Leading the Way

by Marsha Hubler

  Leading the Way

  Book 5

  Formerly titled The Winning Summer Keystone Stables

  Marsha Hubler

  Dedicated to Christian Cochran, whose invaluable help made this book possible.

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map of the Chambers’ Ranch

  Chapter one

  Chapter two

  Chapter three

  Chapter four

  Chapter five

  Chapter six

  Chapter seven

  Chapter eight

  Chapter nine

  Chapter ten

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter twelve

  A Letter to my Keystone Stables Fans

  Are You Ready to Own Your First Horse?

  Glossary of Gaits

  Parts of a Horse

  The Western Saddle

  Resources for Horse Information Contained in this Book

  Related Products

  Keystone Series

  Wild About Horses Bible

  A Lucy Novel

  Sophie Series

  Boarding School Mysteries

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  Map of the Chambers’ Ranch

  Chapter one

  Skye, watch where you’re going. You’ll trip over the dogs!”

  Along the railed walkway behind the house at Keystone Stables, Skye was feeling her way, eyes covered with a scarf.

  “I can tell where they are,” Skye said to Morgan, who followed in her wheelchair. “I can hear their nails clicking on the cement.” Skye stopped, released her grip from the railing, and tentatively reached out to pet the dogs. “Here, Tippy! Here, Tyler!”

  The Westies, delighted with even the least bit of attention, licked Skye’s hands while their tails banged off her legs almost in unison. Behind Skye, the soft hum of Morgan’s Jazzy came closer.

  “How long are you going to do this?” Morgan asked impatiently. “You’ve been at it over a half hour, in the barn—and now in the backyard. Isn’t that enough? I can think of much better ways to spend a hot Saturday afternoon. It’s almost suppertime, Skye. We should be helping Mrs. C.”

  “Just a little while yet. If I’m going to be able to help Katie Thomas, I need to get a good idea of what it feels like to be totally blind.” Skye reached behind her head and tightened the scarf’s knot. “I want to go inside and see if I can find my way around my bedroom and the kitchen. I’ll ask Mom if I can set the table.”

  “With your eyes covered?” Morgan laughed. “This should be a total riot. You’ll probably drop every dish on the floor and smash your nose into the wall.”

  “Bet I won’t! I know where everything is in the house. It’ll be a piece of cake.”

  Again, Skye clung to the rail and started out, one cautious step at a time. Slowly, she made her way up the sloping sidewalk and ramp, onto the back porch of the house. She felt her way toward the sliding glass door.

  “Should I open it for you?” Morgan asked.

  “For Pete’s sake, I’m not a cripple!” Skye shot off. “Oh, sorry.”

  “No problem.” Morgan was already in deep thought. “I wonder if blind kids get frustrated like you just did. I mean, I’m sure they want to be as independent as possible, but I imagine people often treat them like they treat me. I sure don’t like it.”

  “Well, we won’t! Mom and Dad said every student has to pull his or her own weight. How many are coming tomorrow?”

  “Four, bag and baggage, for three whole months. And Mr. C. is really excited about Katie. He says it’s been a few years since Keystone Stables had a blind student who wanted to learn to ride.”

  Skye groped for the door handle. Sliding the door open, she stepped inside. Hands extended, she inched forward until she touched the back of a chair. “Okay, this is cool,” she said, letting out a rush of nervous breath. “The dining room table is at twelve o’clock. Now the kitchen cupboards are to my—”

  “Skye, what on earth are you doing?” Mrs. Chambers’ voice rang out from the kitchen.

  Skye turned her head to the left and smiled as though she could see Mrs. Chambers. “I’m pretending that I’m blind.”

  Newspaper pages fluttered at Skye’s right. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with Katie’s coming tomorrow, would it?” Mr. Chambers said from the same direction.

  Skye’s head swiveled toward the man’s voice. “Yep. I just thought this would help me understand how she feels.”

  Mrs. Chambers’ words betrayed her thoughts. “What a unique way to try to understand someone.”

