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  Gram stopped the car just a few yards away, then gunned the engine.

  Brynna gave both horses pats before handing their reins back to Sam and Jake. Then she turned to Violette. She took a deep breath, released it, and Sam could tell Brynna was trying to backtrack and be nice.

  “Shall we go?” Brynna asked. She still sounded stiff, but she was making an effort.

  Violette wasn’t. While Brynna waited for her to get in, the actress stood outside the car with one hand on the roof. Cautiously, she peered inside.

  With the manicured index finger of her other hand, she pushed her sunglasses up her nose, then splayed that same small hand over her chest. She swallowed almost as if she felt a little sick, but she got into the car.

  Brynna gave a disbelieving laugh at Violette’s lack of gratitude. Then she looked back at Sam and threw her a kiss.

  As the Buick drove away Sam asked Jake, “What was that for, do you suppose?”

  “Compared to her,” Jake said, nodding after the car that carried Violette, “I guess you come off looking pretty good.”

  “That’s not very hard,” Sam said.

  Jake took his hat off and smacked it against his leg, getting rid of the dust clinging from their headlong gallop to Violette’s nonrescue.

  “Never thought you’d turn Ace over to an incompetent rider,” Jake snapped.

  “I didn’t,” Sam said, though guilt crashed down on her like an ocean wave. “And what makes you think—?”

  “We were just talkin’ about this,” he said, gesturing back toward the river. “You usually stand your ground. Why were you givin’ in to her? Because she’s rich and famous?”

  “No! I’m interested in the movies. I want to know more about how they make them, and how they train the horses and stuff,” Sam said, but Jake’s accusation hurt.

  She hadn’t done anything wrong. Still, she had been about to let Violette ride Ace, even though it made her uneasy. And she could learn more about movie horses from Inez.

  “Later,” Jake said, before she could decide what to say, but he didn’t turn Witch toward home. He rode right after Gram’s car, toward River Bend.

  The black Quarter Horse moved at an easy lope and Ace wanted to go after her, but Sam didn’t mount up. She stood staring after them, thinking.

  If Jake was mad at her and disgusted by Violette, why was he going where they were? It took Sam almost a minute to remember what Jake had told her down at the riverside. He’d promised his mom he’d take a look at Bayfire.

  Jake’s destination didn’t have a single, solitary thing to do with her.

  The first thing Sam heard when she reached home was Violette complaining. Maybe because she’d heard the voice on television, years ago, the whining sounded familiar.

  “Seriously,” Violette said, “what kind of godforsaken place doesn’t even have cell phone service?”

  Violette paced along the fenceline of the ten-acre pasture. No humans stood near her. As far as Sam could tell, the actress was talking to Popcorn, who plodded along listening from the other side of the fence.

  The albino mustang watched as Violette strode toward the chicken coop.

  “I must arrange for a lift out of here,” she muttered, “before I allow myself a visit with my sweet Bayfire.”

  “Could she be talking to the chickens?” Sam whispered in disbelief to Ace. As if he were pointing out that she was asking this question of a horse, Ace just continued toward the hitching rack.

  So did Violette, holding her phone at various angles, and now she was snarling under her breath.

  What should I say to her? Sam wondered, but then Gram appeared on the porch.

  “Would you care to come in and use our real phone, dear?” Gram asked.

  Once more, Violette looked faintly chagrined at Gram’s kindness.

  “Thanks,” she said, and followed Gram inside.

  Which personality was Violette’s real one? The warm-hearted animal lover or the cold-blooded snob?

  Sam swung down from the saddle and tossed her reins over the hitching rail, then followed the direction of Ace’s alert ears. Together they watched Inez brush Bayfire in the small pasture. The trainer rubbed the stallion’s already glossy coat with long, smooth strokes, massaging more than cleaning.

  Why hadn’t Inez come up to greet Violette? Surely she’d noticed her.

  Sam hooked her stirrup over her saddle horn and leaned down to loosen Ace’s cinch.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what,” she told her horse, “I’m staying out of the way until someone decides to include me.”

