at a nearby table, pouring orange juice and setting places for the hungry students.

Under a clump of scrub pines near the chuck wagon, Champ and the five other Keystone Stables horses rested from their crack-of-dawn trail ride. Next to the horses, the parked ranch truck toted a beverage cooler and boxes of breakfast supplies.

The sky, although still a curtain of pink, was fast giving way to a brilliant, cloudless blue, the promise of another hot summer day.

“Okay, kids!” Mr. Chambers said as he used both hands to lift the heavy pan and carry it to the center of the table. “The eggs are ready. Time to chow down!”

“Yes, come and get it!” Mrs. Chambers finished pouring juice into a paper cup. “Morgan, make sure everyone gets a wet wipe.”

“Sure thing, Mrs. C.” Morgan grabbed a container off the table and handed out wet cloths as everyone gathered around the table.

Skye eyed Chad’s every move and hurried to the table to sit next to him. As she sat, Joey charged the table and flopped into the chair on her other side. As usual, his bright red cheeks beamed pure excitement from under his ten-gallon hat.

“Kin I sit next to Cloud, my girlfriend?” Joey asked. He reached his arm around Skye and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I love her, ya know.”

“Ooh, Joey loves her,” a camper mocked.

Other students snickered while they sat in their places. “And he’s kissing her too!” one exclaimed.

Mrs. Chambers poured coffee for her husband. “Ah, Joey, maybe you should sit—”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Skye said.

Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, Morgan, and Chad all exchanged startled looks.

“I owe this kid a big one,” Skye started to explain. “He helped me out of a jam with Hannah Gilbert at the market on Tuesday.”

“Skye, hold on a minute,” Mr. Chambers interrupted. “Let’s pray, and while we’re eating, you can fill us in.”

Skye bowed her head, glanced at Joey, and smiled.

“…and, Lord, thank you for this beautiful place and all this wonderful food. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Mr. Chambers finished his prayer and smoothed down his mustache. “Now let’s dig into the best breakfast this side of heaven.” He stood and started spooning large portions of scrambled eggs onto all the plates. Mrs. Chambers served a basket of fresh-baked biscuits while Morgan passed a plate piled high with crispy, brown bacon.

Joey’s eyes glistened as he stared at his full plate. “Ooh, I just love eggs and bacon.”

“And scrambled eggs are the best,” a student said as he stuffed a spoonful into his mouth. “I tried a raw egg once, but I didn’t like it.”

“Raw eggs? Yuck!” another student said.

Mrs. Chambers set the biscuit basket down and sipped her coffee. “Now, Skye, what did you want to tell us about Joey and Hannah?”

While everyone dug into the food, Skye began. “I meant to tell you, but I forgot. Morgan knows about it, though. At the market on Tuesday, Joey and I ran into Hannah and two of her friends. You know how snooty she is—”

“Skye…” Mrs. Chambers said.

“Sorry, but she is,” Skye said. “Anyway, she said something really ignorant about me and Joey, and then guess what happened?”

“If I know Joey, I think I know what’s coming.” Mr. Chambers chuckled and then took a bite of biscuit.

Chad’s dimpled smile lit up his whole face. “Joey can be
real
friendly, even to strangers.”

Skye started giggling. “You guessed it. He grabbed Hannah and gave her the biggest, sloppiest kiss she’s probably ever gotten from anyone. She and her friends were horrified. You showed her, didn’t you, Joey?”

“Yeah, I showed her that I love her. I love all of Cloud’s friends. I wanted to show the other girls too, but they were in a hurry to go.”

Morgan’s eyes danced as she smiled. “I would’ve given a month’s allowance to see Hannah’s face. Definitely a historical moment—maybe even hysterical.”

“Now, girls,” Mrs. Chambers said, “just remember to be kind to people like Hannah. Inside all of that show and glitter might be a troubled young lady. Fancy clothes and a big house don’t bring happiness.”

“That’s right,” Mr. Chambers added. “She might be a very lonely girl. Maybe sometime you’ll have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with her. Just be ready when that time comes.”

“I don’t think she’s interested in God at all,” Skye said. “I’ve never heard her talk about church or anything like that.”

