Southern Belle's Special Gift Read Free Page B

swimming pool! What do you do all summer? Play in traffic?”
    â€œTanya, just take it easy, okay?” Skye snapped. She took off her helmet, hanging it and Tanya’s on the handlebars. A wisp of wind played with Skye’s hair, forcing her to control the long strands with her hands, then she leaned back against the four-wheeler seat. “You’re not even here a week, and you’ve griped about anything and everything. It’s gonna be a long, lousy year if you don’t find something that you can crack a smile about. There’s lots to do around here, especially in the summer. We have picnics and the horses—oh, yeah, you aren’t into them. And we can swim in the pond. Then there’s the Snyder County Fair with its cool horse show. You already know about that from living with your aunt.”
    â€œSwimming in that dirty old hole?” Tanya pointed to the bottom of the field. “You’ll see me ride a horse first! Picnics? This city girl can hardly wait.”
    â€œExactly what did you expect to find here? The Taj Mahal? This is country, girl. We get out lots during the week. There’s church, the mall, and—hey, we do have a library in town.”
    Tanya snickered, took off her goggles, and hung them with her helmet. “Library, yeah, right. It’s about as big as my bedroom.”
    â€œHow about the Barnes and Noble behind the mall?”
    â€œYeah, I remember that.” Tanya cracked a weak smile. “Now we’re talking. At least I can get my hands on some decent books. And one more thing. Tell me I didn’t hear you say church.”
    â€œYep. We go every Sunday, and it’s so cool. Our teen group is called ‘Youth for Truth,’ and we do all kinds of neat things. We have pizza parties, go bowling, and once a month everybody comes here to our game room. We go on trips and have retreats a few times a year. Now there’s a bunch of really cool kids. Robin’s in the group, and Melissa Richards, and Chad Dressler!” Skye’s face flared hot despite the frigid wind.
    Tanya shivered, pulled her hood up, and buttoned it around her head. “Aw, stuff like that doesn’t interest me in the least. And church? I can take it or leave it. My real gram used to take me when I was a kid, but I haven’t been there since Mother and Father adopted me. They’re too busy with work and all. Just give me a couple good books and a room like a tomb, and I’m happy. Of course, now and then, I do like a good party. You know what I mean, Skye?” Tanya bounced her eyebrows.
    Skye took her goggles off and hung them on the handlebars. “This wind’s turning me into an ice cube. Let’s go into the barn. It’s chore time anyway. And remember, no bubble popping or shouting in there. It spooks the horses. As far as partying goes, your kind of parties won’t fly around here.”
    â€œBut I’m not dumb enough to get caught.”
    Skye started toward the barn. “Tanya, don’t be stupid. You can’t pull anything like that around here. Mom and Dad have eyes in the back of their heads. And Mom’s called The Bloodhound at Maranatha. She can sniff out trouble like Deputy Dawg on a bunny trail. By the way, don’t forget about Maranatha. You’ll have counseling there after school every day. Mom and the other counselors know how to get inside your head, so you might as well spill the beans as soon as you show your face. It’s a lot less painful. They probably know exactly why you’ve been lifting all that stuff, even if you don’t.”
    â€œThere’s no reason,” Tanya said, following Skye into the barn. “I just do it.”
    â€œThere’s got to be a reason. There’s a reason for everything we do—good or bad. Which brings me to the reason why we have chores to do in the barn.”
    â€œSkye, I told you I’m not doing any chores around these