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Show -8- Peppermint Monday meant. Renae's hair was always perfect, full soft curls framing her oval face. Her hair was blonde too; blondes usually won beauty contests. She wasn't too tall like me, or chubby like Andrea. She was just right in everyway but personality. I knew personality counted a little in beauty contests, but I also knew how deceiving Renae could be when she wanted to. Not everybody could see through her sweet falseness like Jason and me could. I could almost read her like a book - a horror story. "There they are now." I swapped at the same irritating bee and then pointed to the east hills. A large, barrel-chested man was roughly cradling a small figure in his arms. Even the rough slope of the hills or the awkward load didn't slow Jake's large strides, only I guess to Jake it wasn't a load. Jake was as strong as he was ornery. Jason looked to the hills, and Matt was forgotten. "I guess they're fixing Cheddar up again." Cheddar was Russ' eagle that had brought him and Jake together in the first place. He liked a lot of things eagles usually didn't eat, but his favorite was cheddar cheese, so Russ had named his appropriately. Cheddar's wing had been broken quite badly the day Russ discovered him in our garden spot. Jake was like a medicine man for hurt animals. He had a way of curing them that modern veterinaries would have scoffed at, but his medicine worked like magic. Most people would have let an animal die rather than have to ask Jake for help. He wasn't known for his extreme friendliness. The day Russ found Cheddar, he begged pa to take him to Jake's house in the hills. Pa was willing to take him to Branson, to a good vet there, but Russ didn't want a vet. He wanted Jake to see Cheddar. Finally, since the bird meant so much to him, Pa gave in and took him to Jake's. I stayed home with Jason |