A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry I made you wait again, but I am certain that all of you will like this chapter. :)

Chapter Twenty-One

Written by: The Equestrian Writer

The bay gelding let out a loud whinny and started to pull Sam towards the ten-acre pasture. Sam tugged the lead line and dug in her boot heels to keep from being dragged. Ace turned to look at her with what looked like a disgruntled look. Her father had told her to start hand-walking Ace, before, in his words, that horse gets too lazy and out-of-shape.

"No, Ace, we're just walking around," Sam told her mustang as the gelding pawed the ground anxiously. "You can't go out with the other horses yet. You're still recovering."

There was another whinny, this time coming from the round pen. Sam looked and saw Majesty watching the two of them. Ace returned her whinny with one of his own and strained against the lead. When Sam kept the rope taut, the gelding let out a buck in frustration. Sam turned to the gray mare.

"You see what you do," she accused the mare. Majesty just blinked at her. Then she spoke to Ace as she turned him away from the round pen. "This is why I can't turn you out with the other horses. I don't want you to make your leg worse. Just a few more days, I promise." Ace blew out a long breath and lowered his head to snatch a bit of grass. Sam let him graze and teased her hand through the gelding's black mane. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. She had tossed and turned all night long, plagued with a nightmare that would not go away.

Sam jumped when she heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching the ranch yard. She looked up and the first thing she saw was a big, black horse. The mare jogged toward her at a nice, leisurely pace, her neck stretched low and even and her long, flowing tail swished from side to side. Sam couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face at the sight of Jake. She hadn't seen him since they left the courthouse yesterday.

Jake pulled Witch to a stop and dismounted. When he led the mare over to her, Ace picked up his head and nickered. He kept his distance, though, having been bitten by Witch on several occasions, he'd learned his lesson of getting to close to the mare. Sam was tempted to croon to the cranky mare right now, just to see her and her quiet rider's reactions. But she didn't, mostly because she wasn't sure where she and Jake stood. If they were friends or something more. They had kissed two times, but with Jake, one could never tell what he was thinking.

"Hey," Sam greeted, unsure of what else to say to him.

"Hey," Jake said back.

"I was just exercising Ace," Sam replied, gesturing to the gelding, who had gone back to grazing. Jake raised an eyebrow. Sam rolled her eyes. "A little grazing won't hurt his leg. Besides, if I don't let him eat, he'll just try to run to the other horses and that's not good for his recovery."

"Alright," Jake half-smiled and then, he grew serious. "How are you doing today?"

Sam shrugged and looked away. "Fine," she said. "It would be better without the nightmares."

"I'm sorry, Sam," Jake mumbled, twisting and untwisting Witch's reins around his hand.

Sam looked up at him sharply. "For what?"

"For not protecting you," Jake said quickly. "For letting Caleb..."

"Rape me." Sam finished for him. "Caleb raped me. Say it."

Jake opened his mouth, but then abruptly closed it and started to turn away. Sam grabbed his arm, stopping him, she wasn't letting him off the hook just yet. They had to deal with what happened or they could never really move on.

"Jake, we can't run from this," Sam told him. "We have to face it. Caleb raped me, not you. You didn't do anything."

"Exactly, Sam, I didn't do anything," Jake said. "I just sat there while that freak raped you and I am so sorry for that."

"Jake, no," Sam replied. She dropped the lead rope, trusting Ace not to wander off and moved closer to Jake. "Caleb had the upper hand, he tied you to a chair. He was dangling me right in front of you. You saved me, Jake. You were shot and bleeding and you still fought to get us out of there."

"I'll do anything for you, Sam," Jake whispered, looking at the ground.

"I know," Sam whispered back. "That's why I love you."

Jake looked up at her. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then Jake leaned forward. Their lips met in a soft kiss. By now, Sam thought she'd be used to his kisses, but each kiss was different. Like discovering a new piece of candy each time. Sam pulled away first, a question on her lips.

"So,...does this mean that we're...?" she asked hopefully, letting the question dangle in the air.

"That we're what?" Jake asked her, his thumb brushing over her cheek.

