Dawn Runner by Terri Farley Read Free Book Online Page A

began.
    â€œYeah?” Jake asked.
    â€œOut of the Phantom’s herd,” Sam emphasized. “If she’s still with him. Do you know if she is?”
    â€œNaw,” Jake said.
    â€œSo, what do you think?” Sam asked.
    â€œDon’t know if I should shower first or eat. Food makes me sick when I first get in.”
    Sam lowered the phone from her ear and glared at it. Was Jake listening to what she’d been saying?
    â€œJake!” Sam would have started all over again if she hadn’t heard him snort with enjoyment at her irritation. “Look, can he do it without messing things up with the herd? Should I help him?”
    â€œYou want to?” Jake asked.
    â€œWhat do you mean, do I want to?” Sam sputtered.
    Jake stayed quiet, giving her no hint whether he meant did she want to hang around with Ryan, did she want to snatch Hotspot away from the Phantom, or any of a dozen other possibilities.
    â€œThere’s that thing they say—hey, give it!” Jakebroke off and Sam heard scuffling, male shouts about the last sports drink in the refrigerator, and finally she heard Jake gulping liquid like a thirsty horse.
    As she waited for him to finish, Sam realized her eyes were closed and she was gripping her forehead with one hand.
    â€œWhat thing?” she asked, at last.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œWhat thing do they say?” Sam repeated.
    â€œI don’t know, it’s something like ‘keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,’” Jake told her.
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    More wrestling sounds hid Jake’s response. Or maybe there wasn’t one.
    When she heard a hammering sound, Sam realized he’d dropped the phone. Then she heard Mrs. Ely calling everyone to the dinner table.
    Since it wasn’t very likely Jake had anything else to say, Sam hung up.
    Â 
    Sam loved Gram’s chicken salad and her English homework was easy, but she decided it wasn’t her day for good phone calls.
    She hadn’t heard from Pam, so Sam guessed she’d just have to ride over to Lost Canyon tomorrow. Maybe she’d go with Ryan, because she’d finally figured out what Jake’s puzzling comment had meant.
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Jakehad said. If she rode with Ryan, she could keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t locate the Phantom and decide he had to have him.
    It was weird calling Ryan, but the instant she finished washing the dishes, Sam did it.
    â€œSo you’ve considered the merits of my plan and you’ve decided to tell me where the Great One hides, right?” Ryan asked.
    He sounded entirely too smug, but Sam reminded herself she was doing this for the horses.
    â€œNot exactly,” Sam said. “I’ll ride with you when I can, though, and help you narrow your search.”
    And she would. Ryan’s map showed War Drum Flats, Lost Canyon, the area around Blind Faith Mustang Sanctuary, Snake’s Head Peak, Fishbait Springs, and Cowkiller Caldera. He already knew mustangs haunted those areas, but she could show him within yards, not miles, where the herd had been.
    Sam was congratulating herself on her own maturity when Ryan cut her off.
    â€œThanks for the lovely offer,” he began, and Sam could hear Ryan’s “however,” though he hadn’t said it.
    After all his begging was he going to turn her down?
    â€œAll I’m requesting is—how do I put this? An ‘X marks the spot.’” Ryan gave a low chuckle. “You know—like they have on treasure maps?”
    For a second, Sam wondered if Gram had left theoven on full blast, because it didn’t seem possible her face could turn this hot from anger.
    â€œSimply tell me the best place to look for the Phantom’s herd,” Ryan clarified. “I’ll be riding alone.”
    She couldn’t fight with Ryan right here and now, with Gram standing a few feet away,