The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets

By Bonnie Schaefer

In the Summer of Secrets, twelve-year-old Tyler Davis is determined to pitch for his all-star team. But he has never thrown a strike in his Little League career.

And eleven-year-old Alexandria Wilkins is determined to play in a local tennis tournament. But she doesn't have a coach to teach her how to play.

So the best friends decide to be Dream Doers and work together to achieve their goals. Along the way, they encounter Hector Magruder, the hermit who lives in the woods. From him, they learn about a silent enemy that is far more dangerous than the neighborhood bully, Zachary Graham.

What they don't know is that the more time they spend with Hector and the closer they come to discovering his secrets, the more danger they create for themselves and their families.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 13, 2008
• ISBN: 9780595613571

Bonnie Schaefer

Bonnie Jean Schaefer is a writer, athlete and coach. She is living her dreams and encourages her readers to do the same. Bonnie has a dog named Jetta and lives in North Carolina with two of her sisters. Currently, she is writing the second book in The Dream Doers series.

Book preview

THE DREAM DOERS

AND THE SUMMER OF

SECRETS

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Bonnie Jean Schaefer

iUniverse,

Inc. New York Bloomington Shanghai

The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets

Copyright © 2008 by Bonnie Jean Schaefer

All rights reserved. No part of this book maybe used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

All royalties from this book are donated to children’s charities.

ISBN: 978-0-595-50053-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-595-61357-1 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Special Acknowledgements

Meet the Major Characters

Prologue

CHAPTER 1

The Dare

CHAPTER 2

Becoming Dream Doers

CHAPTER 3

The Hermit

CHAPTER 4

Inside the Cabin

CHAPTER 5

Practice Begins

CHAPTER 6

Research

CHAPTER 7

Plan C

CHAPTER 8

Strange Advice, Scary Challenge

CHAPTER 9

The Most Dangerous Enemy

CHAPTER 10

The Champion Creator Game

CHAPTER 11

The First Mission

CHAPTER 12

Hector’s Secret

CHAPTER 13

A Spark of Passion

CHAPTER 14

Strike One

CHAPTER 15

ZacWs Revenge

CHAPTER 16

Breaking Rules, Keeping Promises

CHAPTER 17

Look Where You Want to Go

CHAPTER 18

The Fight

CHAPTER 19

The Envelopes

CHAPTER 20

The Showdown

CHAPTER 21

When Dreams Die

CHAPTER 22

All-Star Week

CHAPTER 23

The Birthday Present

CHAPTER 24

Going for Gold

CHAPTER 25

Out of Touch

CHAPTER 26

Fire and Rain

To my parents Harry and Janice, my sisters Laurie, Julie and Marcy and my brother John for always believing in me, supporting me and helping my dreams come true. Writing this book would have been impossible without your generosity, patience and encouragement.

Special Acknowledgements 

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I want to give a special THANKS to my team of editors at Wesleyan Christian Academy. I appreciate all your ideas and suggestions that helped strengthen the story and improve the book.

Dotty Hoots, Jami Horton, Rachel Canter, Tyler Hicker-nell, Aaron Hoffman, Brendin Clark, Kent Lain, Chris Andrews, Dave Gordon, Valerie Beale, Matthew Clark, Michael Cottingham, Christina Drake, Taylor Hill, Olivia Honeycutt, Adam Pruett, Matt Rickman, Ashley Stack, Leah Tilles, Taylor White, Spencer Witcher, Sam Black-man, Seth Bowers, Jamie Canaday, Ethan Casey, Erilyn Corliss, Sarah Donaldson, Andrew Early, Kimberly Eurillo, Brittany Evans, Shelby Hamilton, J.T. Hixson, David Hurrelbrink, Adam Jones, Austin Jordan, Greg Key, Jordan Kiser, David Leonard, Morgan Powell, Hailey Reeder, DJ Rizos, Cody Sekaly, Katherine Shaw, Katelyn Shelton, Kacie Sledge, Lexi Stafford, Andrew Vernon, Morgan Allred, Casey Corn, Julie Faucette, Dakota Griffin, Sarah Hanson, Thomas Held, Jordan Helms, Morgan Hill, Anderson Kursonis, Carson Lane, Cameron Locklar, Breonna McDuffie, Jenny Beth Nicklow, Weston Ogburn,

