Blue Ribbon Trail Ride by Miralee Ferrell Page B

Mouse, his eyes wide. He pointed at Pete. “I want this kid to train my dog. He knows what he’s doing, all right!”

    Thirty minutes later, Mouse’s short training session was complete, with Pete having led the way on the first lesson in sitting. Kate was amazed that the big puppy listened to her little brother but rarely noticed anyone else. Now if only Jake could have the same success with Mouse, he’d be set. They sat around the kitchen table, Pete with a dog on each side, a hand stroking each head.
    Jake stood nearby, bouncing on his toes. Kate shook her head. The kid hardly ever held still. “Hey, Jake. You want to stay a little longer? You probably need to call your dad and let him know.”
    â€œAffirmative. Roger that. Where’s the phone?” He used his index finger to slide his glasses up on his nose while glancing around the room. “Should I tell him we’re still working with Mouse?”
    Kate’s mom set a plate of cookies on the table. “Yes, Jake, I think you should.”
    Tori carried a tray with glasses and a pitcher of milk. Melissa smiled. “Thanks. This looks great.”
    â€œDid Mr. Wallace enjoy the cookies you kids took over to his house?” Kate’s mom settled into a chair and turned her attention on Kate.
    â€œUh … yeah. He ate almost all of them before we left. I’ve never seen a man so excited about cookies.”
    â€œGood. Here you go, Jake. Help yourself.” Kate’s mom held out the plate so the newcomer could take one. “Pete, you can’t feed them to the dogs.”
    He didn’t reply but popped another piece into his own mouth.
    Jake squatted in front of Mouse and looked up at Pete. “So you want to help me train Mouse to roll over and stay and all that stuff, Pete? He listens to you real good. Kind of like the Saint Bernard in the movie Beethoven , who adopted the Newton family and helped the kids. Only you helped him, Pete, instead of him helping you. Good job!” He held up his hand in front of Pete. “Give me a high five, fella!”
    Everyone in the room held their breath as Pete raised his gaze to the level of Jake’s hand and slowly met the boy’s palm with his own, then put it back on Mouse’s head.
    â€œWow!” Kate breathed the word, but Jake heard it and swiveled, his brows puckered.
    â€œWow, what? Did I do something wrong?”
    She shook her head. “No way. You don’t get it, do you?”
    He shoved his glasses up. “Uh … no. Please elaborate.”
    â€œMy little brother is autistic. He has a tutor who works with him, and he’s improving, but he rarely talks as much as he did outside, and he’s never given anyone a high five, or even allowed a stranger to touch him. What happened today is over-the-top cool.”
    â€œOh.” Jake’s eyes rounded. “Yeah. That is cool. Maybe I should tell my parents that Mouse isn’t so bad after all, and they shouldn’t get rid of him.”
    Kate’s mom sucked in a breath. “I’ll tell your parents as well. I’ve met your mother, and she’s a sensible woman. I think she’ll change her mind when she hears how Pete responded to Mouse.” She smiled. “Don’t you kids have more planning to do on the scavenger hunt?”
    Colt nodded. “And we should work on that.” He jerked his head toward the barn. “Let’s check out hiding places in the barn and around the property. Want to help, Jake?”
    â€œMost assuredly. Absolutely. You bet! Hiding places, huh? Did you ever see the movie The Hiding Place ? It’s one of my mom’s favorites.”
    Colt grabbed Jake by the shoulder and gave him a gentle shove toward the door. “Let’s go, dude. We’ve got work to do.”
    Kate’s mom chuckled. “Mouse and Rufus can keep Pete company while you kids work on the hunt.”
    They left the house and