Chapter Eleven

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
* 10 days later *
                          
"I thought you said he was a crazy psycho horse?" Leo laughed as I lunged Titan in his surcingle. Molly punched his arm. "He looks perfectly tame to me."
                          
"I never called him a crazy psycho horse," I rebutted. "If I recall correctly, you did. And I've been working really hard with him. He trusts me and listens to me."
                          
Titan trotted around, his head in a perfect headset and his gait perfectly extended. "Anyways," I continued, "when Hannah gets here, I'm going to ride him."
                          
"You think he's ready for that?" he asked. He pushed a hand through his curly brown hair. 
                          
"We're about to find out," Hannah announced as she entered the ring. She was carrying some tack. "I found this in our loft. It's a nice saddle, I think it'll fit him. I brought a half pad too."
                          
"Alright, let's get this show on the road," I said as I brought Titan back to a walk. I unclipped the surcingle and kept the reins of his bridle over his neck. As I gently put the saddle pad on his back, Hannah reached to go hold him. "Don't," I warned. "He doesn't like being restricted."
                          
She backed off and I continued my work. I centered the half pad and gently lifted the saddle up onto him. It fit perfectly. Gently and patiently, I tightened the girth. Soon, we were all ready to go.
                          
"Take it slow, Em," Hannah reminded. I nodded and lined Titan up with the mounting block. I took a deep breath and slowly got on him.
                          
"Not bad," I laughed. Titan didn't react at all. I was able to adjust my seat and get him to walk on with no problem. He was soft and supple in my hands. He easily framed up and bent with my leg and hand pressure. I just let him do what he wanted, but he had to listen. 
                          
"Try trotting him, if you think he's ready," Hannah suggested. We had been walking around for about ten minutes with no issues, so I decided to give it a shot. He easily transitioned into his large but smooth trot, and I posted along. He stayed framed up and was very adjustable. When I wanted a bigger stride, he allowed me to push him, but also allowed me to condense to a smaller, choppier trot. We did circles, serpentines, and transitions. He seemed perfect.
                          
"I don't want to push out luck, but try cantering him," Hannah said. And push our luck we did. I nudged him into a canter and he went bucking bronco on me. I held on, buck he bucked and bunny hopped down the full length of the indoor. After he got all the bucks out, he actually carried a very nice canter. Again, it was big, but he listened.
                          
"Oh, wow," Molly laughed. "He took you for a ride, didn't he?"
                          
"Just a bit," I grinned. "I'm going to try the other direction."
                          
I pushed him into a canter and he gave one buck, but settled down and relaxed. After a lap, I let him walk and started cooling him down.
                          
"What's that about?" I asked Hannah.
                          
"I think he's just excited," she told me. "The more you can work with him the better, but don't ride him if nobody's around."
                          
"Okay, yeah," I agreed. I let him cool down before Leo, Molly, and I walked him back to my barn.
                          
"That went well," Leo laughed. I grinned and glanced over at Molly, who gave me a suggestive look. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to Leo.
                          
"I actually expected worse," I replied as I patted Titan. "Our work is paying off."
                          
We reached the barn and the two twins helped me untack and brush T. As we brushed, Molly announced "I'm going to get Aspen ready. You wanna come, Leo?"
                          
"No, I'll stay here," he said. I almost missed the wink Molly threw his way. "I'll be right over, though."
                          
"You can go," I told him after Molly had left. "I can take care of him. We're done anyways."
                          
I picked up T's lead and started walking outside. Leo fell into step beside me. "No, I actually wanted to talk to you."
                          
There were a few moments of silence as I let Titan loose in his pasture and put his lead on the hook. I turned to face Leo. "About what?"
                          
"Something I'm really bad at talking about," he admitted letting a small sigh out. "I... no. Truth is, I- ugh, how do I say this?"
                          
I bit my lip to hide my amusement and just raised my eyebrows at him. "Go on."
                          
He hesitated for a moment. "So, I... You know what? Screw it."
                          
In that moment, he leaned down and kissed me, his hands on either side of my face. I was shocked for a second, then I relaxed and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
                          
We both pulled away and just looked at each other. "E-Emily, I'm so sorry, if you don't feel the sam-."
                          
I cut him off with another kiss. This time he relaxed, and he put his hands on my hips. 
                          
"Don't apologize," I said, my arms still around his neck. "Really. Don't."
                          
"Do you feel the same?" he asked.
                          
"Dummy, of course I feel the same," I laughed. He let out a breath and allowed himself to laugh as well. "Since the day I met you."
                          
"Look," he said, putting his forehead on mine. "I don't want to rush things."
                          
"Fine by me," I agreed. "But, to prevent previous mistakes, we have to communicate. You're one of my best friends, I don't want to mess this up."
                          
"Agreed," he grinned. "Now, let's go before Molly gets suspicious."