  She might go looking for Jake, though. If he thought she could be swayed by someone just because that someone was a movie star, he didn’t know her at all.

  “I was only being polite,” Sam explained to Ace. “That’s it. Really.”

  She took her time cooling out Ace and picking packed river mud from his hooves. Then she began brushing sweaty, loose hair from his coat.

  She was humming a country-western ballad to her horse, and had almost forgotten Violette when the actress came out of the kitchen and let the screen door slam behind her.

  That is so weird, Sam thought. Violette Lee just came out of my house. She’s walking this way. What should I say to her?

  It turned out Sam shouldn’t have worried. Violette passed close enough to let Ace sniff her hand, then kept walking toward Inez and Bayfire.

  “She could have said something to indicate she’d passed another human being, too,” Sam muttered to Ace. “But still, it is kind of cool that she’s here.”

  As Sam watched, Inez gave Bayfire a pat on the rump, sending him toward the box stall, then turned to talk with Violette. For a minute the actress just stared after the horse, but then she straightened and faced Inez.

  Sam couldn’t help eavesdropping.

  “Finally,” Violette said, giving a dramatic sigh, “someone’s coming out from the little encampment at Alkali to give me a ride back to the plane. When I flew over, it didn’t look like there was much there. In the town of Alkali, I mean. Just two buildings, and they count that as a town? You could say I’m doing them a favor, breaking the boredom.”

  “You could say that,” Inez answered, though her tone sounded as if she didn’t agree.

  Sam couldn’t imagine having someone drive twenty miles round trip from Alkali, just to save yourself a half-mile walk.

  As Violette went on, Sam noticed Inez just murmured in response. She must have discovered that was the safest way to deal with a temperamental star.

  “You know my agent doesn’t want me flying,” Violette boasted, “but he can’t stop me, so he wouldn’t let TriMax put it in my contract.” She waited, then gave an impatient shrug before adding, “That I couldn’t fly during the making of the movie.”

  Inez murmured again, and didn’t seem surprised when Violette followed her toward the open box stall.

  Holding her basket of grooming tools, Sam trailed a few feet behind them until Inez looked over her shoulder, smiled, then used her head to motion to Sam to catch up. Irritated by Inez’s attempt to include Sam, Violette grabbed the trainer’s arm and tugged her close to ask, “How’s Bayfire? He looked fine, but—”

  “He is fine, Violette, and I know why you’re here.”

  “It’s no secret,” Violette said. “We’ve finished most all the studio work on The Princess and the Pauper. As a gift to myself, I decided to fly out to visit you and my favorite horse in the world.”

  Even though Sam couldn’t see the actress’s face, she could imagine she’d be wide-eyed and a little hurt that Inez thought she had another motive.

  “That, of course,” Inez said, but then she threaded one finger through the end of her pony tail and twirled it like a girl. “But there’s one other thing.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Violette said, looking puzzled.

  “Honey, it’s not happening,” Inez said, kindly. “TriMax doesn’t want you doing your own horseback stunts. And that is
in your contract.

  “We’re out here in Nevada solely to do stunts,” Inez continued, “and we only have three days to get Bay ready and the scene shot. I don’t have time to fight you on this. You’re not riding Bayfire through his performance.” Inez sounded firm, but understanding.

  Violette gave a squeaky groan.

  “But you know what a good rider I am and how silly that is,” Violette insisted.

  “I do, but your contract is invalidated if you break that clause,” Inez said. “Your agent told me himself in the strongest possible terms. He said he’d see to it you never worked in another movie with me, if I allowed you to ride Bayfire in a stunt.”

  Violette rushed into the barn ahead of them. Sam caught her breath as the actress unlatched the stall and left the door standing open while she hugged the stallion.

  Bayfire stood quietly, accepting the embrace.

  Inez bent to retrieve the actress’s fallen sunglasses from the straw, then said, “I can’t let that happen, Violette. You two are such a good team.”

