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
Natalie I could do something she couldn’t do Grace burst out Whatever I try she can do it better That’s only because she’s older When you’re twelve like Natalie you’ll be able to do everything she does now You might even be able to do it better By then she’ll be fifteen so she’ll still be doing everything better than me Way better I’ll never catch up Emily smiled Why do you have to catch up Why don’t you let Natalie be the best Natalie she can be and you be the best Grace you can be In her heart Grace knew Emily was right but that didn’t take away the sting of everyone’s laughter Life was so easy for Emily She accepted people the way they were She always thought before she acted and never made embarrassing mistakes But everyone laughed at me Come on Grace If Natalie tried to stand on her horse and fell off onto a pile of hay wouldn’t you laugh I guess Grace said sullenly But Natalie wouldn’t do something like that Exactly Maybe if you didn’t try to show off Emily suggested her tone gentle I thought it would be easy The girl at the circus did it Emily leaned over and picked a few bits of loose hay from Grace’s hair I’m sure she practiced for a long time before she tried How long did you practice Grace hung her head and shuffled her feet in the dirt I didn’t practice at all she admitted I just had the idea and tried it
Those horses are specially trained too Of all our horses Joker is one of the most skittish You might have been badly hurt if you hadn’t landed on hay What were you thinking I-I wasn’t Grace stammered At least not about the dangers All she’d been thinking about was hearing everyone ooh and aah Her sister didn’t say a word only looked at Grace I know I know Grace waved a hand in the air Mom always tells me not to rush headlong into things but it’s hard when I get all these great ideas and I want to do them right away I understand Emily assured her You’re lucky to have so many fun ideas and you’re brave enough to try them I wish I could be more like that You do But I’m always getting into trouble Not always Sometimes you come up with the coolest plans I wish I had today Grace said Then everyone wouldn’t be laughing at me That reminded her of her destination Miz Ida’s garden Grace stomped along beside the split-rail fence separating their ranch from the road heading in the direction of her friend’s house Are we crossing here Emily asked when they’d walked the length of their yard and were directly across from Miz Ida’s ranch Um Em Grace hesitated to hurt her sister’s feelings after she’d been so kind and understanding It’s not that I don’t want your company it’s just that Emily held up a hand I know you like visiting Miz Ida alone I want to be sure you get across the street safely Grace was stung by her sister’s words I’m not a baby
