Free Trouble With Liberty by Kristen Butcher Page A

him and went to step down. But there was nowhere to step down to! My little patch of ground had disappeared. It hadn’t actually gone anywhere, but there was someone else standing on it. From the way that someone wasn’t making the slightest attempt to give me any room, I wondered if I’d had help losing my balance.
    My glare was wasted on the top of the girl’s head. But her appearance wasn’t wasted on me. She looked like she’d walked straight out of a fashion magazine — long blonde hair, tanned skin and white designer jeans.
    â€œExcuse me,” I said, dropping down to earth so deliberately that the girl had no choice but to squeeze closer to the person on her other side. It didn’t help. I landed on her foot anyway. I glanced down at the dirty imprint of my runner on what seconds before had been a snowy white canvas shoe.
    The girl spun around.
    â€œOh. Sorry,” I cooed. I wished I’d worn my cowboy boots.
    For a split second the girl’s eyes flashed and Isteeled myself for a fight, but just as quickly her expression softened and she smiled. She didn’t even look down at her shoe.
    â€œIt’s my fault,” she said. “I didn’t realize anyone was standing here.” Then she turned her smile on the person beside her, and everyone skooched down to make more room.
    Since I’m five foot five, it’s hard to believe she hadn’t seen me standing on the fence. And unless she thought I was nailed up there, she had to have known the ground below was mine. But I wasn’t looking for an argument, and the loudspeaker guy had announced Cody, so I just shrugged and looked back into the corral.
    That doesn’t mean I forgot she was there. I was too curious for that. For one thing, the girl looked to be about my age, yet I’d never seen her before. For another thing, the whole time I was cheering Cody on, I could feel her watching me.
    â€œWay to go, Cody!” I yelled when he’d finished. He hadn’t beaten Caruthers’ time, but he was sitting second. He looked over and waved.
    â€œYour boyfriend?” the girl said, trying to sound casual.
    She wasn’t fooling me for a second, and Ialmost laughed in her face. But then I’m used to girls drooling over my brother. Broad shoulders and a cowboy hat have a way of turning some girls’ brains to mush.
    I shook my head. “He’s my brother.”
    Those were the magic words. The girl’s body relaxed and I could almost see her claws retracting. “Oh,” she smiled. “He was really good.”
    I relaxed a little too. I stuck out my hand and said, “I’m Val MacQueen.”
    â€œLiberty Hayes.”
    â€œSo what brings you to Sutter’s Crossing?” I asked. “On vacation?”
    She shook her head. “Actually, I just moved here.”
    My interest perked up. “Really? What grade are you going into?”
    â€œTen.”
    â€œMe too. If you like, I can introduce you to the other kids.”
    She glanced meaningfully across the corral to where Cody was standing.
    I may not be the class brain, but I’m not an idiot either. I got the hint. I rolled my eyes and sighed, “
And
my brother.”

Chapter Two
    Liberty and I spent the last week of summer hanging out together. She didn’t know anyone else in town, and I was happy to have someone besides Cody to talk to. Sutter’s Crossing isn’t what you’d call a bustling metropolis. According to the welcome sign, the total population — not including the baby Mrs. Hooper is expecting next month — is 2,633. And hardly any of those people live in town. So school is pretty much the only place I see my friends, and since it wassummer vacation, I hadn’t had a whole lot of contact with anyone for ages. Except for Cody, and he doesn’t count.
    Well, not to me anyway. He seemed to make quite an impression on Liberty though. But as I said