"Which horse do you have you eye on?" Ted asked.

Maya pointed to a black stallion. "That one."

Ted looked hesitant.

"What? Is he dangerous?"

"She only lets Uncle Brian ride him. I was thrown off him a couple times."

She snickered behind her hand. She could just imagine him riding the horse and being thrown to the ground. Then she suddenly realized what he had said. She looked at him. "She?" Maya raised an eyebrow.

He nods. "Yeah, it's a she."

"So." She shrugs. "I'm gonna ride her no matter what."

"Even if you die tryin'?" he joked.

"Yep."

She looked serious, but Ted knew better.

Logan grinned at Declan's 'game talk'. "Alright, let's do this. You guys can have the ball first," he said, and then motioned for Peter to pass the ball to him. "I'll check it."

Emmy turned to Jen as she sat beside her. She was caught off guard by her question, but nodded. "Yes. You're lucky. And he has a really nice personality too."

Jen laughed. "Yeah. He can be pretty funny, too."
~
Peter passed the ball as quick as possible to Logan, determined to win.

Logan quickly checked the ball by passing it back to Peter, and the game began. Logan moved in to try and block Peter's possible pass to Brian. He could hear sneakers across the gym floor behind him as Brian and Declan moved around.

-------

Emmy nodded. The boys started playing now. "To tell you the truth," she said quietly to Jen, "I'm rooting for Peter and Brian... I'd like to see my brother lose." She grinned, "He's a bit too cocky."

Jen giggled adn whispered. "I don't know how he and Peter got to be friends. Peter is too insecure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter dribbled the ball, turnign to get the ball away from Logan adn snuck passed to Brian.

Peter slipped past Logan and dribbled down the court toward Brian. Logan guessed that Declan was probably doing his best to cover Brian, so without delaying Logan headed to the net to cut off any possible shots. He swiped his hair away from his eyes as he ran.

-------

"What do you mean by insecure?" Emmy asked.

Peter quickly passed the ball to Brian, the ball soaring over Declan.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jen answered, "At our middle school, these kids bullied him constantly and made him feel bad about himself."

Ted saddled the horse she wanted to ride.

Maya walked over to where Ted was finishing the horse she was riding. "Ain't you comin'?"

"Course. You don't know how to ride yet, and I need to exercise Swift." Swift was a chestnut quarter horse.

"Oh, so ya name horses. What's this horse's name?"

"Double Trouble," he said without hesitation.

"Nice name," she commented.

He helped her into the saddle and showed her how to hold the reins, western style.

She gripped the reins in her right hand and held her other hand out, away from her body. Not high in the air like a rodeo rider, but as if she held a rifle.

She looked like she had ridden before. She knew how to hold herself in the saddle; how to brace her feet in the stirrups; how to hold the reins the right way. He watched her kick Double Trouble and she exclaimed; he wasn't walking but trotting. She pulled him into a walk like an expert. Ted shook his head. If she didn't know how to ride before now, she was definitely born a rider.

Once riding a few minutes in a walk, Maya kicked Double Trouble into a trot. It was quiet bouncy. She trotted over to where Ted was still standing, watching her.
"Is it more bouncier in a canter?"

"Well, only if your a bad rider." He knew she was going to try cantering, but if she was, he couldn't stop her. He'd already saddled Swift. He swung into the saddle, grabbed the reins, and kicked Swift into a canter.

"Okay, here we go," Maya muttered under her breath. She gripped the reins tighter and rapped her legs around Double Trouble's stomach; her calve muscles tensed. She kicked her horse into a canter and rode after Ted.

"Oh," Emmy said with a nod. "I -- I know what that's like." Once the words were out of her mouth, she wished she hadn't said them; the last thing she wanted was to talk about that subject. Her eyes fluttered downward, and she stared awkwardly at her pink converse tennis shoes, hoping the subject would pass without delving further into that topic.

Jen nodded. "So do I." She shuddered at the death threats she recieved last year. "He's really good at basketball, isn't he?"

As the days pasted into weeks, Maya became an expert rider. She only rode Double Trouble; she had formed a bond with him. Not only did her skills improve but their friendship progressed. She leaned to trust Ted little by little and he learned to be patient with her.

But when Ted found something that could possibly ruin their friendship, possibly make her leave, he hesitated to show her, until that fateful afternoon.

Ted walked over to where Maya was brushing Double Trouble down. The sun was high in the sky and they had just returned from their morning ride. He was reluctant to start. "Um..." He didn't know what to call her. She had lied to him about her name, what else had she lied about? "Maya?"

She swiveled around. He knew her name. How? How did he know? Who had told him?

When she didn't reply, Ted knew something was wrong. Why didn't she tell him? Why had she lied to him? "Maya, why didn't ya tell me?"

He looked hurt. Why? She didn't knew him messing up her life just when it had gotten better for her. "Okay. Ya know. I didn't want my dad to find me, even if he did want me back. Just leave it be. Please"

"M'kay."

