I gazed up towards my Gram and Dad, peaking around the corner of the wall next to the stairs. They were standing in front of the kitchen sink, scowls drawn across their faces.

"Grace, we need the money now! We can't wait any longer!" Wyatt snarled.

"Calm down, your going to wake Sam. And we can't use it…what if this is all she has left someday? Jill made us promise."

Wyatt toke a step closer, towering over Gram. He reached to grab something out of her hand, something blocked by the one of the kitchen chairs.

"No!" She screeched.

I woke up, startled. I'd never had that dream before. What had Gram been trying to protect? I rolled over, gingerly removing Christy's leg from on top of mine. That's when I caught sight of a note taped on the alarm clock.

Sam and Christy,

Had to run into town for a few errands. Should be back around 2. There are movies in the cabinet under the TV if you guys are bored. Have Fun!

Love,

Maxine

I smiled at Maxine's choice of signature. Love…did Maxine really love me? Care for me as a mother would a daughter? Or was it out of sympathy. Either way, I realized, there was nothing more I wanted than to stay in this house and have the Ely's as my new family. I sighed and lifted up the note to reveal the time. 11:15. Crap, I thought. It is really late. I gazed over at Jakes empty bed. Another wave of emotions hit me. Yes, he was overprotective, and yes, he could be annoying. But Jake was definitely a person I wanted on my side. Maybe even needed, I thought. I tried to shake these thoughts from my head. Since when did I get so sentimental?

I crawled out of bed, anxious to let Christy sleep a little longer so I could clear my head. I walked downstairs into the eerily quiet kitchen. No Ely's were sitting at the table, or in the dinning room. I gazed out the window and noticed a few of their trucks were still here. I decided that they must of ridden out, or where working in the barn.

Once I had sat down with a large bowl of cereal I began to think again. My mind jumped to last night. It had been fun, of course. But as I though deeper into it I realized how I had put my new family in jeopardy. If I had been caught I would have been sent back to the school. Maxine could have even got in trouble. I fought back tears behind my eyes as a wave of guilt washed over me. How could I have been so stupid? I needed to get out of here. I threw my dishes in the sink and pulled on a pair of boots that sat by the door.

As I slipped into the barn I heard a hearty nicker come from Ace's stall.

"Oh Ace!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms around his neck. "I could have really ruined things," I whispered to him. I stayed with Ace for a while, absentmindedly stroking his neck. I heard hesitant footsteps in the isle and then a familiar voice.

"Hey, what's a girl got to do to get breakfast around here?" I rolled my eyes as I exited Ace's stall and walked towards Christy.

"Don't you mean lunch? Its nearly noon!" I answered.

She just smiled in return and we walked towards the house. After she had eaten two bowls of cereal she sat back and looked curiously at me.

"Hey…so you want to tell me what's going on Sam?"

I stared at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been staring at that knot in the table for fifteen minutes. Something's obviously up. Is this about Jake?"

"Why would anything be about Jake?" I asked. "And I don't know Christy I guess I've just been thinking about last night and, honestly, I felt a little guilty. I mean, I could have gotten in some serious trouble. I could have been sent back to the school, you know? And I don't ever want to go back their…I have a family now that I don't want to loose." As soon as I said the words part of me wanted to take them back. I knew I hadn't chosen them wisely enough and they were likely to hurt Christy.

"I-I, I'm sorry Sam. It's just hard for me to understand." I could see the battle in her eyes as she fought back jealousy in order to be a good friend to me.

"No, I'm sorry Christy. That was a jerk way for me to say it. But please don't worry about me, okay? And just think, your mom is fighting everyday to get you back. You'll have a family with her soon."

Christy's birth mother had recently contacted the school looking for her daughter. Even though she had given Christy up when she had her at the young age of sixteen, she was now looking to bring Christy with her when she moved into her new house.

"Yeah," Christy agreed and smiled at the thought.

"So you want to go watch some movies? I'm sure these guys have a much better selection than the school ever did."

"Sure!" Christy answered.

The next days flew by. We brought Christy back to the school Friday evening with promises of future visits. After a tearful goodbye Jake, Quinn, Bryan and I drove back to Three Ponies Ranch. I sat quietly in the backseat next to Jake. I sneaked a look at him gazing out the window to the open range. I realized he wasn't just gazing though, he was steadily watching something. In the distance a large dust cloud rose as paints, bays and grays galloped. Wild horses, I thought.

"Jake, what are those?"

"Their wild horses, Samantha. One of the bands that lives near us."

"Oh," I answered, slightly caught of guard by his use of my full name. "Jacob," I whispered, teasingly.

Jake sighed, ignoring me.

"So you want to ride out with us tomorrow morning Sammy?" Quinn questioned from the front seat.

Jake opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly interrupted him.

"I'd love too! What do we have to do?"

Now Jake spoke, peeved that I had interrupted him. "Oh, you'll see."