What was I going to do? I still had no idea when Rita hustled up to Xanadu’s door. “What’s up?”

  “Class. Come on, Sarah. Let’s ride.”

  “Okay.” I slipped my horse a piece of carrot. I bridled her and led the mare out to the arena. It was my turn to start the class, so I led our usual warm-up. After we reviewed stop, start, turns, I began the balance work. Just one try at touching my toes winded me, and Kaitlyn took over. Abbie was right about the cheerleaders. We were a team, regardless of where we were or what we did.

  I kept Xanadu to a walk during most of the class. My back and side hurt when I tried a trot or lope. My horse cocked her head around to look at me as if I’d lost it, but she must have known I wasn’t a hundred percent. She didn’t spook or bolt. Like always, she took excellent care of me. No wonder I loved her so much.

  Grandma sent me to her house during chores. She said I could find something to do there, like watching TV or reading a book or keeping her border collie and the puppies company. Since the little furballs were sleeping in the wading pool Grandma used as a nest for them, I washed the dishes and dusted the furniture, but I couldn’t vacuum. That was probably a good idea because Isabelle, the mom dog, wouldn’t have liked the loud noise. Seeing the little bit of cleaning I was able to do made Grandma smile. She hugged me.

  The memory of her smile remained with me when Warren picked us up, B.J., Terry, Rita and me. We stopped at the grocery so I could get the ingredients for Timber’s cookies, and then we headed home. While Rita creamed the butter and sugar together, I measured out the flour. B.J. lined cookie sheets with foil and Terry put together a salad to go with the tator-tot casserole that Warren had already prepared. Dallas would be over later when her dinner shift ended at the local fast-food joint.

  Priscilla wandered into the kitchen. “I’m going to set the table now. I’m trying hard to be good. You’ll tell Mommy, won’t you? I don’t want to keep going to daycare like a little kid.”

  “I’ll tell her,” I promised. “If you get the rest of my things back, she’ll probably lighten up on the daycare. Do your best tomorrow, okay?”

  “I will.” Priscilla beamed as if I’d given her a million dollars. She hurried off to do her chores, with a skip in her steps. She was back a couple minutes later. “Jason’s here. He’s waiting on the porch. Do you want to see him? I can tell him that Daddy said for him to go away.”

  I smiled at the kid. “You’ve made your dad do enough, Miss Priss. Let’s not push our luck, okay? I never expected him to take us to the party last night. He was cool.”

  “That’s the first nice thing you’ve ever said about my daddy.” Priscilla danced away.

  I hadn’t thought of that before. Did I cause some of my own problems with Bruce? I’d just figured the guy was a major jerk. Had I actually said that to Princess Priss? Hadn’t I just agreed with her that she was the favorite kid around here? Didn’t I save my complaints about her dad for my friends, Warren and, of course, my diary? Right now, I really wished I had someone to listen to me who could give me some answers.

  It wouldn’t be Jason. I went out to the front yard. He had a bouquet of pink hothouse roses and his letterman’s jacket. Talk about never hearing me.

  I looked at him. “It’s over.”

  “You can’t do this.” Jason started toward me. “Sarah, come on. I deserve a second chance. I can change. You’ve got to have faith.”

  I shook my head. “You won’t change. Whenever you have a problem, you blame me.”

  “Look, I’m sorry.” He shoved the flowers at me. “It stresses me out. The whole team compares me to Watkins and I’m not him.”

  “Nobody is.” I thought again of what Timber confessed to me last night. “Nobody could be.”

  “It really embarrassed me last night when the whole team saw you leave with him.” Jason went on. “Then he tracked me down at Nate’s after-party. Watkins walked in and threw my coat at me. He invited me outside.”

  “So?” I eyed Jason curiously. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Are you stupid?” Jason glared at me. “When Watkins takes a guy outside, someone better call the paramedics.”

  I considered that. Had Timber been looking for a fight when he left? I didn’t think so. He’d asked me to go to the drive-in tonight with him, Warren and Vonnie. I’d warned him that B.J., Dallas, Rita and Terry were spending the night, but he’d said it’d be more fun with all of us.