  Violette kept her face buried against the stallion’s mane as she answered Inez.

  “I’m in love with Bayfire, and the only time I get to be with him is when we’re making movies.” Then she looked up. “My agent is nuts,” she said with a sniff.

  When Inez showed no sign of changing her mind and left the barn, Violette crossed her arms and followed. “I don’t know why you won’t sell him to me.”

  “Because I love him, too,” Inez told her. “And he helps pay the bills.”

  “That’s so wrong,” Violette said. She pretended to pout, but Sam wasn’t sure if it was because Inez wouldn’t sell Bayfire or because Inez made her living from the horse.

  “How are Rudolph and Cupid?” Inez asked.

  “Getting old, but fine,” Violette said. “And don’t think you can change the subject and distract me. They’re nothing like Bayfire. Besides, I’m allowed to have two reindeer and still want a horse.”

  Chapter Seven

  Reindeer? Sam was about to ask how the actress had come to own two reindeer when Violette began smooching toward Bayfire.

  When Violette called his name, the stallion went to her.

  Did Violette just know how to summon the trick horse, or did Bayfire really like her? Sam couldn’t tell. The stallion stood quietly while she stroked and cooed to him, but his eyes didn’t leave Inez.

  At last, a tan SUV drove into the ranch yard.

  It must be Violette’s ride back to her plane, Sam decided as the actress gave Bayfire a final hug.

  Then, from the corner of her eye, Sam saw Inez bob her head as she had earlier today when she’d told the stallion he was all finished with his tricks.

  Could Inez have used a silent signal to call the horse to Violette, just to make the actress happy? Or was it a business ploy, used to let Violette think the stallion liked her?

  Violette tousled her hair with one hand and held out her other hand for her glasses. Once Inez returned them and she’d slipped them back on, Violette hurried toward the waiting SUV.

  Poised with one foot on the ground and the other inside the vehicle, Violette turned and waved as if a cheering public were seeing her off. Once Violette had closed herself inside the vehicle, Inez said, “She didn’t need to come here.”

  As the tan SUV drove away, Jake appeared from the tack room. Had he been there all along?

  “Can I check him over?” Jake asked Inez.

  “Sure,” the trainer said. Then, with a glance after the SUV, she added, “All of Vi’s work was shot in and around Hollywood, but she’s one of those actresses that falls in love with her costars. If they’re animals.”

  Inez and Sam watched Jake feel Bayfire’s front legs. He looked up, about to say something, and Inez interrupted.

  “I hope you won’t judge our entire industry by Violette.”

  “Of course not,” Sam said. “Besides…”

  Sam stopped talking when she felt Jake staring at her. Did he think she’d been about to make excuses for Violette? So what if she had?

  Jake gave a sarcastic snort, then looked surprised at himself.

  “Sorry,” he said. He stood slowly, trailing his hand over the stallion’s shoulder.

  “She really does care for Bayfire,” Inez admitted as Jake continued to examine the horse. “And it’s not unusual for actors to fall in love with the horses they ride and want to buy them. Directors and trainers discourage it, though,” she said with a sheepish smile, “partly because the actors end up wanting to do more riding than the script calls for. Even if they’re good riders, every minute on the horse puts them at risk. An injured actor can stall the entire production, and delays equal dollars.”

  Sam thought of all the makeup, camera, and props people employed to make a movie. They probably had to be paid, even if they were waiting around, so that they wouldn’t take another job and not be available when the actress recovered from her accident.

  And on television, you always saw microphones hanging overhead and cords snaking around. All that equipment had to be expensive, too. She could see why directors wanted to minimize risks.

  “Besides that, Violette has some issues,” Inez said bluntly. “I get along with her as well as anyone does, and even I worry about her emotional condition.”

  Violette was beginning to remind Sam of the HARP girls.

  With a final pat, Jake left the horse, then the stall, closing the gate behind him. After latching it, he sank his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat. When he finally talked, he sounded ashamed.

