Leading the Way

by Marsha Hubler

  No answer from Katie.

  Skye wiped her mouth with a napkin and jumped in to help things along. “You could show her how to groom him and clean his hooves and everything!”

  Mrs. Chambers sipped her coffee. “The biggest surprise you’ll find is that Katie can ride Boomer without anyone walking alongside. When Skye puts the horse on a lunge line, Katie can ride in a big circle on her own. Skye, Katie, and Boomer make a great team!”

  “This horse business is all new to me. What’s a lunge line?” Mrs. Thomas sounded genuinely interested.

  At last, Katie spoke in a decent tone. “It’s kinda like a long rope that Skye ties on the horse. When it’s hooked to his bridle, Boomer walks in circles while Skye guides him from the center of the corral. That way I don’t have to worry about riding him off a cliff or something.” She reached for her glass and finished her drink.

  “You don’t know how happy I am to hear how well this is going,” Mrs. Thomas said to Mrs. Chambers. “Even though Keith and I have our differences, we both have been worried about Katie. Ever since the accident, she’s been holed up in her room.”

  “Well, what else is there to do?” Katie sassed.

  Again, Skye’s glance darted to Mrs. Chambers to watch her reaction. Mrs. Chambers kept her eyes on Mrs. Thomas.

  “Now, don’t get me wrong,” Mrs. Thomas continued. “I’m thankful that we qualified to get all those electronics through state grants. But face it, Katie, you have no life outside your bedroom.”

  “Well, duh, Mother! None of my friends come around anymore. It’s kinda hard to have a party if I’m the only one who shows up.”

  Mrs. Chambers rose and got a large baking dish and four dessert plates from the counter behind her. “Anyone for peach cobbler?”

  Everyone was.

  “Katie, don’t you think that’s changed since you’ve come here?” Mrs. Chambers made her point clear. “You seem to hit it off pretty well with our girls.”

  “Sure,” Katie’s voice filled with sarcasm, “but I can’t exactly take them home to Jersey with me.”

  Wow! Skye peaked her eyebrows again. Smartin’ off to Mom Chambers too. Trouble.

  “Katie, that’s not a polite way to answer Mrs. Chambers. Please say you’re sorry.”

  No answer from Katie.

  Mrs. Chambers started to serve the desserts. “Perhaps we can work on Katie’s respect for elders while she’s here as well as her horseback riding skills,” she said firmly.

  “Skye,” Mrs. Thomas said, “your mom tells me you’ve been a foster child. How many different homes have you lived in?”

  “Oh, about a dozen,” Skye said. She dug her spoon into the dessert and took a big bite. Peach cobbler put a better taste in her mouth than the subject she knew was coming.

  “That must have been difficult for you.” Mrs. Thomas took her dessert from Mrs. Chambers. “But you seem to have adjusted well.”

  “Well, I gotta tell you,” Skye said, “I was a mess. I hated everybody. Before I came here, I had run away a bunch of times. I was headed for jail.”

  “Oh, my.” Mrs. Thomas’ raised eyebrows gave away her every thought.

  Mrs. Chambers couldn’t resist putting in a word. “We got her just in time, Christine. I should say, ‘The Lord got her just in time.’”

  Skye beamed from ear to ear. “When I accepted Christ, my whole life changed. Thanks to him and Mom and Dad, I finally got my act together.”

  “She doesn’t know where her real mom and dad are. I should be so lucky,” Katie’s full mouth mumbled.

  Skye observed Mrs. Chambers’ face twist into an obvious display of displeasure.

  “Katie…” Mrs. Thomas reprimanded lightly, then glanced at Skye. “So, are you involved in any other activities besides horses?”

  “Yep,” Skye answered. “I have a lot of things to keep me busy.”

  Mrs. Chambers worked on her dessert and coffee. Her blue eyes sparkled at Skye. “Skye is quite active. She gets good grades, she’s the manager of the girls’ softball team, and just recently she started taking violin lessons. Oh, and you should see her attack those computer games!”

  Everyone laughed but Katie, who had stopped eating, her face red with anger.