"How'd ya find out?"

He held out her duffel bag. It was in ruins. Half of it was burnt. On the side of the bag was a tag that had her full name on it--Maya Brooklyn Armstrong. She turned back to the horse and started brushing hi again.

He walked away. He wasn't going to push and maybe lose her and her friendship. But that's not what he wanted-- he wanted more than just friendship.

Brian caught the ball, and sent it to the floor bouncing it along toward the far end of the court where Logan was standing in a defensive position. The hoop was far above his head, but if he jumped he could intercept the ball in flight and ruin Brian's chance of scoring. Grinding his teeth, Brian ran taking the ball up into his arms and hugging it tightly to his chest. As he approach he saw Logan their preparing to jump for the ball. Brian bent down reached out and jumped releasing the ball at the peak. He watched it as long as he could before tumbling back down to the court floor.Did Logan get it?!? he thought dearly hoping he hadn't. He wanted to try his best in front of Emmy. He glanced at the bleachers to where she sat, looking down. Is something wrong? he thought then jerked returning himself to the game and looking to see if Logan had gotten the ball.

**

Melisha shook her head "I can't take chances....sorry" she picked up the small towel which held some apples and a change of clothes. "Please promise me you won't tell anyone I was here?" she arched her eyes brows in worry, staring at him with intense eyes. "I know your intentions are good but no one must know." she felt slightly for her cell phone which she had taken in case. It was still in her pants pocket, tucked tightly in the folds of denim.

**

"I doubt that" Maralyn quietly whispered and caressed Sarah "I want to take her home Justin. She needs to go home" a small smile spread across her face "Home is where your heart is"

*
Abigal stared with wide eyes at the man clutching his side desperately. Her arm reached out to him, as tears poured down his cheeks. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze "Brandon....you....you..." she stuttered then looked away "Take me away from him Amanda....take me away!!!!"

*

Brandon felt a wave of familiarity wash over him as his sister Abigal recognized him. He took her hand for a minute and squeezed it tightly "Abby...your in a wheel-" he was cut off as she cried for her friend to take her away. He shook his head frantically and was restrained by the officer "No Abby don't....I know you don't know why I'm still alive but I am. Please don't deny me like every one else has before...I needed someone to run to. Please don't do this" he begged her ignoring the shooting pain in his ribs from the lodged bullet

Peter snatched the ball before Logan or Declan could get it. He was glad to have hair flowing back from his forehead, as he made a jump shot and scored into the hoop! "YES!"
He turned and noticed Jen trying to console Emmy. Still, there was no time to wonder what Brian was thinkign when he saw her. He had to check the ball. He lined up with Logan, checking the ball to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amanda turned to Abigal in shcok. "He's your brother?"
Then, she turned to the police. "You know what, I'm not going to press charges. Just take him to the hospital. He has a gunshot wound."
The policeman grabbed a fistful of the man's short, mid ear length hiar. "No, he's coming with us and this is going. We have been searching for him long enough."
Amanda asked, "Can't he at least say bye to his sister?"
The policeman shoved Brandon out the door. "If you decide you want to be his little girlfriend you can visit him in jail."
Amanda stared after the policeman, who was leading Brandon out. Huh?Then again he was kind of cute in a rugged sort of way. She shook her head, turning beack to her best friend. "I am so sorry. Are you okay?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin shrugged. "Why, I was reading full sentences by that age." There was a mischevious twinkle in his eye. "Okay, let's get us home." He looked at his daughter with a grin, "And no checking out the boys as we walk past the infant room, little missy. I will not have that. No, I won't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johnny said, "Uh, okay. Well, let me know if you change your mind."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the police car, the police started questioning Brandon. "Tell me how you got the wound."

A couple days after he had told Maya he knew about her real name, Ted accidentally slept in. When he woke up, his first thought was of his horse, Swift. Getting out of bed and dressed, he climbed downstairs. Walking to the kitchen, he found a piece of paper lying on the counter top. He opened it, and what he read shocked him.

Thanx for thu hoss lesins.
Brooklyn

At least she knew how to spell her name correctly. But why did she still deny that Maya was her real name? Everything was still a mystery to him. She had run from him because he had broken he trust unintentionally.She was gone, maybe forever and he felt like he was ripped in two.

Logan could feel the heat rising in his body, although he wasn't sweating yet; not this early in the game. He was slightly dissapointed that Peter and Brian had already scored, but he didn't let it get to him. He grinned and swished his hair with a jerk of his head as he checked the ball with Peter. "Good shot," he said. "Now it's our turn." He faked the the left quickly, but then spun, bouncing the ball once between his legs as he turned around to the right, and passed the ball quickly to Declan. The move between the legs was mostly to show off, of course, but that was all part of the game for Logan. He just hoped the pass would be completed without interference.

-------

Emmy was glad the subject had changed, but her mood was still darkened by thinking of it at all. Jen remarked about Peter being good at basketball. Emmy shrugged, "Yeah, I guess... I don't know much about sports."