Read Online The Challenger by Terri Farley - Free Book Online

pink pottery mug of pale coffee, then sat down across from her. Just then the heater came on, filling the kitchen with warmth.
    â€œYou didn’t have any pie last night,” Gram observed.
    Sam sipped, giving herself time to think. Why shouldn’t she tell Gram what had happened? She couldn’t come up with a single reason.
    â€œJen called me a city girl and told me to grow up.”
    â€œShe did?” Gram’s eyebrows rose. “Now, I wonder what made her do that.”
    â€œAm I?” Sam asked. “And aren’t I pretty mature for thirteen?”
    â€œI think you’re a grown-up thirteen,” Gram said. “But Jen’s more adult than you.” Gram raised one hand to stifle Sam’s protest. “She’s had to be, dear. It was very hard for that family when they lost the ranch.” Gram stirred her coffee, though she’d already drunk half of it. “I don’t think I’d be telling tales if I said that living under Linc Slocum’s thumb has caused problems in Jed and Lila’s marriage. On the other hand, Wyatt and I have protected you from everything we could.”
    â€œLike what?” Sam asked.
    â€œOh, money troubles, our little spats, conflicts between the cowboys…” Gram’s voice trailed off, then she met Sam’s eyes. “So, yes, I’d say Jen’s had to be more grown up.”
    Gram was distracted by sudden clucking outside. “Is Blaze bothering those hens? He hasn’t been himself since Jed brought those hounds over.”
    â€œI think Blaze is in the bunkhouse. I didn’t seehim.” Sam wished she had. Something was sniffing around the chicken coop, and Blaze would have flushed it out of hiding.
    Sam’s fork cut through the lattice crust of her pie. The first bite tasted so good, she didn’t want to ask about Jen’s “city girl” remark, but Gram hadn’t forgotten.
    â€œWhile I don’t think anyone’s justified in calling you a city girl, it’s not such a bad thing. I wish—” Gram gave a sigh, took off her wire-framed glasses, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I do so wish you could have seen your mother the first day she came to this ranch.”
    â€œ She was a city girl,” Sam said. “I know that.”
    â€œOh, she was. Her makeup was perfect and her hair curved just so. She had manicured nails, too. Louise was as citified as they come, but it was love at first sight when she set eyes on River Bend.
    â€œYour father met her in college, of course. He thought she just liked the idea of ranch life, so when he brought her out here, it was sort of a test.”
    â€œThat’s not very nice,” Sam said.
    â€œNot very,” Gram agreed. “But Wyatt had a hard time believing she was real.”
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    â€œWell, you might have noticed that ranch folks hide their feelings some. Happy, sad, or mad, we don’t make a scene.” Gram let her words sink in, as if she knew Sam had been thinking of this very thing.“But Louise…” Gram tsked her tongue, smiling. “That girl always wore her heart on her sleeve, and Wyatt just didn’t know what to make of it.”
    â€œBut she passed Dad’s test.”
    â€œLand, yes. They hadn’t even gotten out of his car when Wyatt’s old dog, Trixy, came streaking across the yard with a face full of porcupine quills.”
    â€œOh, no!” Sam couldn’t keep her hands from flying up to cover her nose and mouth. “Dogs have such tender noses, too.”
    Gram nodded. “Your father didn’t bother calling the vet. Not because he was cruel, mind you, but because it was the third time Trixy had pulled that stunt.”
    â€œAnd she got quills in her face every time?” Sam gasped in disbelief.
    Gram grimaced and nodded. “Even inside her mouth.”
    â€œWhy didn’t she