Thunder Creek Ranch

by Sonya Bates

  Cory’s foot hit the edge of the bank and skidded out from under him. He landed on his stomach, draped across the rock, and started sliding.

  “Help!” Cory screamed.

  Jake and Tommy leapt forward and grabbed Cory’s hands.

  Cory was heavy. And the rock was wet and slippery. Jake felt himself being pulled closer and closer to the edge.

  “Pull!” he said to Tommy.

  “I am,” said Tommy.

  Cory wriggled like a fish on a line, trying to get his feet on the rock. He glanced fearfully at the water lapping at his heels.

  “Help! I can’t swim,” he cried.

  Jake braced his foot on a nearby bush. He leaned back and pulled with all his strength.

  “We’ve got you. Pull yourself up!” he said.

  Cory jammed his feet against the rock. Jake and Tommy pulled and slowly Cory inched upward. Jake got a better grip and heaved. Within seconds the three of them were panting in a jumbled heap on the edge of the rock.

  “Wow, that was close,” said Tommy, rolling away from them. “You almost fell into the creek. We would never have gotten you out. You would have been swept away like the branches were.”

  Cory climbed to his feet. His face was pale. He looked down into the water again and stepped away from the edge. He shrugged. “No biggie. We made it. Let’s get out of here.”

  “You could at least say thanks,” said Jake.

  Cory glanced at him. Jake could see he was still shaken. He just didn’t want to admit it. “Yeah, thanks,” he said. “Now let’s go.”

  They found a track a little ways downstream. Jake recognized it as the one Grandpa had followed to get to the gully. The track took them down through the forest and into the field behind the house.

  “Grandma? Grandpa?” Jake said as they burst in through the back door.

  Grandma leapt up from the table. She looked like she had been crying. “Jake! Tommy! Thank goodness you’re safe.” She wrapped her arms around them in a bear hug. “Where have you been? We’ve been so worried.”

  “I got chased by a bull, Grandma,” said Tommy. “And then I got lost in the woods and the storm came. I made myself really small, just like you and Grandpa always say to do.”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “It was a calf,” he said. “But we did get caught in the storm. The creek rose, and we couldn’t get across.”

  “Roaring Meg,” said Grandma, shaking her head. “She’s come early this year. So how did you get home?”

  “We crossed at the gully,” said Jake.

  “And I made the biggest jump,” said Tommy. “Even bigger than Jake’s, and Cory—”

  “Cory made it over too,” said Jake quickly, frowning at Tommy. “But we have to tell you something, Grandma.” He swallowed. “We let the cows out. The ones in the home field. We didn’t mean to. We tried to get them back, but then a calf started chasing Tommy and we… we lost them.” He looked down at his feet. He didn’t want to see the anger in Grandma’s face.

  Grandma laughed. “Is that what you’re worried about?” she asked. Jake looked up. “Those cows came home hours ago. They know when a storm is coming, even if you don’t. Now I better call the McNashes and let them know you’re home safe. They’ve been worried sick about Cory.”

  “Grandma?” asked Tommy before she could go. “Are you sure all the cows got home? Even the one that chased me across the creek? It might be stuck on the other side. I don’t think it could jump across like we did.”

  “Yes, Tommy,” said Grandma. She smiled and ruffled his hair. “They all came home before the storm. Even the little rascal that chased you.”

  She went to find the phone. Jake, Tommy and Cory were left staring at each other. They were wet and covered in mud, and Cory had a scratch down one side of his face. Jake was almost as exhausted as he had been when they’d gotten stranded on Wildcat Run. Then Tommy’s stomach gave a ferocious growl, and they all burst out laughing.

  “I gotta go,” said Cory with a grin. “See you guys tomorrow?”

  Jake grinned back. “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” he said. Cory was a pain. He bragged, drove like a madman and could be kind of mean sometimes. But he wasn’t as bad as he tried to be.

  “See you tomorrow,” said Tommy.

  Cory waved and shuffled out the door, letting it bang shut behind him.

  “He’s cool,” said Tommy. “But I’m a better jumper than him, aren’t I, Jake?”

  “Yeah, you are,” said Jake. “Come on. Let’s find something to eat.”

  Sonya Spreen Bates is a Canadian writer living in South Australia. Always an avid reader, she was inspired to write children’s fiction by her two daughters and their love of the stories she told them. Sonya’s stories have been published in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Thunder Creek Ranch is the fourth book about Jake and Tommy in the Orca Echoes series.

  For more titles in the Orca Echoes series, please click here.