Whispering Hope by Marsha Hubler

Author:Marsha Hubler [Marsha Hubler ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310429340
Publisher: Zonderkidz

Chapter Ten

Skye, try working Rebel in the opposite direction.” Chad stood a short distance away from the corral and threw training tips at Skye. “Maybe he’s left-hoofed,” he said with a chuckle.

It was a cloudy but warm Saturday afternoon in May, and Skye was in the middle of another session with “the stubborn mule.” She backed away and withdrew the rope she had been using to prompt the horse to circle toward his right. As usual, she walked to the opposite side of the corral and turned her back to the horse, waiting for him to come to her. And, as usual, Rebel pivoted his body, faced his tail at Skye and arched his neck over the fence.

Skye slowly approached the horse, whirling her rope and forcing Rebel to trot to his left. As Skye concentrated, she heard Wanda yelling Chad’s name from the backyard and coming closer—fast! Out of the corner of her eye, Skye spotted Wanda, who looked strangely different.

“Chad, ole buddy,” Wanda chimed. “How about a game of pool?”

“Oh, hi, Wanda,” Chad said as Wanda rubbed shoulders with him. “Wow! I see you have a new look.”

New look? What’s she up to now? Skye quickly coiled the rope in her hands and slipped between the fence rails. The new Wanda faced her, eyeball to eyeball.

Skye clenched her jaw, determined not to let her face betray any hint of surprise. Her glance darted to Chad, who stood rolling his eyes behind Wanda.

Wanda certainly had a new look, and Skye wondered how much of it had to do with her visit to the pool players’ website earlier in the week. And I wonder if Mom knows what she looks like. I’m sure she does.

Skye studied every inch of Wanda from head to toe. First, Wanda had a new hairdo, a deliberate spike job. But she had used so much mousse, stiff spikes stood out all over her head like the Statue of Liberty. Adorning her ears were long dangling sparkly earrings, the clip-on kind that Mrs. Chambers had probably worn at some black-tie affair twenty years ago. Then there was Wanda’s face, literally “covered” in make-up. Her cheeks glowed like two ripe tomatoes, and her eyes, lined and shadowed in deep purple, looked like some dead Egyptian queen’s. Worse yet, she topped them off with obnoxiously fake eyelashes.

Skye’s stare drifted to Wanda’s clothes, which were all brand-new. But nothing matches!

Wanda sported a frilly pink “Sunday” blouse, designer blue jeans, and low-cut white sneakers. From her neck down, Wanda didn’t look half bad other than the gaudy costume jewelry. Four strands of sparkly rhinestones hugged her neck, and on each wrist an excess of bracelets dangled in mismatched, clashing colors. More of Mom’s ancient treasures, Skye mused.

“Where’d you get the new duds?” Chad asked.

“The woman bought them for me when I first moved in,” Wanda said, pointing toward the house and batting her eyelashes at Chad. “I just decided to wear them today.”

“I see.” Chad tried his best to be cordial.

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.