Stealing Home by Todd Hafer

Author:Todd Hafer [Todd Hafer ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310873860
Publisher: Zonderkidz

Cody paced nervously in the parking lot of Crossroads Community Church. He looked at his watch. It read 1:57. The service was going to start in three minutes. “Come on, guys,” he whispered, “where are you?”

He was about ready to give up and go inside when Doug’s Camry screeched around the corner, followed by Mr. McClintock’s minivan.

“You had me worried,” Cody said to Pork Chop as he spilled from the backseat. “What took you so long?”

Pork Chop looked at Doug, who slammed the driver’s-side door shut, then shot his little brother an accusing stare.

“It’s my fault,” Chop muttered. “I had a pants problem.”

Cody shrugged his shoulders. “A pants problem? What—did you get a hole in ’em or something?”

“Nah, man, it’s just that the last time I wore these pants, well, that was about ten pounds ago. I had to lie down on the bed to get these on—and, dawg, if I so much as sneeze, the little button at the top of these pants is gonna pop off so hard that it might hurt somebody.”

Cody wagged his head and heard himself laughing. “Well then, don’t sneeze.” He studied Chop’s navy blue suit. The cuffs of the pants hung at his ankle bones, revealing about an inch and a half of what Cody was sure were white athletic socks. Well, he thought, at least he’s wearing socks. That’s better than nothing.

“You look sharp, Chop.”

“Thanks, dawg. You clean up nice yourself. I like that blazer. I haven’t seen you wear that since—” Pork Chop stopped himself in midsentence. “Ah, man, I’m sorry.”

Cody took a deep breath. “It’s okay. Besides, Mom’s funeral wasn’t the last time I wore it. I wore it Easter Sunday. You would’ve known that if you had come with me. Now, let’s get the rest of the team together and get inside.”

Someone had roped off the third row of pews on the left side of the auditorium. A somber usher directed the twelve well-dressed teens to their place. Robyn was sitting in the fourth row. She gave Cody an understanding smile and nodded at him as he passed by.

A rail-thin man with wispy blond hair was playing “Surely Goodness and Mercy” on the organ as the Rockies filed into the pews. AJ and his father sat in a front-row pew, on the right-hand side of the church. Cody saw Murph’s dad turn around and then tap his son on the shoulder. Murph turned as well, and Cody’s eyes met his.

Cody didn’t speak, didn’t nod, didn’t smile. He just held AJ Murphy’s gaze for a few seconds. And when his new friend turned back toward the front of the church, Cody knew they had shared an hour conversation’s worth of thoughts and emotions.

Pastor Taylor stepped to the podium and began reading from Psalm 23. When he came to the end—“and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever”—Cody heard himself whisper, “Amen.”

Pork Chop, who was sitting next to Cody, made a fist and held it out to him. Cody made a fist of his own and exchanged daps with his best friend.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.