It had been a full week since their first encounter and Ryder and Kitty were still not seeing eye to eye. They avoided each other at school and constantly bickered when he was working. She often found herself being petty in making sure that Ryder always had the worst jobs like throwing up the muck heap or she purposefully told him the wrong information so that he'd get told off for doing his jobs wrong. To be fair, the boy never told on her to her father, he just apologized and carried on with his work, which did impress Kitty if she was being totally honest with herself.
Kitty was cinching up Ginger's girth when her father appeared at the entrance to the stall. "Hey Kitty. I want you to give Ryder a riding lesson this evening. No arguing, just do it. He can ride Captain." He gave her a stern look before walking away. She sighed before going to retrieve Captain's tack from the tack room. Captain was a big horse, built for carrying weight but he was steady and safe for novices to ride. She then spotted Ryder walking down the barn.
"Lynn! Get your ass over here."
"Yes? You called me… rather rudely." He muttered when he reached Captain's stall.
"Apparently I have to teach you to ride so your first lesson is tonight. You can find a helmet to wear in the store room and I'll meet you out in the arena in ten minutes." Ryder just nodded before walking back towards the store room.
Kitty finished tacking up Captain and led both him and Ginger out to the arena, where Ryder was already waiting.
"Wait… I'm riding Captain?!" Ryder asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Yes… got a problem with that?"
"… no… it's just… he's a bit big isn't he?"
"He's fine, stop being such a wimp." Kitty pulled the girth tight and explained to Ryder how to get on. He was riding in a western saddle because it was easier to learn on, however Kitty preferred to ride the English way. She would move Ryder onto Captain's English saddle once he was used to the way the horse moved underneath him. She attached a rope to Captain's bit before climbing onto Ginger whilst keeping hold of Captain. She nudged Ginger's side, who willingly walked forward, with Captain walking next to her. "You hold your reins like this." She showed Ryder how her hands were positioned and then gestured for him to copy her. He eventually got it after much fiddling around with the reins.
"Hey, I quite like it up here."
"All you've done is walk."
"Don't ruin this for me."
"Why did you want to learn how to ride anyway? I thought football players were cool and stuff."
"I think riding's cool."
"You're in the minority then. Although it is cool, it's the best thing in the world. It's so peaceful and calming."
"Well I've always wanted to learn how to ride but my parents never had the money to get me lessons and then I started high school and things got manic and I sort of forgot about it. It's working here and seeing you ride that has reignited that interest for me." He looked sincerely at her. Kitty found herself beginning to smile before she realized and quickly dropped her eyes to avoid eye contact with Ryder. She hoped he hadn't seen it but he had. He had noticed that but he'd also noticed how much softer she was around the horses and how much kinder she was to them than to other people. "Hey, how come you're so much nicer to Ginger… well and the other horses than you are to actual people? You can be a total bitch to you know… to humans." The look Kitty gave him told him straight away that it was a bad question to have asked.
"Excuse me if I'm not begging to be your friend or if I'm not clambering to talk to you like everybody else at that damn school. You're not some sort of god so get over yourself. I can be nice to whoever I want to be nice to." Desperate to end the conversation, Kitty suddenly kicked Ginger into a trot. Ryder was caught unaware and nearly toppled off with the change in speed. He grabbed at his saddle as Captain sped up to keep up with the feisty chestnut mare, and the accompanying feisty blonde in front of them. He managed to pull himself back to an upright position after slipping to the side.
"Hey! Give me some warning next time."
"Rule number one of riding, always expect the unexpected." Kitty called back, feeling slightly annoyed that he hadn't fallen off yet.
A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I updated this, I want to try and get it right so I'm trying to take my time. Plus I've been super busy with work and stuff. I know someone asked for me to write the next chapter with them in school but I'm a little stuck for ideas on school-based stories so if you have any ideas or prompts, please let me know! In the mean time, I have lots of ideas for ranch-based chapters! :D I also know this chapter is a little shorter but it seemed like a good place to leave it so please review and I'll see you next time with the next update!