“This is Nina. She’s a mustang, only a year old, and one of my gentlest horses here on the ranch. She’ll do you good for your first ride.”
I step closer to the stall and Nina lifts her head. “She’s beautiful,” I tell Clint, and he smiles with pride.
“And this here is Charlie, an Arabian,” he says, walking down a few feet to another stall.
I stay behind as Clint shows Asher his horse. Nina walks closer to me, and I hold out my shaky hand. I’ve never even touched a horse before, so I’m a little nervous. Her hot breath blows over my hand as she sniffs it. I almost squeak in excitement when she butts her head against it. I’m sure my smile is huge. I run my hand up her muzzle. Nina steps closer and puts her face right in front of mine. I nearly swoon when she lays her head against the side of mine. I think I’m in love with a horse. I touch her mane and am amazed at how thick it is.
I’m rubbing my hands up and down her neck, when I feel a hand at my back. I look over to find Asher smiling down at me. He lifts his own hand and runs it up the side of Nina’s head.
“You ready?” he asks.
“More than ready,” I answer, my smile still so big it’s hurting my face.
After the horses are led to a big open area of the barn, Clint saddles up Nina, while Asher saddles up Charlie, a gorgeous black and white horse. I watch Asher with shock on my face.
“What?” he asks when he sees my expression.
“It’s obvious you’ve done this before. Once again, you’ve shocked me, Mr. Knight.”
He laughs, the sound echoing off the walls of the barn and sending tingles down my spine.
“My mom had me take riding lessons as a kid,” he says, tightening up a strap underneath Charlie’s belly. “I still like to ride when I get the chance. Unfortunately, that’s not very often.”
“You’re just full of surprises,” I joke.
“You haven’t seen nothing yet, baby,” he responds with a wink.
I almost melt. I love when he calls me baby.
The horses are saddled up and Clint brings a step stool over to Nina. Asher walks up behind me and starts explaining how to climb up onto the saddle.
With his hands on my hips, he says, “You put your foot in the stirrup.” He points down to a leather strap, and I nod. “Grab onto the horn.” Again, he points. “And reach over Nina’s back to grab the other side of the saddle and heft yourself up and throw your other leg over.”
It doesn’t look too difficult. He kisses the back of my neck, before letting me go. I place one foot in the stirrup as he indicated, grab the horn, reach over the saddle to grab the leather and try to lift my body up, but fall right
back down. If it wasn’t for Asher catching me, I would have fallen on my butt. I didn’t expect the darn stirrup to move.
Asher chuckles behind me. I shoot him a glare over my shoulder.
“Need help?” he asks, placing his hands on my hips again, like he’s going to hoist me up.
“No,” I mutter. “I’m going to do this.”
He snickers again, but I ignore it. I breathe in deep through my nose and place my foot back in the stirrup—more securely this time—get a good grip on the horn, grab leather, and try again, making sure to use my leg muscles to keep the stirrup in place. I make it this time, barely, but I’m sure I probably looked like an idiot.
I smile down at Asher triumphantly once I’m seated on the horse. I feel so proud of myself. Asher laughs and walks over to Charlie and easily lifts himself up. I scowl at him.
“Okay,” he says, walking Charlie over to me. “Basics. Always keep hold of the reins. That’s what you use to guide and control the horse. To get the horse to move forward, gently tap the back of her flanks with your heels.” He shows me by bringing his legs back and setting his feet at Charlie’s back legs. “To go right, pull on the right side of the rein. To go left, pull the left. To stop, pull them both. Got it?”
“I think so,” I tell him, a little nervous. Nina may be a girl, but she’s a big girl.
“I’ll be right beside you the entire time. You get scared, let me know. And one more thing, don’t jam your boot too far in the stirrup. You want to be able to release your foot should you fall.”
My eyes widen frightfully at that, and I grip the reins tighter and loosen my foot in the stirrup. I’ve seen videos where a rider falls and gets dragged around by the horse. Some have even died, being trampled by the horse.
Asher must sense my fear because he leans over and plants a kiss against my lips. They linger only a minute, but it’s enough to calm my racing heart, or rather, it makes it race for another reason.
He pulls back, gives me a wink, and ushers with his hand. “Ladies first.”