This story takes place right at the end of Run Away Home!

Disclaimer: The Phantom Stallion world belongs to Terri Farley

Excerpt from Phantom Stallion: Run Away Home

New Year's Eve festivities were in full swing… Sam was watching Jen and Ryan wander towards the barn when Jake walked toward her carrying two plates.

"I rescued the last piece for you," Jake said, handing Sam a slice of cherry pie.

"My hero," Sam sighed.

Of course she was joking, but Jake sounded kind of serious when he said, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

Serious, but this time nothing was going to stop her from eating her pie.

"What?" Sam asked as soon as she'd swallowed the first bite.

"Did you tell your horse good-bye?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, but he didn't dance in my honour or anything," she said. Then, seeing Jake's shocked expression, she said, "I didn't tell you about the valley!"

And then she did, and Jake rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Guess I got what I deserved, because I didn't tell you about Kit."

"What about him?" Sam asked.

"He's had enough of these parts," Jake said with faked indifference. "He's gonna help his friend Pani run a ranch in Hawaii."

"Hawaii!" Sam shouted, but her disbelief must have surprised him, because even when Kit yelled Jake's name from the other side of the bonfire, Jake kept staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

Drawing a breath so deep his chest swelled with it, Jake took Sam's hand in his.

She stopped breathing for a second and saw Jake raise his eyebrows as if asking permission.

"Walk over there with me?" he asked.

This time Sam was the one who was speechless but she squeezed Jake's hand and walked with him.

"Wyatt—look!" Brynna exclaimed. "Over there," she said, pointing.

Wyatt's stern face turned to look across the bonfire in time to see Jake and Sam set down their finished pie plates and walk off away from the party. He failed to see what was so extraordinary about this until his wife nudged him impatiently.

"Their hands!"

He looked down at their hands and noticed with astonishment that his daughter's fingers were entwined with Jake's.

Seeing her husband's surprise, Brynna sighed with exasperation. "Please don't tell me you didn't see this coming."

Wyatt chuckled uncomfortably. His left hand went up to rub the back of his neck. "Well, I mean…I thought…maybe someday…eventually…"

Brynna smiled sweetly at him. "Young love," she breathed dreamily.

Wyatt put his arm around her waist and drew her against him, kissing her forehead. "I don't have know how I'm going to deal with this…" he trailed off as his mother came towards them, carrying little Cody.

From the smile on her face they knew she had seen Sam and Jake.

"Well, it's about time," was Gram's only reply to their questioning looks.

The three adults laughed as the baby stared wide-eyed out around him.

Jake and Sam walked along the outskirts of the bonfire in silence. Sam wished that Jake would say something—anything to help her understand exactly what he meant by this.

Unfortunately it seemed that Jake was perfectly content to be quiet. As if that was anything new.

While she waited for him to break the silence, Sam stared at their joined hands. Jake's large bronze hand made hers seem small and pale by comparison. The longer she looked the less her hand seemed to belong to her. Sam could feel her hand resting in Jake's warm palm but even with the evidence right before her eyes she was having trouble accepting that this was actually happening.

Heavy footsteps disturbed her thoughts. "Hey Jake! I was talkin' to you—" Kit broke off mid-sentence when he noticed their linked hands and his eyes widened slightly with interest.

Sam felt her face grow hot and her cheeks flush a deep scarlet under his stare. Her fingers squirmed in Jake's hand as she attempted to separate from him, but his grip was resolute.

"What about?" Jake asked as if nothing about the situation was out of the ordinary.

Kit's face had grown into a lopsided grin when he noticed Sam's embarrassment and then he shrugged. "Just wonderin' why you were telling Sam 'bout my plans. I haven't made an announcement yet and no one's s'posed to know." He paused and added, "Guess I know your reasons now."

Jake's face remained impassive, refusing to be provoked.

Finally Kit turned away and headed back towards the others, but not before one last glance at them. A chuckle escaped his mouth and he left, shaking his head.

An awkward moment passed between Sam and Jake as they both stood staring at the ground. Another minute passed and Sam glanced up at Jake. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. With a slight tug on her hand they began walking again, coming to a stop behind the barn where they could not be seen.

