Terry choked back a grin and poked B.J. in the ribs. “So, how much are you paying me not to tell her that you were the one who saved the munchkins from their nightmares back at Evergreen?”

  “Shut up, Terry.”

  At intermission, Timber and I watched Priscilla run around the play area at the drive-in. “I appreciate you not losing it when she came along,” I said.

  “Why would I?” Timber leaned against the fence next to me. “It’s not like we’re on a date, or anything. I can’t do that before May 7th.”

  “Why not?” I teased. “Don’t you like me?”

  “Brat.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “If I was still a drunk, it wouldn’t matter. I’m an alcoholic. So, I go to meetings.”

  “I really respect you for that.” I snuggled close to him. “It takes a lot of courage to change.”

  “Yeah, but I only do it for a day at a time. When that gets too hard, I try for an hour or a minute. And I make it through without a drink. My sponsor says I’ve got to be sober for a year before I can start a new relationship, Sarah.”

  “Wow. And that’s May 7th?” I felt him tense. “So, we’ll date then. And if your year isn’t up yet, we’ll wait. Okay?”

  “You’re all right with that?” Timber asked. “I can’t promise to stay on the wagon. I’ve fallen off three times already. When I’m stressed to the max, I still turn to booze.”

  “I’d wait forever.” I rested my hands on his chest. “But, only as long as you go to meetings, Timber, and I’m going to need time to get my head straight after Jason.”

  “What about him?” Timber dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Are you two finished for good?”

  “Not quite. I promised to give him another chance, but I’m not going out with him anymore. After Homecoming, it’s over.” I bit my lip. “I know I sound like an idiot.”

  “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Timber tipped up my chin. “Jason has a hard act to follow. I know the guys have been rough on him. Maybe this will be a wake-up call for him. If you want to go back to him, it’s okay. It won’t drive me to a bar, Sarah.”

  “I’m not going backward. I’m moving forward with my life. We’re through. I just won’t add to his problems.” I took a deep breath. “I told him I’m dating other guys. I’m not his girl, not ever again.”

  “Good. I just wanted to be sure.” Timber bent his head and kissed me.

  The kiss was sweet. It was soft as his lips brushed over mine. It was gentle and oh so tender. It rocked me, and my world. It felt as if firecrackers had gone off inside me.

  Wow!

  The next day, I felt as if I floated through Grandma’s barns. I groomed and saddled Xanadu then I helped the beginners with their horses. I’d just finished Trigger’s hooves when Fiona stopped outside the stall.

  “I’ll take over here, Sarah. You need to go to the house and see your grandma.”

  Six-year-old Austin gave me a wide-eyed look. “Are you in trouble, Sarah?”

  “Nope.” I patted his shoulder. “I’ll be back to help you take Trigger to the corral. Grandma probably wants to know how I feel and if I think I can ride today.”

  “All right.” Austin offered me a gap-toothed grin. “I’ll wait for you.”

  “That’s a deal.” Leaving Rita’s stepbrother with Fiona, I headed off to Grandma’s log house. Inside, I found her talking to Helene. “Hi. What’s up? Is it finally my turn to say something?”

  “Don’t be rude,” Grandma told me. “Helene is just looking out for your best interests.”

  “I know. I know.” I pulled out a chair and sat down. This obviously would take a while, and I hoped I’d still be able to ride with my team. “Okay, let’s do it.”

  Helene smiled at me and pushed over a platter of store-bought chocolate chip cookies. “Want one?”

  I didn’t, but after a stern look from Grandma, I took one to be polite. Mine were better. The cookie tasted dry and nasty, and I tried not to choke. “Look, my mom and Bruce don’t abuse me. Can I go now?”

  “There’s all types of abuse, Sarah. I asked Bruce if he treats you the way he wants people to treat his daughter when she’s your age, and he said he doesn’t.”

  “Well, he should get points for honesty,” I said. “He’s trying harder.”

  I went through all the good things that happened over the last week, including Bruce driving us to Abbie’s party. He’d been nice to everyone the whole time they stayed at the house. He hadn’t said anything rude this morning when all of us left early for Mass with Grandaunt Liz and her husband, although Bruce wasn’t much for church. Maybe he was just happy that he wouldn’t have to provide breakfast for five teenage girls since we always went to the local café after the service. Then again, since my friends had basically used the place as a hotel last night, it made it easy for him, too, compared to one of Priscilla’s sleepovers.