Mr. Chambers sipped his coffee. “All the more reason you need to be ready. Skye, don’t look at her as the enemy. Look at her as someone who might need help.”

“I helped her!” Joey threw in. “I hugged her and told her I loved her. That should’ve made her feel good!”

“I don’t know if that made her feel good,” Skye said with a smirk, “but I have an idea that she felt different—very different.”

The annual Snyder County Horse Show in August was the highlight of the summer, and this year Joey would be competing! Pleased with the boy’s progress, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers had decided to enter him in a new Special-Needs Beginners’ Western Pleasure class. In this class, each rider had to lead his horse and square him up, ride him at a walk and then trot around the corral, turn him, and back him. Joey looked forward to every practice he had with Skye, and Saturday was no exception.

After the Piney Hollow cookout, Skye, Champ, Joey, and Bucky stood in the practice field, getting ready to work on Joey’s routine.

After she cleaned the horses’ hooves and helped Joey mount, Skye climbed onto Champ. Chad was in the paddock teaching another student how to tack a horse when he and Skye caught each other’s eye.

“Hey, Skye,” Chad yelled, “how’s Bucky’s thrush? I see you’re still pouring peroxide on that bad foot.”

“We just have to keep after it,” Skye yelled back. “It flared up, but I think as long as we keep the peroxide on it, he’ll be okay.”

“Good,” Chad said. “Oh, I wanted to tell you that I have the evening free. I’d like to stay and shoot some pool. Do you think Mr. and Mrs. C. would mind?”

Well, I sure wouldn’t!
Skye’s face glowed with delight. “Of course they wouldn’t mind. You’re always welcome here.”

“Great,” he said. “I’ll see you later then.”

“Later,” Skye said, turning Champ toward the open field. With her heart racing and her brain exploding with thoughts of Chad, she forced herself to refocus. “Joey, just like we’ve done so many times before, we’re going to practice what you’ll be doing in the horse show. I want you and Bucky to follow Champ and me.”

“Okay, Cloud.” Joey turned Bucky and lined up behind Skye and her horse. “But I wanna ride Champ today. Could I please ride Champ? I’ve always wanted to ride Champ.”

Skye took a deep breath, ready to give Joey a blast. Then she remembered Hannah. “Well,” she said politely, “maybe sometime you can ride Champ, but not today. You have too much to teach Bucky. He needs you. Okay?”

“Okay, Cloud,” Joey conceded.

For the next hour, Skye and Champ rehearsed with Joey and his horse. Around the practice field they went, starting, stopping, dismounting, and mounting. Although Joey listened well, the practice was far from what Skye had planned. For the umpteenth time after he got off
Bucky, Joey asked the same old question, “Kin I ride Champ now?”

Patience was never one of Skye Nicholson’s virtues, and after an hour of Joey’s nagging, the whole humorous Hannah incident had disappeared into thin air. By the time the session ended, Skye was fuming big time.

At the paddock fence, Skye stopped Champ abruptly, jumped off the horse without even bothering to use her stirrup, and ripped off her helmet. “Joey, park Bucky right here next to Champ and dismount. Your lesson for today is
over!”
Lost in her own selfish thoughts, she barely noticed Chad still working with another student in the small corral.

“Okay, Cloud.” Joey got off Bucky and tied him to the fence. “Now kin I ride Champ?”

Boom!
Skye’s temper erupted like a volcano. In a flash, she whirled around at Joey and shoved her index finger right into his face, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

“He can’t help it.”
Mrs. Chambers’ words from a counseling session flashed in Skye’s mind, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Ooh, you look mad, Cloud,” Joey said, backing away. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’m sorry.”

Skye took a deep breath and gave Joey her best smile. “Nah, Joey, that’s okay,” she said sincerely. “But you can’t ride Champ today. He’s tired. Okay?”

“Okay, Cloud,” Joey said, beaming his best smile back. “But kin I ride him now?”

A
ll right!” Morgan cheered. “I sank one of her subs!” While Joey and the other students played table games with Mr. and Mrs. Chambers in the dining room, Skye, Morgan, and Chad played computer games in the basement. The walls vibrated with the noise of electronic laser blasts and explosions. Tippy and Ty lay on the floor, totally engrossed in chewing their own play toys.

