by Roland Smith
Nicole looked at him and squinted her eyes. “What kind of shot are you?”
Delgado gave her a big smile. Chase’s father smiled too. “Well, I’m a pretty fair shot, truth be told. But I’ll be honest — I’ve never shot a tranquilizer rifle like this one.”
Nicole looked at John. “What do you think?”
“He did fly out here and rescue your mom and sister and ferry all the circus people to the other side of the bridge.”
“Don’t forget the animals,” Delgado said. “We took them too. Getting those camels on the chopper was no picnic, I can tell you. Although it was kind of fun.”
Nicole handed him the rifle. “Okay. You need to hit the large muscle mass in the hind leg. Seventy-five to a hundred feet max.”
“I’m not going in there without you,” Delgado said. “You need to guide me through it.”
They disappeared around the corner, with Mark and Cindy close behind. That left Chase and his father alone.
“You’re sure your ankle isn’t broken?” Chase asked.
“Just a bad sprain. The crutches make it look worse than it is.”
“And the ribs?”
“Those do hurt, but they’ll heal.”
“You won’t be much good around here stove-in like you are.”
“I’ll supervise Tomás.”
Chase laughed. “Like he needs you telling him what to do.”
“Good point, but I’m still going to stick around. For a while anyway.”
“Did they get that guy on the road with the broken leg?”
“The guy who hit you in the head and hijacked the quad?”
“Yeah, that guy.”
“They got him, but it wasn’t easy. No place to land. They had to rope him up.”
“Good.” Chase was in a forgiving mood.
“Are you heading out with Nicole and the tiger? I talked to Marco. He said he would be happy to have you stay on the farm a while. I’m sure Nicole would too.”
Chase grinned. “I think I’d better stay here with you.”
“What about school?”
“It’ll be a couple of weeks before they get the schools going in Palm Breeze again.”
“Then what?”
“You tell me,” Chase said.
His father shook his head. “No, Chase, you tell me. When we’re done here, we can go back to Palm Breeze. We can even go back home if you want.”
“Oregon?” Chase was shocked.
His father held his gaze for a moment. “I’m ready, Chase.”
Chase wasn’t sure that he was ready. He’d put that possibility out of his mind a long time ago. And now there was Nicole to think about. “Are you sure you’re okay? Did the lightning strike —”
“Knock some sense into me?”
“I guess. I mean you’re acting like you did before —” He didn’t finish the sentence. It was a subject they never talked about.
His father finished the sentence for him. “Before your mom and Little Monkey died?”
Chase hadn’t heard his father use his sister Monica’s nickname since the accident.
“I’m better, Chase. No more storm running. No more running from myself. It’s my turn to follow you.”
“The only hard day was yesterday?” Chase said.
“Let’s hope so.” His father smiled and put his hand out. “Do we have a deal?”
Chase shook his father’s hand, happy to have him back, but wondering how long it would last.
“Deal,” he said.
ROLAND SMITH is the author of numerous award-winning books for young readers, including Zach’s Lie, Jack’s Run, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, I, Q, and Tentacles. For more than twenty years, he worked as an animal keeper, traveling all over the world, before turning to writing full-time. Roland lives with his wife, Marie, on a small farm south of Portland, Oregon. Visit him on the web at www.rolandsmith.com.
Copyright © 2012 by Roland Smith
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First edition, March 2012
Cover art & design © 2012 by Phil Falco
e-ISBN 978-0-545-39314-0
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