Robert's Ride

By Wilson James

Born in a small town in rural south-west Georgia and placed in a foster home after being orphaned at five. Those were the bare bones words to describe Robert’s first years. He is big for his age and hard to place, but after too many years, he is finally one of the lucky ones to be picked as a potential adoptee.

He struggles to make sure his new adoptive mother likes him and wants to keep him, in spite of the fact that she really has no idea what to do with a child. She is well meaning, but rather emotionless. Robert desperately tries to figure out to read her and please her.

Join Robert as he experiences the adventure of a new home, a new school, and new friends, along with some more dramatic events. Will it all work? Will Robert really find the home he needs and wants? Find out if Robert’s life takes a turn for the better, in ROBERT’S RIDE.

The author of ROBERT’S RIDE is Wilson James, whose work has been reviewed at a major online retailer as “Very Inspiring” and “A Great Book.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilson James
• Release date: Feb 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452300634

Wilson James

Wilson (Wil) James was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and currently lives on the coast in northern California. He has worked in, on, and around the water, and loves to travel. He claims to be a sailor in addition to identifying himself as an author of adult and young adult fiction.The stories of Wilson James mostly target Young Adults, and describe adventures about family, loyalty, honor, tenacity and courage with various backdrops including sailing, aquatics, downhill skiing, international competition, and success at young ages, set in Europe and North America.As Wilson says, his books are about empowering youth. “If my stories help young people, by giving examples of kids persevering in difficult situations, then I will be very satisfied. If my stories help young people overcome their own challenges, and perhaps find some inspiration, then I will be happy. If my stories help young people find the tenacity and courage to succeed in their own lives, then I will be very pleased. If my stories help achieve some better understanding among friends and families, then I will consider myself fulfilled.”Wilson describes the ultimate reward for writing. “If even one young person finds some example in one of my books that he or she can use in their own life, then I will consider that every moment I spent writing those books was the best possible way to spend that time.”His YA fiction book A FAMILY LEGACY: THE WATSON WORKS made it into the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Another of his titles, PLAYING THE BASEBALL CARD, has been reviewed as a "Great Book" and "Very Inspiring" and "In my 53 years of living this may be one of the most emotional books I personally have read", and for more than a year maintained an overall sales rank well into the top 1% at Barnes and Noble as the top fiction 'Baseball' book.He has a number of titles available in print and as multi-format eBooks at Smashwords and other major eBook retailers. One of his books, SONS and BROTHERS in SEATTLE, made it to the top of the Best Sellers list for Adult Drama fiction. He is also proud to say that two of his titles have made it to the top of the YA Best Seller lists at Smashwords. One of those titles, ROBERT's RIDE, made it to #1 only 6 weeks after being published. The other top title, SONS and BROTHERS in SEATTLE, sat in the #1 spot for two weeks before being pushed back into the number two spot by ROBERT’S RIDE.To contact Wilson directly, email wil.james (at) live.comFor details of all his titles, including where to find his books, and occasional promotional e-coupons for his eBooks, and information on works in progress, visit his blog, at http://wilsonjamesauthor.blogspot.com/

Book preview

Prologue

And now, the Mayor said, Before we officially open our new facility, I’d like to call on our home-town benefactor, and as you know, the man who’s going to run the magnificent new complex, Mr. Robert Sinclair, to say a few a few words.

I’d been listening to him for about fifteen minutes now, alternating between watching him and the crowd that was spread out in front of the temporary dais that had been moved into place in front of Kenton’s new aquatic complex. I knew, from the Police Chief’s whisper of a few minutes ago, that there were over two thousand people present.

As I listened to the Mayor and thought about all of those present, I was still in awe that this was all happening. This was something that had been beyond a dream when I was a young kid starting my life in Kenton. Even now, at the age of 24, I still had trouble believing that I was here. I felt like I should pinch myself to see if it was all real.

With a warm and genuine smile on his face, Mayor Thompson looked to his right where I was standing close by.

Mr. Sinclair, the Mayor intoned. Welcome home. He took three steps back from the microphone and lectern.

I knew it was time for me to speak. As I stepped forward, I was aware of a loud, sustained round of applause and cheering coming from the crowd laid out in front of me. I was already just a little nervous, and this warm welcome was much more than I could ever have imagined.

I gripped the sides of the stand in front of me for a bit of support, waiting for the happy noise of the crowd to lessen so that I could speak. As I waited, I thought back to the time that I was a young child in Kenton, and the events that had taken me away from this town and now finally back.

Chapter

1

Born in Kenton, orphaned at five and finally adopted after too long in a foster home. I suppose those were the bare-bones words to describe my early childhood. My mother had been left a widow when I was less than a year old. I remember her as being nice, but I have little recollection of her beyond indistinct impressions. I seem to remember that she was pretty, but I really only know what she looked like after I located some photos of her years later.

She’d been sick for a few months before she died, but that had not helped any preparations for me. There were some friends who helped out while she was at home, and I was moved from one friend to another for her final weeks in the hospital. However, when she died, there were no relatives to take me in, only a few friends where I stayed for a few days until after the funeral.