  “I discussed boundaries with your mother,” Helene went on. “How are you two doing?”

  I reviewed the bedroom situation and the way Mom had set limits with Priscilla. It was all new and different, and I thought, temporary. After all, once Helene stopped snooping, everything would return to normal. I didn’t talk about Jason or the fact we were breaking up in less than a week. As Dad would say, she didn’t have a need to know.

  I left the house barely in time to make it to the drill field. Kaitlyn led Xanadu and her horse, Fancy, to the large corral and I hurried to meet her. I took my mare’s reins. “You’re the best.”

  “Hey, us cheerleaders stick together. What did your grandma want?”

  “I had to talk to Helene about the stuff that goes on with Mom and Bruce,” I said. “She’s investigating them because she thinks I’m abused.”

  “Well, maybe she could keep them on the hot seat until we go to college,” Kaitlyn said. “Then you’d be able to have a life.”

  The idea made me giggle. I could just see Mom’s face if she had to deal with Helene for another three years. Of course, it wouldn’t be all bad. We might have trained Bruce so he was totally human by the time I moved out after I graduated.

  We did our usual routine of stops, starts, circles and balance work before we started riding on the rail. Drilling on horseback had some of the old military maneuvers that the cavalry did a long time ago. We did patterns to country music or classic rock because the horses didn’t like rap or hip-hop.

  Fiona switched on the music. Ghost Riders in the Sky and Johnny Cash’s voice filled the air. I signaled Xanadu for a steady jog, a collected twelve-inch step that was barely a shuffle, and we led the eighteen riders through the single-file pattern. I glanced over at the audience of parents and my heart leapfrogged when I saw Timber. He waved at me, and I knew it would be a glorious afternoon.

  Timber hung out with me the rest of the day. We sent Dallas to keep Gabe out of the way while we decorated what everybody called the lunch-room and Grandma called the Party Barn. We used blue and silver crepe streamers and balloons because they were the farm colors and Fiona had told us that using the academy ones wouldn’t work. She and Grandma had gone in together on Gabe’s favorite chocolate cake from the town bakery.

  B.J. had told us that this would be his first store-bought cake, and it went over big-time with him. If Gabe hadn’t been so macho, I think he’d have cried when he saw his name on it. It made points with B.J. when Timber gave Gabe a set of hoof-trimming tools at the party. And Grandma was impressed when Timber jumped in to help with chores, taking out the muck buckets so she wouldn’t have that chore staring her in the face.

  Timber drove me home and kissed me again. It was everything I’d dreamed a kiss could be. Why had I wasted so much time with Jason? I should have listened when B.J. told me that he was a loser last summer. Choosing hot and romantic hadn’t worked. Nice and Timber were so much better, especially when he kissed me!

  TWENTY-ONE

  On Monday, I still felt special. I liked Timber, and he liked me. Life worked when I let it. After English, I headed for my locker to drop off my Lit book. I had five minutes to get to Spanish class and Doctor Fernandez didn’t handle tardy students well.

  “I know about you.” Jason waited in the hall by my locker. “You whore.”

  “What are you talking about?” I tried to dial the combination, but my fingers shook. “We’re finished, remember?”

  “You lying little bitch. You said you’d give me another chance. Then you spent all weekend with Watkins. I heard about you necking at the drive-in.” Jason grabbed for me.

  I sidestepped to avoid him. “Yeah, well, your informants should have told you Warren, Vonnie, Rita, Luis and Priscilla were there too along with half the cheer squad. Do you have even half a brain?”

  “Everybody’s laughing at me.” This time, Jason’s fingers bit into my shoulder. “You told them your stepdad made me apologize to his dog.”

  “No, I didn’t.” I’d bet Warren and Vonnie had, though. They’d laughed their butts off at the movie over it. Priscilla would have been sure to tell the kids at the elementary. “Why don’t you joke about it, too? Don’t you have a sense of humor, Jason?”

