Chapter 7 by: horse-nerd! Please review my lovely's :)


"Ok so you start here," Jen instructed rolling a stall door open, "When you are finished come to one of us and we'll tell you what to do next."

The three kids looking into the dirty stall with disgust. Ricky made a face and looked back at Jen.

"Wait you want us to shovel shit? I thought we were going to ride horses not clean up after them!" Tara pushed her dark sunglasses up on her head so she could stare at them incredulously. Jake snorted and she pinned him with a glance.

"Before you can ride a horse you need to know how to take care of one." Sam explained, Tara just rolled her eyes. Sam handed a pitchfork to Allie. The small girl wrapped her skinny fingers around the handle, she avoided eye contact with Sam.

"Look any idiot can shovel shit." Ricky complained, Jake glared at him.

"Good then shouldn't be too hard for you." Jake gruffed taking a pitchfork and shoving it towards him.

"I can't believe this." Tara muttered.

"What?" Jen asked, forcing Tara to speak louder.

"We aren't your maid service. Do your own work." Tara growled pushing the pitchfork back towards Sam.

"Don't worry we'll be helping you." Jen said as she grabbed a pitchfork also. Sam handed the pitchfork back to Tara.

Tara, Ricky, and Allie all made their ways to their stalls. Tara and Ricky mumbled to themselves but Allie silently cleaned her stall. Jen turned to Jake and Sam.

"Darrel should be here soon to help. So why don't you two go finish what you left in the hayloft." Jen winked.

Sam blushed, had Pepper told anyone on what he walked in on? Jake seemed taken aback.

Jen rolled her eyes and made a face.

"I was talking about the hay…" she snorted, giving Sam and Jake a shove towards the barn entrance, and went to work on her own stall.

"C'mon." Sam grabbed Jake's hand and led him towards the hay loft. Sam walked up the stairs, Jake right behind her. They walked over to where Sam had been working yesterday afternoon. Sighing, Sam went to move a bale.
Jake grabbed her wrists. Sam spun around, about to tell him they couldn't fool around but his serious expression stopped her.

"What?" She asked hesitantly. Jake reached around to the back pocket of her jean shorts, he pulled out her leather work gloves and rose and eyebrow at her. Sam laughed and held out her hand so Jake can put them on.

"I think your always going to have to take care of me." Sam giggled, as Jake tugged on the gloves.

"Thats the way I want it." Jake grinned.

Sam bit her lip and her gaze fell to the floor, her cheeks grew pink.

"Much better," he smiled dropping her hands.

He watched as she bent over to pick up a bale. Her shorts hiked up to show off a lot of her muscular upper thigh. Jake swallowed, controlling himself.
She was wearing one of his white undershirts. She had tied it in the back making it hug her curves perfect. She also had cut off the felt his eyes travling over every inch of her body. Her smile was teasing as she turned to him, "Hey get to work bum."

"Wasn't this your punishment job?" He asked looking at the many bales of hay that still needed to be neatly stacked.

She tossed one in his direction, it landed a few feet from her, at his feet. "Yeah, well someone distracted me."

He laughed and watched her again as she grabbed another. "You distracted me first." He argued.

He stacked the bale at his feet and grabbed the one Sam was holding out of her hands. He tossed it up on the other hale bales when it landed with a soft thud he pulled her in for a kiss. His lips hovered before hers. He cocked his head to the side, leaning down, he kissed her gently.
Sam's toes curled as hes warm lips slowly moved across hers. Jake broke off the kiss suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I want to tell Wyatt about 'us' tonight?" Jake asked, his mustang eyes stared intensly into hers.

Sam bit her lip.

"You don't want me to." Jake stated, his arms losened around her

"No, I do." Sam protested "I just-"

Sam groaned as she heard a car pull up and honked the horn. They would never get time to themselves.
Sam sighed and pulled herself away from Jake. Sam led the wayout of the hayloft, skipping stairs as she went. Sam didn't hear Jake's footfalls imideatly and sighed. Was he angry with her?

Jen looked aggravated as Sam met up with her at the entrence of the barn, peaking Sam's curiosity. Sam rose her eyebrows at her.
When she exited the barn to see who was out side, she wanted to run back up to the hayloft.
Rachel stood by the car waiting for Ryan to get out. Her high heels, perfectly applied makeup, and short dress had Ricky drooling, from behind Sam. Sam pushed past the HARP kids and told them to get back to work. She smiled at Ryan and tried to ignore Rachel.

"Hi Ryan…Rachel. What are you doing here?" Sam asked walking up to them.