  “I don’t know where you’re coming from, Jason,” I said. “You’re acting totally paranoid. Timber’s one of the nicest, sweetest guys I’ve ever known.” I saw the disbelief in Jason’s face. “He’s like an older brother. He teases me and does things for me the way Warren does.”

  “Are you so innocent?” Jason stomped across the deck, then turned and came back toward me. “Everybody knows Timber Watkins has been drinking up in Pine Ridge for years. He got in plenty of fights up there. Most of the guys were older and bigger than he was.”

  “Not you,” I said, super sweet. “You didn’t go outside with him. Dave did.” I saw the fury build on Jason’s face and hastily changed the subject. “Anyway, this isn’t about Timber Watkins. It’s about me. I’m done being your girl and going out with you.”

  “Okay. So, you need space. I understand that. Sarah, you can’t break up with me. I need you. You’re my—”

  “If you say lucky charm, I’ll hurl.” I folded my arms. Maybe Abbie was right. I might have to wait until Homecoming. People could think I broke up with Jason because of how the football team was doing. “All right, Jason. I’ll give you one more chance.”

  “All right!” He pumped his free arm in the air. “You won’t regret it.”

  I stood on the porch and just stared at him. I didn’t take the flowers or the coat. “There are conditions. Don’t try to control me. I go where I want, when I want, with whomever I want. And no more crap about me doing stuff with Vonnie or the cheer squad.”

  “Sure.” He put the roses and his jacket on one of the wicker chairs next to the front steps. He came over and folded me into his arms. “Whatever you want is fine, Sarah. I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.”

  When he tried to kiss me, I pushed him away. “No. I’m not ready for that.”

  “Okay.” He stroked my hair. “You want to go out tonight?”

  “No,” I said. “Not with you. Remember my mom’s rules. I’m only allowed out one weekend night alone with a guy.”

  “Tomorrow then,” Jason said. “I’ll help you at your grandmother’s.”

  “No, you won’t. It’s Drill Sunday. I’ve got to be there all afternoon to ride with the advanced team and clean the barns. You think horses are boring. You don’t like the people who hang out at the stable. And since it’s Gabe’s birthday, we’re having a party. I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of my grandmother or the other cheerleaders.”

  “All I’ve said is you’re too old to be so horse-crazy. You can sell the horse and use the money for college.”

  “You’re already blowing your second chance.” I twisted out of his hold. “Xanadu’s mine. Selling the horse I love isn’t an option. Why do you want to take away everything I care about?”

  “For God’s sake.” Jason stepped back. “There’s no talking to you when you’re on a femi-nazi binge. I’ll see you at school on Monday.” He swung around and stalked toward his car.

  Bruce and Timber had just arrived with a load of firewood in Timber’s pickup, the two Labs with them. Jason shoved past the dogs and one yelped. Missy, the golden Lab puppy, limped toward me, whimpering. She had dirt on her side and left hind leg. She’d obviously dropped one of her stuffed animals, the squeaky goat in the yard. Still yelping, she came and hid behind me.

  “What happened to you?” I knelt and petted her, cuddling her close.

  Had she jumped out of the truck? But what about her toy? How did it wind up in the yard? Dread swept through me. Had she invited Jason to play fetch with her? Did he kick her? Or shove her? Or hit her with something? How could he when he didn’t have anything in his hands?

  Before I asked, Bruce had Jason by the collar of his leather jacket and shirt, pulling him out of his sports car. My stepdad frog-marched Jason back toward the house.

  I ran my hands over Missy’s ribcage. She whined and huddled close, totally scared of Jason. I didn’t feel any lumps or depressions where she could have a broken bone. “I think she’s okay, Bruce.”

  “Apologize.” Bruce pushed Jason onto his knees beside me and the puppy.

  Missy tried to crawl farther into my lap, away from Jason. I buried my face in her yellow fur, so he couldn’t see what I felt.

  “I’m sorry, Sarah,” Jason stammered, obviously scared half to death.

  “Not to her, you idiot.” Bruce shook him like one of Missy’s toys. “To my dog, you moron.”

  I bent farther over Missy while Jason did. Then he was across the yard and gone in a spray of gravel from his sports car.

  I smiled up at my stepdad. “Oh, my Gawd, Bruce. He’ll be mortified forever. Wait till Aunt Cathy hears what you did.”

