Coral Johnson grumpily rolled over and risked a quick glance at the clock on her bedside cabinet. Then she blinked her eyes several times and tried again. She hadn't been imagining it – 2:30 am blared back at her, the bright green lights forcing the seventeen-year-old girl to look the other way rather abruptly. It was still in the middle of the night, so what had woken her up? Some moonlight filtered into her bedroom through the curtains, but most of the room was still shrouded in darkness.

Coral lay wide awake for several minutes, just staring toward the ceiling, wondering why she felt so uneasy all of a sudden. She usually preferred being at Saddlers Ranch; it was much better than living in town like her two best friends did. She'd had sleepovers at both Tilly Carpenter's and Lexie Howard's, but nothing was quite like being at home on her family's ranch, with the fresh open air and rugged landscape just outside her window.

The horses! Coral bolted upright, no longer able to relax. That's what that noise was!