I Owe You One by Natalie Hyde Page B

really sorry to hear about his passing, Wesley,” she finally said. “Such a good man.”
    I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded.
    â€œWell, just promise me you’ll stay away from that creek until it settles down. There’s no telling when I’ll feel up to another walk.”
    I looked up just in time to see Mrs. Minton smile. I try not to look at old people when they smile. There’s nothing worse than seeing their false teeth slip, so I was relieved to see that Mrs. Minton seemed to still have all her original teeth. And it wasn’t just a little grin. It made her whole face light up, and it made me smile too.
    I thanked her again and slipped out the front door, terrified that someone would see me. I jogged down her front path, trying to get out of the danger zone. I almost made it. I was just closing her gate when my best friend Zach came around the corner.
    â€œHey, Wes!” he called. “Where’ve you been? I’ve been looking for you for half an hour.” He looked down at my hand, which was still on the gate, and back up at my face.
    â€œUh, I was just…” For a split second I considered telling him a new and improved version of my adventure. In it I was the hero who risked his life to save old Mrs. Minton, whose cane got tangled in the bushes. Weak and confused, she was about to slip down the muddy bank to a certain death. While valiantly holding on to her, a freak gust of wind blew me into the roaring creek and I was nearly swept away. Coming up for one last gasp of air, my life flashed before my eyes, and I managed to grab a branch, haul myself out and drag her away from the bank to safety too.
    Unfortunately I am a terrible liar. My dad used to say I should never play poker because my face was so easy to read. He always knew right away who had taken the last slice of pizza from the fridge or that I had been given a blue slip for not having my homework done.
    And Zach was the last person I could fool. We’d been friends since we were old enough to throw sand in each other’s faces in the sandbox. I was going to have to tell him everything.
    I got off easy. Zach only laughed once. The thought of me under Mrs. Minton’s afghans wearing only my underwear and some fuzzy moose slippers was too much for him.

Chapter 2
    Two weeks later, I was pretty sure that Zach had forgotten the whole rescue thing with Mrs. Minton. I could turn my attention to more important matters.
    â€œHow steep do you think it is?” I asked Zach as I rode my bicycle through the old gate that he held open for me.
    â€œIt’s like a wall! Straight up!”
    â€œRemind me again why we’re going across— umpfh —Mr. Delany’s empty field— ouch —on our bikes?”
    â€œYou want— ow —to try it out, don’t you?”
    At the rate we were going, our bikes would be wrecked before we got to the hill. But Zach was right. I did want to try it out. The land around Six Roads, the little town where we lived, was basically limestone cliffs and trees. Not exactly the ideal place for dirt biking. To locate a hill that wasn’t just a pile of rocks was a major find. The perfect thing for when I finally got my 250cc Hummer dirt bike.
    â€œHow’d you find it?” I asked.
    â€œSome professor is interested in the old Indian copper mine my dad found when he— ouch —was doing survey work. He asked Dad to show him the location, and I went with them. While they were— umpfh —crawling around looking for the entrance, I climbed up the cliff and had a look around. This hill has been hiding in the corner of Delany’s land all the time!”
    â€œAre we— ow —almost there?”
    Zach stopped his bike to let me catch up. I was glad he did. My teeth were aching from going over all the ruts, and I was sweating. I was glad I hadn’t worn my jacket.
    â€œIt’s just over there,” he