Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (26 page)

             
“
Hold on!
”
cried Pastor Kai as he veered over to the side of the road. Henrik dug his nails into Peter
’
s leg as they almost swerved out of control.

16

D
anger on the Beach

             
Pastor Kai clapped his hands together and wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
“
Well, that
’
s the third flat tire this month,
”
he told them.
“
I
’
ll have it fixed in just a minute.
”

             
Everyone stood outside the car to inspect the damage. Peter and Henrik did what they could to help, holding the car steady while Pastor Kai and Peter
’
s father struggled to replace the tire. And just as the pastor had promised, they were back on the road in a few minutes. It was still only late morning when they neared the Ringsted farm.

             
“
Well, here we are,
”
announced Pastor Kai as they pulled into the long driveway to the farm. The scattered buildings all shared the same look, with white stucco walls, thick wooden beams that crisscrossed the walls, and old
-
fashioned thatched straw roofs. Peter remembered the big U
-
shaped main building, built around a gravel courtyard. Kitchen and living rooms were straight ahead at the top of the U, next to a tall, white flagpole topped by a bright red
-
and
-
white Danish flag.

             
“
Over there, on the left,
”
Peter pointed for his father and Henrik.
“
That
’
s the barn part. And on the right is where everyone sleeps. And
—”

             
“
And straight ahead,
”
interrupted Pastor Kai,
“
is the whole family reunion, coming our way!
”

             
Peter looked out the front window to see his cousins, Kurt and Marianne, running out the main door into the courtyard, smiling and waving. Even though he was younger, Kurt was a head taller than his sister, with a face full of freckles. His long arms and legs didn
’
t seem to match the rest of his body.

             
Marianne, who was a year older than Peter and Elise and two years older than Kurt, looked just like her mother, Aunt Hanne. Even smiling she looked serious, but she was pretty with a prim, yellow summer dress and dark, braided hair.

             
They were followed by Elise, who had her arm around a smiling little girl whom Peter recognized as Johanna, the German refugee. Peter knew she was about seven years old now, but she still seemed almost like a doll next to Elise. Pastor Kai
’
s son, Jakob
—
dark
-
haired, blue
-
eyed, and about the same age as Johanna
—
tagged along with the energetic little girl. Running circles around the group was the biggest dog Peter had ever seen.

             
“
Whoa!
”
Peter said, hanging on to the back of the seat as Pastor Kai braked to a stop.
“
You didn
’
t tell us about the new dog.
”

             
“
Oh, that
’
s right. You
’
re about to meet Hector. The Ringsteds got him last year. He is
...”

             
Hector seemed every bit as big as the car in which they were riding, with legs almost as long as Elise
’
s, a head as big as a good
-
sized cow
’
s, and brown, spotty markings. His excited barks were like cannon fire and made the windows shake.

             
“...
he is a Great Dane!
”
Pastor Kai finished with a shout.

             
Henrik backed away from the window but grinned at the sight of the enormous animal staring in at them. There was something almost intelligent about the dog
’
s look, as if he knew a secret but wouldn
’
t tell.

             
“
Now I know what a fish in an aquarium feels like,
”
Henrik muttered.

             
“
Oh, you don
’
t need to worry about the dog,
”
Pastor Kai assured them.
“
I thought the same thing the first time I met him. He
’
s really a pussycat.
”

             
“
I hope you
’
re right,
”
Mr. Andersen said, pushing open his door.

             
The next few minutes were a wild combination of hugs and hellos, introductions, and barking Hector. Henrik
’
s mother was there, and she hugged her son as if she hadn
’
t seen him in
months instead of days. Henrik also had to meet Uncle Harald, who had come in from the fields, and Aunt Hanne, who was beaming and laughing at the invasion.

             
Uncle Harald, even taller than Uncle Morten, looked just as he had the first time Peter met him. He was big and friendly, with broad shoulders, sandy hair, dark blue coveralls, and muscles all over. Uncle Harald
’
s grin seemed to light up his whole face, but it was his booming voice that Peter remembered the most. If they ever got lost in a fog, Peter thought, Uncle Harald
’
s voice would do just fine as a foghorn. In fact, his voice and Hector
’
s barks seemed to go together quite naturally. And when Peter shook his Uncle Harald
’
s hand, it was like holding the hand of a giant.