Mitch Purgason, Evan Reep, Katherine Speight, Jill Tucker, David Anderson, Heath Andrews, Rachel Ash-burn, Taylor Bailey, Vincent Banks, Carrie Boone, Megan Buckland, Laura Burbach, Nathan Cheek, Courtney Craft, Jake Crenshaw, Reba Everhart, Chris Ferrante, Rachel Garrett, Laura Hanson, Grace Hilliard, Christa Johnson, Shannon Martell, Megan Mullins, Carter Rob-bins, Jonathan Ruscoe, Shelley York, Will Webb

All royalties from this book are donated to children‘s charities. We support charities who help children with life-threatening illnesses do what they dream. We also support charities dedicated to shaping the character of young adults.

Meet the Major Characters 

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Tyler James Davis, age 12

Tyler’s Family

Dad: Benjamin Davis

Mom: Rachel Davis

Brother: Tim Davis, age 5 Brother:

Todd Davis, age 5

Alexandria Jean Wilkins, age 11 (almost 12)

Alex’s Family

Dad: Rick Wilkins

Mom: Anna Wilkins

Sister: Jessica (Jessie) Wilkins, age 19

Brother: Terry Wilkins, age 18

Brother: Lee Wilkins, age 17

Brother: Samuel Wilkins, age 15

Brother: Christopher Wilkins, age 14

Zachary Brent Graham, age 12, the neighborhood bully

Zach’s Family |

Dad: Brent Graham

Mom: Sue Graham

Zach’s Cousin: Alicia Graham

Friend of Zach: Anson Caswell, age 12

Friend of Zach: Clay Alamance, age 12

Hector Magruder, the hermit who lives in the woods

Prologue 

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The woods belong to Hector the hermit, the woods which connect the junior high school to the neighborhood where Tyler Davis and Alexandria Wilkins live. The hermit lets all the kids in the neighborhood walk through the woods on their way to and from school. But he gets angry if they wander off the trail.

According to neighborhood legend, some kids never make it to school. And some never make it home. If they get too close to the hermit’s cabin, they disappear. Nobody even hears them scream.

A few kids still walk the trail that leads to the school, but all are under strict orders to stay away from the hermit. It’s the one command every parent agrees on. It’s the one command every child is happy to obey.

Until the day of the dare.

CHAPTER 1 

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The Dare 

Alexandria Wilkins stood by the classroom door and watched the last minute of sixth grade tick away. She was almost free from junior high school for the summer.

This summer she would finally turn twelve. Then she would be just as old as her best friend Tyler Davis. Plus her older sister and older brothers wouldn’t be able to call her a kid anymore.

The second hand crawled past the nine. She reached for the doorknob. Thirteen more clicks.

We have to run home, Alex. Tyler’s whispered voice shattered her trance.

What?

Zach’s still mad about this morning, Tyler said. We’ve gotta— Nnnnnnnn.

At the sound of the bell, Tyler closed his hand over her fingers and opened the door. Run!

With her book bag flopping against her back and her braided hair bouncing off her book bag, she followed her best friend outside. He sprinted across the playground and into the woods.

The shaded trail cooled her off, but the uneven ground forced her to slow down. She glanced behind her. Zach and his two buddies were only halfway to the woods. She and Tyler were too quick. The bullies would never catch up.

Alex matched Tyler step for step down the hill, around a curve, over the creek and up another hill. Ten feet from the top, a sharp object rammed the back of her leg. As she bent to rub the sore spot, she saw a rock bounce off Tyler’s shoulder.

Ow, he said, and they both turned around.

