Promise Read online

  “Quick talkers,” Gram said. “Must be a family trait.”

  Yo-Yo stopped talking but kept poring over page after page of the encyclopedia with Kaden looking over his shoulder until dinner.

  After dinner, the two boys worked together at Kaden’s desk on the half-finished model airplane. Gram’s voice came unexpectedly over the intercom. “Yo-Yo, you’re welcome to come here anytime.”

  A few minutes later, the first notes of a song started playing through the intercom.

  Kaden suspected putting on music was Gram’s way of saying she wasn’t listening in on them, and Kaden appreciated it. Three slow songs played. Then a lively song started up, first with a string of piano notes and soon joined by the strong beat of a guitar.

  Kaden recognized it from the night before. Gram had played the rock-and-roll song over and over, saying it was one of her favorites. The music came through the intercom at full volume and Yo-Yo was dancing around the room, strumming an air guitar. Kaden pretended he was pounding on a keyboard but suddenly stopped. He knew what was coming next. Kaden put his hand up to tell Yo-Yo to stop, too. Yo-Yo looked questioningly at Kaden.

  A male’s voice joined the instruments, singing the first few lines of the song. Suddenly Gram’s voice joined in, belting out lyrics, louder than the singer.

  Yo-Yo was instantly rolling on the floor, laughing as Gram’s gravelly voice continued to pour through the intercom. Kaden quickly grabbed his pillow, smothered the intercom, and, falling back onto the bed, laughed uncontrollably, too.

  Late that night, Kaden lay in bed listening to the crickets and tree frogs through the window. Yo-Yo had quickly fallen asleep but Kaden couldn’t. He lay there with his eyes shut, thinking. While fishing, he had made the decision to talk with Yo-Yo about his dad but there was one more thing worrying him. The fire tower. He hadn’t told Yo-Yo about the tower and wasn’t sure he wanted to. But he knew he couldn’t talk to Yo-Yo in his room. Gram would hear through the intercom. The fire tower offered privacy but it was Kaden’s special spot and no one but Gram and Emmett knew he went up there. Kaden’s eyes suddenly popped open. Except Dad, he thought suddenly. Dad knew! He left the backpack for me there.

  Kaden had not really thought about it before. But Dad knew! Or did he? In his mind, Kaden went over the day he first saw the white truck come up the fire tower road. He knew Dad hadn’t seen him.

  Then he thought about finding the backpack. Maybe the backpack wasn’t really for me. Maybe Dad threw it up there and was going to come back for it later. Worry set in. Maybe Luke was right. Maybe Dad was planning to hide stolen stuff in it in the woods. Now Kaden was wide awake. He sat up in bed, looking out the window at the darkness. A crescent moon waxed in the sky. Just bright enough to make shadows. No, Kaden told himself. He was certain Dad wasn’t like that anymore. He was positive Dad left the backpack for him. Kaden tried to convince himself but could not erase the conflicting thoughts from his mind. He looked over at Yo-Yo. Gram wouldn’t talk with him about it and neither would Emmett but Kaden was glad to know he would soon have somebody to talk it over with.

  Monday, September 5

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CABIN FIVE

  The next morning, Kaden, Yo-Yo, and Gram had just finished breakfast on the porch, when Emmett walked up from the road. It wasn’t even seven o’clock.

  “Everybody sleep well?” Emmett asked. Kaden got up and gave Emmett his seat. He knew Emmett was checking up on them to make sure everything had gone okay.

  “I should think they got plenty of rest,” Gram said. “I let them sleep in.”

  “All the way to six thirty,” Yo-Yo complained.

  “That late, huh?” Emmett grinned.

  “I’ve got chores lined up for the boys to do after breakfast,” Gram said. “No sense in wasting daylight.”

  “Now Greta,” Emmett said. “It’s Labor Day. A holiday. Give them a break. Let them just be boys for the day.”

  Kaden and Yo-Yo waited. Gram frowned at Emmett. Emmett smiled at Gram. “You’re not going to turn into hoodlums in one day, are you, boys?” Emmett said.

  “No, sir,” Yo-Yo started. “Not us. Not hoodlums. We’ll do a little reading and then . . .”

