#ps timeline

[other PS Timeline posts]

Book 5: Free Again

*I literally always think this book’s name is Blind Faith; it is Not*

Summary: Sam accidentally ends up volunteering to help Trudy Alan fence in her yard after her horses escape. She thinks Trudy is scary, but really she is just a lonely old lady. Very sad. Brynna is out of town and Norman White takes over at BLM for like….a week. In this timeframe he manages to find a ton of horses he wants to euthanize because they’re unadoptable. Only!!! They’re not because Sam convinces Trudy to adopt them. Take that, Norm. One of them is pregnant and gives birth to a blind filly, Faith. Faith escapes, and Sam and Jake track her down again in the middle of a snowstorm. Sam takes a picture for a Night Contest of Jake holding Faith--it’s really cute if we are all honest. 

Timeline: I...actually can’t find a month for this book. Book 4 was early October, so I would put it sometime late October/early November (but I still consider that fall and Sam mentions winter). It’s very cold though (obvs, the book ends in a snowstorm), and Sam talks about the “the harsh winter sunlight” (pg 90). 

Ages: Sam 13, Jake 16 (in this book, Terri says Jake is two-and-a-half years older than Sam, which is probably the Most True to our timeline) 

Notes:

In a scene that my friend and I often quoted growing up, Jake cuts off his cast. His mom is pissed and won’t talk to him. His dad says if he breaks it again, he’s on his own. His mom also will not speak to Luke. This is hilarious and a gem of a scene.

Darrell keeps calling Sam’s house and trying to talk to her at school.

Jake is Mad Jealous about this

Darrell just wants to give Sam a scoop on some hot shot football players making fake hall passes. Darrell is the “Bad Boy” but he wants to be Good. Sam makes him tell Mrs. Santos and he does (honestly tho….like why?) 

This kid’s name is Kris, Terri has a thing about all the traditionally C names starting with K apparently

In this book, Clara’s has the best chocolate upside down cake in the world; I’m pretty sure in others it is pineapple. Perhaps this is seasonal

Nate and Brian Ely make an appearance (they help Sam and Jake with the fences at Mrs. Allen’s). 

Jake also confronts Sam at school (it’s always fun seeing them interacting in a different element) and Sam calls him cranky (he Is). She also yells after him and Mrs. Ely doesn’t scold her for it though she overhears--Sam assumes this means Mrs. Ely knows her son can be irritating lol 

Tbh I’d probably buy a Mrs. Allen Venus Flytrap painting

Every time Sam goes to Mrs. Allen’s and Mrs. Allen feeds her microwave dinners, Sam gets...So Excited. She talks about the “cute little boxes” in this one like girl, girl, pls they’re Frozen and Sad my college kid soul is crying 

[other timeline posts]

Book 4: The Renegade --X Ambassadors plays softly in the background--

Summary: The Phantom has gone MIA and Sam is V. Concerned. Some rodeo lady Karla Starr has also been hanging around Linc Slocum. Surely, these two events are only a Coincidence. Also Sam gets kicked off the bus for Being Dumb, Rachel wants to be a Rodeo Queen™ because Ryan is now coming home at Christmas, Sam ends up trying to teach Rachel to ride because $$$$$ (this goes about as well as expected), and there’s A Lot of Rain.

Timeline: late September/early October. Jake’s birthday is supposed to be October 1, according to book 2, and that happens about halfway through this book (it’s a Thursday).

Ages: Sam is 13, Jake turns 16 (though he’s allegedly been 16 the past several books) (I’m really just gonna assume Terri rounds up).

Notes:

Rachel rides double with Jake and Sam is Mad Jealous about it

Jake breaks his leg! I don’t know why this is such a good scene to me but even when we see Jake get emotionally vulnerable (a la reliving The Accident in Book 1), we rarely (especially at this point so early in the series) see him vulnerable at all/see other people have to take care of him

She mentions that the Elys were all at the hospital by the time Wyatt left and I’m wondering if she means ALL or like did a brother or two stay at home, man the fort, not take up space in a car, etc. I’m just saying, there’s A Lot of them to crowd the hospital lol (also if Kit existed in this book, he’d be off rodeo’ing)

I’m on book 14 currently and Linc’s new Cronie of the Week is a man named Karl. I hope he and Karla are related somehow.

Rachel and Ryan’s stepfather is a baron (“or something”) which is a Really Fun Tidbit. I assume Linc just lets Rachel get away with more (or that she doesn’t get along with her mom) and that’s why she chose Nevada over London. It does seem like their mom might be slightly less Batshit than Luke but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Darrel!!!!