You lost! You lost!
A sinister voice declared as Chad’s screen flashed the words in brilliant colors.
Wanna try again or are you CHICKEN?

“Give me a break,” Chad said to the screen and then turned to Skye. “Hey, how about a game of pool? This
Chicken
game isn’t working for me.”

Skye, happy that Joey was nowhere near, giggled while she worked her controls. “Sure. I’m bombing out on my game too. Maybe I’ll have better luck with pool balls.”

“Then let’s do it,” Chad said.

“Morgan, do you mind?” Skye shut down her computer.

“No problem,” Morgan said. “I’ve just connected with a kid from Australia in this
Battleship
game. She’s a
Christian too. We’re discussing life while we’re trying to wipe out each other’s fleet. This is too cool.”

Chad headed toward the pool table. “I’ll rack the balls, Skye. You can break them.”

He is so-o-o polite.
Skye grabbed a pool stick from the wall mount. “Okay, but I’m not very good at this. I’ve had only a few lessons.”

Chad grabbed a stick and chalked its tip. “As a beginner, all you need to remember is to hit the cue ball in the center. You don’t want to stab at it or hit it too low. That’ll make it skip across the table at the same time your stick is gouging the cloth on the table. That’s disaster.”

“Dad tells me that all the time,” Skye said, chalking her cue tip. With a nervous eye on Chad, she placed the cue ball on the table and took aim, holding the stick as Mr. Chambers had taught her.

“Easy, now,” Chad whispered. “Take your time and hit the ball in the center.”

Skye pulled back, and
whack!
She miscued, and the ball went flying into a corner pocket. The triangular rack of balls sat on the table undisturbed.

“Oh, no!” Skye squealed. “I think I missed.”

“No problem.” Chad retrieved the cue ball and rolled it back to Skye. “Try it again. We’re not in a world championship or anything.”

He is so-o-o kind.
Skye smiled in agreement. “Okay. One more time.” She took aim and hit the ball squarely. It smacked the racked set, scattering balls all over the table. A cherry red ball dropped into a side pocket.

“The three ball! You did it!” Chad said. “Very good, Skye. Are you sure you haven’t been on a world billiards tour?”

Skye giggled at Chad. “Wow, that’s the best shot I ever made.”

“Well, you have another turn.” Chad pointed to a yellow-and-white ball near a corner pocket. “And look
here. The nine is just hanging on the end. That’s an easy shot. Go for it.”

“Okay, Mr. Billiard Boss!” Skye smiled at Chad and ran her fingers through her hair, winding long strands around her ear. Carefully, she took aim and made the shot.

“You’re on a roll now.” Chad smiled. “You have a run of two. That’s pretty good for a beginner.”

“What should I do now?” Skye couldn’t help but stare at Chad’s wavy blond hair.

He walked around the table, studying the layout of the balls. “I think—”

Bam! Bam!
A knock at the basement door drew all eyes in that direction. As though launched by giant slingshots, the dogs charged the door with a barrage of guarddog warnings.

“Will somebody get the door, please?” Mr. Chambers yelled from outside.

“Here, boys!” Skye yelled.

“Come here, boys. It’s just Mr. C.,” Morgan added.

Chad hurried toward the door. “Coming!”

Tippy and Ty retreated, releasing long ripples of suspicious growls.

Mr. Chambers shuffled in, lugging an enormous computer monitor. “Chad, will you open my office door? This old thing weighs a ton.”

“Sure thing, Mr. C.” Chad reached toward a second door off to the side.

The dogs waddled to Mr. Chambers and greeted him with wagging tails.

“Thanks, Chad,” Mr. Chambers said. “George just dropped off this antique. Looks like I’ll have my work cut out trying to fix it.” He huffed his way into the computer shop. “I don’t think I can get the parts for it anymore. Maybe I can talk him into getting a flat panel. It might cost him as much to get this fixed as to buy a new one.”

“That does look ancient,” Chad said, walking back to the pool table. “Now, where were we, Skye?”

Skye stared into Chad’s brown eyes and her heart melted.
He is so-o-o cool.
“You were going to tell me which ball to shoot next.”