"In a relationship? Boyfriend/girlfriend?" Sam finished.

"Only if you want us to be," Jake answered.

Sam smiled and hooked her arm around Jake's neck and pressed her mouth to his as her answer. Feelings exploded inside Sam, so much she thought her heart would burst. Passion. Love. Happiness. Sam didn't want it to end. But Jake was the one to pull away first this time.

"Better get your horse before he wanders off," Jake smirked.

Sam looked behind her and saw that Ace had moved a few feet away, still chomping on grass. "Shoot," she muttered, hurrying over to pick up the lead rope. "Come here, you." She led him back over to Jake, who was shaking his head with laughter. Sam couldn't help herself, she punched Jake playfully in the arm.

"What?" Jake asked her, hardly able to contain his laughter. He also rubbed his arm where she hit him. Sam smirked.

Before Sam could say anything though, she spotted her mother heading towards them. She looked upset. Jake turned to see what she was looking at.

"Hey, you two," Louise smiled when she approached them. "Sam, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Sam answered, looking at Jake.

"I have to get back home anyway," Jake replied, slipping Witch's reins over her head. "I told my folks I wouldn't stay long." He mounted Witch. "I'll talk to you later, Sam."

Sam nodded and waved as Jake turned Witch and jogged away from the ranch. Sam looked at her mother and started walking Ace to the barn. Louise fell into step beside her daughter. They were silent all the way to the barn, even when Sam put Ace back in his stall, Louise stayed quiet. Finally, Sam turned toward her mother.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

Louise took a deep breath and turned to her daughter. "Your father wanted to tell you himself, but I thought it would be better coming from me," she began. "He and I are getting a divorce."

Sam didn't know what to say. To be honest, she hadn't really given much thought to her parents marriage status, given what she's been through recently. She didn't know what she expected when she rescued her mother. Her father had been happily 'married' to Brynna and she had come terms with it. Sam didn't know how she was supposed to feel to this news.

"Afterwards, Wyatt and Brynna are planning a simple ceremony at the church," Louise explained. "It will be small, just the family."

"I'm sorry, mom," Sam said, finally finding her voice.

"Oh, Sam," Louise replied. She tucked a piece of her daughter's hair behind her ear and gave her a soft smile. "I can't be mad at your father for moving on with his life. I wanted him to be happy, I will want that. Brynna makes him happy, Sam, and he loves her. Maybe even more than he loved me."

"What about you?" Sam asked. "Mom, you deserve to be happy too."

"I know," Louise said quietly. She looked down at the ground for a minute, and when she looked back up at Sam, there was a tear sliding down her cheek. "That's why I have to leave."

"Leave? Where would you go?" Sam questioned her.

"I've already called Aunt Sue, and after I filled her in on everything that's happened, she agreed to let me stay with her in San Francisco." Louise told her, she hurried on to explain. "It won't be forever, Sam. I just need to get my life back. We all do."

"I can come with you," Sam volunteered.

"No, Sam, this is your home," Louise rejected, shaking her head. "I can't ask you to leave it."

"You're not asking, I want to go with you," Sam told her mother, sadness welling up inside her. She didn't want her mother to go away again. But Louise was shaking her adamantly. "Please, mom! We just found each other again, I don't want to lose you!"

"I know, Sam, I know," Louise soothed. She walked over and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Believe me, I want to get to know this young woman you've grown into, but I have to do this for myself first. I promise you, we'll call, write, email, text, whatever. I am not abandoning you. I'll even send a carrier pigeon, if I find on."

"Can I visit sometime?" Sam asked, pulling away from her mother and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I would love that," Louise smiled. "I'll take you to all my favorite places I went when I was your age and we'll eat ice cream til we get sick." She added a laugh at the end.

"Sounds great," Sam smiled back. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, Sammy."

Once estranged mother and daughter hugged again. Their past was ripped away from them, but the future was brighter for them both. Even if her mother was leaving, it wasn't permanent. They would all find a way to become a family and Sam couldn't be happier.

A/N: How was it? One more chapter, everyone! Please review!