When they stopped Jake let go of her hand, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to talk to you before people started interferin'," he apologized.

"Talk to me about what?" Sam asked softly. She found herself glancing to the side when she said this, unable to meet his eyes. She had never talked to Jake in this kind of situation before and she didn't even have any previous experience to back up on. He was looking away too though, clearly just as shy.

"Talk to you about…about me…and you." Jake made a face. "I'm no good at this kinda thing."

Desperate to keep him talking for fear that he would forever close up again Sam encouraged, "You're doing fine."

Jake raised his eyebrows and Sam closed her mouth tightly. She had seen, just for a moment, the familiar expression of annoyance Jake got when she tried to act more mature than him. Clearly she would just have to let him get whatever he was going to say out in his own time.

"Well," he continued, "It's just that lately I've been thinkin' 'bout things," he drifted off again and this time Sam kept quiet. She knew Jake didn't talk much in general but he found it especially difficult to talk about feelings.

He glanced quickly up at her, his mustang eyes locking onto hers for a moment and looking away again. "My mom's been stressing the whole 'get ready for college' thing lately. It's got me thinking about the things I'm gonna have to leave behind, ya know? No more crazy stunts with you for one," he said, a slight smile on his lips as he talked down to his boots. "I've been thinking a lot 'bout all the close-calls you've had and all the times you could have died. Especially that scene with the avalanche. And I just couldn't stop wonderin' what I'd do with myself if you got sent away again or you weren't around anymore." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I know that I can't always be around to look out for you—and I know you don't always need me to be," he added hastily, sensing her protests. "It's just that I want you to be careful. I want..." Jake stopped, searching for words. "Lately you've been on my mind a whole lot," he said, finally looking at Sam and for a second her heart stopped. Did that mean what she thought it meant?

Sam was aware that she probably resembled a gaping fish as she stared, mouth slightly open, at her friend but she was unable to form a coherent reply for several moments. For one thing, she was astounded that Jake had been able to say so much all at once, and for another it took her several moments to decipher exactly what he had just said. It had sounded like a slightly more sentimental than usual lecture on safety right up until the last part. You've been on my mind a whole lot. There was alot to read in that sentence. Sam had always prided herself in being able to understand Jake despite his lack of vocal communication skills but this time she needed more details than one vague sentence could provide.

"Jake...what are you saying?" she finally managed and cringed at how lame that sounded.

Jake gave her a frustrated look. "Brat..." and then Sam knew she wasn't misreading him. Jake Ely liked her! Like-liked her!

And how did Sam feel? In seconds, though it felt like much longer, Sam had flashbacks to every moment she had ever noticed that her male best friend was attractive; to every time she felt jealous at the attention he received from other girls; every moment Jake had done something especially thoughtful for her; and every moment she had dismissed the fleeting fluttery emotions that arose from those moments.

She looked up to find him watching her cautiously. "Jake," she said softly, raising her hand to touch his cheek. He tensed at her touch, as surprised by the action as she was. Sam didn't think she had ever touched Jake's face before. She traced the edge of his jaw timidly. It was a smooth as her dad's was after a shave. She dropped her hand back down to her side, flushing. Abruptly Jake took both her hands into his again and held them between the both of them.

"I've always felt some kinda possession over you," he admitted. "I never liked it when you liked other guys or when they showed interest in you. Not really 'cause I wanted you for myself but 'cause no one was allowed to have you at all." He looked at her seriously for a moment and then smiled teasingly, "But now I think I may just want you for myself."

Sam knew that was as close to a declaration of feelings as she was going to get and couldn't help but smile back. "I wouldn't mind that," she told him truthfully.

Jake smiled at this. "Good."

"So what exactly does this mean—" Sam was interrupted when Jen came running towards them, her pale blonde hair flying wildly behind her.

"Sam!" she exclaimed, grabbing her friend's shoulders. "Quinn and Nate are playing the guitar and fiddle and people are dancing. Come on, it'll be fun!" She seemed totally oblivious to the scene she had just walked in on.