  Kaden kicked Yo-Yo and gave his head an almost imperceptible shake. He didn’t want Yo-Yo to list something they would do that Gram didn’t believe in.

  “Well, you can at least hang out the laundry. I already did a load this morning while you two were sleeping in,” Gram stated.

  “Come on,” Kaden said. He and Yo-Yo walked toward Cabin Four.

  “Did you ask him?” Kaden heard Emmett quietly say. “He never mentioned a word yesterday.”

  “No, there’s nothing to ask,” Gram answered. “You said the backpack didn’t come from you, so there’s only one person it could have come from. I don’t know what Dennis is up to but I haven’t seen him for over a week and I don’t think Kaden has either.”

  “The boy’s growing up, Greta,” Emmett said. “You can’t shelter him forever. You need to talk with him. Or let me.”

  “We’ve been over this before, Emmett.”

  Kaden wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, but Yo-Yo started talking. “Where are we going? I thought we had to do laundry.”

  “Cabin One is the junk cabin,” Kaden started explaining. “It’s like a basement, attic, and garage all rolled into one. Then there’s my cabin and Gram’s, and Cabin Four is the laundry room, or as Emmett likes to call it, the formal bath.”

  “What’s in Cabin Five?” Yo-Yo asked.

  They had reached the fourth cabin. Kaden ignored Yo-Yo’s question, opened the door, and walked in. Yo-Yo followed him.

  A washing machine stood in the back corner. A small table covered with a pink vinyl tablecloth sat beside it, holding two plastic laundry baskets. A bathtub and shower occupied the other back corner. A flowery pink shower curtain was pushed to one end and a fluffy pink throw rug was on the floor. A tall set of pink wicker shelves stood against the wall holding stacks of sheets, neatly folded pink towels, and a variety of knickknacks.

  “Wow!” Yo-Yo said. “I wasn’t expecting this. It’s so . . . so girly.”

  “All the pink stuff is Emmett’s doing,” Kaden said, opening the washer, pulling out wet clothes, and putting them in one of the baskets. “Gram put in the bathtub and washer when we first moved here. From then on Emmett’s added something for each birthday and Christmas. He says a woman needs at least one room that’s womanly. Gram grouches about it but she hasn’t thrown the stuff away. My guess is she likes it, even though she’d never admit it.”

  “I don’t care for all the pink but I like the monkey,” Yo-Yo said.

  On the top shelf sat a ceramic monkey with its hands covering its mouth. Kaden knew it was Emmett’s way of telling Gram he’d keep her secrets.

  Kaden let the washing machine lid drop, picked up the loaded basket, and headed for the door. Yo-Yo followed but before Kaden pushed open the screen door, Kaden abruptly turned around. Yo-Yo walked right into the laundry basket.

  Kaden asked, “Can you keep a secret?”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  “Good. When we finish with the laundry, I have something to show you.”

  After hanging the clothes up to dry, the two boys went to Kaden’s cabin, grabbed his backpack, then rushed back to the kitchen.

  “Fill the canteen with water and grab us each a couple juice boxes from the refrigerator,” he told Yo-Yo as he made three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He stashed everything in his backpack and they stepped out onto the porch.

  “You two are awfully quiet,” Gram said. “What are you scheming?”

  “Nothing,” Kaden said. “We were just making some lunch to take to the tower. Is there anything we could have for dessert?”

  “I don’t think Emmett would mind if someone stole off with that bag of cookies out in his truck,” Gram said, smiling.

  “Cookies?” Emmett said innocently.

&n
bsp; “Everyone knows you always keep a bag hidden behind the seat,” Gram said.

  Yo-Yo raced over to the truck, rummaged around, and came out with a half-full package of cookies. He crammed them into Kaden’s backpack and then followed Kaden along the shortcut through the woods from the back of the junk cabin to the fire tower road.

  “What were you talking about, going to a tower?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “You’ll see. It’s a secret and you can’t tell anyone about it,” Kaden said.

  They were quiet until they turned onto the tower road.

  “You never told me what’s in Cabin Five,” Yo-Yo said.

