Hey everyone- I'm so sorry I haven't posted in awhile, senior year of college really kicked my butt, but I'm hoping to get a few more chapters up in the next couple of weeks! Thanks to everyone who has left me a review, you guys are awesome :)
When she got to the bus stop Tuesday morning she found Jen excitedly waiting for her, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with her blonde braids flapping. As soon as Sam was within earshot she started gushing about all of the plans Ryan and her family had started making for Harmony Ranch over the past few days.
"Oh Sam, there's going to be so many palominos coming, and I'm hoping Dr. Scott will let me shadow him on more of his visits, to get the experience you know. Ryan seems so invested in this and he's been really great about listening to what my dad has to say, it really feels like they're going to be equal partners. I'm so excited I'm not sure I'm going to be able to concentrate in school today, can you imagine?"
Sam quirked her eyebrow as she smiled and said, "Somehow Jen, I don't quite see that happening, but you're right, that does sound really exciting, I can't wait to come over and meet all the new horses! Silly won't know what to do with herself!"
"She'll get used to them," Jen said with a shrug. "So, any exciting new developments with you? Is Cody still as cute as ever? And how's our pal Jakey doing? You guys kiss yet?"
Sam gave her friend a look of bewilderment until she noticed how Jen was waggling her eyebrows and trying very hard not to laugh.
"Shut up, Jennifer," Sam said as she playfully shoved her friend towards the open doors of their bus that had just arrived. "What is wrong with you?"
Jen laughed as she made her way to their seat, and said more quietly as they sat down, "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just still so surprised that he managed to get up the nerve to hold your hand in front of your dad, not to mention practically the whole town! How did your dad take it by the way?"
Sam grimaced as she remembered how awkward the next morning had been when her dad could barely look at her. She hadn't seen much of him after that, and if she was being honest with herself it was because she was trying to avoid him as well.
"Umm, he wasn't that thrilled about it, but Gram and Brynna said they'd talk to him."
Jen shook her head and muttered, "cowboys," then asked, "But seriously, has anything happened since I last saw you? Or has Jake gone back his regular close lipped mysterious self?"
"We saw each other yesterday morning while we were doing some chores, and we talked about maybe doing something this Friday," Sam said, feeling a slight blush starting to creep over her cheeks.
"Like a date?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah I guess," Sam said as they pulled into the school parking lot. "I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"Well keep me updated!" Jen said as she got off the bus and started walking towards the doors. "I'll see you at lunch!"
The rest of the week seemed to go by fairly fast for Sam, despite all the homework that she was in fact assigned. She really hadn't seen much of Jake in school, although that wasn't out of the ordinary. When they did happen to pass each other in the hallway or meet eyes across the lunchroom, they reacted the same way they always had; Sam giving him a small smile and Jake giving a slight nod of his head. Honestly Sam was relieved that they could keep their sense of normalcy in that regard; although she was excited about the new possibilities ahead, they also made her very nervous at times, and she was glad that it felt like her best friend was still there if she needed him. Although as it got closer to the weekend she began to wonder if Jake had really meant what he said about hanging out on Friday; he hadn't been back to the ranch either, and Sam had started to get a sinking feeling in her stomach that maybe he had changed his mind about the whole thing.
When she mentioned this to Jen on the bus Thursday morning, Jen took a few moments to stare out the window in thought, then turned to Sam and said, "Honestly Sam, I know I like to give him a lot of crap sometimes, but for all his faults he is incredibly loyal to you, so I don't really see him backing out of this like some coward. But he's also pretty shy, so you can't forget about that. If you're that worried about it you should just ask him."
Sam sighed and said, "I thought you'd say that. Maybe I'll try talk to him during lunch."
"Good plan," Jen said, "and if he tries to avoid us we'll enlist Darrell to help us corner him, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help."
"Oh man," Sam said with a laugh, "let's hope it doesn't come to that, he'll have way too much fun with it."
"Exactly," Jen said with a wink while Sam shook her head. "Can't wait!"
It turned out that finding the time to talk to Jake during lunch was more difficult than Sam had anticipated, but that was mainly due to the fact that she was late because her math teacher made her stay after class to correct a few problems on her homework.
"Have I mentioned how much I hate math?" Sam grumbled as she took a seat across the table from Jen.
"On an almost daily basis, yes," Jen said without looking up from her plate. "I figured that's where you were, but I was also beginning to wonder if you were hiding out somewhere and I was going to have to come find you. I was planning on trying to grab a seat at their table but I felt weird sitting there by myself, sorry."
"It's ok," Sam said. "I'll just try and eat fast and maybe meet him at the door or something."
About ten minutes later Sam saw Darrell, Jake, and the rest of their gang starting to clean up their lunches, and a sudden burst of nerves exploded in her stomach. She was fine with talking to Jake, but she wasn't sure how confident she felt trying to do that in front of the rest of his friends, or how he would feel about it.
Jen noticed her look of hesitation and said, "It's now or never Sam, just do it, it's not like you've never interrupted their posse before to talk to him."
"Ok, ok, fine" Sam said, getting out of her seat before she had a chance to think about it any longer, "I'm going."
As Sam made her way over towards the exit Darrell of course caught sight of her and drawled, "Samantha darlin', it's been too long. How've you been holding up since my man Jake here dropped a bombshell on you? I know its been keeping me up at night."
Sam felt another blush start to creep over her face as a few of Jakes friends chuckled, but told herself to stay calm and said, "I'm fine Darrell, thanks for asking. Say hi to Ally for me, I haven't seen her since the bonfire."
Darrell grinned at her as if to say he was proud of the way she was handling his teasing and said, "Will do. I'll give you lovebirds a moment, don't do anything I wouldn't do." And with a wink, he was gone.
"Sorry 'bout that," Jake mumbled as he lowered his hand from rubbing the back of his neck. "I told him not to make a big deal about it but…"
"He's Darrell," Sam finished for him with a wry smile. "It's ok, I can handle it."
Jake nodded in approval and said, "So, did you need me for something?"
"Umm yeah, actually," Sam said, her confidence starting to waver a little bit. "I know you had mentioned something about maybe hanging out tomorrow, and I guess I was wondering if you still wanted to do that?"
"Yeah, I do, I've been meaning to talk to you about it."
"Oh yeah, when exactly were you planning on doing that?" Sam teased, feeling a rush of relief at his answer.
"Was still working on that," Jake admitted a little sheepishly, and Sam couldn't help but find his answer endearing; she clearly wasn't the only one feeling nervous.
Jake took a breath and said, "I was thinking maybe I could pick you up after dinner and go for a drive somewhere, maybe to Clara's for some dessert. I'd say we should go riding, but by the time we get home from school it's already getting dark, and there's gonna be a cold snap coming in this weekend. It's up to you though."
"No you're right, that sounds perfect Jake, you know I'll never turn down a chance to get some pineapple upside down cake."
"Yeah I know," Jake said, giving her a smile before his face turned serious again. "I should probably talk to your dad about this though."
"Yeah, probably, do you want me to do it with you?" Sam asked, secretly hoping he was going to say no.
"No that's alright, I've got it."
"Ok good," Sam said, and now it was her turn to smile sheepishly. "Good luck though."
Jake just nodded and said, "I'll head over to your place after school today and talk to him, and as long as he doesn't disapprove I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan," Sam said just as the warning bell rang. "I should get going, I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully."
"Hopefully," Jake echoed as he turned down the hallway.
Sam stayed there for a second longer as she felt the butterflies start back up in her stomach, and all she could think was that she really hoped Gram and Brynna had been able to calm her dad down, because she really wanted to spend tomorrow evening with Jake.
