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make room for her on the narrow sidewalk and slipped off the edge, turning her ankle. She could walk in the grass beside Dallas, but that felt stupid. Jeri dropped behind them. Dallas glanced over his shoulder, moved to the grass himself, and motioned Jeri forward to walk in the middle. Her heart warmed as she moved between them. Rosa didn’t seem to care, though, as she chattered nonstop all the way to the barn.
    The next two hours was the most fun Jeri’d had in weeks. She could have watched Dallas trot and canter around the outdoor ring all night. He barely touched the saddle, not
thwumping
it repeatedly like some of the riders. Jeri noticed several girls studying Dallas on Nikki’s thoroughbred.
    As Jeri photographed Dallas, she couldn’t help wishing she’d worn a bigger pair of jeans. She had to stretch to take the photos, and every time she reached up to snap a picture, she felt a breeze on her bare stomach. At least Dallas was too busy to watch her.
    Jeri’s heart leapt as Dallas and Show Stopper sailed over one barrier and hedge after another. If she didn’t know better, she’d guess Dallas had been riding Show Stopper for years instead of an hour. Nikki could relax. Her horse was in good hands.
    Rosa climbed on the bottom fence board beside her and hung her arms over the top. “Getting some good pictures?”
    “I think so.” Jeri shaded her eyes against the setting sun.
    “Do you like Dallas?” Rosa asked. “I could help you get him.” She gave Jeri’s outfit a once-over. “It wouldn’t be that hard if you dressed like that every day.”
    “I don’t want to
get
him!” Jeri concentrated on taking more photos, glad for an excuse not to look at Rosa, but she felt the heat crawling up her neck.
    “Playing hard to get?” Rosa wrinkled her nose. “That’s not my style, but it might work on Dallas.”
    “Oh stop it, Rosa,” Jeri said. “Dallas is friends with me, like he is with every girl.”
    “It wouldn’t have to stay that way.” When Jeri didn’t respond, Rosa shrugged. “Suit yourself. See ya later.” Rosa wandered over to a group of girls.
    Jeri watched her go and then turned to take more pictures. Across the exercise ring, several small groups of people had lined up along the fence to watch. Jeri ignored them and kept taking pictures until Dallas finished the last exercise.
    Later, while Dallas brushed Show Stopper’s glistening coat, Jeri carried buckets of water to the stall. In the corner by the hay bag, she noticed a dark cloth and bent to get it. It was a blue bandana. “Is this yours?”
    “Nope.” Dallas pulled one from his back pocket. “Mine’s right here.”
    Jeri hung the dusty bandana over the stall door and then got an apple from the bucket that Sam, the stable hand, always left by the tack room.
    “Here.” She handed it to Dallas.
    “Thanks.” He glanced at her stomach, then away. “Show Stopper earned it.”
    “So did you!” Self-consciously, Jeri tugged her shirt
    down. “Nikki was so worried earlier today. Thank you for doing this.”
    Dallas grinned. “I enjoyed it. We can’t afford to board my horse at school, so this has been fun for me.”
    “I know Nikki’s grateful too.”
    Suddenly tongue-tied, she turned quickly and bent to brush dust from her jeans. She liked being Dallas’s friend, but she’d lied to Rosa earlier. She
didn’t
want to just be friends with him. But would a boy as nice as Dallas Chandler ever notice a girl as uncool as Jeri McKane?
    She let out a big sigh. Talk about wishful thinking.

4
danger, warning, caution
    Monday after school Nikki was waiting for Jeri when she got back to the dorm. Under her wild and uncombed hair, her face was a mottled red, but Jeri couldn’t tell if she was sick again—or mad.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked, hanging her jacket on the hall tree.
    “Your friend Dallas is a dumb cowboy!” she snapped. “Show Stopper’s sick today. Sam called from the horse barn.”
    “Sick?” Jeri