  “I didn’t mean anything by bein’…” He shrugged, and though he didn’t complete his apology, Sam guessed he was talking about his sarcastic snort. “I wasn’t so polite out there,” Jake said, nodding toward the range.

  “Don’t worry,” Inez said. “Violette’s got a thick hide. She doesn’t make a secret of her problems, either. Quite the contrary. I’m sure when she comes back, she’ll share the secrets of her difficult childhood.”

  “You really think she’ll come back?” Sam asked.

  Forget Jake. He could think what he liked about her.

  “Yes, even though I’ve asked her not to. Her curiosity won’t let her rest until she knows what’s going on with Bayfire,” Inez said.

  “You mean, what kind of stunt you’re going to do with him?” Sam suggested.

  “That,” Inez agreed, “and Violette’s sort of an animal activist, too.”

  “Mom mentioned her arrest,” Jake said.

  “Arrest?” Sam gasped. This was more and more like having a HARP girl on River Bend. The only difference was, this troubled girl made millions of dollars each year.

  In answer to Jake’s statement, Inez held up three fingers.

  “She’s been arrested three times?” Sam said, staring toward the range. Although she couldn’t see the small plane, she heard its engine snarl into action once more.

  “Three I know of,” Inez said, hinting there had been even more. “She broke into a pet shop and stole all the animals. And I mean all—puppies and kittens from dirty cages, guinea pigs that she thought were overcrowded, and feeder mice that were waiting to be fed to pet boa constrictors.”

  “I didn’t know,” Sam said. “It seems like I would have read about that.”

  “She didn’t go to jail or anything, because the judge was sympathetic. He ordered Violette to pay for damages to the building, but he also made it his business to see that the pet store owner was investigated and the owners fined for their violations.”

  Sam felt a grudging respect for Violette, which had nothing to do with her acting ability. She was kind of like an avenging angel for animals.

  “She also broke into a tropical fish store and ‘rescued’ some fish that had supposedly been injected with dye to make them more colorful,” Inez said.

  “Supposedly?” Jake asked.

  “A few had,” Inez said. “But hundreds died in transit to their new home and an innocent empl
oyee—who’d already reported the abuse—actually got a serious electrical shock when he slipped in the huge pool of water Violette and her helpers left behind. He fell on one of the damaged aquarium heaters.”

  “Who were her helpers?” Sam asked.

  “Teenage fans,” Inez said, grimacing.

  “Just goin’ along with her ’cause of who she is,” Jake put in, and Sam knew the remark was pointed at her.

  “Whatever the reason,” Inez said, “it meant she was charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors and that, plus the electrocution, didn’t make her look good when she pulled her last rescue.”

  “Guide dog for the blind,” Jake mumbled.

  At least, Sam thought he said that, but the image that created—of the actress dognapping a service animal—was impossible, wasn’t it?

  Sam faced Inez, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask for the truth.

  “Violette thought the dog’s owner was too bossy,” Inez said, raising her palms skyward.

  Too bossy, Sam thought. And this was the woman who’d ordered Sam to hand over her horse.

  As if talk of Violette’s problems had made her more able to face her own, Inez suddenly nodded toward Bayfire.

  “What do you think of my boy?” Inez asked Jake.

  “I’m no expert,” Jake began.

  “Don’t be modest,” Inez snapped. “Your mother said you’re a natural with horses and Brynna Olson—that would be your stepmother?” Inez asked Sam, and she nodded. “Seconded Maxine’s opinion.”

  Inez Garcia obviously didn’t like turning to kids for help, Sam thought. She must be pretty desperate.

  “He looks healthy,” Jake began.

  “Totally,” Inez agreed. “As I told Samantha, he’s been gone over by experts, and he still does everything I ask him to do, but he used to love it. He doesn’t anymore.”

  “Could he be bored?” Jake asked.

  “I don’t see how. The special effects, the different costumes and makeup for each movie…” Inez shrugged. “The work is ever-changing. That’s what attracts most of us to it. Bay faces new challenges in each performance. And he’s not showing signs of exhaustion, either.”