  Morgan motored in and closed the door. “I wouldn’t mind if someone would try sitting in this chair all day long to understand me better. Of course, ‘pretending’ never quite cuts to all the problems special-needs kids have. At least Skye’s trying to understand.”

  “I can certainly see that,” Mrs. Chambers said with a chuckle, “and no pun intended. Well, if you want to do something in your present condition, Skye, I sure could use some help getting this meal ready.”

  “Could I set the table?” Skye asked.

  “You may try!” Mrs. Chambers said.

  “Be back in a few minutes.” Morgan motored down the hallway and yelled a slight jab at Skye. “She said it would be a piece of cake!”

  “But we’re not having cake!” Mrs. Chambers yelled back and laughed.

  “Smells like—” Mr. Chambers paused. “Hey, Skye, take a good whiff. What do you think we’re having?”

  “Hey, right!” Skye said. “I just read online that a blind kid’s other four senses need to be really sharp to make up for not being able to see.” She took a long deep breath, filling her nostrils with a blend of luscious aromas.

  “What’s the main course, Skye?” Mrs. Chambers asked.

  Skye’s mouth watered, and her stomach growled like a hungry bear. She inhaled deeply. “Smells like Tony’s Pizzeria.” She beamed. “Are we having pizza?”

  “Pretty close,” Mrs. Chambers said.

  “Try again,” Mr. Chambers said. “Maybe your ears can help.”

  Skye stood perfectly still, focusing her attention on the sounds coming from the kitchen. A faint bubbling from the stove competed with the soft hum of the refrigerator. “Something’s boiling…I know! It’s got to be spaghetti noodles up to their necks in hot water. And I…I smell sauce too. Right?”

  “You get an A plus, honey,” Mrs. Chambers said. “That’s really quite good. Now, how about giving me a hand? The place mats are already laid out.”

  “Sure, Mom.” Skye slid left around the table. She touched a chair and turned, reaching for a counter she knew was at arm’s length from the chair. She edged her way along the counter to its end and stretched to her right, touching the refrigerator. She then reached up toward a cupboard where she knew the plates were kept.

  “Just be careful,” Mrs. Chambers added.

  One step at a time, Skye began. For a task that usually took seconds, she struggled for fifteen minutes.

  Her fingers felt their way inside cupboards and drawers. She retrieved what she thought were four large dinner plates, four napkins, and four complete sets of silverware. Edging her way back to the table, she maneuvered each object into what she thought was its rightful place. Finally, starting to make one more trip, she confidently balanced a tray of four empty glasses.

  “How am I doing, Dad?” Skye said. “I told you this would be a piece of—”

  Yipe! Yipe! Yipe!

  Skye’s foot smacked into a dog that, somehow, managed to be right in the girl’s pathway. Skye heard yips and squeals, then nails clicking full speed ahead
on the hardwood floor.

  “Whoa!” Skye yelled as she stumbled forward, trying to balance the tray.

  “Skye, look out!” Mr. Chambers yelled.

  Skye’s whole body flailed as she tried frantically to regain her footing. But it was too late. She felt herself heading somewhere—down and fast!

  Suddenly, she felt a strong arm around her waist. The tray slipped out of her hands.

  Crash! The awful sound of glass shattering on the floor echoed through the entire house.

  Supported by the strong arm, Skye managed to regain her footing before crashing into something herself. She struggled and groped. At last, her hands found the back of a chair. She was shaking from head to toe.

  “Honey, are you all right?” Mrs. Chambers’ voice quivered as she wrapped her arm around Skye’s shoulder. “I got her—just in time!” Mr. Chambers said as he released his strong grip around Skye’s waist.

  Still shaking, Skye gripped the back of the chair as though she’d never let go.

  “I’m afraid you got a real taste of what it might be like to be blind,” Mr. Chambers said. “If I hadn’t caught you, you would have gone full force into the wall.”

  “What happened?” Morgan’s voice echoed down the hall. “It sounded like an earthquake!”

  “Skye dropped some glasses. But she’s okay,” Mrs. Chambers’ relieved voice declared.

  Lowering her head, Skye slowly untied the knot of her scarf. In deep thought, she stared at the mess on the table and the floor.