"Can't we visit a neighbor?" Rachel snorted, never missing the chance to argue with Sam. Jake came up behind Sam, crossing his arms across his broad chest. Rachel fluttered her eyelashes and sweetly smiled a hello to him.

"Hello to you too, baby." Ricky grinned from behind Jake. Rachel rose her eyebrows, they dissappered under her bangs.

"Rachel." Ryan glared at her then looked at Sam and Jake. "Actually I came to invite you all over for a party."

Rachel glared at Ryan. "I think she's a little busy with her charity act right now…" she looked over to the HARP kids.

"It's not a charity act Rachel…" Sam protested

"We're no ones charity case." Tara growled at Rachel steppping into the circle

Rachel waved her off. "Sure, sure."

"Anyway, it's our birthday so we were having a little bash. You should come it'll be fun." He smiled at her and handed her an envelope. Sam took it and smiled back.

"Are we invited in that invitaion?" Ricky asked

"That I'll leave up to your counslers." Ryan smiled with Brithish accent, looking Sam up and down

"We''ll see if we can make it." Sam smiled

"Awesome. Later." He waved to them and hopped in his car. Rachel followed right behind him. Sam and Jake watched as they drove off.

"That was, weird." Jen said scratching her head. Jake agreed.

"Oh look there's Darrel!" Jen smiled happily Darrel parked his car next to Gram's and hopped out. He smiled and waved to Sam and Jake as he passed. Jen gave him a big hug, when he stepped out of the dirvers seat.

Ricky snorted, in Jake ear. "I take it that's his girl. Sheesh."

Jake didn't respond and Ricky rolled his eyes and walked back into the barn. Tara followed. Allie hesitated, looking between Sam and the barn before she followed the others.

"Hey Jake can you and Darrel finish hay? I'm going to help Allie…" Sam sprinted off before Jake could answer. She grabbed a pitchfork and entered the stall with Allie. Allie looked up surprised and Sam gave her a reassuring smile.

"Mind if I help?"

Allie shook her head.

"Wow you work fast. You almost finished this entire job!"

Allie continued to clean the stall quietly.

"So you uh sleep alright last night?" Sam tried again to start a conversation.

She hesitated. "Um, yeah. It's really dark here though, and I don't think I've ever seen so many stars before."

Sam laughed. "Yeah no city lights. So what made you decide to try HARP?"

Allie didn't answer. It was silent as they cleaned together. When they finished Sam walked with Allie to dump the wheelbarrow. Allie rested against it and turned to Sam, to answer.

"I don't know…I like horses? I wanted to get better…I wanted to get away." The last part was barely audible that Sam wasn't sure if she really said it. "Why do you care so much anyway? That's not part of your job." She asked her eyes growing dark.

It took Sam a moment to recover. "This isn't just a job Allie. We don't have to care I just choose to do so." Allie looked down her bangs covering her eyes.

Sam sighed. "When you're done with that go see if Jen needs any help."

Why was Allie blocking her out? Sam thought as she made her way to the house.

Sam let herself in from the back door and got herself a glass of lemonade. She leaned against the counter and closed her eyes.

"Hey how about getting me some of that? I am parched." a deep voice ordered.

Sam started and opened her eyes to see Ricky sitting at her kitchen table, his feet up on the table. He smiled and pointed at the lemonade.

"Of course if you're out of that I can think of another way you can quench my thirst." He waggled his eyebrows and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Ricky get the out of my house. You know, you aren't suppose to be in here. And get your boot's off the table."

He got up and walked over to Sam. He pinned her to the counter and rested his hands on her waist. "Yeah, well you should know by now I don't really follow the rules…"

"I will scream if you do not get off of me and-"

"And what?" Ricky asked pushimg himself against her.

"Jake will come in here and kick your ass, or worse my father."

"I can keep you silent and I think I'll take my chances with the cowboy." he smirked, sneaking his fingers up under the bottom of her shirt. Sam shoved him off.

"Get. Off." She commanded. The screen door slammed open and Ricky jumped away from her. Sam looked up to see Allie. She looked like a scared little bunny, but recovered and glared at Ricky.

"They're looking for you." She spat. Ricky winked at Sam and pushed Allie to the side as he hurried outside. Allie looked up at Sam. The look on her face was frightful but hard at the same time.

"He's dangrous." Allie stated, squeezing the hidden rock in her plam "Be careful." Sam had to nod in agreement. She was way over her head. Why had she ever let Ricky come to Riverbend?