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Jack laughs quietly, and before I knohat I’, I reach out and touch his wrist, to show I support hihs Then I jerkives me the job or not

He takes off his hat to reveal disheveled blond hair that curls around his shirt collar We’re standing so close, I can see a red tint mixed in with the blond

"You’re easy to talk to," he says, turning his cowboy hat over in his tanned hands They’re strong and calloused, like they’ve hauled plenty of wheelbarrows His big blue eyes peek up at irl yells He shoves his hat back on as a younger girl who looks to be inup

She latches on to his elbow like a barnacle "I’ with you to Kentucky!"

"You can’t co an arm around her "Have you met Savannah yet? This is ht back to pestering her big brother "I want to be with Strawberry"

Jack looks at s to her, but Dad would say otherwise"

"I’ve been with Strawberry ever since she was a foal!" Shelby says "And I’ you should see," Jack says with a soft voice

"Come on! I’ve seen cows do it over at Whitfield Farms"

Jack’s face hardens "The Whitfields let you watch that?"

"Er, well, Trey and I watched one day His parents didn’t know--"

"I’ll be having a talk with Trey," Jack says, setting his hands on his hips

"No, don’t!" Shelby whines "My life would be over!"

Trey must be one of Rory’s brothers Jack whispers to me, "Shelby has a crush on him"

"I do not" She pounds Jack on the chest with her fist

"There’s no reason to get violent," Jack says "We all have crushes from time to time"

"Like your crush on Abby Winchester?" Shelby teases

"I don’t have a crush on Abby, okay? Shut up about that" Jack avoids my stare

"She’s sooo pretty," Shelby says to me "She told me that last year she won Fairest of the Fair in her county"

"Of course she did," I o with you and Strawberry, will you take ht, Jack?"

"I wish I could, sweetheart, but I already have plans" He suddenly focuses on his watch "I need to get going if I’onna make it back in time See you tomorrow, Savannah"

He walks aithout another word, leading Strawberry and his sister to the trailer But then he glances back at me, smiles, and waves I return the wave

Who does he have plans with tonight? Does he have a date? And more importantly, why do I care?

The Goodwin kids are not what I expected…I figured they’d spent all their ti

I open the door to Star’s stall and slowly approach the horse, to continue getting to know him "So, it’s just me and you…want to tell me why you buck your riders?" He lets out a little snort and nudges my hand then tries to chon on it

"Hey, now!" I shove his face away fro snotty, but I’d take horses over huive a damn if I have labels on h school--they definitely have their own social dyna who thinks he’s in charge Out in the pasture, horses bully each other around food and water; lead horses get their fill before others get a bite or a sip, and if a horse that’s low in the pecking order tries to butt in, he’ll get bitten or kicked And there’s always a trouble the fillies

Once Star has cal me with respect, I pet his ears and let him eat a treat out of my palm I want him to feel safe with me so he’ll let me ride him "Good boy Now, let’s see, what are you scared of? Raccoons, obviously Are you scared of fillies? What aboutslows and he falls asleep

The Colors Were So Real

Later on Saturday evening, Rory is driving rand tour

"We have three Shell gas stations, but each has a different nicknaet gas I always see somebody I know there Then there’s the Secret Shell, which no one notices, because it’s not on one of the hways And the last is called the Soviet Shell, because it’s usually out of gas and the snack shelves inside are always eh

"Franklin was named after the Benjamin Franklin," Rory says

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah He also discovered electricity and invented the carriage odometer and he’s on the hundred dollar bill"