Zach stood on the other side of the creek smiling. His wavy, bright blonde hair hung over the tips of his ears. It looked like he had just combed it into place. He wasn’t even breathing hard from running. Anson and Clay were, though. Both stood behind Zach, wheezing for breath.

Why are you throwing rocks at us? Tyler marched back down the hill toward the trio of twelve-year-old boys.

Tyler’s blonde hair, shorter and darker than Zach’s, looked like a jumbled bundle of individual strands fighting each other on the top of his head. Zach was taller and four months older, but Tyler’s rebel hair and intense brown eyes made him look more intimidating than Zach.

Made you stop, didn’t it? Zach said.

Yeah, well I’ve got better aim than you. Tyler picked up a rock and cocked his left arm.

Throw it. I dare you. Zach pulled a picture out of his back pocket and held it up. Then I can show my mom the bruise after I show her the picture of you and Alex painting my brand new black bike pink.

Alex saw every muscle in Tyler’s body tighten. She had to stop him from throwing that rock. What do we gotta do to get that picture from you? Alex asked. She cut in front of Tyler and grabbed his arm. If he threw that rock, Zach would never give them that picture. And she sure didn’t want her parents to see it.

I’ll trade it for a picture of Hector the hermit.

The hermit? Was Zach insane? He could keep his stupid picture.

The hermit? Tyler asked, voicing Alex’s own question. "You think he’s gonna pose for a picture? That man killed his own family, and he’s protected by attack dogs."

I knew you’d be too scared.

We are not scared. Tyler freed his arm from Alex’s grip and slammed his rock into the ground. I’ve got my camera right here.

Tyler slung his book bag around his shoulder. He unzipped the front pocket with the Cubs logo on it. Let’s go, Alex, he said, now holding his small digital camera.

Not so fast. Zach jumped over the creek. He darted up the hill to where Tyler and Alex were standing. Were his eyes blue or green? She’d known him for years and still couldn’t decide.

Zach took the camera out of Tyler’s hand and gave it to Alex. Here. You have to take the picture—by yourself.

What? Fear seized her. She never did anything without Tyler, especially anything that involved danger. Besides, she wasn’t ready to die. There was so much she hadn’t seen, hadn’t done. She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. You can’t be serious.

I’m very serious, Zach said. My cousin Alicia is a girl, and she wouldn’t be scared of the hermit. But Alex, I think you’re just a little wuss without your big brothers and best friend around.

She is not a wuss, Tyler said. She’s gonna take that picture. Then she’ll bring it to the baseball game tonight and give it to you after my team beats your team.

Before Alex could argue, Tyler shoved her into the part of the woods more talked about than walked upon.

The trees on this side of the forest seemed menacing and evil. They grew closer together and allowed little sunlight to filter to the ground. Their branches also tried to block her way. She almost turned around. Then she saw it.

The thick forest opened into a flowery meadow surrounding a glistening blue lake. Tiny waves lapped along the shoreline. On the far side of the lake, a massive weeping willow stood alone in the midst of the meadow. Its slender branches rested on the tall grass.

A trail of trampled grass led from the tree to the top of the hill. That was the trail Alex needed to take to reach the hermit’s cabin.

Well, she didn’t have to go up there right this very moment. She could at least enjoy a few more minutes of life, and she would do that sitting under the tree.

Alex walked across the meadow and swept the branches of the tree aside. She was about to sit in the waist-high grass when she noticed something sticking out of the ground near the trunk of the tree.

She dropped to her knees and started yanking the tall grass out of the way. She had pulled five or six handfuls of grass when she suddenly found herself staring at a wooden cross. A

name was carved on it, but it was faded and hard to read. Two more crosses with two more faded names were behind it.

Alex dusted the dirt away from the first cross and traced her fingers over the letters. Lynn. She cleaned the other two crosses and uncovered the names Meghan and Jason.

Lynn. Meghan. Jason. She knew these names. These were the names of the hermit’s family. These were the names of the ghosts that haunted the lake.

She threw the branches away from her, ran up the hill and collided with a chain link fence. It marked the boundaries of a small, treeless yard. While struggling to recover, she walked around the fence to the front gate and stared at the cabin in the center of the yard.