  Kaden had wondered how to start and was glad Yo-Yo just stumbled into it.

  “It’s my dad’s cabin,” he said.

  “But I thought . . . ,” Yo-Yo started, then stopped.

  “That’s okay; it’s no big secret my dad’s been in prison,” Kaden said. “Cabin Five was his cabin when he was a kid.”

  “Your dad lived here when he was a kid, too?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “Just in the summer. My grandpa was the president of a big company in Chapston City but he loved to fish. So he always took the summer off and came up here to fish. At first Grandpa, Gram, and Dad all lived in the big cabin and rented the four little cabins to other fishermen. But when Dad turned ten, he got to move into Cabin Five by himself.”

  “I bet you miss your grandpa,” Yo-Yo said.

  “I never knew him. He died in a car wreck just before my dad started high school. After that Gram never came out here again, at least not until after I was born.”

  “So you’ve lived out here your entire life?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “No, not until I was three. I lived with Gram in Chapston City. Dad was there at first but I vaguely remember him. Can’t hardly picture what he looks like. He came and went, and then one day he never came back at all. I didn’t know it then, but that’s when he went to prison. After that Gram sold everything and we moved out here.”

  “What about your mom?” Yo-Yo said.

  Kaden wasn’t expecting this question. “She died when I was a baby and my dad just showed up at Gram’s doorstep holding me. That’s how I came to live with Gram. I’ve wondered about her but don’t think my dad told Gram much about my mom. The only thing I’ve heard is her name was Katie. That’s how I got my name. The first syllable is from her name, the second comes from Dennis, my dad’s name.”

  “At least you don’t have to explain your name every time you meet someone,” Yo-Yo stated.

  “Yeah, that must be a pain,” Kaden agreed.

  “You get used to it,” Yo-Yo said.

  They walked along for a little while longer.

  “So, if your grandpa had a big company . . . ,” Yo-Yo started, then hesitated. He kicked at a rock, but said nothing more.

  “If he had a big company what?” Kaden said, not wanting Yo-Yo to stop with the questions. He was actually relieved to have a chance to talk about what was never discussed.

  “If he had a big company, what happened to all his money? How come you can’t afford a phone or TV?”

  Kaden laughed. “Grandpa left Gram plenty of money. Everyone knows she could buy anything she wants. She just doesn’t want to. She chooses to live like she does. And I guess I’m stuck with living like she does, too.”

  “Wow. I don’t think I could handle that.”

  “It’s not so bad. I have just about everything I need.”

  “Except a phone and a TV,” Yo-Yo said.

  “And a bunch of other stuff,” Kaden said, laughing. They walked on for a little while, laughing and listing all sorts of things that Kaden could need.

  “So, is there any stuff in Cabin Five from when your dad was a kid?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never been in there,” Kaden said. “It’s always locked. I’ve tried to look through the window but there’s only a little crack between the curtains and I can’t see much, just furniture.”

  “Wonder why your grandmother didn’t let you move into Cabin Five instead of Cabin Two? You could have used all your dad’s stuff. I’ve got a lot of my dad’s stuff. His desk, his dresser, all his sports stuff, his bat and glove.”

  “I only have one thing that belonged to my dad. When I turned nine, Emmett went in Cabin Five and brought out a pair of binoculars. He said he gave them to Dad when Dad turned nine and thought I should have them.”

  “Didn’t you go in with Emmett?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “No, I wanted to but Gram made me wait on the porch. She said there was nothing in there but furniture. The conversation was over and the door was locked again.”

  “If there’s nothing in there, I wonder why she won’t let you go in,” Yo-Yo pondered.

  “Gram pretty much keeps me away from anything that has to do with my dad. Discussions, letters, even furniture. Maybe she’s afraid I’ll end up like him.” Kaden kicked hard at a rock. It bounced up the road.

  Yo-Yo reached the rock Kaden had kicked and nonchalantly took a turn kicking it. “Did the intercoms belong to your dad?” he asked.

  “No. They’re Gram’s way of keeping her eye on me. Whenever I want to do something and Gram won’t let me, her excuse is she didn’t keep her eye on Dad enough. She doesn’t say that to me, though. She says it to Emmett when she thinks I can’t hear.”