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Mr. Chambers stuck his head out through the office doorway. “Eileen said the pizza’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Pizza! Yes!” Morgan yelled. “The perfect end to a perfect day.”

Chad pointed to a blue ball. “Try the two in the corner.”

“Okay,” Skye said. She took her next shot but missed.

Chad chalked his cue tip and took aim. “Well, you’ve left a table of good shots. You might as well pull up a chair. This could take a while.”

And I don’t mind watching you at all,
Skye thought. She wasn’t going anywhere!

Chad’s pool skills were in their full glory as he ran the rest of the balls off the table. He racked a second set and continued shooting. “So, girls,” he said between shots, “are you excited about the Fourth of July teen program at church?”

“That’s right,” Morgan answered. “Our first practice is next Friday night. I’d like to be the Statue of Liberty, but I have a slight problem.” She chuckled.

Chad took another shot but missed. “Hey, I have an idea. Maybe you could be a perched Statue of Liberty. You could say something like, ‘They’ve given me their tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to be free, and I’m tired too.’”

Skye and Morgan howled with laughter.

“Chad, you are one riot.” Skye’s tone changed as she continued. “I haven’t really thought about the program. Do we all have to learn a part or say something? I hope not. I get too frazzled.” She took a shot and missed.

Chad started another long run and talked between every shot. “Last Sunday I heard Pastor Newman telling Mrs. Chambers that he wants all the teens to have a part in the program, including the Keystone students. Even though they might not have much to say, at least they’ll feel wanted—and needed.”

“I know there’s going to be a teen choir,” Morgan said.

“Well,” Skye said smartly, “I’ll do anything Pastor Newman wants as long as—”

Chad missed his shot and glanced at Skye. “As long as what?”

“Oh, nothing.” She quickly changed the subject. “I’m going to invite Jamie and Les from my class at Madison. Pastor said he’d like to see a whole bunch of visitors the night of the program.”

Morgan spoke over her exploding game. “I overheard Mrs. C. telling Pastor that she’s bringing all the Maranatha clients to the program. Looks like we’ll have a packed house.”

Skye took her shot and made a ball in a side pocket. “Wow, a full church! And we only have a month to practice.” She shot again but missed.

Chad ran off the remaining balls and glanced at his watch. “I guess we should head upstairs to Pizza World. And I am
definitely
ready.” He returned his stick to the mount. “No reason to be frazzled, girls. The Lord will help us with the program as long as we practice, practice, practice.”

“Are you inviting anyone, Chad?” Skye turned and put her stick away.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to ask Hannah and her two friends.”

“WHAT?” Skye spun around and glared at Chad as if he
were
Hannah. She raked her fingers through her hair, and for the first time in her life, threw a vicious scowl in Chad’s direction. “You can’t be serious! Since when do you know her?”

Chad recoiled as though a rattlesnake had just struck. “Whoa! What’s the matter? We’re just friends—distant friends, that’s all. Last year we had two classes together. I’d really like to see her get to know God better. Wouldn’t you?”

“Well,
I
sure would.” Morgan shut down her computer and motored toward the door. The dogs followed close behind. “That girl needs something, and it isn’t more money or more snooty friends.”

“That’s a good point,” Chad said as he covered the pool table with a plastic cloth. “Maybe God can do something for her that no one else has been able to do.”

“I’ll see you guys upstairs.” Morgan left the basement and headed up a ramp at the side of the house.

Skye’s scowl never left Chad. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, and her insides churned like grasshoppers in a blender.
Chad with Hannah?

But Chad wasn’t Skye’s boyfriend, nor could he be until they were much older. Still, the thought made her sicker by the second.
Why should I care?

Nonetheless, Skye’s resentment grew until suddenly, her eyes watered and her throat burned with jealous fire.

“Skye, would you—”

“Oh, never mind!” Skye snapped. She turned her back to Chad, wiped the tears from her eyes, and took off, storming up the stairs.

“What’s the matter?” she heard Chad say as she left him all alone in the basement. “Women! Go figure.”

“He is
so
stupid!” Skye said under her breath and slammed the game room door.