Katie
"That's it, Wyatt! Relax your seat, Sammy's not going to do anything!" I yell at Wyatt, from atop Ripley.

I finally got Wyatt on Sammy and showed him the basics. Like how to hold the reins, where his legs go, and how to steer.

At first today in the paddocks he seemed scared, but now (after meeting Jacob) he seems so confident.

I don't understand guys.

Jacob is nice, but so not my type. He had crooked teeth and a straight black mullet.

Look, I have nothing against mullets but they should at least be curly.

"Wyatt, sit up! Don't lean when you turn!"
I yell.

I had him currently weaving through cones to work on the steering.

Ripley stomps and snorts from being bored.
We're standing in the middle of the arena watching Wyatt.

I pull my feet back into my stirrups and tell Ripley to walk forward.

"Don't rest your hands on top of the saddle horn!" I yell for the eighth time.

I see Wyatt shake his head and hold his hands up, way too high.

He is so dramatic.

I had to hand it to him, he's a natural.
He's been riding for thirty minutes and already mastered the basics.

Wyatt stops Sammy beside me. "Okay teacher, show me your skills, so I can have a break."

I glare at his hands resting on the saddle horn again. Before I can say anything, Wyatt interrupts me. "You said as long as I'm not moving I could touch the horn."

I roll my eyes. "You think you are so smart now, don't you? Let the master show you some skills."

Wyatt smirks and signals me to begin.

I had him riding in a western saddle because I figured it would be more comfortable for him.

I'm ridding in English because well, I only had one Western.

I could ride both English and Western perfectly.

English is something I ride more professionally. Western is something I just messed around with.

Not going to lie, I could kill it at a rodeo.
I had the buckle to prove it.

English is what I'm going to ride in college and there are more opportunities for me than Western so that's what I ride more in.

As I'm trotting and cantering around I see Izzy walk over to the arena. Once I finish, I stop in front of Izzy.

"Looking good, Rip," Izzy says.

"Hey, what about me?" I whine.

Izzy laughs and Wyatt walks Sammy over to us.

"Rip does all the work while you look pretty."
Izzy says teasingly.

I gasp, but Izzy ignores me.

"Y'all two get together, I need some pictures." Izzy orders.

"Okay, Mom," I say sarcastically.

Wyatt laughs while Izzy sticks her tongue out.

"I see why that lady at the football game said you were unladylike, Izzy." I joke.

I ride Ripley over beside Sammy. Wyatt wraps his arm around me and Izzy takes tons of pictures.

I glance at Wyatt taking his coat off revealing his arms underneath. I can't help but stare even though I already saw him today without a shirt on.

He looks amazing in a cutoff.

Izzy sees me staring and smirks.

Still, in my trance, I hear Wyatt say, "I think I'm ready to move up a speed."

I teach him how to trot which he learns quickly.

"Alright, Wyatt, I think that's enough for today," I say.

I help Wyatt get off and once he lands on the ground he turns around to hug me.

"Ewe Wyatt, you stink!" I yell.

"I do not!" Wyatt argues.

He in fact smelt amazing, but I could never say that.

We bring the horses back into the barn and untack them. Wyatt helps me put all my stuff away without one complaint. It's nice having help.

"What's the bucket for?" Wyatt asks.

"Now the fun part, we get to sponge the horses off," I say smiling.

I'm getting ready to pick up the bucket full of water but he takes it from me.

"You know Just Wyatt, Jacob's not here to see you." I couldn't help myself, I had to tease him.

Wyatt glares at me over his shoulder. He made it look so easy carrying the bucket full of water.

Lucky.

We're sponging the horses off when I get a wonderfully wicked idea. I cup my hands, scope up water and pour it down Wyatt's neck.
He freezes instantly.

I turn around quickly before he could see me.

I go back to washing Ripley off till I feel the water run down the back of my arm.

My body spins around before I can register what happened.

"You buddy, just declared war!" I say coldly.

He spreads his arms out. "Go ahead, baby."

Why did the name Baby get me every time?

We start splashing each other with water. (Keep in mind this water is full of horse hair and sweat.)

At one point I take the sponge I'm using and squeeze it over Wyatt's head. After that, he wraps one arm around my waist and uses the other to squeeze water from his sponge on my leg.

I squeal.