  They walked on, taking turns at kicking the rock. When they reached the muddy patch, the stick was still standing upright where Kaden had left it.

  “Look at this,” Yo-Yo said. He started to pull the stick out of the mud.

  “Leave it there. It lets me know if anyone has driven up the road,” Kaden said as he inspected the patch. The leaves were uncrushed just as he had left them and no fresh tire tracks were in the mud. There were some raccoon tracks, though. Kaden pointed them out to Yo-Yo.

  “How do you know they’re raccoon prints?” Yo-Yo asked, leaning over to inspect them.

  “They look like little hands,” Kaden said. “And these are rabbit, with two longer marks in front and two shorter marks, one behind the other, in back.”

  “Ever seen any bear prints?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “No, but Emmett has.”

  Yo-Yo looked all around. “I’d like to see one.”

  “Me too,” Kaden said.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  SECRETS

  The boys reached the end of the road and stepped over the log barricade. As they walked up the short weedy path, Yo-Yo’s eyes moved upward, following the steel beams of the fire tower until they reached the small room at the top. A crow jumped from a window. Flapping its wings, it zoomed like a torpedo, aiming straight toward them. The breeze from its wings ruffled Yo-Yo’s hair as the glossy black bird sped just inches above his head. Yo-Yo jumped back so fast, he tripped and fell into a sticky briar patch with leafy vines weaving through the thorny branches.

  “So, is that your secret?” he asked, pointing to the crow that landed on Kaden’s head.

  As Kaden leaned over to pull Yo-Yo out of the bushes, the bird jumped down onto his back, its feet grabbing hold of the crisscrossed cord on the backpack. When Kaden straightened back up, the bird hopped onto his shoulder, muttering in his ear.

  “One of them,” Kaden answered Yo-Yo. “Meet Kubla.” Kaden swung the backpack around and pulled out the canteen.

  “Is he your pet?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “No, just a good friend. I rescued him when he was a baby. Now hold your hands out. I’ll pour some water in them. I don’t have any soap but water will be better than nothing.”

  “What for? There’s only a couple of scratches and they’re not really bleeding.”

  “What wasn’t prickly was poison ivy,” Kaden answered, nodding toward the vine-covered bushes. “If you wash it off real quick, you might not get any of it.”

  “Great,” Yo-Yo said sarcastically. He grabbed the canteen and sloshed its entire contents over his arms and legs.

  Kaden walked to the other side of the fire tower, disappeared
into the dense foliage, and came out holding the coil of rope and rock.

  “That’s cool, a rock with a hole all the way through it,” Yo-Yo said.

  “It’s a friendship rock. Emmett gave it to me.”

  “Where I used to live, friendship rocks had a different color line all the way around it, like a ribbon on a gift. What’s the rope for?”

  As if to answer his question, Kubla pushed off Kaden’s shoulder and flew to the top of the tower, cawing the entire way. Yo-Yo looked at the tower and back to Kaden. “You don’t mean . . .”

  “Yep. That’s another one of my secrets.” Kubla cawed down to them. “He’s telling me to hurry up.”

  “But how—” Yo-Yo started.

  “It’s easy. Watch.”

  Kaden launched the rock over the beam, climbed the rope to the landing, and yelled down, “Your turn.”

  Yo-Yo tried, but once he was a few feet off the ground, his efforts just made the rope swing. He dropped back down.

  “I don’t think I can!” he yelled up.

  Kaden came back down the rope. “It took me a while to learn, too,” he said. “Emmett had to hold the rope at first.”

  Kaden pulled the rope taut and stood on it. “Try again. It will be easier if it can’t swing.”

  It took a while but Yo-Yo finally made it to the crossbeam. Kaden talked him through how to get on the landing and then climbed up again. He removed the rope from the crossbeam and coiled it over his shoulder.

  “Why are you untying it? We’re not going to jump down, are we?”

  “No, but I don’t want anyone to know we’re up here.”

  “Who would come here?”

  “Hikers,” Kaden said, but as he started up the stairs he added under his breath, “and maybe my dad.”