Free Stolen Secrets by Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry

in the summer, and since it was still spring, Bryce and I should have been safe, but we weren’t taking any chances.
    We jumped on our ATVs and raced away, careful of rocks and ruts. Halfway home I stopped.
    Bryce pulled up beside me. “Scary, huh?”
    I nodded, trying to catch my breath. “I’d hate to have to go home and tell them a cougar ate you.”
    Bryce pointed to his face. “I look like a bruised banana. He would have taken one look at you and pounced.” He looked back. “What are we going to do about our helmets?”
    I hadn’t even noticed we’d left them. “We can go back tomorrow,” I said. “Those things don’t feed early in the day.”
    “They feed when they’re hungry,” Bryce said.

Chapter 56

    That night I stayed up late looking for the glow Ashley talked about. I saw nothing but starry skies and heard only the occasional cry of baby coyotes. I dreamed of a monster wildcat attacking us with teeth as big as my hand. Ashley and I were running toward the house when the cat veered off and went for Dylan.
    That’s all I can remember, but when I woke up I had to go to Dylan’s room and make sure he was okay. He sleeps with his mouth open, so it sounds like Thomas the Tank Engine pulling into the station.
    After breakfast the next morning, Ashley occupied Mom and I stole outside to the barn. I pushed the ATV outside to the back so it wouldn’t make too much noise. Just before I turned the key, I heard someone behind me.
    “See anything last night?” Sam said, a coffee cup in his hands.
    “Not really,” I said. We didn’t see anything. We simply heard a cougar scream.
    “Going back for your helmets?” Sam said.
    I nodded. Was he spying on us? Sam always seemed to know a lot more than we thought.
    “Be careful.”
    The cool air felt good in my hair as I sped along. The biggest adventure most kids have before school is brushing their teeth, but I was going into the teeth of mountain lion country.
    I slowed when I came to the back of the rock formation, looking carefully right and left. We’d left the helmets on the plateau. I swallowed hard, then accelerated to the path. Something sparkling in the golden sunlight caught my eye. There’s nothing like a Colorado sunrise.
    I drove left and couldn’t believe my eyes.
    Our helmets.
    Someone had placed them on the rocks.

Chapter 57

    Things weren’t going well with my candle sales—other than Mom and Mrs. Watson, they were zilch—but I had a lot on my mind. We had tests coming up in math and English, but with a dance lesson the next day, I had to do more selling.
    Mom said I could go after school, but only if Bryce went with me.
    We drove our ATVs across the railroad tracks to my friend Hayley’s, where I was sure her mom would buy something. But Hayley’s mom wasn’t home.
    “Try Cammy’s house,” Hayley said, smirking and pointing down the street.
    I looked at Bryce. “Maybe we will.”
    We left our ATVs and walked up the street. Cammy’s house is older than most around it. The roof looked like it was falling apart. Most of the front yard was small rocks. Scraggly bushes poked through weeds and cedar chips. Brown patches of grass spread around the edges of the house. Old newspapers lay in the driveway, turning yellow from the sun.
    “What are you doing?” Bryce said.
    “Seeing if we can talk with Cammy’s mom,” I said, smiling. “Maybe she’ll buy a candle.”
    The doorbell had wires sticking out of it, so I knocked and took a step back. A dog barked and someone shouted at it.
    Finally, Mrs. Michaels came to the door with a cigarette in one hand and a phone in the other. Her wet hair dripped onto her robe. “Thought you were Cammy,” she said. “Can I help you?”
    I held out the catalog.
    “I’ve got somebody at the door,” she said into the phone.
    I pointed to several inexpensive candles on the back cover.
    “Wish I could help you, but I’m getting ready for work, and anyway, I really can’t afford