  Wrong question. He gripped the front of my shirt and sweater. “Then, you took Watkins with you to your grandmothers’ when you didn’t want me there on Sunday.”

  “He was fun,” I retorted. “Not a spoiled brat. My grandmother likes him. So do her customers.” Why oh why did I open my big mouth?

  The bell rang and the Sophomore locker bay emptied. Jason lifted me off my feet with one hand. He slammed me against my locker.

  Once. Twice. Three times. Then he dropped me.

  I threw out my right arm. I tried to catch myself. I fell, landed hard on the floor. I felt more than heard my shoulder pop.

  I lay at his feet. Jason sneered at me. He stalked away.

  The back of my head felt split apart. My shoulder hurt, throbbed. Would my whole body disintegrate? I took a deep breath, grateful he hadn’t kicked me in the ribs. Why did I think something so horrible? I didn’t know.

  I staggered to my feet. I reeled out of the locker area toward the girls’ bathroom at the end of the hall. Had anyone seen? No. The school board hadn’t finished having the security cameras installed in the locker bays. Ours was next on the list as soon as they finished the ones for the juniors.

  It was the end of the five-minute break between classes. I’d miss Spanish. Doctor Fernandez would be majorly pissed. I touched the back of my head. My fingers came away bloody. I grimaced. What was I going to do? Some of this had to be because of the football game last Friday, and the way Silverton hammered the Highlanders. That wasn’t my fault.

  I’d be lucky if I made it to, let alone through cheer practice today. I didn’t dare lower my right arm. I cradled it across my stomach. My vision blurred. But I was safe in the bathroom.

  Flickers of light danced behind my eyes. I wanted to go home. I couldn’t right now. Was I going to pass out? I made it into the closest stall before I hurled.

  Afterward, I hunched against the bathroom wall. Finally, I made it to my feet and stumbled to the sink. I rinsed my mouth. I checked my head. It had stopped bleeding. If I skipped the rest of his class, Doctor Fernandez would notify the office.

  I’d only missed half the period. I went back to my locker, got my book, and headed down the hall to class. I eased into the room. Doctor Fernandez saw me but didn’t stop his lecture in Spanish on the past-tense forms of verbs.

  Students scribbled notes and tried to keep up with what he said. He was prepping us for college and said wasted time was a crime, so he started teaching when the bell rang at the beginning of the period and continued until the end of the class each day.

  I didn’t even try to translate the words. I just slumped in my chair and waited for the bell. When everyone streamed out of the room, Doctor Fernandez came over to me.

  “Sarah, are you all right? Do you need a pass to go to the nurse?”

  I knew I should get up and leave, go to my next class. It hurt too bad to move. Doctor Fernandez went over to his desk and did something on the computer. Then he made some phone calls. He came back toward me. “Your aunt’s on the way.”

  I bit my lip. A tear leaked down my cheek. “What about my mom?”

  “She’s busy at work, Sarah.” He picked up my backpack. “That’s why she told me to call your aunt. Come on. I’ll take you to the office and you can wait for her there. Your mom said she’d come as soon as she could.”

  I didn’t tell him that he didn’t have a clue about real life. Nothing and nobody came between Mom and Book City, especially me. There was no way she’d show up since she’d dumped me and my problems off on Aunt Cathy once again. Doctor Fernandez locked his room and took me to the elevator, which most of the students never got to use.

  Once in the office, he went off to talk to the headmaster, and I waited for Aunt Cathy. She would have to sign me out with the secretary, so there was no point in hanging outside. Aunt Cathy had on jeans and a sweatshirt when she showed up. I eyed her warily. “Don’t you have to work today?”

  Aunt Cathy scrawled her signature on the form the secretary handed her. “Jed told me to come take care of you and he’d handle surgery. Don’t worry about it, Sarah.” She picked up my backpack. “Let’s go.”

  I followed her to the clinic pickup and got into the passenger seat.

  She stood by my door and gave me a steady look. “Can you buckle your seat belt?”

  I reached for the seat belt with my left hand. It took three tries to grab it. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I felt it trickle down my face. Or was it tears?

  “What’s wrong, Sarah?” Aunt Cathy kept watching me. “My God. You got hurt, didn’t you?” She leaned across and fastened the seat belt for me. “What happened? Is there some nut running around beating up cheerleaders? Or are you a special case?”