  TWENTY

  “That’s it.” Bruce gently scooped up Missy. “Poor baby. Come on, Lady,” he said to the adult Lab. “Let’s take your puppy to see Aunt Cathy.” He glanced back at the house. “Priscilla, we’re going!”

  She stuck her head out the door. “Daddy, I want to help make cookies with Rita and everybody.”

  Bruce turned to me. “You don’t have to take care of her.”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll call Aunt Cathy and tell her you’re on the way with the dogs.”

  “All right.” Bruce carried Missy toward his car, Lady at his heels. “Sarah, you’re never going out with that dog-kicking son of a politician again. I mean it. Do you hear me?”

  “Bruce, I think the whole neighborhood hears you.” When he gave me one of his intimidating glares, I flung my hands in the air. “Okay. Okay. Whatever you say!”

  Bruce opened the door for Missy and put her gently on the front passenger seat. The dog wagged her tail but didn’t bounce around like usual. Poor thing. I hoped she would be fine, once she got over her fright, but Aunt Cathy would make it happen. Lady jumped in the back seat, barking in excitement. Before he left, Bruce stopped by the pickup to talk to Timber.

  As I didn’t want to know how much he’d seen or hear what Timber had to say, I headed for the house to call Aunt Cathy. Warren met me on the porch.

  “You should have seen it,” I said.

  “What?” Warren glowered after the disappearing car. “I heard Bruce yell at you.”

  I filled Warren in on the situation. “And Bruce made Jason apologize to Missy.”

  Warren laughed harder than I did. “When Grandma and Aunt Cathy hear about this, they’ll know he’s becoming a real member of the family, since he loves his dogs as much as they do theirs.”

  “Yeah.” I breathed a private sigh of relief and counted my blessings, as Grandma would say. Bruce was really pissed at Jason. I could use that as an excuse and refuse to go anywhere with him. We’d split for good next Friday after Homecoming. All right!

  Aunt Cathy prescribed pain pills for Missy’s bruised hip and cracked rib. However, the puppy didn’t appear to have any internal injuries. The two Labs curled up on the rug in front of the woodstove in the family room, Missy in a heavy drugged sleep. Lady brought up three of Missy’s favorite stuffed toys from Warren’s room, a teddy bear, a dragon and of course, the squeaky goat.

  Bruce didn’t say a word about the fact that the Labs obviously made a habit of living part-time in the basement apartment with my brother. Instead, Bruce called Jason’s dad and told Mayor Phillips he’d have to pay for all of Missy’s vet care and why. I definitely wasn’t bringing up my problems with Jason where Bruce might hear. I didn’t want to catch the fall-out when Jason got mad again. I hoped he’d be over it by Monday when I went back to school.

  I figured things would be exciting enough when Mom got home from Book City. Bruce said Missy and Lady were inside dogs for the duration of the puppy’s recovery. Bruce must have expected to do some fast-talking—he brought back a real expensive bottle of Chardonnay for Mom. We didn’t call her Mrs. Clean for nothing. She’d have a fit and fall in it when she saw the Labs in her house, but maybe the white wine would make the difference.

  We finished the chocolate chip cookies for Timber. Priscilla not only enjoyed helping, she also loved eating the chips. Meanwhile, Rita ate the raw cookie dough and whined when I said we needed to bake some of it. B.J. and Terry stuck to the baked ones, calling for test cookies from every tray that came out of the oven. With these helpers, Timber would be lucky if he actually got a dozen cookies. However, complaining about that might distract him from what happened with Jason and Missy.

  “Are any of these cookies for Jason?” Priscilla asked.

  “They’re too good for him,” Rita told her. “He’s muy malo.”

  “I think he’s mean,” Priscilla said. “Why do you go out with a guy who does mean things, Sarah? He makes you cry a lot. He hurt you when he lied last night, and he hurt Missy for no reason. She’s funny when she brings over her toys for us to play with her. He wasn’t scared of her, was he?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “He was irritated with me.”

  “Why?” Rita asked. “What did you do?”

  “I stayed mad about the stunt he pulled last night,” I said.

