Sam took a deep breath and sighed as she looked out over the range. She felt so lucky that she got to live in what she thought the most beautiful place ever. It was a week since the New Year's party where Jake had held her hand. It had surprised her at first, for she had never thought of Jake as anything more than a friend, but then she realized how right it felt. But apparently Jake didn't feel how right it felt, because he'd been avoiding ever since the party. Just then, she heard a horse snort from behind her, and when she turned, there was Jake Ely himself, riding Witch. Great, Sam thought. Now he decides he wants to talk to me. "Hey," she said. Jake only nodded. "What are you doing out here?" Sam tried again. "Giving Witch some exercise," he responded. Sam smiled before saying, "Well, I better get going. It was nice seeing you, Jake." Then she turned Ace and started to jog towards River Bend. She hadn't gone very far when there was suddenly a gunshot, then a blinding pain in her shoulder before she slid off Ace. "Sam!" she heard Jake yell. He came racing up and jumped off Witch before she had stopped. "What hurts?" he asked anxiously as his hands fluttered about, as if he wanted to help her, but didn't want to hurt her. "Arm…" Sam said faintly, as she felt blackness begin to wash over her.
Sam woke up to the sound of beeping, voices, and a sharp pain in her shoulder. "Hi, I'm Deputy Wilson," said a woman sitting by Sam's hospital bed. "Do you know what happened?" Suddenly, everything came rushing back to Sam. "Gun, falling off Ace…" "That right," Deputy Wilson said. "You were shot in you right shoulder, and though you will be in some pain for a while, there shouldn't be any long term damage." "It seems as though you were shot at on purpose, so for your safety, we're ending you and Jake Ely to the home of someone in the law enforcement field that will take care of you until we get to the bottom of this. I know this is a lot to take it, but you're leaving tonight. You won't know where you're going until you get there." Sam nodded, and the deputy smiled before leaving the room. "I'll see you later, Sam," she said. Sam lay back and tried to process everything Deputy Wilson had said. She heard someone open the door, and when she turned her head she saw it was her family and Jake. "Did the deputy tell you everything," asked Brynna. Sam nodded. There were tears in Gram's eyes as she said, "We're supposed to say good-bye to you now. You'll be leaving in a few hours and they want to go over everything with you." Sam swallowed back the lump in her throat as she gave everyone in her family a hug. "Tell Cody I love him," she said, as her family left the room. Then it was just her and Jake. "Did you say good-bye to your family yet," she asked. He nodded. Jake sat down in the chair next to her bed and they sat in silence until another deputy came to get them. Once they got on the plane, it was silent the entire way to their destination. As they were beginning to land, Sam looked out the window and saw grass and trees stretching for what seemed like miles. As they got closer, she could see the black strip that was the runway, and a car parked near it. When the plane finally landed and they got off, Deputy Wilson introduced them to the man that had gotten out of the car. "Sam, Jake, this is Jordan Williams. He and his wife will be taking care of you in the near future." Sam looked up at the tall man wearing jeans, a cowboy hat, boots, and a long coat. He could pass for any of her neighbors in Nevada. "Good luck," Deputy Wilson said, as she climbed back into the plane and it took off. Sam and Jake glanced at each other before getting into the back of Jordan's F-250 truck. On the way to the house, no one spoke. Jake never had much to say, and Jordan didn't seem any different. Sam sighed and looked out the window.
A few minutes later, Jordan pulled into the driveway of the nicest house Sam had ever seen. It was bigger than the Slocum's mansion, and it looked like belonged, whereas Slocum's looked out of place. As Jordan closed the door behind them, a tall woman came down the stairs dressed in nice jeans, heels, and a stylish jacket. "Hi, I'm Dylan, Jordan's wife," she said with a smile as she held out her hand to Sam. "I'm Sam, and this is Jake," Sam said as she gestured to Jake, who was standing next to her. "You guys must be tired. Let me show you to your rooms." Dylan led Sam and Jake up the stairs and down the hall and pointed out two rooms across from each other. "There's a private bathroom in each room, some linens in the closet, and because you had to leave on such short notice I put some clothes out for both of you. Tell me if you need anything else." "Thank you," said Sam and Jake. Sam went into her room and looked around. It was much bigger than her room at River Bend, but it didn't have the same lived in feel that her own room had. She heard a noise and looked up. Jake was standing in the doorway. "You okay?" he asked. Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But thanks," she added. Jake nodded and turned to go into his room.
Jake (third person) POV
As he went back into his room, Jake thought about how distant Sam had seemed lately. It was exactly why he hadn't wanted to try and show her his feeling for her. He knew he would clam up and not be able to tell her. Good job Ely. Hold her hand then avoid her. Yeah, that's gonna make her realize how much I like her. He wandered over to the window and looked out. He was surprised to see someone leading a horse from what looked like a fancy barn into another building. Curious, he decided to go check it out. When he walked downstairs, he saw Dylan in the kitchen making something. "Hey, Jake." Are you and Sam getting settled in?" she asked. "Yeah, we're fine thanks. Hey, do guys have horses?" Jake asked. "Yes, we have quite a few. We were told you and Sam ride. You're more than welcome ride here. Why?" "I saw someone go into a large building with a horse. The horse looked pretty young." "Yes, I work in law enforcement, but I've been riding my entire life and Jordan is a racehorse trainer. We've had some pretty successful horses in the past. I do dressage and a little eventing, but a few of my horses were racehorses that were just too slow. There are a few pony horses you and Sam are welcome to though." "Thanks, I might take you up on that," Jake said as he walked outside.