             
“
I forgot to warn you about Uncle Harald
’
s handshakes,
”
Peter whispered into Henrik
’
s ear.

             
While everyone was still grinning and shaking hands, Peter looked over his shoulder at the long, snaking driveway. In spite of the happy reunion, he shivered.

             
“
Who are you looking for?
”
asked Henrik, following Peter
’
s glance.

             
“
Oh, no one. I was just thinking
...”
Peter
’
s voice was a hush.
“
If Mr. Broken Nose was at the lake, wouldn
’
t he follow us here?
”

             
Henrik squinted, then shook his head.
“
No one followed us, Peter. Now, would you quit worrying?
”

             
Aunt Hanne came and put her arms around Peter and Henrik.

             
“
Your grandfather
’
s here, too, Peter,
”
she said with a smile.

             
Aunt Hanne was an older version of her daughter
—
petite, delicate, and birdlike. It almost seemed as if she could perch on her husband
’
s big shoulders. Her soft smile welcomed them as much as Uncle Harald
’
s.

             
Elise looked around expectantly.
“
Pastor Kai told us Grandfather was here. But I don
’
t see him.
”

             
“
He
’
s in taking a nap,
”
their aunt replied.
“
I didn
’
t have the heart to wake him up.
”

             
After Pastor Kai had helped them unload the bags and bikes, he promised they would all return the next day for dinner.

             
“
We
’
ll put up tables outside,
”
Marianne suggested, counting the number of people there.
“
With Mom and Dad, Kurt and me, that
’
s four
...”

             
“
Then the four Andersens,
”
added Kurt.
“
That makes eight, plus Morten and Lisbeth, Henrik and his mother. Twelve. Oh, and Grandfather Andersen, that
’
s thirteen.
”

             
“
And Pastor and Mrs. Steffensen,
”
finished Aunt Hanne,
“
along with little Johanna and Jakob.
”

             
“
Seventeen!
”
Uncle Harald laughed.
“
I
’
m going out to kill another fatted calf.
”

             
Peter looked around for Henrik and saw him talking with his mother off in a corner of the courtyard. A few minutes later, they joined the rest of the group.

             
“
Isn
’
t this a wonderful farm?
”
Henrik
’
s mother asked. Hector trotted up to her and licked her hand.

             
“
No!
”
Kurt scolded his dog and pulled him away by the collar.

             
“
It
’
s all right.
”
Mrs. Melchior gave her son
’
s hand a squeeze as she gazed out past the trees behind the farmhouse.
“
The ocean
’
s out that direction, isn
’
t it?
”

             
“
That
’
s right,
”
Aunt Hanne replied. They all started toward the door of the Ringsted farmhouse, and the big dog broke away from Kurt
’
s grip.

             
“
Hector!
”
Kurt yelled.
“
Not in the house!
”

             
But Hector was already gathering speed like a locomotive, and he barreled through the front door and into the kitchen. There was a crash as the Great Dane skidded with all four feet, then knocked something over. Kurt and Marianne rushed in to rescue their dog. A moment later, Hector came running out of the house with Kurt in tow. In his mouth, the dog was clutching a bright red pair of what looked like boxing shorts, and everyone laughed.

             
“
You bring me back my swimming trunks!
”
yelled Kurt, but the dog only sprinted out of the courtyard and disappeared. Kurt stopped next to his mother.

             
“
So I guess this means we can go swimming, right?
”
He looked first at Peter, then at Henrik.
“
The water
’
s really warm in the bay this year. We
’
ve already been in a couple of times.
”

             
“
Can we?
”
Peter asked his parents, who nodded and smiled.

             
It took only a moment for Peter to rush into the house, fish the shorts he used as a swimsuit out of his bag, and run back out. Henrik was right behind him.

             
“
We
’
ll be out in a little while,
”
Marianne told them.
“
Elise and I might come out to watch.
”
Then she looked at Elise.
“
Oh, but I almost forgot, it
’
s nearly lunchtime. Do you need to rest?
”

             
Elise laughed.
“
Everyone is treating me like an old lady. I can still walk, you know.
”