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
PROMISE If the truck turned right it would go around the bend past the five stone cabins where Kaden lived with Gram Disappointed hikers frequently stopped there to ask where the trailhead was Gram always had a grumpy lecture waiting for Kaden if hikers stopped A worthless lot she’d say They’ve got too much time on their hands if they can just go tromping aimlessly through the woods all day What they need are jobs but not one even offered to help It’s obvious the place could use some fixin up Not that Gram would accept help from strangers and she certainly wouldn’t pay anyone She had Kaden and when hikers bothered Gram Kaden could expect extra chores to satisfy Gram’s fight against laziness Kaden kept his binoculars aimed at the little spot of road If the truck turned left it would curve down the hill and drive by Emmett’s Emmett Adams was the only other person who lived this side of Promise You couldn’t see his house from the cabins but the old man was their only neighbor Unlike Gram Emmett enjoyed company and had hand painted signs lined up by the road inviting people to stop One had a horse’s head with a cartoon bubble saying Be Neigh borly Pull on in and have a chat Another had a dog saying Come on in I don’t bite On a third was a stick figure in a T-shirt shorts and big hiking boots saying 4
Friday August 26 Hike on in FREE DRINKS Not many stopped but when someone did Emmett loved it There’s no hiking trail at the tower Emmett would say but there’s the promise of a good time right down the hill The hikers would politely chuckle at his lame joke but Emmett knew the hikers were good for business at the Big Apple Grocery Store and Pillie’s Purple Cow Now Kaden saw the truck slow to a stop at the main road Good he turned left Kaden told Kubla who had flown back to the tower and was now strutting around the floor proud he had run off another intruder Gram’s been grouchy enough lately without strangers irritating her Even as he said this he wasn’t convinced the man in the white truck was really a stranger though Kaden put down the binoculars and looked absently at the vast view of the late summer forest that spread in all direc tions below him Normally he would have been dreading returning to school This year should have been especially worrisome He would be starting middle school But today the last Friday of summer vacation all Kaden could think about was the letter It had been four days since the letter arrived Four days of being able to think of nothing else 5