  “It sure sounds like this place helped you find yourself,” Mrs. Thomas said to Skye. “That’s what I’ve been praying will happen with Katie. She needs a goal, a purpose in life. Maybe Keystone Stables, and you folks, can help her find one.”

  In a flash, Katie was out of her seat, almost knocking it over. Her face flushed even redder. “But Skye’s not blind!” Pushing away from the table, she grabbed her cane and made her way past her mother. Her audience sat stunned as Katie swept her cane and rushed out of the dining room. Finding her way down the hall, she turned into her bedroom. When she slammed the door, the whole house shook.

  Chapter six

  Skye, glued to her chair, glanced at the two women at opposite ends of the table. Standing, Mrs. Thomas hastily wiped her mouth with the napkin. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get her to apologize.”

  Mrs. Chambers raised her hand. “Wait, Christine. There’s enough time for that.” She looked at Skye. “Honey, would you please try to talk to her? No one can truly know how she feels, but maybe she’ll listen to you. Go on. We’ll wait here.”

  Mrs. Thomas edged back into her seat, stress draping her face like a mask.

  “Sure, Mom,” Skye said. “I can only try.”

  Biding her time, Skye laid her napkin down. She stood, and for the company’s sake, forced a smile. God, you’re gonna have to help me with this one. She prayed all the way down the hall.

  “Just try to get her calmed down so we can talk!” Mrs. Chambers called after her.

  Skye gave Mrs. Chambers a thumbs-up sign. She knocked softly on the door.

  “Go away!” Katie yelled.

  “Katie, it’s me,” Skye said. “I wanna talk to you.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. Just leave me alone.”

  “Well, you can’t stay in there forever! Your peach cobbler is getting moldy. C’mon, let me in.”

  Silence.

  “I’m not leaving!” Skye’s tone made that clear.

  Silence.

  “Oh, all right!” Katie finally gave in.

  Skye walked in and stood beside the open door.

  Katie busied herself with a gadget and a bag of potato chips at her computer desk. She had already slipped on earphones.

  “C’mon, Katie, let’s have it,” Skye said sharply. “What’s with you? You are one nasty critter when your mother’s around.”

  Katie backed up and flopped on the bed, sitting against the headboard. She clicked a tab on her book port and adjusted her earphones. “Hey, I’m busy, okay?” She scowled. “Later.”

  “I’m not leaving!” Skye practically bellowed. “So you might as well just make up your mind to talk.” She walked over and sat on the foot of the bed.

  In an instant, Katie’s face shriveled up like an old prune. Laying down the device, she peeled off the earphones, her green eyes searching their black, empty world. “Skye, I don’t need you. I don’t need anybody. Don’t you get it?”

  “Hey, people care about you and what happens to you,” Skye said. “Don’t you get it?”

  “Yeah, right,” Katie snapped. “Like all my good friends. Where are they now?”

  Skye’s voice relaxed. “Probably running the other direction when you’re around. You’re not exactly Miss Congeniality. You’re more like Miss Sourpuss.”

  “Skye, you—are—not—blind!” Katie poured out all her hurt and anger in five words.

  “So I’ve heard,” Skye said nonchalantly.

  “And I am!” Katie sassed back.

  “So what are you gonna do about it?”

  “What?” Katie’s voice squeaked.

  “You heard me. What are you gonna do about it?”

  Silence.

  Skye’s voice reflected deep concern. “This is one
time you are not gonna hear someone say, ‘I know how you feel,’ because I don’t. But you could make life a lot easier—and happier—for yourself.”

  “Why should I even bother?”

  “I realize that your friends all have their own lives. And your life is a one-eighty since your accident. But, Katie, nobody wants to be around an old grump, blind or not.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “You know, your mother is right about your needing some kind of goal in your life. With all this stuff you have, you could be an A student again.”

  “I have goals,” Katie smarted off.

  “What are they?”

  “To get up every morning.”

  Skye snickered. “Wow, what a life! C’mon, Katie. You can’t stay hidden in your bedroom forever. There are lots of things blind people can do.”

  Katie snickered back. “Like what? Count beads?”

  “Now, you know better than that. I’ve seen blind people on TV who work in offices and factories.”

