Andy Squared by Jennifer Lavoie Read Free Book Online Page A

brushing. They like that. But I guarantee you wouldn’t.”
    Andrew nodded and followed him as he got Cobalt out of his stall and led him to a space a few feet behind Magpie and tied him up as well. Then he motioned for Andrew to follow him through a door at the other end of the barn from the one they entered.
    â€œWhere are we going? Is it okay to leave them like that?”
    â€œIt’s fine,” Ryder said, flipping on the light. “This is the tack room. We keep all the hardware we need to ride in here. Saddles, saddle pads, harnesses, halters, bridles, you name it. It’s all here.”
    â€œYou just spoke Greek, because I have no idea what you said.” Andrew looked around the small room and noted all the cubbies with various leather contraptions in them or hanging next to them. Saddles filled half of the boxes, with long, leather ropes next to each. He gingerly reached out and touched one.
    Ryder watched him, amused. Looking over the saddles, he found Magpie’s and frowned, glancing from the saddles, to Andrew, and back again.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œI’m just debating whether to put you in an English saddle or Western for your first time.”
    â€œWhat’s the difference?” Andrew asked, looking over the two saddles. He could visibly see the difference as soon as he got a look at them. “Oh.”
    â€œYeah. The English saddle has no horn to hold on to. It’s smaller, lightweight, better padded. The stirrups are a little smaller…stirrups!”
    Confused by the sudden change in tone, Andrew turned to look at him and blinked. “What about the stirrups?”
    â€œYou’re wearing sneakers. You need boots. It’s easier to keep your foot in the stirrup when you have a heel so you don’t slip through. What size shoe are you?”
    â€œTen,” he answered, still mystified.
    â€œI think my uncle is a size ten, hold on.” Ryder disappeared through a door Andrew hadn’t noticed at the back of the tack room. Inside, the lights flipped on for a moment and then back off. Ryder emerged holding a pair of worn, brown boots in his hand. “Yeah, these should fit you. I’ll just let him know you borrowed them. He shouldn’t mind.”
    â€œUm…what were you saying before about the saddles?”
    â€œOh! Right. The stirrups are smaller than a Western style,” which he gestured toward. “They use these at the fairs for those pony rides you take.”
    â€œTook, Ryder. Took.” Andrew felt his face heat again.
    Ryder rested his hands on his hips and leaned against the wall. “Fine, took. They’re heavier with sturdier stirrups, and they have the horn. I guess it is okay to use when you first learn because you can hold on to it, but it’s not as comfortable. I use an English saddle. I think you should too this time, and we’ll see what you think.”
    â€œDon’t cowboys use those? The Westerns?”
    â€œWell, yeah. So?”
    â€œSo…you lived in Texas.”
    â€œThat doesn’t make me a cowboy, Andy.”
    Grabbing a saddle and saddle pad, Ryder dumped them in Andrew’s arms and then grabbed one of the rope-like contraptions Andrew had noticed and settled that over the saddle. “That’s the bridle,” Ryder explained as he debated the helmets.
    â€œI’m not wearing a helmet.”
    â€œYou’re new, you’re wearing one. Don’t argue.”
    The tone in his voice wouldn’t allow for any argument. It was firm and very businesslike. Ryder was a different person outside of school. Andrew liked it . “What about you?”
    â€œWhat about me?” Ryder asked.
    â€œAren’t you going to wear a helmet?”
    â€œI’ve been riding for years. I can manage without one if we’re just in the field.”
    Andrew glared as Ryder fitted the helmet to his head, then satisfied with the size, plopped it onto the stack