Promise

Promise — page 5
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