  Totally blind! The reality of not being able to see—anything—whirled like a tornado in Skye’s mind.

  She felt so ashamed. “I am so sorry,” she whispered.

  “We’re just glad you’re not hurt,” Mr. Chambers said, walking away. “I’ll get the sweeper, and we’ll clean up this mess.”

  “It must be terrible to be blind,” Skye said. She brushed her long dark hair back from the sides of her face, seeing anew the beautiful scene beyond the sliding glass door. Down in the pasture, Skye’s sorrel horse, Champ, nibbled at his evening meal in a field of brilliant green. “Blind kids have no idea what a horse even looks like.”

  Mrs. Chambers patted Skye’s shoulder. “Not if they’ve been blind from birth. They have it pretty rough, Skye.”

  “But Katie lost her sight only four years ago in a car accident.” Mr. Chambers carried in a dustpan, broom, and vacuum sweeper. “That might be worse—having known what everything looks like, and now not being able to see anything at all.”

  Morgan came down the hallway and stopped her Jazzy abruptly. “Wow! There’s glass everywhere!”

  Skye stared at her foster sister, noticing more freckles on Morgan’s face than she ever thought she had.

  “You know, I spend a lot of time thinking about different disabilities,” Morgan said, flipping back her long, frizzy red hair. “I’d much rather have cerebral palsy than be blind.”

  “Why does God let it happen?” Skye asked. She looked into Mrs. Chambers’ blue eyes, already moist with compassion.

  “If we knew that answer, we’d be God,” Mrs. Chambers said.

  “Somehow, through all of their pain, people with disabilities are able to praise him anyway.” Mr. Chambers ran fingers down both sides of his mustache then started to sweep glass shards into a dustpan. “God gives the strength.”

  “I sure don’t know where I’d be without him,” Morgan said with a smile, “or without Keystone Stables. Here’s where I learned how to get my act together.”

  “Hopefully, if God blesses our work, we’ll help other kids get their acts together,” Mr. Chambers said. “Four more this summer.”

  “And teach them to praise the Lord through it all,” Mrs. Chambers added.

  “I’d sure like to help Katie in any way I can,” Skye added, “but how do I do it?”

  Chapter two

  Skye, this box has Katie’s name on it.” At the front door, Mr. Chambers handed Skye a backpack-sized cardboard box.

  “I thought all her stuff was brought in when she and her mother set up the room earlier today,” Skye said, struggling to balance it.

  Mr. Chambers reached out a steadying hand. “You got it?”

  “Yep,” Skye said.

  “Somehow, this one got all mixed up with the boys’ boxes and suitcases,” Mr. Chambers declared. “Please take it back to Katie’s room while I help these guys get settled. Skye, this is Joey, Leonard, and Sam.”

  “Hi, guys,” Skye said warmly.

  “Hi,” they said almost together.

  Skye studied the three boys clustered together on the front porch and surrounded knee-deep in baggage. All younger than Skye, she guessed, each beamed a smile that overshadowed the trademark of his special needs: a helmet, leg braces, and thick glasses.

  “I can’t wait to see the horses,” Joey bubbled.

  “Me too,” Leonard said. “I’m gonna ride all day every day!”

  Mr. Chambers squared his cowboy hat and hoisted suitcases under each arm. He clutched two smaller bags in each hand. “Well, the sooner we get you guys settled, the sooner you’ll get to see the horses.”

  Skye couldn’t help giggling. “Dad, you look like a pack mule with a Stetson.”

  “Hmm…” Mr. Chambers laughed. “A mule with a hat—and a mustache?”

  The boys burst into hearty laughs. “That is too funny,” Sam said. “A mule with a mustache.”

  “Do you have any horses with mustaches?” Leonard asked.

  “Not with mustaches, but they do have beards,” Mr. Chambers said.

  “Beards?” Joey giggled.

  “Well, kinda,” Skye said. “They have whiskers, but we shave them off with an electric razor.”

  “What?” Sam said. “Ooh, I wanna see that.”

  “Me too,” the other boys said.

