Read Online Stolen Secrets by Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry
Ads: Link
library.”
“Tracy’s mom’s a yeller too,” Riley said. “I saw her chew Tracy out in the Blockbuster parking lot. She threw a DVD at her.”
I had to tell Ashley. As I walked outside I found Sam sitting on a rock. He was on the phone, facing the Front Range.
“. . . I think I owe them that much, don’t you?” Sam said forcefully. “Tim, I disagree. You’ve never been in my situation. How could you possibly know . . . ?”
I stopped and tried to listen, but Sam noticed me and lowered his voice. He clicked his phone shut. “How’d practice go?”
“Who was that?” I said.
Sam hesitated. “Just business.”
Chapter 53
Mom asked me to get some sweet corn from the freezer in the barn. Now that I knew we had.
But I was wrong. It was gone. And so was everything else.
I walked slowly back inside, staring at the red rocks behind our house. Sam had warned us not to climb them without the right gear, that the holes in the rocks made perfect places for animals. Bryce and I had driven around them, and we’d climbed a few feet, but we’d never really explored the rocks.
I opened the kitchen freezer and pulled out a dwindling bag of peas. “Mom, we must have used the corn already.”
“You hate peas,” she said.
She was right. “All I am saying is give peas a chance,” I said.
She shook her head.
During dinner I asked if Bryce and I could take a quick ride out to the red rocks.
Sam looked at the setting sun. The days were getting longer and warmer. “For a few minutes,” he said. “But be back by dark.”
Chapter 54
I had no idea what Ashley was up to, but I wasn’t about to pass up a ride on the ATVs. About halfway to the rocks, she slowed and motioned for me to stop. “Something’s going on out here. There’s more stuff gone from the freezer, and remember the weird glow the other night?”
“Where?” Bryce said.
“Near the praying hands.”
There’s a formation of rocks that looks like two hands touching, with a V-shaped hole underneath. To me it looks more like two porcupines rubbing noses.
We had to slow when we reached a rocky area near the base of the formation. Small red stones dotted the landscape. If you run over one of them going fast you can flip.
Ashley veered right, stopped, and got off the Ashleymobile. I pulled close as she held up a piece of melted plastic. She pointed at a white swan near the top of the bag. “Our corn.”
“Could have blown out of the trash,” I said.
“Yeah, but how did it melt?” She stuffed the bag in her pocket.
We continued up to a plateau where we parked. The red rocks blocked our view of the house now, and the setting sun shone through the opening of the praying hands.
“Somebody’s up in that big cave below the hands,” Ashley said. “If there was a fire in there, it would glow up through the hands and we’d see it, don’t you think?”
We jogged up the path to get a better view. The rocks are about as long as two football fields, and around the base are scrub oaks and wildflowers. We climbed, hopping from one rock to another.
Suddenly something screamed above us.
Ashley turned, white-faced. “Mountain lion!”
Chapter 55
As we flew down toward our vehicles, I kept waiting for the wildcat to jump on our backs and drag one of us away. On the local news I’d seen stories about mountain lions attacking dogs in backyards. Kids had been picked off while walking ahead of their parents on remote trails.
People tell mountain lion tales all the time. At a retreat near Colorado Springs a few years ago women were outside, sipping tea, watching a flock of bighorn sheep graze on the hillside. Suddenly, one of the women screamed as a mountain lion jumped one of the sheep and tore it apart. Blood everywhere. The women ran inside while the mountain lion had his own tea and cookies.
Mom and I hate that story, but Bryce tells it as often as he can, and he always exaggerates the bloody part.
Mountain lion attacks usually happen
“Tracy’s mom’s a yeller too,” Riley said. “I saw her chew Tracy out in the Blockbuster parking lot. She threw a DVD at her.”
I had to tell Ashley. As I walked outside I found Sam sitting on a rock. He was on the phone, facing the Front Range.
“. . . I think I owe them that much, don’t you?” Sam said forcefully. “Tim, I disagree. You’ve never been in my situation. How could you possibly know . . . ?”
I stopped and tried to listen, but Sam noticed me and lowered his voice. He clicked his phone shut. “How’d practice go?”
“Who was that?” I said.
Sam hesitated. “Just business.”
Chapter 53
Mom asked me to get some sweet corn from the freezer in the barn. Now that I knew we had.
But I was wrong. It was gone. And so was everything else.
I walked slowly back inside, staring at the red rocks behind our house. Sam had warned us not to climb them without the right gear, that the holes in the rocks made perfect places for animals. Bryce and I had driven around them, and we’d climbed a few feet, but we’d never really explored the rocks.
I opened the kitchen freezer and pulled out a dwindling bag of peas. “Mom, we must have used the corn already.”
“You hate peas,” she said.
She was right. “All I am saying is give peas a chance,” I said.
She shook her head.
During dinner I asked if Bryce and I could take a quick ride out to the red rocks.
Sam looked at the setting sun. The days were getting longer and warmer. “For a few minutes,” he said. “But be back by dark.”
Chapter 54
I had no idea what Ashley was up to, but I wasn’t about to pass up a ride on the ATVs. About halfway to the rocks, she slowed and motioned for me to stop. “Something’s going on out here. There’s more stuff gone from the freezer, and remember the weird glow the other night?”
“Where?” Bryce said.
“Near the praying hands.”
There’s a formation of rocks that looks like two hands touching, with a V-shaped hole underneath. To me it looks more like two porcupines rubbing noses.
We had to slow when we reached a rocky area near the base of the formation. Small red stones dotted the landscape. If you run over one of them going fast you can flip.
Ashley veered right, stopped, and got off the Ashleymobile. I pulled close as she held up a piece of melted plastic. She pointed at a white swan near the top of the bag. “Our corn.”
“Could have blown out of the trash,” I said.
“Yeah, but how did it melt?” She stuffed the bag in her pocket.
We continued up to a plateau where we parked. The red rocks blocked our view of the house now, and the setting sun shone through the opening of the praying hands.
“Somebody’s up in that big cave below the hands,” Ashley said. “If there was a fire in there, it would glow up through the hands and we’d see it, don’t you think?”
We jogged up the path to get a better view. The rocks are about as long as two football fields, and around the base are scrub oaks and wildflowers. We climbed, hopping from one rock to another.
Suddenly something screamed above us.
Ashley turned, white-faced. “Mountain lion!”
Chapter 55
As we flew down toward our vehicles, I kept waiting for the wildcat to jump on our backs and drag one of us away. On the local news I’d seen stories about mountain lions attacking dogs in backyards. Kids had been picked off while walking ahead of their parents on remote trails.
People tell mountain lion tales all the time. At a retreat near Colorado Springs a few years ago women were outside, sipping tea, watching a flock of bighorn sheep graze on the hillside. Suddenly, one of the women screamed as a mountain lion jumped one of the sheep and tore it apart. Blood everywhere. The women ran inside while the mountain lion had his own tea and cookies.
Mom and I hate that story, but Bryce tells it as often as he can, and he always exaggerates the bloody part.
Mountain lion attacks usually happen
Similar Books