We actually get to finally interact with Darrell and he is a GEM

He’s very Disappointed Jake can’t go drag racing with them (when does Jake have time to do this in a normal week is my question)

ONLY wears baggy pants

Takes his bb cousin to the fair and definitely loses him

Sam doesn’t know what drag races are when Darrell mentions them and pictures Horse Pulling. Sweet child

Dallas is in this book a lot, and he is ALSO a gem. Between him and Gram we get a Good Healthy Dose of Old Western Folk Wisdom. Also Dallas totally caves to Sam and lets her talk her dad into letting them go stake out a rodeo.

Mrs. Ely asks Sam what she’s doing over the weekend after Jake breaks his leg because she thought Sam might want to come over and keep Jake company

Jen’s mom is named Lila in this book. She has a faint Texas accent.

Karla Starr kinda tries to flirt with Wyatt (it’s clearly a Business Tactic) and Sam wishes Brynna were there

this one got long and i want to be sorry but...i’m not. [previous tl posts]

Book 3: Dark Sunshine

Synopsis: (This is one of my very favorite books y’all are in for a Ride). Sam steals rescues a buckskin mare, Dark Sunshine, from rustlers (which I guess are different from wranglers as I have literally learned just now; I tried to google this and only got results for jeans--under different search parameters, I learned that rustling is theft and wrangling is being hired to handle an animal so mostly Not Legal vs Actually Legal). Also, Brynna starts HARP at River Bend Ranch, so Micki, a runaway 11/12 year old (her age changes but Sam calls a her a kid a lot as if Sam isn’t….13), and Popcorn, an abused mustang, are introduced. Micki sets the barn and bunkhouse on fire (don’t smoke, Kids, you’ll destroy property and also your larynx; I know because I just took a test on this it’s very Gross); Dark Sunshine runs away with the Phantom in the chaos. In the end, Sam and Jake catch Flick, the rustler (not Wrangler), who had made an appearance in Book 1 being equally Awful, Sam keeps Dark Sunshine, and everything turns out Okay for Mikki (yay!) (Also Sam learns to be a little more empathetic to People also) (People meaning Mikki) (And not just Horses) (it’s character growth okay!!). And Dark Sunshine and the Phantom are having a baby! Very exciting.

Timeline: September  (“Sam could have slept in on this September Saturday--pg 1); it’s just a few weeks after Book 2, but “just a few weeks/months” is a PS trend I notice to summarize previous events that does not...necessarily make timeline sense (here it does since it’s still early in the series)

Ages: Sam--13 (pg 80). Jake is 3 years older than Sam (16) (his birthday is in book 4 though).

Mikki on page 55 is 12 and then on page 84 is 11; I’ll stick with 11 because I think that’s what Terri wants her to be. 

Notes:

Seth shows up!!!!! The Ely boys are like the entire Volunteer Fire Department, and the only brother mentioned by name is Seth. Alas, we never, ever see Seth again. I used to call him the Missing Eli Brother, but then Terri came out with that novella so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That one time Slocum has known Luke Ely for at least two years and says to Sam something like “hey let Jake Ely’s dad--what’s his name??? Luke???--know!” Bruh.

This COULD be a way of introducing him to us but like Terri has never had a problem saying their names in the narrative.

Also Sam has just rescued Linc after he’s fallen off Champ whoopsiedaisy

WYATT KISSES BRYNNA AFTER THE FIRE

Sam is Not Pleased

Jake is embarrassed bc he thought his parents were having A Moment that Sam witnessed, which, tbh, was also a sweet moment

This is also the book where Jake mentions that he’s his mom’s baby!!! He is!!! He’s only 16 and he’s the youngest of her sons, he’s a baby!!!

This book is chock full of good Sake moments tbh

Sam hugs Jake after the fire

Darrel gives Sam an approving nod when she ambushes Jake at lunch (Darrel is 100% all about his bro Jake getting with Sam in literally every book we see him in so I Approve of Darrel) (even if he didn’t get EVEN COOLER in later books lmao)

“You only have to be 16 to get married in Reno.”

Context? What context?

(fine if you don’t remember it’s because she’s trying to tell Jake what she overheard one of the rustlers saying and then SURPRISE he’s right behind her so she has to make something up Fast)

Jake is PISSED about it it’s glorious

(Can Sam even pass for 16??)

That one time Jake had to throw a gun off a cliff because he was afraid he was gonna use it when Flick threatened Sam

When Jake tells Sam, even after he’s used up his personal word quota for a conversation, that he doesn’t want to see her get her heart broken if they have to put Sunny down

Sam doesn’t know what guns are; Flick mentions Dr. Winchester, and Sam thinks that means there’s a third person. Sweet child.

Sam also “Not All Men”’s Mikki

Flick bought Rachel Slocum a coffee and he got some hot goss from the neighborhood out of her but………..she’s like 15/16??? That’s a lil creepy

Flick is overall creepy

Also racist he hates Jake for being Shoshone

All-around not a good Dude

Linc has a Brahama-que; I don’t think there’s much more interesting beyond Sam and Jake bursting in to tell everyone about Flick. Also the name.

