C H A PT E R O N E The firE tower If Kaden had gotten the dog he wanted for his eleventh birthday it would have barked when the man walked up the narrow path from the road The man would have wondered how a dog got trapped in the top of an abandoned fire tower He would have tried to rescue it and Kaden’s secret hiding spot would have been discovered instantly But the man took no notice of a crow cawing incessantly from the window of the fire tower Kubla was much better than a watchdog if you really wanted no one to notice you And that was exactly what Kaden wanted No one to notice Kaden should have easily gone through life unnoticed He was very average Average height and weight Unnoticeable 1
PROMISE brown hair and eyes Made average grades But in the small town of Promise Kaden felt he stood out like a crow against snow He was the kid whose father was in prison When Kaden first heard the vehicle he picked up the binoculars Not many cars turned onto the rutted nearly undriveable dirt road leading up to the fire tower On the first warm days of spring or when the color changed in the fall a few hikers might come from Chapston City forty miles to the north They would park at the log barricade and wander up the weedy path to the tower There they’d be disappointed to discover the bottom set of stairs was gone But this was a scorching August Friday Hikers rarely came in the summer discouraged not only by the heat but also by ticks and jungles of poison ivy Kaden put the binoculars to his eyes He focused on the spot where a small piece of road showed through the trees Kubla sat on his shoulder The vehicle soon passed through the open spot an old white pickup with a big plastic cargo carrier taking up most of the bed When the truck disappeared under layers of leaves Kaden sat down out of sight from anyone below and waited Kubla waited too chattering in Kaden’s ear and pulling at strands of 2
Friday August 26 his hair He pestered Kaden whenever he wanted to play but now Kaden gently pushed the bird off his shoulder It wasn’t long before the truck pulled up at the log barricade Music drifted from its open windows Then the engine turned off and the music quit A door squeaked open and slammed shut There was no talking Just one hiker Kaden thought He was tempted to take a quick peek but was afraid he’d be seen People always looked up when they first approached the fire tower Kubla darted out one of the paneless windows making a racket of harsh warning caws Kaden knew the hiker was making the usual inspection of the tower and surrounding area When Kubla perched on his favorite limb near the edge of the clearing and quieted to just a few grunts Kaden knew the hiker was heading back toward the truck Kaden quietly peeked out A man in blue jeans a T-shirt and a cowboy hat was stepping over the log barricade his back to the tower He didn’t look like the typical hiker No daypack No canteen hanging from his belt Kaden ducked back out of sight until he heard the truck start up Once again he picked up the binoculars In the summer it was hard but if he got at just the right angle he could see where the dirt road met the main road Kaden wanted to see which way the truck turned 3