  I didn’t answer for a moment. I couldn’t. Finally, I said, “I’m sorry.”

  “It isn’t your fault, honey.” She waited forever, it seemed, to calm down. Then she leaned in again and kissed my forehead. “Oh, Sarah, baby. I wish I could do something.”

  “It’s not your fault. I was stupid. I thought I could just stop being careless.”

  Aunt Cathy sighed. “Sarah, nobody has the right to put his hands on you without your permission. Your mom and I always agreed that nobody should hit a kid. No matter what the two of you did, I never spanked you or Warren when you were little and stayed with me. Bruce runs his mouth, but believe me, there are worse things a man, or a dad, can do.”

  Well, that was heavy duty and more than I ever expected her to admit. Before I could say anything, she shut my door and walked around the pickup to slide in behind the wheel. “Where am I taking you? Doctor Conway or the chiropractor?”

  “My shoulder hurts big-time,” I said. “I think Doctor Kyle is the better choice.”

  He wasn’t the only chiropractor in Pine Ridge; he was just the best. He saw me right away, although I didn’t have an appointment. He told me I’d partially dislocated my shoulder.

  While I sat on the stool, he had me lift and lower my right arm. He held my wrist, then braced my elbow. With a quick jerk, he put my shoulder back in place. The pain in my arm ended, just like that!

  Well, okay. It wasn’t totally gone, but I could bear the ache and the occasional twinge.

  Dr. Kyle opened the cupboard at the back of the room and took out a sling. He helped me put it on. “Don’t lift anything with your right hand tomorrow. You can go to school and cheer but take it slow. No fancy pyramid stunts at practice. Come see me after school on Friday and I’ll tell you what you can do at the Homecoming game. Remember to use lots of ice all week. What happened, Sarah?”

  I shrugged my left shoulder. “I got shoved against my locker between classes. No big deal.”

  Dr. Kyle shook his head. “No way, Sarah. A push or slight shove wouldn’t do that much damage. If you were picked up and thrown, yes. Who did it? Who hurt you?”

  When I didn’t answer, Doctor Kyle turned to Aunt Cathy who stood just inside the closed door. “Teenagers. If they don’t make you crazy, nothing will. What does the school tell you?”

  “Not much,” Aunt Cathy said. “It doesn’t matter that I have Adam’s power of attorney.” Color seeped back into her cheeks. “Today, they actually told me it must have happened at home. That Bruce or Warren pushes her around.”

  “Well, there’s an easy out.” Doctor Kyle turned back to me. “Honey, you’ve got to stand up to bullies. You have to tell somebody at the school who really does this.”

  “They’d never believe me,” I said. “Besides, it’s my fault. I screwed up.”

  “I believe you.” Doctor Kyle wrote some notes in my file. “Cathy, have the headmaster call me. If Sarah had dislocated her shoulder at home, this would have been much more serious. Her shoulder would have swollen to the point that she’d need medication and muscle relaxants before anyone touched it. She might even have needed surgery. I wouldn’t have been able to put it right back into place.”

  Aunt Cathy looked relieved. “Then, there’s proof it didn’t happen at home. Sarah says it doesn’t. Warren’s real protective. Bruce can be a jerk, but he steps up with his dogs and brings them to me right away when they need a vet.” She stopped to think and then gave me a long look. “Who hurt the puppy on Saturday, Sarah?”

  “What did Bruce tell you?” I asked.

  Another long silence while she stared at me. “You and I are going to have a serious talk, young lady.”

  “Good.” Doctor Kyle turned back to eye me. “You’re not talking to me about this, or your aunt, are you? Do you have any adult you feel you can trust, Sarah?”

  I hesitated. Then I reached into my pocket and pulled out the business card Dave had given me. “I could try talking to her. Dave says she’s cool.”

  Doctor Kyle reached for a pad of paper. “I’m going to refer you to see her. Cathy, have Doctor Conway check Sarah over. I want to know what he thinks about that bump on the back of her head. He may want X-Rays. Tell him to refer Sarah to Bernice Jefferson too. Then Adam’s insurance will cover therapy.”