Brynna in a lacy sundress looking for her handcuffs though man she is a Good Character

Sam gives Mikki her horse-hair bracelet at the end of the book. This comes up later so noting it now.

Sam’s mom is the reason she likes the river--she used to go out when she was pregnant and couldn’t sleep to calm little bb in the womb Sam and then they took Sam out as a baby to settle her down too. A very sweet Wyatt-Sam moment--those sometimes get overlooked (at least by me) bc Sam is always in Trouble lol

I haven’t gotten to the second HARP book yet (it’s #13 I actually just started it), but Jake’s a lot better in this one than I remember him being in that one (meaning...not as Shy™) (there is only one kid this go ‘round and she’s 11/12 so maybe that helps)

here it is, the posts nobody asked for, but I warned y’all and here I am, actually doing it! I started with the first two books a couple years ago, taking notes, but I’ve gotten a bit more detailed later on. We’ll see how this develops!

Book 1: The Wild One

Synopsis: Sam returns home after two years away, the very next day they leave to move the cattle; Sam realizes the Phantom is Blackie and also she adopts Buddy. We meet Brynna at BLM, Flick brings the Phantom in, and BLM lets him go. 

Timeframe: Summer; school hasn’t started yet. 

Ages: Sam is 13, Jake is 16 (this is uh Questionable to me--and will be important in later books and also almost entirely why I started this timeline-- but the book says “he looked a lot older than sixteen” on pg 13). He also only has his learner’s permit (Wyatt lets Jake drive his truck to Willow Springs) at the start of the book, but by page 180 he tested for his license in Reno and passed. Also Pepper, if it matters, is a year older than Jake, so about 17. 

At the time of the accident, Sam had “barely turned eleven” (pg 4) and Jake was same age Sam is now (13) (pg 140). So they’re ~2-3 years apart. Blackie/the Phantom was 2, making him about 4 at the time of the book. 

It’s implied Linc Slocum has only been in Nevada about a year (Gram says “This time last year the closest he’d been to a cow was a T-Bone steak” (pg 47).

In this book Jake is the youngest of six brothers (this fluctuates throughout the series so I’m making note of it now). 

(The BLM has a worker that Sam calls Bale Thrower in this book, Bale Tosser in later books but his name is actually Hugh and I guess Sam just Forgets this later on)

Book 2: Mustang Moon

Synopsis: A hammer-head stallion is stealing domestic mares, and the Phantom is getting the blame. Sam starts school, meets Jen, starts school, and discovers her talent for photography. Also Linc Slocum buys a hotshot appaloosa filly (a two-year-old)  named Apache Hotspot, who gets stolen by Hammer. Sam clears the Phantom’s name through the Power of Photography and also wins some money.

Timeline: Two weeks after Book 1; it’s August (pg 9; Gram was fretting over a butterfly caught in a spider’s net--relatable--until a “hot August wind” blew it away; Sam also mentions the “late August sun” on page 89). Near the end, Sam mentions Jake has had his license about a month (pg 205). He gets his license near the end of book 1.

Ages: Jake is “sixteen, just over two years older” (pg 4). Also, his birthday is October 1st (pg 16) (I’m an October baby so this is inexplicably pleasing to me). I wondered in my notes if Terri had jumped the gun calling him 16 and that he was actually turning 16 in six weeks (pg 101), but in Book 7, he says flat-out “I’m 16” so he just...turns 16 again? Who knows

Sam is still 13 and “starting her first year of high school” (pg 29). Jen is a freshman with her.

Rachel is a sophomore (pg 170)

Notes/Fun Details:

In this book, Jake is the youngest of six brothers (as I said, this fluctuates so I’m noting it in every book).

Jake ropes Buddy so they can brand her.

Jen’s mom is named Lila. This is important because, at some point, I’m pretty sure  it changes.

This book has the delightful line delivered by some Superior Nerd Boy on Sams’ bus: “Yeah, like a ghost cares about mortal mares”

Another fun tidbit: Their parents don’t approve, but the Ely boys have a reputation for fighting (pg 110)

Sam calls after Jake while he and his brothers all pile into the truck and they all TEASE him and one imitates Sam calling his name in a high pitched voice WONDERFUL (also as a s/n one of Jake’s brothers speaks in this book, but none of them are named. This one is only identified because he injured his hand).

At this point, Brynna has given Wyatt her home phone number 😏

I sketched this work from my avatar, a bunny with the big bloody mouth.

During making this Gif work, I spent the most time on combining this bunny head.

Before I would try to track this bunny head by pen tool instead of layering it by simple shapes. Now I ‘d rather use ellipses, rounded rectangles to get the rough outline first. Mastering anchor point tool and direct selection tool is the key to…