At the pavilion, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, Morgan, and the other Keystone students were already greeting the Youth for Truth teens who had just arrived for hours of fun, food, and fellowship. “Cloud, kin I ride your horsey now?” Like a pesky fly, Joey was at Skye again. “Not today, okay?” Skye spoke more kindly to the boy than she had in a long time. “Champ and Bucky and the other horses are snacking on their oats in the barn. Then they’ll take a nice long snooze. Maybe some other time.” “Oh, okay.” Joey was always upbeat. “Maybe I kin ride your horsey tomorrow?” “Maybe tomorrow,” Skye said flatly. And a big maybe, she thought as she stepped up her pace. “Right now we’re going to have a picnic.” “Ooh, I love picnics,” Joey yelled. At the end of the pasture, he started running toward the grove. “Hey, you guys,” he yelled louder, “we’re gonna have a picnic.” Hurrying across the wooden bridge that spanned the brook, Joey melded into the excited group.