  “Whoopee,” Katie said and sneered.

  “I’ve seen others do volunteer work at hospitals, even play instruments. Hey, I saw a TV program once about a blind girl who rode a horse in a show. She won a ribbon! What do you think of that?”

  Silence.

  “The way I see it, your parents—well, your mom for sure and probably your dad too—they want the best for you. That’s why you’re at Keystone Stables.”

  “If my parents wanted the best for me, they wouldn’t be getting divorced. I hate them for that.”

  “Are you sure that’s the reason? I think you’re just being selfish.”

  “What do you mean?” Katie asked.

  “Your mom says that when you three are together, all you do is argue over whose fault the accident was. How did it happen, Katie?”

  “I don’t wanna talk about it!”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s over. It’s in the past. I can’t do anything about it. Okay?”

  “It doesn’t seem to be over at all, Katie, especially not in your head.”

  Katie pulled her legs tight against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Now you’re gonna tell me what I’m thinking?”

  Skye chose her next words carefully. “I know how I was thinking, a few years back. I was mad at the whole world. In some really awful foster homes, I felt just like a slave. I hated my foster parents, and they hated me. Some of them were only in it for the money.”

  “So…?”

  “So…I was mad at everyone and everything; I couldn’t think straight. I even hated God because he let it happen.”

  Silence.

  “Katie, how did the accident happen?”

  Katie lowered her head onto her knees. “Dad was driving,” she said in a near whisper.

  “And…?”

  The question hung heavily in the air.

  Katie felt her way to the edge of the bed. Now sitting next to Skye, she stared straight ahead as though watching her past unfolding on a huge screen. “It was in the winter on a Saturday afternoon, and it was snowing buckets. We were going to Aunt Carol’s birthday party. Dad didn’t want to go, but Mom insisted. On the way, they were arguing about something, and we slid on ice. Our car went sideways into another car. Mom and Dad were banged up a bit. The side where I was sitting got the worst of it. But it still wasn’t as bad as the other car.” She sighed. “I’ll never forget the look of horror on the other driver’s face as we hit him. He was killed. And that’s the last thing I ever saw.”

  “Oh, Katie, how awful!” Skye said.

  “I was in the hospital and rehab for months. At first, Mom and Dad were there for me, but after a while, all they did was blame each other and fight. Sometimes their fights were over really stupid things.”

  “And you blame both of them, don’t you?”

  Silence.

  “Katie?”

  “Well, why shouldn’t I?” Her voice took on a hurt tone again. “And now the divorce is making it a thousand times worse.”

  Skye positioned herself on the bed right next to Katie. “Can’t you see that they’re already on a big guilt trip without your reminding them every day?”

  “No, I can’t see!” Katie’s sarcasm sliced the air like a sharp knife.

  Skye pleaded her case. “Nothing changed in my life until I faced myself and the fact that I was mean and hateful, not because of anyone else but because of my own attitude. Katie, have you thought about asking God to forgive you for your rotten attitude? And shouldn’t you forgive your parents?”

  “Right now I don’t think God cares about me at all.” Katie sniffled.

  Skye glanced at Katie, whose tears trickled down bright red cheeks.

  “That’s how I felt about God too,” Skye said softly. “But he does care, more than we’ll ever know. It took me a while, but when I realized that, things started turning around—for the better. Why don’t you try it?”

  Katie sat on the edge of the bed, tears flowing, nose sniffling.

  Skye spotted a box of tissues, grabbed a handful, and passed them to Katie. “Here, looks like you could use some of these.”

  Katie wiped her cheeks and blew her nose. “Gosh, I never thought any of this could be my own fault.”

  “If your parents see that you have come to grips with your blindness and you’ve set some goals, maybe, just maybe, they’ll try to work their differences out. You could make it a lot easier for them.”

  “What should I do, Skye?”

  “Let’s pray. You can ask the Lord to forgive you. I’ll help you, okay?”

  “Okay.” Katie sniffled.

  Skye started, “Dear God, here’s my new friend Katie, who could really use your help. Go ahead, Katie…”

  Skye listened while Katie poured her heart out. She asked God to change her from the inside out. When they had finished, Katie let out a long sigh of relief. Her face seemed to glow, Skye thought, with a smile from deep down in her heart.

