Becky Mercer and Emie Morris hate each other. There's no getting around that. But when their trainer gets in a hospital that will leave him incapacitated for two months, the girls know that they must put aside their differences. Unfortunately, there...
Becky couldn't wait until the lessons started. Not only would it mean that she wouldn't have to speak to that country girl Emie, but she would also be able to show her how much better of a teacher she was. Becky's youngest students could already canter while Emie's would only trot and walk. Pathetic. Becky waited impatiently as a green Charger pulled its way into the driveway. Flip came from oil money, there was no doubt about it, and yet he still worked at the barn on weekends for pocket money.
Becky didn't understand it at all. If you already had more than enough cash, why bother working for more if she could just ask her papa for whatever she wanted? Becky flashed Flip a smile as he walked in, but continued to wait for her student to arrive. She needed to teach her student soon otherwise Emie would look like the better teacher! After another two minutes of waiting, a silver Hyundai pulled into the driveway and a thirteen-year-old jumped out excitedly. Becky urged the boy to run faster and held the door open for them. As usual, Hunter was as excited as ever to start his lessons.
Hunter was good as far as kids went. Sure, Becky was still a legal child—only by four months though!—but she still found children to be annoying, dirty, and disgusting. At least Hunter wasn't like that. They showed decent cleanliness and seemed to be genuinely engaged in Becky's lessons compared to the little brats that Emie dealt with. Hurrying in behind Hunter—who had already begun to brush Jax, the old gray gelding—Becky took a moment to prepare a short lesson plan. Most of her lesson she would figure out as she went along but with Hunter, Becky had to at least plan the first fifteen minutes because he learned so quickly.
Today was Monday, which meant that it was western that day. For most students, they cycled every other day between western-style and English, with the older students choosing to specialize in one or the other if they pleased. Hunter was only seven months away from their thirteenth birthday and said that he couldn't wait to continue learning western and trying out barrel racing. Hunter was one of the most dedicated students at the barn as far as Becky could tell. They seemed genuinely interested in both working with the horses and competing with them when he got older. It was nice to see.
Not that Becky cared of course, because this was just a stupid job for her. She didn't care about the horses. Well, she did if she was honest with herself, but she had to act like she didn't care so that her parents would let her work at the barn. They would never buy her a horse, no matter how much she asked her papa for one. It wasn't that they were too expensive—papa had admitted that much—but rather because they didn't seem to think that it was proper for a "girl of her class" to do such "common hobbies". They told her that she should focus more on hosting the country-club dinners with her step-mom or studying to take on the family business from her papa. It just wasn't fair!
Helping Hunter lift the heavy western saddle onto Jax's back, Becky found herself genuinely smiling and enjoying the moment. When Jax had been fitted with his bridle and breastplate, Becky followed behind Hunter as they led Jax down towards the arena. Becky made sure to remind Hunter to call out to warn the other horses that might have been in the arena before opening the door to let them in. It was a large arena; Olympic sized actually. Flip had frisked the sand for stones the night before so everything was set for that day's lessons. Becky held onto Jax's reins as Hunter got onto the mounting block, knowing that that day was to go smoothly and to the tee. Or, it should have, if it hadn't been for Hunter forgetting to check his girth before they mounted.
Before Becky could call out a warning, Hunter had grasped the leather saddle and pulled himself off the mounting block, only to have the saddle shift under their hands. Becky watched in horror as the saddle tilted and flipped downward, causing Hunter to fall directly on top of the mounting block, causing it to crack in half. Jax, terrified by the sound and the moving saddle tore off in a canter, tanking his reins from Becky's grasp. Looking over to the opposite side of the arena, Becky was aware of Emie trying her best to keep their student's horse under control, but to no avail. The horse continued to dance around, leaving Becky with no choice but to grab the child around the waist and pull him to the ground, letting the horse run free.
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