Chapter 7

"Sam, are you sick?" the concerned voice of Wyatt Forster woke Sam up from a deep sleep that morning. She blinked against the blinding sunlight that flowed into her room. Wow, it must be later than she thought! Sure enough, Sam glanced at her clock and saw it was nine thirty-one!

"I'm fine," Sam replied, confused. "Is today the Fourth of July?"

"Yes it is." Gram replied, already decked out in an apron and her hands on her hips. "Let me take your temperature."

Before Sam could protest, the thermometer was put into her mouth under her tongue. Dad still stood frowning, and Sam stifled a groan when Brynna came into the room. So far they hadn't figured out that she'd been gone that last night, and Sam didn't know if that was a pro or con.

"She doesn't look pale." Brynna said, biting her lip. "She must have slept through her alarm, is all?"

Sam was getting frustrated. They were talking to her as if she weren't there. As soon as the timer beeped and Gram took the thermometer out Sam said, "I'm not sick at all, I was just a little bit- tired."

"Your temperature is fine, young lady. Now get dressed and come out side, the tomatoes need to be picked." Gram ordered, smiling. Wyatt and Brynna nodded together.

"Lots to do this mornin.'." Sam's dad said, like she didn't know. "It's not the time to be sleeping away in bed."

Once her parents and grandma were out of her room, Sam pulled the thin sheet down and stretched. She noticed in surprise that her wet jeans were slung over her chair in the corner of the room. Fortunately, nobody had seen.

Pulling a purple t-shirt and shorts on, she quickly brushed her mid-back-length auburn hair into a high ponytail to get it off her neck, since Sam sensed the early July day was probably already steaming hot.

"Mew." Cougar's happy meow interrupted Sam from running down the steps. She picked her growing kitten up and stoked his chin and ears, producing a rumbling purr.

After Sam had finished eating a blueberry muffin and got Cody dressed, she dashed outside and saw Gram crouched in the garden by the strawberry plants. Well, thought Sam, at least I don't have to spend three hours doing that.

"You can feed the horses first, honey." Gram told Sam, like she knew what Sam was probably thinking. "But I need these tomatoes picked before dinner time."

Sam gave her grandma a thankful grin, and she sped off to the barn, where she greeted Ace with a cautious look-over and a hug.

Dad stepped into the corridor where the stalls were. "Make sure you fill all the troughs and buckets." he advised Sam. "It's a stifling day, don't wanna dehydrate the horses."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

For a while Sam and her dad worked in pleasant silence. Then Sam noticed the unfinished stall. "What about this?" she asked Dad. "Should I finish it today, since there's not much left to do?"

Wyatt gave an admirable glance at his daughter. "Nah, Ross volunteered to do it."

Sam went on feeding the horses in the stalls, remembering how Darrell said that he helped feed the horses 'grass and sesame seeds.' Sam laughed out loud, and Dad gave her a questioning look, so she explained to him what was so funny.

"Remember to put Ace out in the ten-acre pasture." Dad told her, and Sam stiffened. She still had to be cautious; even if she was almost sure nobody had heard of her quiet escapade.

At three o'clock that afternoon, the Elys came over to bring their picnic tables and help Gram. Sam changed into a blue tanktop and khaki-colored shorts.

"Can I brush your hair?" Brynna asked her step-daughter, glancing out the window at the arriving truck.

Sam nodded, sitting down at the table. Her mind wasn't on Brynna's brushing, but on the Phantom. Didn't he recognize Jake? At times like that, Sam understood why some people had called him the Phantom Stallion. He seemed to just disappear.

"Do you like it?" Brynna asked, holding up a mirror. It was pulled up into a loose bun on top of her head, a few tendrils of reddish hair curling out. It would even stay up when she rode, unlike her ponytail. She gratefully told Brynna thanks, and her red-haired step-mom just smiled and bustled away to greet the Elys.

Sam was alone in the kitchen until Gram and Maxine came in, bringing the hot air in with them. That afternoon Sam hadn't had the chance to ride Ace or do anything outside except muck out a stall, pick tomatoes and fill the watering troughs. Gram had kept her in making desserts and sugar cookies she'd made herself.

"Hi, Sam, how're you?" Maxine warmly asked Sam, setting down some kind of food that had tinfoil on it. "Ready for school to start back up again?"

Shuddering, but smiling, Sam shook her head. "At least there's still July and August," Sam said more to herself than to Mrs. Ely.

"Yes, and then you'll be a junior and Jake'll be in college, all the way in Reno." Maxine sighed.

Reno was an hour and a half away, but Jake only planned to come home every other weekend. Sam was sure he'd be so good at his schoolwork he'd be able to come home every weekend. Plus, she knew that he hated to be away from horses that long anyhow.

"Why don't you put this pitcher on the picnic table out there?" Gram told Sam, handing her a pitcher of iced tea. "And then you can go talk to Jake,"

Sam was glad nobody heard that comment, even though Gram used to say it all the time, she knew it was different now.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barreled out the door without thinking, and plowed into the person she'd been thinking about. Iced tea went flying, and Sam was caught in a slow-motion nightmare as she watched the pitcher spin through the air and hit someone straight in the head.