  Katie wiped her nose, adding the tissue to a pile of wet balls already dotting the bed. She reached and touched Skye’s arm. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Skye replied. “Only God can make you feel that clean.”

  Katie paused and then said, “Skye, I sure wish I knew what you looked like.”

  “I’m just an ordinary kid, Katie,” Skye said.

  “Skye…” Katie hesitated. “Will you let me touch your face? I’d like to know what my new best friend looks like.”

  Skye paused. “Um…sure.”

  “I just want you to know I don’t go around feeling people’s faces all the time.” Katie snickered. “But I’d really like to.”

  “Sure.” Skye turned as Katie lifted her hands. Closing her eyes, Skye imagined again what blindness would really be like.

  Gently, Katie’s fingers felt Skye’s long, silky hair. She felt her forehead, fingering her eyebrows and curly eyelashes, her cheeks and button nose, finally her lips drawn into a big smile. Then Skye looked at Katie, whose face now radiated with her own warm smile.

  “Gosh, you’re pretty,” Katie said.

  “Only a blind person would tell me that,” Skye said.

  Both girls burst into laughter, the tension between them dissolving instantly.

  “Well, you’re still one of my favoritist people in the whole wide world!” Katie added. She then seemed to focus beyond Skye, her beautiful green eyes darting as if to follow a distant, elusive dream.

  “Skye, you said before that you had seen a blind girl ride in a horse show.”

  “Right on,” Skye said. “Why?”

  Katie stood, her face set in determination. “Skye, I want to barrel race a horse!”

  Chapter seven

  Well, it is possible!” Mrs. Chambers said. Sitting on Boomer, she pushed her suede Stetson back on her head and patted the Pinto’s neck. He oozed a white lather of sweat and huffed like a locomotive. “With a horse trained like this little guy, I think Katie can do it.”

&nbs
p; Skye shielded her eyes from the morning sun as she and Katie leaned against the fence of the Keystone Stables practice field. “You mean it, Mom?” Skye said.

  “No kidding?” Katie’s excitement burst through a mouthful of bubblegum.

  “Ride ’em, cowgirl!” Mr. Chambers shouted from the small paddock where he, Morgan, and Chad instructed the other students.

  “Looks like another blue ribbon for you and Boomer in the horse show, Mrs. C.!” Chad yelled.

  Mrs. Chambers waved toward the paddock and smiled. She turned her attention back to the girls. “Katie, it’ll take a lot of hard work, but after watching you ride Boomer for just a few weeks, I think you two can do it.”

  “How’d it feel running the barrels with your eyes closed?” Skye asked.

  “Needless to say, quite different,” Mrs. Chambers answered. “It forced me to rely much more on my instincts—and Boomer’s. He knows the routine like he was born in a barrel.”

  They all laughed.

  “Katie,” Mrs. Chambers continued, “the first thing you’ll have to do is learn the cloverleaf layout of the three barrels. Once you memorize the course and the distance between the barrels, you can learn how to sense when Boomer’s ready to cut, either to the left or right. You already have excellent balance, so timing is your key to success here.”

  “How far apart are the barrels?” Katie asked.

  “Oh,” Mrs. Chambers answered, “in a standard course, the barrels are about a hundred feet apart. In kids’ terms, that’s about a third of a football field.”

  “I’m no barrel racer, but can I help?” Skye asked.

  “You sure may,” Mrs. Chambers said. “You and Katie can ride double and walk Boomer in the cloverleaf pattern over and over. Then you can graduate to a trot. When Katie feels confident, she can try it herself. Eventually we’ll move on to the faster pace. Katie can ride with me until she learns the feel of the run.”

  “How long does it take to race the three barrels?” Katie asked.

  “The best riders can do it in about fifteen seconds,” Skye said. “But since you’re a kid, and you’ll be in a special-needs class, I’d say thirty seconds would be good, right, Mom?”

  “That’s probably a good guess.” Mrs. Chambers dismounted and offered Boomer’s reins to Skye.