Skies Like These (18 page)

Roy ordered one large cotton candy to share and found a seat on the bumper of a concession truck.

They peeled threads of the sticky pink treat and melted it across their tongues. When the candy was all gone and only the paper cone was left, Jade began picking at a faded bumper sticker on the concession truck. It read:
Pray for Whirled Peas
.

“That was nice of Farley,” she said. “Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all.”

“Kip Farley is never going to make my list of favorite people,” Roy said, “but I think it's time to let it go. He probably didn't deserve those fish heads. And you were right about the whole eBay thing. I am better than that.”

“So you're not going through with it?”

“No. I decided to leave the Boys and Girls Club donation pledge at fifty dollars, too. I was talking to my parents and it turns out my dad really wants to try something new, so maybe the store shutting down wasn't so terrible. And they said if I do go back to Farley's ranch, any money I make can be saved for a plane ticket to Philadelphia. If you're interested in having a visitor, that is.”

“Are you kidding me? I'd love to show you Philly! I could take you to Franklin Square and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and we can go to the city library—it's massive—and we can stop at Mr. Yee's market and get candy bars on the way home. You'll love it.” Jade went back to picking at the bumper sticker. She focused intently on the sun-bleached letters, running a finger along the word
Peas
and working her thumbnail under a corner, separating it from the rusted chrome. “Will you keep the nickname Roy?”

“I'll have to give that some thought,” Roy said. “I think I'll keep it for now.”

“You know, it's neat what you said about your dad being like Butch Cassidy.”

“I meant it. And I'm going to do a lot more to help him, too,” Roy said. “Now that Angelo is in a wheelchair most of the time, he'll need his kitchen and bathroom remodeled. Dad's going to show me how. Plus there's more volunteer work over at the Wilson farm and Sandy from the YMCA said their basketball hoop is wobbly and needs a new concrete base.” Roy was gazing out across the park littered with popcorn and streamers and empty cups. “When you think about it, my dad is more like Butch than I ever was.”

“That's not true.”

“Yes it is,” Roy said, turning back to Jade. He reached out and pushed a pudgy thumb along the edge of the same bumper sticker she was picking at. “So your last day is tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“What are your plans?”

“Aunt Elise was going to take me hiking. Want to come along?”

“I'll bring my parents,” Roy said, confident grin blazing. “They'll want to say goodbye, too.”

 

37

Aunt Elise wasn't exaggerating. The meadows along Cottonwood Creek were exploding with brilliant blues and yellows and pinks. Summer flowers crowded between tall strands of golden prairie grass and pushed up against the base of the striking Tetons.

It was like nothing Jade had ever seen. “They're gigantic,” she said, referring to the mountains.

“Grand Teton is 13,770 feet above sea level,” Aunt Elise said.

Jade looked at the serrated rocky point of Grand Teton extending up into the sky. “I'd like to make that climb someday.”

“Count me in,” Roy said at her side.

“It will take a good amount of effort and planning,” Aunt Elise said. Then she poked the tall walking stick she had brought into the ground and pressed on toward Roy's parents, who were up the path scouting out possible spots for a picnic. Mrs. Parker had brought a basketful of sandwiches and cookies and fruit.

Jade was still looking at the mountain peak.

“How high above sea level is Philly?” Roy asked.

“Something like forty feet. The tallest thing we have is the Comcast building. My class went there on a field trip in fourth grade. It has fifty-seven floors but even then, the building is only nine hundred and seventy-five feet tall.”

“Imagine climbing fourteen of those buildings stacked on top of one another,” Roy said.

“That would be quite a hike.”

“Let's do it! Let's climb Grand Teton! We'll spend the next few summers training and studying the best routes to the top. Elise knows these mountains like she knows her own backyard. How long do you think it will take before we're ready?”

“Aunt Elise said it would take three summers when we were talking about it yesterday,” Jade said.

“Then we'll work toward making it to the summit three years from now.” Roy reached out. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Jade said, shaking his hand.

They continued farther along the trail, which clung to the side of the wide creek and wove in between clusters of pines and out across a broad meadow. After a few minutes, they met up with the Parkers and Aunt Elise, who were busy spreading out a blanket and unpacking the lunch basket.

“You couldn't ask for better weather than this,” Mr. Parker said, straightening a corner of the blanket.

“A beautiful send-off for our Jade,” Mrs. Parker added. She was laying out an array of sandwiches.

Roy walked over and stood by his dad. “Jade and I just made a pact to climb Grand Teton three summers from now.”

The adults stopped their lunch preparations.

“Is that right?” Mr. Parker asked.

“Yep,” Roy said. “We figure Elise could be our guide and help us train over the next couple of years.”

“I'm game,” Aunt Elise said.

“Well.” Mrs. Parker went back to pulling shiny red apples from the basket and stacking them on the blanket. “No one is more qualified than Elise when it comes to these mountains and I know teenagers climb that peak all the time. I suppose it will be all right.”

“I think it's a brilliant plan,” Mr. Parker said. “Something you can look forward to.”

Roy and Jade each took a sandwich, apple, and cookie and then found a rock to sit on over by the creek, away from the others.

“Are you sure you're up for such a big hike?” Roy asked, taking a bite of ham sandwich. “It means you'll have to keep coming back to Wellington.”

“I'm trying to be more open to adventure,” Jade said. “I used to think it was better hanging out at home and keeping to myself, but then I met this kid who showed me I was wrong. He taught me how important it is to loosen up and have some fun.”

“Sounds like a smart kid.”

“The smartest.” Then she turned her face up and felt the honey light of the sun washing down over her. “I guess Aunt Elise was right,” she said, chin pointing heavenward. “Skies like these make you believe you can do anything.”

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There were times during the work on this novel when I felt as if my supportive agent, Steven Chudney, and my patient editor, Margaret Ferguson, deserved an honorary doctorate in archaeology. Stories can be a challenge to unearth and they helped me find this particular one layer by gentle layer. I would like to thank them and all the wonderful staff at Macmillan. Thanks also go to Lois Moss, Terry Johnson, and Becky Gentry for insight and to Holdman Glass Studios for allowing me to poke around and learn more about the beauty of glass art. I shamelessly stole the names and descriptions for some of the dogs in this novel from my friends and neighbors and am grateful they allowed me to do so. I tried to triple-check my facts on the stories I have heard and loved about the real Butch Cassidy and take sole responsibility for any mistakes I may have made. Finally, I want to thank my loving husband and children for their unfailing support—you are my sunsets, my stars, my rainbow clouds.

 

Also by Tess Hilmo

W
ITH A
N
AME LIKE
L
OVE

 

Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010

Copyright © 2014 by Tess Hilmo

All rights reserved

First hardcover edition, 2014

eBook edition, July 2014

mackids.com

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Hilmo, Tess.

   Skies like these / Tess Hilmo. — First edition.

        pages cm

   Summary: While visiting her eccentric aunt who lives in Wyoming, twelve-year-old Jade befriends a boy who believes he is a descendant of Butch Cassidy.

   ISBN 978-0-374-36998-9 (hardback)

   ISBN 978-0-374-36999-6 (e-book)

   [1.  Wyoming—Fiction.   2.  Aunts—Fiction.   3.  Eccentrics and eccentricities—Fiction.   4.  Friendship—Fiction.]   I.  Title.

PZ7.H566Sk 2014

[Fic]—dc23

2013033675

eISBN 9780374369996