When I got to the horse show, Sam was riding in the Western Pleasure class. I’d never watched her in a real horse show before. She was dressed in chaps and a cowboy hat. I could have stared at her all day.

The horses walked, jogged, and loped. The judges were looking for a horse that seemed pleasurable to ride. That’s how the class got its name.

Webb walked up beside me and looked down at his shoes. “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

“You mean because of …”

“Yes, I, uh, don’t have a lot of experience, so maybe I didn’t do it exactly right.”

I scuffed my shoe in the dirt. Poor Webb had probably worried all night. “I’m the one who kissed you, remember? Maybe I didn’t do it right.”

Webb pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I thought it was magnificent.”

I shouldn’t have kissed him, but I wasn’t sure how to take it back. “I was late because I stopped by Reverend Walker’s office. It took longer than I thought it would.”

“Whew!” Webb blew out a big gust of air. “I’m glad to hear that.”

I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I didn’t want to be alone with him either, not even in a crowd. I scanned the bleachers for some of our classmates and saw red hair glistening in the sun. It was Phoebe! “Come on, Webb.”

We climbed the bleachers, and Phoebe scooted over to make room for us. She didn’t take her eyes off the horses, but patted her jacket pocket. “I brought some carrots for Penny,” she said.

Sam had asked me to do that, but I’d been so worried about kissing Webb that I’d forgotten. I was grateful Phoebe had turned out to be my friend. Not only for the carrots, but for making a date with Webb seem more like a normal day.

The announcer called the riders to the center of the ring. The three judges walked in front and in back of the horses, taking notes. One of them asked for Penny to back up. She took four steps backward, just like she was supposed to.

“I bet Sam’s gonna win,” Phoebe whispered.

I chewed on my thumbnail. If Sam won, maybe it would make up for basketball, at least a little bit.

The announcer awarded the white ribbon for fourth place.

Then the yellow one.

And the red one.

Sam had either won first place or nothing at all.

The announcer said, “And the blue ribbon goes to Miss Sam Johnson, riding Penelope’s Pleasure.”

Phoebe and I squealed and threw our arms around each other! I hadn’t been this proud of another person since … since Eric’s last baseball game.

“Don’t I get a hug?” Webb joked.

Phoebe was the one who hugged him.

After Sam collected her ribbon and posed for pictures, we headed for the horse trailers.

“Hey,” I called. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Sam said, but she didn’t smile or look happy to see me. My reporter’s antenna went up.

Phoebe stopped beside Penny and pulled a carrot out of her pocket. She wrapped her hand around it, the same way Sam had shown me. I had thought it was something special, something just between us. My grateful feelings toward Phoebe didn’t stop me from being jealous. Not one bit.

“Great job out there,” Webb said. “When is your next ride?”

“Egg and Spoon is in a couple of hours,” Sam said.

“That gives us time to stop by the community center,” Webb said. “See if Phoebe’s grammy won a ribbon for her cookies, and more important, if she brought extra cookies for the official Friends of Phoebe Club.”

Phoebe laughed. “She did bring extra cookies, and we can stop by the crochet display. I won a ribbon earlier this morning.”

“Y’all have fun,” Sam said. “I need to stay with Penny.”

It wasn’t like Sam to miss spending time with us, and her dad was close by. “Why can’t your dad watch Penny?”

Sam crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m the one who rides her. It’s my responsibility.”

“Oh.” Ribbit, ribbit.

Sam didn’t croak back. Why? She always answered me.

Phoebe led the way toward the community center. I turned and looked back at Sam. She was hugging Penny.

What was wrong? I needed to talk to Sam alone.