"Okay, just give me a second," Sam said.

"Saaam…" Jen whined. When Sam only continued to look at her, she sighed. "Fine. You have literally five seconds to get over there before I come back and drag you."

Sam nodded and when Jen left she turned back to Jake regretfully.

"S'ok," he said. "Let's go." He didn't look mad and so Sam happily followed after him.

When they got back to the bonfire the dancing was in full swing. Jen yanked Sam away from Jake and they whirled around giddily until they were dizzy. It seemed like hours later before the music grew soft and slow and people began to pair up with their significant others.

"Jen—dance with me?" asked Ryan in his clipped British accent even as he reached for her hand.

Jen blushed but happily accepted the invitation and allowed herself to be pulled towards him. Not even a moment later Sam saw Jake walking slowly up to her. She could see the delighted faces of his brothers' behind him and guessed that they had put him up to asking her to dance. She didn't mind that he was reluctant to do so, she didn't think she had ever seen Jake dance before. Not even at her dad and Brynna's wedding.

"You wanna—?" Jake asked, gesturing towards the dancers.

"Sure," Sam said smiling as she stepped closer to him. As their physical contact had been very limited as just friends, Sam wasn't sure where the boundary lay now that they were…whatever they were. Jake put both his hands on her waist and Sam tried to reach up and rest her own hands on his shoulders. It was very awkward as Jake was so much taller than she was and so she let her hands slip down to rest on his chest.

Gradually as they became less self-conscious, they became less tense and Sam felt brave enough to rest her head on Jake's chest. She found she liked the feeling. Alot.

She could see Jen's face from out of the corner of her eye and grinned at her friend. Jen quickly smiled back and mouthed the words, 'This is so awesome!' to Sam. Sam smiled in agreement before focusing her attention back to Jake.

His face glowed brilliantly with the light from the fire and his high cheekbones left dark shadows etched on his face. He glanced down at her as though sensing her observations and she saw his brown mustang eyes aglow, reflecting the flames of the fire. They didn't say anything but they didn't need to. Except for the twang of the guitar and the hushed murmurs of the dancers and those standing by the fire talking it was quiet. Even the ranch animals seemed lulled by the fire and the music, and only the occasional nicker was heard from the horses.

Sam wasn't sure how much time had passed but before long the fire was burning low and Gram had gone to put Cody to sleep.

"Boys," Mrs. Ely called. "It's getting late, we should get headed home."

With a deep sigh Sam stepped back from Jake just as he let go of her. He looked down at her for a long moment and then turned to his mom. "Give us one sec."

Mrs. Ely looked like she was going to argue but then she nodded. Sam thought she noticed a hint of a concealed smile on her history teacher's face, but she wasn't sure.

Sam waved a quick good bye to Jen but her friend was paying closer attention to something Ryan was saying and only nodded distractedly. Making polite goodbyes as she went, Sam followed Jake into the shadows of the barn wall, wondering what he could possibly have to say now. Jake made no indication of speaking after a minute and so Sam sighed, and said, "Tonight has been different."

Jake gave her his lazy tomcat smile. "Yeah," he agreed. There was something in his voice that made Sam tilt her head up, wishing she could see his eyes through the darkness. Jake reached out to cup her face in his hands and leaned forward to brush his lips across hers softly. He stayed close to her, lingering, and then whispered "Goodnight, Sam," in a voice lower than she had ever heard it. Sam trembled at the feel of his lips moving against her ear. Then he turned and walked away, leaving her with all her shivering delight.

She stood slouching against the barn wall, her heart racing and her fingers pressed tightly against her mouth. The brief but lingering flavour of mint and pie and the scent of the fresh outdoors and something subtley spicy remained with her.

Sam started walking towards the house and saw that everyone had left. Surprised, she wondered how long she had been standing there. And then suddenly it came to her, "Jake just kissed me!" she exclaimed aloud. Her first kiss.

Faintly she could hear girlish laughter coming from the kitchen and guessed that Brynna was waiting for her to come in and had heard her announcement. She stepped onto the porch and just before she opened the door and walked in she sighed. Jake.