Okay, folks! Two chapters are being uploaded now, because if I leave it like this, you might freak out on me. I don't want that. You should know that I've hit the 30,000 word mark on this story. I am excited, and I hope you are too. Please review. I don't have a number in mind, but if you review quickly, I'll upload even more faster than I plan to do so.

Jake couldn't believe how wrong Sam was. Three weeks later, on a warm Saturday, he'd wasted no time in telling her as much as they fixed fence. "You going to admit it?"

She wiped her brow. "Admit what, exactly?"

"How about that you were wrong and that Wyatt still hates me?"

She scoffed. "He doesn't hate you. He just..." She twisted the wire, using her weight to force it the way she wanted it to go. "We need to do something."

He moved down as they prepared to fix the next hole. "What, exactly?"

"How should I know?" Her shoulders slumped. "I thought you'd have an idea."

"Let me think on it. How's the HARP stuff going?"

Sam proceeded to tell him that one girl had been selected so far, a girl in and out of the foster system in Tempe Arizona. She had a lot of street smarts, but wasn't good with connecting with people. It was hoped that by connecting with the horses, people would soon follow in time for her to start her second year of high school. They were considering a set of siblings from Las Vegas and a boy from Georgia, but their applications needed more information. The teen had tried to elope, but was caught by his irate mother. Apparently, there was a fued between her and the girl and it was a huge issue.

Jake asked questions and the conversation flowed until he paused, and began to speak "Tell me again, what did that boy try to do?"

"He wanted to elope with his girlfriend because his mother didn't want them to be together. Guess he thought they could force the issue." Sam didn't see what this had to do with anything, but then she thought, and said, "Wait, you're not serious? You're serious? Elope?"

"Seems a good idea as any." He was calm.

"A good idea as any! Dad will go nuts!" Sam nearly yelled.

"Least he won't object to an engagement, then, Brat."

"No, just a marriage." Sam scoffed.

"Well, then it's taken care of, and we can wait to tell him whenever."

"Are you scared to tell him, Jake?" Sam quiered softly.

"Scared? No." He paused " I only know that you have a year left here and I want things to go smoothly for you. At the same time, I don't want him tell us what to with our lives, Sam. You keep saying we have to make these choices for ourselves. The elopement would be..." He finished lamely.

"Squarely on our terms, you mean?" At his nod, she continued, "No, I agree. I really do. If, and this is a big if, we do this, how are we going to pull it off?" She paused, "Wait. No, not with the pole, keep going there. I mean, you have that college athlete scholar visit thing coming up, don't you?"

"The honors induction, yeah. You want to come?" He really wanted her there. He was allowed to bring one person, and it stood to reason that it should be the person most important to him.

"Yes, look. Where do we drive by on the way?" She grinned.

His look when he recalled the route was priceless. He grinned. "Knew you were the smart one, not that girl you hang out with."

This earned him a glare. "I still think we should try really hard to bring him around, but if we can't, then this trip is our fallback."

"I know, Brat. I'm going to try to talk to him again. Alone. We'll see."

She twisted the last wire. "I think we are done! Let's load this stuff up then we can head back. I'm tired, want to get done early today."

"Brat, please tell me you aren't going to try and find that horse of yours." He sounded as tired as she felt.

"I haven't seen him in ages. He is important to me, to us. I won't forget him, ever." She repeated the litany that he'd heard thousands of times over and over. He still felt that the Phantom was a danger to her, and he couldn't stand that.

Back at River Bend, Grace plied them with drinks and pie. All was well, until Wyatt entered. The mood shifted. Sam caught a look from Jake. She tried to be convincing. "Gram, please come and look at my curtains. I think you're right, I need to clean the windows, but I can't get them down."

"Sure. I'm glad you want to keep that room clean. Let me grab a bucket." Gram headed up the stairs to the cleaning closet and her room. Once there, she said "Now, Sammy, what's so important that you drug me up here, then?"

"I really do need to clean my room. And Jake wants to talk to Dad about...everything." Sam finished, summarizing their whole life in one word.