  “Who wouldn’t?” Rita demanded. She opened the oven and removed the cookie sheet. She put in the next tray. “Did he think he could just stroll in here and you’d forgive his crap? If your stepdad hadn’t taken us to the party, Abbie would have been majorly pissed, and she’d stay that way for weeks. We’d be doing knuckle push-ups with Jenny at every practice until basketball starts.”

  “That sounds icky,” Priscilla said.

  “Painful, too,” I told her. “Jenny doesn’t let you slack off, either. She has to do them at her karate class when she back talks her teacher, so she’s tough when Abbie turns her loose on us. Nobody wants to mess with The Enforcer.”

  “Especially not me,” B.J. said. “You should see her spar with Sensei. The two of them go at it much harder than the boys ever do.”

  Priscilla stared at us. “How come I didn’t have to do push-ups when I was bad at your practice?”

  “Because Sarah told Abbie and Jenny it was her fault, not yours,” Rita said. “That meant Sarah was the one who got in trouble, not you. And she was the one who had to do the push-ups and scrub every inch of the gym, not you.”

  Terry elbowed B.J. “And now you know why I’m not going out for cheer.”

  Priscilla heaved a huge sigh. “I’m sorry, Sarah.” She came across the room and hugged me. “I was a real brat to you. I asked Daddy why he got so mad about me giving away your stuff and being rotten to you because he didn’t like you or Warren. When Daddy said he did like you guys, I asked him why he uses his mean voice to talk to you and says bad things. Daddy told me it wasn’t okay for anybody to be a monster, not even him.”

  I hugged the kid back. “It’s okay, Princess Priss.”

  Well, that explained why Bruce was trying to treat me decently for the last few days. He’d heard about it from his daughter, as well as Helene and Mom. Adam hadn’t even cut loose with the custody stuff yet. But I had to wonder where Priscilla came up with this stuff. How did she know I’d been crying over Jason?

  After dinner, Rita pulled me aside while B.J. and Terry helped Dallas get settled in my room. “Priscilla’s trying awfully hard to be good, Sarah. What do you think about taking her with us tonight?”

  “To the drive-in? Everybody will be there, Rita. We won’t look cool with a little kid.”

  “We’re cheerleaders. Whatever we do is cool.”

  “Okay. Let me ask Warren.” I went and knocked on his door. When he answered, I said. “Would it totally freak you if we took Priscilla with us to the movies? Rita thinks it might keep the kid on the straight and narrow.”

  “Whatever you want,” Warren said. “Timber won’t care. What about Vonnie? Or your other friends?”

  “I don’t think she’ll lose it,” I said. “Should I call her?”

  “I will.” Warren closed his door in my face. He came in the kitchen a few minutes later and gave me a thumbs up sign. Rita closed up the dishwasher, nodded at me and headed for my room to check. She came back with B.J., Dallas, and Terry. From their smiles, I could see they agreed with Rita.

  I put some cookies on a saucer, poured a cup of coffee and went to harass Bruce in his and Mom’s room. “A bunch of us are going to the drive-in tonight. We’d like to take Priscilla with us. Okay?”

  “Who’s a bunch?” Bruce asked.

  “So far, it’s Warren, Vonnie, Rita, Luis, Timber, and me,” I said. “And of course, B.J., Terry, Gabe, Dallas, and Ringo. We’ll probably run into other academy kids. Everybody goes in October before the drive-in closes for the winter.”

  Bruce ate a cookie while he thought. “We did her homework last night. All right, Sarah.” He took the cup of coffee from me and put it on his desk. Then he reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “Here. Give her this.” He passed me a twenty. “Then she can help with treats.”

  “Cool.” I returned to the kitchen, handed Priscilla the money, and winked at Rita. “Your dad says you can come to the movies with us if you want.”

  Priscilla whirled across the room to hug me. “Sarah, you’re the best! I’ll be so good.”

  “You better be,” I said. “This was Rita’s idea. If you embarrass her or me in front of all my friends, you’re busted for life.”

  “I won’t embarrass you. I swear.”

  “If you do, you’re the one who’ll be doing knuckle push-ups,” B.J. told her. “And I won’t let Sarah rescue you. Nobody ever saved the little kids in the youth center from me when I got mad.”

  Priscilla gave her the big-eyed innocent look, but when B.J. glared at her, the kid raced for her room to get a jacket.