The roof over the front porch sagged on the left. Tape held the screen of the front storm door together. The second of the three steps leading to the warped porch no longer existed.

Perhaps the hermit was just a rumor. All she had to do was take a picture of the cabin and argue that no one could live in such a pitiful excuse for a home.

Alex raised the camera until the cabin filled the digital screen. Just as she was about to take the picture, the cabin disappeared behind a huge brown dog with one black ear charging at her from under the porch.

She jumped back. The camera clunked to her feet. The fence kept the dog from attacking, but he had a bigger friend. Both dogs planted their front paws on top of the fence and yelled at her in their brutal barking language.

According to her translation, they wanted to tear the skin off her bones. She preferred to keep her skin right where it was and began to back away.

As she bent to pick up the camera, a gunshot silenced the dogs. Alex froze with her hand on the camera. And waited.

The dogs retreated into their normal four-legged stance and stared at her. She stared right back, too afraid to look past the dogs at the cabin.

The hermit was inside the cabin. He really did exist. He really did kill kids. He really wanted to kill her.

Should she run? Or still try to get a picture?

Minutes passed. As long as she didn’t move, the dogs didn’t bark. And the hermit didn’t shoot.

Alex slowly lifted the camera. If she took a picture of the window, she could tell Zach that’s where the hermit was standing.

Just aim the camera and click, she commanded herself.

Ready. She lifted the camera. Aim … click.

As soon as she snapped the picture, the dogs jumped and started barking louder and angrier than before.

Alex ran.

But a hole made her ankle buckle. She crumbled to the ground. The camera landed near the fence.

And another gunshot exploded through the sticky afternoon air.

CHAPTER 2 

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Becoming Dream Doers 

How long had Alex been gone? Tyler wasn’t sure. Alex was always the one who wore the watch and paid attention to the time.

Tyler was starting to wish he hadn’t sent Alex to the hermit’s house alone. That man was dangerous. What if he hurt Alex?

Tyler wanted to help Alex now, but Anson and Clay guarded the overgrown path that led to the hermit’s house. They wouldn’t let Tyler through. Even so, he figured getting by them would be easy.

Anson, with his brown hair, brown skin and black eyes, looked as thin as a twig and just as dumb. One tiny shove ought to get him out of the way. Clay was taller, stronger and smarter, but his red hair and pale skin made him resemble a strawberry dipped in white chocolate. Strawberries did not scare Tyler.

Tyler paced back and forth in front of the path until he decided he had waited long enough. I’m going to get her.

Relax, Zach said. He was sitting behind Tyler tossing pebbles into the creek. She’ll come crying back any second. When she does, you’ll have to buy me a new bike.

Alex doesn’t cry or quit, Tyler said. She’ll be back when she has the picture. Then you’ll have to ride around on your pink bike all summer.

Zach, Clay said, what if she really does try to take his picture? He’ll kill her.

Don’t worry. Zach stood. She’s not gonna go anywhere near— A crack of thunder cut through the trees.

Only the sky was clear. It couldn’t have been thunder. But it could have been a gunshot.

Alex is in trouble. We have to help her! Tyler pushed through the twig and strawberry and glanced back. Three ashen faces stared at him. Come on!

I don’t want to die, too, Zach said. The others nodded in agreement. Tyler didn’t have time to argue and started running.

Branches slapped his arms and legs. He fought them off and declared himself a winner when he stepped into a meadow. Then he saw a lake. The cool blue water made him want to dive in and swim.

He walked over to the shore and put his hand in the water. It felt just as cool as it looked. He had to get in.

As he started to take his shirt off, he heard dogs barking at the top of the hill. Alex! How could he think about swimming when dogs were attacking his best friend?

I’m coming, Alex, he said and raced up the hill. Just as he reached the top, he saw it happen.

Alex tripped and crashed into the ground. A second after she landed, the sound of another shot made her flinch and curl her legs.

"Alex!