I’d been placed in a foster home in another town after that, and I lived there for close to three years. I was big for my age, and that apparently made me ‘hard to place.’ Finally, I was adopted by a well-meaning single woman who lived near Tallahassee, maybe about fifty miles south of where I’d been born.

Lacey Sinclair was herself a widow, in her mid-forties when I met her for the first time. She was a lawyer, and was doing pretty well for herself professionally. She told me a few years later that she and her late husband had always wanted children but had put starting a family off until they were ‘settled,’ as she put it. After he died in an accident, she threw herself into her work.

It was not until the state department of children and family started to advertise for adoptive families that she even started to think that she could do that.

I remembered her first visit to the foster home. It was early August, and I was nearly eight years old. Lacey had been introduced to me, and I’d taken great pains to assure her that I was an easy child to care for and that I would cause no trouble.

I do well in school, I said, And I can look after myself quite well. You won’t even know I’m there.

I’d learned from the other kids and a few ‘negative-result’ interviews with potential families what most of them seemed to be looking for. Most of them seemed to feel a sense of obligation to take in orphaned children, but many were not prepared to deal with needy or difficult children.

I really did want to get out of the foster home. They were nice enough, I supposed, but it was a large place. I don’t remember exactly, but there were as many as ten kids while I was there, and I don’t remember less than six. I felt like it would be nice to have a family of my own, even if it was less than the ideal of two parents and some siblings.

Anyway, I suppose I must have made the right impression, because Lacey took me to lunch at a restaurant where I performed well enough. She warned me that she was very busy, and that I would have to be ‘pretty self-sufficient.’

I repeated my earlier assertions that I would look after myself quite well and not cause her any trouble at all. She must have thought that was okay. Within a week she was back to take me home on a trial period. It was the end of August, three months before my eighth birthday.

It was a good thing that I was pretty self-reliant at such a young age. I don’t know what she expected, but Lacey didn’t really know what to do with a child.

She had her work, and she figured she could just leave me at home, I suppose. Because the new school year was starting within a week, she had not made any arrangements for day care or anything like that, and the state agency had never asked her that kind of a question.

She brought me home on a Sunday and spent an hour or so showing me my room, and things around the house. I learned where the laundry was kept and where the machines were. I learned how she like to have things kept in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. I promised faithfully to keep out of her bedroom and her home office.

She told me that she’d bring an old computer home from the office for me to ‘do my homework on’ and then set out some rules for me.

I was not to leave the house or yard without getting permission from her, and the only way to do that was to ask her in the morning before she left for work. I was not to disturb her at work unless it was a ‘life or death’ emergency. She would do grocery shopping once a week, on Saturday afternoons on the way home from the office, and if I had any special requests I was to leave them on her shopping list in the kitchen and she would consider getting what I wanted. Finally, she expected me to clean up after myself around the house.

After she finished her lecture, I got enough nerve to ask her if it was okay if I read some of her books. I didn’t want to disturb her by watching TV in the living room, and I had noticed that she had a full-wall bookcase in her home office.

I’m a good reader, and I’m very careful with books, I assured her, as I took in her look of concern and disbelief.

She considered my request for a long moment. Okay, then, she responded. Come with me and I’ll show you what books you can read.

I followed her into the home office, and she showed me her legal books, which I was not to touch, and her reference books such as encyclopedias and such, that I was allowed to read. There was little fiction, mainly classic works, but I could read those if I wanted, as well.

But remember, this room is out of bounds, except to come in and get a book, and then leave, she admonished.

Oh, yes, ma’am, I hastened to say, I completely understand. You will never have a problem with me following your rules.

She looked at me hard, as if to judge whether or not I was sincere. Alright, then, Robert, you may pick out a book and go to your room to unpack. She paused. We are going out for supper in just over an hour, at five, so make sure you’re all ready to go.

I was still in my best clothes for the trip from the foster home to her place, so I didn’t need to change.

Yes, ma’am, I agreed, again. I’ll be ready.

Okay, then. Lacey turned and left the room.

I spent a couple of minutes picking out book on the solar system, one with lots of diagrams and photos, and headed upstairs to my room.

I was on my best behavior at supper. Lacey took me to a restaurant in the main part of town. Many people knew her, and she made a point of saying hello to most of them. She introduced me as her new adoptive son, and almost everyone said what a great thing she was doing by taking me in. I felt like I was on show, but I supposed that it was a small price to pay for having a home.

When we got back to her place, I said good night and headed up to my room. I was still trying to take it all in. I had a new place, and a new way of life. I was determined to make it work.

The next day, Monday morning, she was off to work around eight. I got up early, in case she wanted to say anything to me, but she seemed intent on following her own routine so I just stayed out of the way until she left.

I fixed myself some toast for breakfast, and then spent a while looking around the kitchen to see what food she had. Then I went looking around the rest of the house, trying to find out what she had and where things were. I was careful to stay out of her room and office.

Then I went outside to look around and check things out. The grass was cut and the edges were done, but the flower beds were in rough shape. A large tree in the front yard and