Free I Owe You One by Natalie Hyde Page A

up beside the truck and waved it over.
    It took a lot of explaining and reassurance to convince Mr. Lee’s cousin that Mr. Lee had sent us and that we needed to get something out of the back of the truck. It would have been simpler if Mr. Lee had come with us, but he had to stay and sign for a delivery of toilet plungers.
    My first impression of the transmitter was disappointing. It was all crated up, and there seemed to be smoke coming off it.
    â€œWhat’s that?” I asked Frank. “Is it supposed to do that?
    â€œUh, I think it’s frozen.”
    I couldn’t even bring myself to ask if that was going to be a problem.
    As we pulled back on the highway to drive back, I saw both Daryl and Frank look at the truck longingly.
    We got back in record time, and as we pulled into the driveway, I turned to Frank. “So, you think you can start on this today? The race is Saturday.”
    â€œYeah,” Frank grunted. “Before anything else happens to it.”

Chapter 17
    It was a race against time now. We only had barely a day and a half. Frank worked on the transmitter for hours. I hung around the tower with him. I couldn’t really help him. It was more for moral support.
    I don’t know why, but I had this crazy thought that you could just—you know—set it up and plug it in. Presto, tv channels. But it was more complicated than that. Circuits had to be connected, cables attached, antennae hooked up, stuff tuned, amplified and who knew what else.
    It seemed to take forever before we were ready to test it. I stood by while Frank gave it a try.
    Nothing happened. Was something supposed to whir or clunk ? I looked at Frank’s face, and that old feeling of doom washed over me.
    â€œWhat’s wrong now?” I asked.
    â€œThe bloody thing isn’t compatible with our system.”
    â€œHow can that be? You checked, didn’t you?”
    Frank flung the screwdriver to the ground so hard that it spun and stuck in. Any other time, it would have been really impressive.
    â€œOf course I checked. But the transmitter and antennae are made by different companies. They’re supposed to work together, but they don’t.”
    â€œWhat now?” The words came out of me like the wail of an injured animal.
    Frank didn’t say anything for a minute while he stared at the transmitter.
    â€œI’m not making any promises, but I think, with a couple of parts, I might be able to make it work.”
    I tried hard not to lose my cool. Besides, I had to get up enough courage to go and give an update to Mrs. Minton. I wasn’t looking forward to it. The bike ride from Frank’s back field to Mrs. Minton’s would only have taken me about ten minutes on a good day. I dragged it out to twenty.
    â€œHello, Wesley,” she said before I was barely in the door. I hadn’t even taken my shoes off. “What news?”
    I couldn’t look her in the eye. “Frank’s connecting everything.”
    It didn’t work. She knew. “You said that earlier, Wesley. What’s wrong?”
    I sighed. There was no fooling Mrs. Minton.
    â€œJust a small compatibility problem. Frank seems sure he can make it work.”
    She didn’t answer for so long, I had to look up. She was staring at me.
    â€œThat bad, eh, Wesley? Well, if anyone can fix it…” She didn’t finish the sentence, but it was obvious that, in her mind, Frank was a miracle worker. I just hoped she was right. The race was the next day.
    â€œWhat time is Rachel’s race?” I asked, trying to make it sound like an innocent question.
    â€œWe’re cutting it that close, are we?”
    I sighed.
    â€œThe race is being broadcast starting at two pm, but I don’t know exactly when Rachel skis. They draw race order in the morning.”
    â€œWe’ll get it done, Mrs. Minton. Don’t worry.”
    She smiled a weak smile and closed her eyes.
    I stayed away