Chapter 5

Austin was slightly irritated when he arrived at the Blackwater Riding Club and discovered his grandmother had signed him up for a beginner’s steeplechase class. He’d expected it would be something more like the Western-style riding he was used to.

In Austin’s opinion, Steeplechase was the craziest thing anyone could do on a horse because it involved racing one’s horse around a course where they had to jump multiple times. He couldn’t imagine a single good reason to make his horse jump, primarily because it was the quickest way to either get killed or kill the horse—or both.

Red was a big boy, and a horse’s legs snapped easily. If that happened, he’d have to be put down. The flip side was that the rider would also go down if the horse did. Austin shuddered, imagining a ton of horseflesh rolling over him. Another possibility was that while going at breakneck speed, the horse stumbled, and the rider flew over the horse’s head, landing face-first on the turf and snapping their neck.

Austin was dismayed to find he had all the wrong gear, starting with his saddle and ending with them insisting he wear a stupid helmet. For today, they let him ride Red with his western saddle but loaned him a helmet.

The class participants ranged in age from five to fourteen, with him the only teenager. When he rode Red out, most of the kids mistakenly pegged Austin as the instructor. That turned out to be Miss Sandy, who didn’t appear to be much older than Austin.

Before she got started, she pulled Austin aside.

“Do me a favor and help the younger ones stay on their horses. My boss warned me that if any of them have to go to the ER, I’ll lose my job.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Austin asked.

“Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”

“Like jump over a fence?”

She thought he was joking and funny. He couldn’t have been more serious.

Austin ended up riding beside the kids to set a nice, easy pace and led them to a fence where their horse would jump. Seeing their joy at surviving their first jumps was a lot of fun.

That lasted until Red got tired of watching all the other horses jump over stuff. He twirled around, took off like a bat out of hell toward a full-sized jump, and launched himself over it. While Austin tried to get his heart out of his throat, all the kids cheered Red’s feat.

When the class finished, Mrs. Warren, the owner of the Blackwater Riding Club, rode up to Austin.

“Are you looking for a summer job?”

“It never crossed my mind,” Austin admitted.

“I’ve watched you. You’re good with the kids, and I need someone familiar with Western riding. We have a beginner class that meets three times a week, and I want you to teach it.”

“What would I be showing them?” Austin asked.

“How to take care of their horse, get them comfortable in the saddle, and take them on some trail rides. These are kids aged five to ten, and all are complete novices.”

It sounded much like what he did in Texas at the dude ranch.

“When do I start?” Austin asked.

After his class, Austin put Red into one of their guest stalls and walked to the restaurant where he was to meet Mrs. Draper and Sally.

He hadn’t expected to find almost everyone dressed in English-style riding gear. When he entered, nearly everyone turned and stared at him in his Western clothes. Sally wore an amused expression as Mrs. Draper stood up and waved at him.

Her English riding pants were form-fitting and showed off Mrs. Draper’s model body. Every guy in the place took a moment to admire her fine form.

“You look the part,” Sally said as he sat down.

“What are you talking about, dear?” Mrs. Draper asked.

“She didn’t believe I’m a real cowboy,” Austin said.

“You mean like herding cattle and such?” Mrs. Draper asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I grew up doing just that in Montana.”

“Is it like that TV show everyone’s watching?” Sally asked.

“Without all the drama and killing. Although I did have to kill a grizzly bear once,” Austin admitted.

That had been a mess because the federal people frowned on that. He and his dad hurriedly buried it before anyone else found out.

They had a pleasant lunch. When Austin mentioned he’d be teaching a beginner Western riding class, Sally asked her mom if she could take it. Austin explained that most of the participants would be under ten, but that just made Sally suggest that her brother, Rob, should take it, too.

The other outcome of lunch was that Mrs. Draper decided she’d like to board her horses at his grandmother’s stable. He gave her his grandmother’s number to make the arrangements.

Once they finished their lunch, Sally walked with him to get Red.

“Victor broke up with me.”

“Were you really dating him?” Austin asked.

“Not really, but it pissed him off when I rode home with you.”

“You’re better off. You should find a nice guy to go out with.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sally said and left to find her mom.

When Austin got home, Max was bothering Emma as she prepped for dinner.

“Has he been a pest all day?” Austin asked.

“Not really. He’s just a curious boy.”

“I’ll take him outside and wear him out.”

“Before you go, Oliver and Liam wanted me to ask you to come over tonight and hang out.”

Austin didn’t have to think long to agree. She told him they had a coded lock on the front door because the management company rented out the apartment as an Airbnb during the fall and spring. Emma gave him the code and said they might not be there when he arrived, so he should let himself in and relax until they got there.

Mia thought of herself as the classic popular yet unsatisfied teen. Her role on the cheerleading squad was a flyer—she was lifted high into the air by a girl called a base. Her base was her best friend, Steph Walter. As a member of the ‘in’ crowd, Mia was part of the clique that ran the school, the cool kids everyone stood to the sides of the hallway for.

During her sophomore year, she’d developed a crush on Noah Piven, who was a cutter or attackman on the lacrosse team at Horace Green Academy. His scoring ability on and off the field made him the big man on campus. Noah was the prize every girl at Horace Green dreamed of having on their arm.

Mia’s mother had warned her about boys like Noah. The athletic ones wore letterman jackets, got away with murder, and had a new girl every few weeks. Her mom explained that for them, it was the hunt that kept their interest. They soon got bored once they bagged their prey, and their eyes began to wander. Mia’s mother recommended she look for someone more serious, a boy who was self-confident and put her needs first. Not someone like Noah, who was only about Noah.

She’d proved her mother wrong: in the spring, she bagged the BMOC and held onto him through prom. Then Noah broke up with her, telling her he had to go to his uncle’s house for the summer. There was some girl there he hooked up with, and he didn’t want to hurt Mia by spending time with the vacation skank.

Steph was in Mia’s bedroom, looking through her closet for something to wear to that night’s party.

“But since Noah broke up with you, you’ve given everyone the cold shoulder, and rumors have spread. I heard Taylor Schmidt say you’re frigid, and that’s why Noah dumped you, that he got sick of you holding out on him.”

If Steph only knew. Mia had been sleeping with Noah basically from day one.