  “All in good time,” Mr. Chambers said, stepping inside the house. “Just grab some suitcases and boxes. Let’s get this show on the road!”

  “And I’ll take this box to its new home for the summer—special delivery!” Skye turned and hurried through the living room, down the hallway, and stopped at the doorway of Katie’s room.

  No Katie.

  “Where is she?” Skye turned to her foster dad as he shuffled into the room across the hall.

  “I think your mother took her down to the barn.”

  “Ooh, the barn!” Leonard yelled as he tagged after Mr. Chambers. “I can’t wait.”

  “Just lay the box on Katie’s bed,” Mr. Chambers said. “I’m sure once she finds it, she’ll know what it is, or what’s in it.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Skye entered the girl’s room and placed the box on the bed next to a grocery bag full of snacks.

  Turning to leave, her glance swept across the room and spotted a computer. Its screen saver flashed a kaleidoscope of colors.

  “A computer?” Skye said. “A blind kid with a computer?”

  Skye’s curiosity, like a pin to a magnet, drew her to the computer station in the corner. Carefully, she reached down and jiggled the mouse. Relinquishing its colors, the screen revealed the beginning of a letter someone had been typing.

  “Dear Dad…” Skye read out loud. But—how?

  She glanced at the keyboard, which looked the same as any other. “Okay, she knows how to type,” Skye said, mumbling to herself, “but how does she know what’s on the screen?”

  Skye sat in front of the computer, examining the keyboard from left to right and back. Completely engrossed, she placed her fingers on the board.

  H-e-l-l-o, she typed and then hit the space bar.

  “Hello,” an electronic voice said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Skye said. “This thing talks! Unbelievable!”

  “What’s unbelievable?” A girl’s soft voice came from behind, launching Skye from the chair as though she had sat on a tack.

  “Skye, what are you up to now?” Mrs. Chambers chided softly. “You know other kids’ bedrooms are off-limits unless you’re
invited.”

  Skye turned toward the doorway. “I’m sorry. But this computer talks! That is so cool!”

  “Skye, this is Katie Thomas. Katie, this is Skye Nicholson, one of our foster daughters.”

  The girls exchanged hellos. Skye studied the new girl.

  Right hand holding a long thin cane, Katie leaned her plump body lazily against the door frame. Her blond hair, parted in the middle, framed a chubby face and hung freely, barely touching her shoulders. Bright green eyes, camouflaging her blindness, searched in the direction of the voice, appearing to study its owner as Skye studied back.

  “Katie’s mother wants her to learn how to ride this summer,” Mrs. Chambers said. “That was Mrs. Thomas’ last statement before she left.”

  “Even though I don’t want to ride any dumb ol’ horse,” Katie said. “I’d rather just spend time with my stuff in my room.”

  “Well, we’re glad you’re here.” Mrs. Chambers placed her hand on Katie’s shoulder. “Now, I need to help Morgan finish getting supper ready. You two get to know each other a little better while the man of the house gets our boys settled in.” Mrs. Chambers turned and left.

  Katie touched the floor with the point of her cane. Sweeping it back and forth, she walked slowly into the room.

  Skye rushed to her side and grabbed her arm. “Let me help you.”

  “For Pete’s sake,” Katie snapped. “I’m not a cripple!”

  Skye pulled away abruptly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I—I—”

  Katie stopped when her cane touched the bed. “Hey, look, I’m sorry I popped off. I know you meant well, but—well, thanks anyway.”

  “I can leave if you’d rather be alone,” Skye said. Morgan was right. People do treat blind people like they’re crippled. I just did.

  “Nah, that’s okay. My mother says I’m alone too much.” Katie was already sitting on the bed. She reached into the grocery bag, pulled out a box, and grabbed a handful of crackers. She ate them like she hadn’t eaten in a week. “Want some?”

  “No, thanks,” Skye said.

  “Grab a seat somewhere if you’d like. Back home, there aren’t any other blind kids in our school. I’m not exactly in the running for homecoming queen either. That’s one reason Mom brought me here. She thinks it will be good for me to get to know a horse—personally. Sheesh!”