Chapter One Grace Ramirez burst through the door of the family room where her three sisters were watching TV It was the second day of summer vacation Everyone come out to the barn she ordered I have a surprise Can’t it wait her oldest sister Natalie asked We’re in the middle of my favorite show and this is the best part Natalie you’ve watched those Zombie High DVDs like a gazillion times You know what happens next Grace said Come on This’ll be the best thing you’ve ever seen Natalie groaned and clicked the channel changer to pause the show The TV set flickered This better be good It will be Grace promised She’d been outside kicking her soccer ball and thinking about the circus they’d been to the night before on the county fairgrounds It had given her a brilliant idea If that young girl in the circus could do it so could she And wouldn’t her sisters be stunned to see her do something so daring Emily her twin sister and loyal defender walked beside her with an excited expression Natalie appeared a bit bored and Abby followed at a distance When they got to the barn Grace led her pony Joker close to a stack of hay bales Here you hold him Em while I get ready Wait a minute Grace Natalie said You aren’t supposed to ride without a helmet
Grace sighed The girl in the circus hadn’t worn a helmet She had on a tiara But when Natalie handed Grace the helmet she put it on Emily took the pony’s lead rope and held him in place while Grace scrambled up the bales When Grace reached the top she announced And now for the greatest most daring death-defying show of all time Grace Ramirez will balance bareback on Joker Emily gasped at the same time as Natalie shouted No But Grace ignored them and tried to step onto Joker’s back with one foot ready to raise her other in the air like the bareback rider had done
But before Grace could get her balance Joker snorted and skittered sideways The world whirled around as Grace tumbled through the air and landed with a splat sprawled across the hay bales the wind knocked out of her Are you all right Emily asked Grace’s forearms stung her chest ached and she’d gotten a mouthful of hay from her face-plant She tilted her head sideways to spit out the hay but was too ashamed to lift her eyes and meet her sisters gazes Her helmet was askew and covered in hay At least her long blond hair had flopped over most of her face preventing them from seeing her flaming cheeks Instead of the applause Grace had been hoping for Abby snorted and Natalie broke into a belly laugh Even Emily joined in once she saw her sister was okay Grace slid down behind the hay bales and slunk out the barn door before any of them could notice the hot angry tears sliding down her cheeks Once she was outside she pounded across the paddock her sisters laughter ringing in her ears When she reached the far end she climbed the fence dropped to the other side and headed for a stand of trees Just before she reached the trees she veered to the right She had a better idea Miz Ida’s garden always calmed her when she was upset Behind her Emily yelled Grace wait Grace glanced over her shoulder Emily her blond ponytail bouncing kicked up dust as she dashed across the dry ground of their ranch Grace ignored her sister’s call and sprinted toward the road She
had to get away She couldn’t face any of them not even Emily not now Maybe not ever Grace Ramirez don’t you dare dash across that road Emily’s words cracked like a whip and Grace skidded to a stop A few seconds later a red pickup raced past at about eighty miles an hour Grace drew in a shuddery breath She could have been flattened Emily caught up to her Emily bent over hands on her knees her chest heaving in and out with quick harsh pants That was close Grace snorted You sound like a dog Better be careful or I’ll ask Abby what breed you are Their sister Abby loved dogs and had memorized every dog fact possible turning herself into a walking encyclopedia Instead of being upset Emily flashed her a good-natured smile I’m winded because I don’t play soccer like you do Yeah you sit around all day drawing or reading books The only outdoor activity Emily enjoyed was riding horses Most of the time Grace had to coax her sister to come outside and play If only she hadn’t convinced all her sisters to come out to the barn to see her trick Her cheeks heated again even thinking about it She’d made such a fool of herself She swiped her fists across her cheeks to wipe away the wetness She didn’t mind if Emily saw her cry because Emily was different No matter what Grace did her sister loved her and forgave her But her older sisters were different Natalie especially I just wanted to show
