Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(14)

Someone in the group tittered.

“Left foot flat in the stirrup,” Mack said, ignoring the innuendo. “Swing your right leg up and over the horse’s back, opposite of mounting. Plant it firmly on the ground before you take your left foot out of the stirrup.” He did exactly as he said, going more slowly than usual so everyone could see the movements. He gave Tude a sugar cube for her patience.

“When can we try?” Andy piped up, speaking to one of his moms, but loud enough for his shrill voice to carry.

“Pretty soon, buddy,” Mack said. “Don’t think you can mount on your own yet, though. How do you feel about riding with me first, before we put you up there alone?”

“Okay!”

Their other two instructors were out with their horses, so Mack separated everyone into four groups and assigned riders. Wes pouted a bit as he shuffled off with Reyes, Hot Coffee and his bridal party friends. Mack felt a little bad sticking the older Chamberlains with the two college guys, but the three girlfriends seemed to be actively avoiding them. Best to keep the groups separate for now and watch the guys.

And keep his own eyes off Wes.

*

“I don’t think I can do this,” Sophie said as she eyeballed Hot Coffee. The top of her head only came up to the saddle, and while Wes had always thought she looked a little mismatched with her incredibly tall fiancé, the horse made her look infinitely smaller.

“What if I give you a boost?” Wes teased.

“You can use the steps if that makes you more comfortable, miss,” Reyes said. “Tall or short, not everyone can pull themselves up into the saddle. Some folks need a lot of practice. I didn’t make it all the way up my first time.”

Wes wasn’t sure if that was true, or if he was trying to make Sophie feel better. “Make your future husband go first, then.” He whipped out his phone and opened up the video app. “I need future blackmail material.”

“Ass,” Conrad said with a grin. “Fine, I’ll give it a go.”

“Hell yes.” Wes took a few steps back so he could get a good angle as Reyes walked him through it. Conrad shocked the hell out of him by swinging up into the saddle on his first try.

Sophie squealed. “Oh my God, you make it look so easy.”

“I think I shocked myself with that one,” Conrad said. “It’s not as easy as it looks, though, trust me. I thought the saddle was gonna slide to the left.”

“It’s a bit daunting at first,” Reyes said. “The saddle has a little give, but if they’re secured properly it won’t slide sideways.”

“Wave,” Wes said. Conrad did, and Wes took a few snaps with the camera to go along with the video. “You look good, bro.”

Reyes led horse and rider in a circle around the corral, showing Conrad how to use the reins and his heels to control Hot Coffee—which was a bizarre name for a horse that was mostly off-white. When Reyes circled back so Derrick could try, he asked, “How’d you name your horse?”

“The spot on her forehead,” Reyes replied.

Wes angled around so he could see. The horse had a dark brown splotch high on her forehead that...yeah, it kind of looked like a mug of coffee with steam whispering up. “Okay, I see it. Cool.”

Horse people are weird.

On the opposite side of the corral, Mack seemed to actually be enjoying himself for a change, instead of glaring straight ahead. The two Reynolds boys were having the time of their lives, taking turns riding around with him and helping him direct the horse. It was so paternal that Wes could imagine the guy with a pack of his own kids. Not really a future Wes had ever dreamed of, and why did that matter? He was flirting with Mack this week, not marrying him.

Sophie tried to ride Hot Coffee next and flat out couldn’t pull herself up. Colt brought the portable steps over, and that helped her get up into the saddle. Wes filmed the whole thing, then caught a cute shot of her bending down to kiss the top of Conrad’s head as she whooped, “I’m finally taller than you!”

Reyes had to majorly adjust the stirrups for her shorter legs, but once she got going, Sophie had a ball on that horse. “That’s my future wife,” Conrad said proudly. “Looking good, baby! You can ride.”

Derrick turned to Conrad with a glint in his eyes.

Wes saw it coming and poked Derrick in the chest. “Before you even consider telling a riding joke about my baby sister, let me remind you there is a barn full of horse crap I can dump in your bunk.”

Derrick pressed his lips shut.

After Sophie was finished, Wes and Miles rock-paper-scissored the next victim. Miles lost his paper to Wes’s scissors.

“Relax,” Reyes said as he adjusted the stirrups for Miles’s longer, trembling legs. “I’ll tell you a secret, Miles. My old girl here has never thrown a guest.”

“That’s comforting, I guess,” Miles replied. His hands shook as he reached for the saddle horn. Took a few deep breaths in and out. Put his foot in the stirrup.

Miles, the perfect city boy, shocked the hell out of Wes by swinging himself up into the saddle on the first try. Even Reyes seemed genuinely impressed. “It took me four days of practice before I could swing up with that much grace,” Reyes said.

Miles blushed. “I’ve ridden before, but it’s been a really long time.”