"Great." Sam muttered sarcastically, dismounting Ace and walking him back towards the barn, leaving Jake to tie Witch to the post outside the house. As she removed his saddle and turned him out with the other saddle horses, Sam had the urge to join him, sensing she would be spending an hour learning geometry with Jake. She smiled slightly at the thought. Maybe it wouldn't be quite so horrible.
Turning towards the house just in time to see the front door swing closed, Sam scowled in irritation. Any time she had to do extra math wouldn't be fun. Sighing, she walked inside.
Jake had removed his hat and was sitting at the kitchen table, apparently deep in conversation with Dad. After a few moments of eavesdropping, Sam realized Jake was explaining her plan to her father. At first, she was a little irritated that he would get all the credit, but then she realized Dad would be more likely to follow one of Jake's plans than her own.
"Samantha, sit down." Dad said, looking distracted. He leaned back and closed his eyes as Sam plopped into a chair opposite him, near Jake.
"I suppose I owe that horse of yours an apology." Dad muttered. He shook his head in mild disbelief. "Linc Slocum. It makes sense, I suppose, but I have a hard time imaginin' him doin' anything like this."
Sam nodded in acceptance and forgiveness. That was a pretty deep, meaningful conversation coming from Dad. And if she hadn't believed so strongly in the Phantom's innocence, she probably wouldn't have believed Ryan herself.
"So what do you think?" Sam asked eagerly once the silence had stretched for several seconds.
Dad glanced up. "Well first, you need to promise that your math grade is goin' to come up."
Sam nodded dissmissively. That was a given.
"Then, you're taking Jake with you to pen up that valley."
Sam's eyes widened. "I can't!" She had blurted the words before thinking about it. Jake had remained silent the entire time, and now pulled his Stetson low over his eyes, which were downcast.
"Samantha, that horse nearly killed you once. I'm not willing to risk that again. You're goin' to need to herd all his mares into the valley, and I'd be shocked if that didn't upset him." Dad stood, and it was clear to Sam that the conversation was over. "One hour of math every day until you bring that mark back to a 'C'." Were his parting words as he walked upstairs.
Sam let her head fall against the table. Relief and the promise of a fresh start washed over her. Almost everything was fixing itself. Except one thing. "Are we going to talk about it?" Sam muttered to Jake.
He shrugged. "It seems pretty simple. I'll bring over the fences and such day after tomorrow and-"
Sam cut him off. "Not about that." Without waiting for him to ask, she continued. "About you kissing me."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want you going out with Darell. He wouldn't treat you right." He muttered.
Sam stared at him. That wasn't exactly addressing the problem. "Ok…" She said slowly.
Jake turned to look at her. "Sam, I don't want to lose you." He said softly, pulling her close in a hug.
"I'm glad." She whispered.
The next day at school, Sam noticed that Jen wasn't on the bus. Puzzled, it only took her a few moments to remember her friend's breakup. When the end of the day finally rolled around, she caught up to Ryan before he reached his car. "Ryan!" She shouted, and he turned just in time to receive a smack in the face, courtesy of Sam's hand. "You jerk." She snapped, turning to see Jake sitting in his truck a short distance away, grinning widely.
"Don't. Say. Anything." She muttered as she climbed inside.
Jake, still laughing slightly, shook his head and started driving. "Ok, I won't say a word. Are you sure you don't want some congratulations? I'd be happy to lend them this one time."
An unwilling smirk crept onto Sam's face, and they both laughed together for the first time in years.
"I thought you said you were good at geometry." Jake's voice, filled with a familiar teasing, broke into Sam's mind.
Sam considered sticking her tongue out, but decided it would be far too childish. Instead, she replied. "I am good at it. I just have a hard time…understanding it."
Jake stared at her. "You just contradicted yourself."
Sam shrugged. "You do it all the time." She shot back.
Jake smirked as River Bend came into view, and the pair got out of the truck and walked inside, where Gram was already cooking dinner. She had just gotten back from volunteering with Sweetheart, and Sam realized how much she missed having her around. The smell of potatoes and beef wafted towards Sam and she became suddenly aware of how hungry she was.
"You can eat while you work tonight." Gram said. Noticing she looked distracted, Sam frowned.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, wondering how much more bad news she could take.
Gram smiled sadly, turning to face Sam. "It's Hotspot. I guess she isn't doing so well. Not being able to run is really taking a lot out of her."
Sam nodded. "But it's only going to be a few weeks, isn't it? It's just a broken bone…"
This time, Jake was the one to answer as he sat down at the table. "Sam, a cannon bone is pretty serious, I've never heard of a horse even living through a break."
Sam's eyes widened. "What?" She yelped.
Gram cast a scowl at Jake. "It would be like fracturing your back and still having to walk around on it." She said quietly, resting a hand on Sam's shoulder as she pushed her down gently into a chair.
Sam sighed. "She seemed fine when I was over there." She said quietly.
Gram nodded. "When she was heavily sedated. Dr. Scott has an I.V. in her now, she won't eat and barely drinks. You remember that Shy Boots got transfered to a foster horse, well now he won't even go near his mother. It's understandable, but she won't let any humans near her."
Sam sagged forward, arms resting on the table. "Great." She muttered. "Can I go see her?" She asked.
"Maybe later. First, math." Gram said, setting out plates for both Sam and Jake as she walked outside, muttering something about her roses.
Jake turned to Sam, pulling out a spiral notebook and a pencil. Sam stared at him. "You're serious." She said, dreading the answer, which came in the form of a smirk.
Fifty eight minutes later, Sam jumped from her seat, tossing her pencil onto the table. "Ok. We're done."
Jake started to look at his watch, but Sam grasped his wrist and started dragging him towards the door. "We need to go see Hotspot." She said.
Jake pulled away. "No. You can go, I don't want to be anywhere near that ranch." He muttered, mounting Witch. Sam sighed as she vaulted onto Ace's back.
"Fine." She muttered, starting to ride towards Gold Dust. Jake watched her with a slight frown on his face.