Little White Lies by Jessica Burkhart Read Free Book Online

dressed in boots and breeches.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” I asked.
    She shrugged. “No clue. I hope nothing’s wrong. I know
I
didn’t do anything. Did you?”
    â€œNo! Maybe—” I stopped talking when Jas walked in. I’d been about to say that maybe Jas had done something. But Mr. Conner walked in right behind her, leading three stable horses. We all looked at one another.
    â€œHi, girls,” Mr. Conner said, smiling at us. “I’m going to give each of you a new horse for this lesson.”
    He walked to Heather and handed her the reins of a gray gelding. Jas got a blue roan and Mr. Conner gave me a dun. I patted my horse’s shoulder and looked at Mr. Conner.
    â€œGo ahead and mount,” he said.
    We mounted and I let out my stirrups a notch.
    â€œI’ve said before that I want to focus on you, the riders, and not so much your horses. A great rider is able to get the best out of her mount—no matter what horseshe might be riding.” Mr. Conner looked back and forth among all of us. “Riders on the Olympics often train with at least two horses in case one becomes injured. So, I want you all to ride new horses today. Over the year, you’ll continue to ride different horses.”
    I raised my hand and Mr. Conner nodded at me. “What are the horses’ names?”
    Mr. Conner smiled. “Of course. You’re riding Knox, Jas has Summer, and Heather’s riding Perry. Walk and trot them for a few minutes to get them warmed up and get a feel for how they handle.”
    I walked and trotted Knox for a couple of laps and while his stride wasn’t as smooth as Charm’s, he was a great horse. He listened to me and I could just tell that he wanted to please his rider.
    Jas looked comfortable on Summer and Heather had no problem with Perry.
    â€œGood,” Mr. Conner said. “Let’s do a few basic exercises, then we’ll try something a little more difficult.”
    Knox didn’t falter once through the next twenty minutes of exercises. I fell more in love with him every second. He was one of the sweetest horses I’d ever ridden.
    â€œCross over the center and reverse directions,” Mr. Conner said.
    I trotted Knox to the center of the arena and Heather, Jas, and I started trotting the horses in the opposite direction. Knox could have developed bad habits from being ridden by dozens of riders because of his career as a school horse. But instead, he responded to every command in a second and never questioned me.
    Mr. Conner worked us for another half hour before dismissing us. I dismounted and handed Knox’s reins to Mike—my fave groom. I hugged Knox’s neck and made a mental note to take him a carrot later.
    â€œThanks,” I said.
    â€œSure thing.” Mike smiled and led Knox out of the arena.
    I walked to Charm’s stall to hug him good night. He leaned into me before his gaze shifted back to his hay net. Then, he craned his neck back to me and sniffed my shirt.
    â€œWhat, boy?” I asked.
    Charm smelled me again. “Oh! You probably smell Knox.” I smiled. “I rode him because I
had
to. I would have much rather ridden you—you know that.”
    Charm eyed me, then nudged my arm with his head. “So we’re okay, huh?” I asked. I hugged him again and he wandered over to his hay net.
    I latched his stall shut and thought about today’s lesson. I’d been able to relax instead of worrying about what Jas and Heather were doing. It had made
all
of the difference and I realized that’s what I had to do—block them out.
    I started out of the stable, glad Eric wasn’t here to see me. I was a sweaty mess. Bits of hay were stuck to my old black breeches—the ones with holes in the knees—and my boots were covered in arena dust.
    â€œSasha!” A fake cheery voice called me from behind.
    I turned and saw the Belles. Violet, Brianna, and