I try to wiggle free, but he pulls me against my chest and wraps both arms around me. Suddenly Wyatt's whole body tenses, realizing what he's doing.

I feel his breath against the top of my head.

We were both out of breath. "I'm sorry Wyatt, truce?" I say quietly.

I feel him chuckle. "Truce."

He lets me go and we're both dripping wet.
We look at each other and burst out laughing.

"See Kate, he likes me way more than you," Wyatt argues.

He is helping me clean up hay in Ripley and Remi's shelter.

"Wyatt, Ripley loves me," I say like I'm talking to a child.

"Both of you shut up before I spray you both with water!"

"And Ripley loves me the most by the way," Izzy yells, from outside where she is cleaning the horse's water trough.

Me and Wyatt glance at each other and start laughing.

After we finish, Wyatt gets a phone call.

I turn to Izzy. "You want to join us for lunch?"

She shakes her head with a smile playing on her lips. "No, Tyler and I are getting lunch with his mom before she leaves for work."

I didn't know Claire (Tyler's mom) is going out of town. Huh weird, my dads also going out of town to visit his mom.

"Oh okay." I climb over the fence and tie my flannel around my waist.

Izzy starts walking away and waves. "I'll text you later, Katie."

Wyatt walks over to me and shoves his phone into his pocket. We start walking to the truck.

"Everything okay?" I ask. He seems annoyed.

He sighs. "My mom called to tell me she is taking another half shift at work. She won't be home till this evening when she was supposed to be home two hours ago."

"Oh." I don't know what to say.

Listening to people's problems is more Izzy's department.

Cheering people up is more my speed. I'm better at offering a sarcastic joke than a comforting suggestion.

"Do you wish she didn't work so much?" I ask trying to get him to talk.

He rubs a hand down his face. "She works herself too hard and I never see her. I know she's trying to help, but I miss seeing my mom. When mom is home she sleeps from how tired work makes her."

I place my hand on his arm, stopping him from walking. "You should tell her how you feel."

His eyes soften with a smile fighting to show. "Maybe I will."

When we get to my truck I open the door and take out a pack of Wetwipes to wipe off my face and arms. The dust from the area tends to stick to you.

Wyatt just stares at me like I just pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one to smoke.

I throw the pack of wipes at his head.
"You'll thank me later."

He glares at me and rubs his forehead where I hit him.

"Which one of these cars is Jacob's?" Wyatt asks.

"He really bothers you doesn't he?" He grabs the hat off my dashboard and hits me with it.

"Okay! The white Blazer!" I say in between laughs, and I see Wyatt smirk.

Men are so weird.

He places the hat on the hood of Jacobs's car.

"I can't have my girlfriend having another guy's hat in her car, now can I?" Wyatt says smugly.

I roll my eyes and start my truck. I turn on the radio and the song Shes Country by Jason Aldean is playing.

"Oooh, I love this song!" I squeal.

"I should have known you listen to country music," Wyatt says disappointed.

I fake gasp and put on my sunglasses. "Are you telling me my fake boyfriend is a 'Country Music Hater'?" I put the truck in reverse.

"No Kate, I don't hate country music, I just don't listen to it much," Wyatt says defensively.

I shake my head like a disapproving mother.
"Well Just Wyatt, that's about to change because your dating a country woman.
I'll send you a playlist tonight."

Wyatt chuckles. Which I realize he does a lot.

"Whatever you say, baby." I quickly glare at him.

I think I'm starting to like the nickname, baby.

It's just the way he says it, okay? We will not be that couple that calls each other baby and it's super cringy.

What am I thinking, we're not 'dating'.

We are pretending.

Gosh, all this pretending is screwing with my head.

Wyatt pulls me from my thoughts by asking,
"Where are we getting lunch because those two meal bars I ate are long gone."

I giggle. "Sam's Hotdog Stand." He looks at me confused.

"It's a small place me and Izzy eat at all the time don't worry," I say reassuringly.

Wyatt smiles a lopsided smile. "I've never heard about it before."

I smirk. "Kent, I think it's time you branch out and try new food."

He scoffs. "Now you sound like my mom."

I grin. "I guess me and your mom have something in common."

Wyatt raises his eyebrows, trying not to smile at our banter. "And that is?"

"Oh, that we are like way smarter than you."
I reply like one of those bratty teenagers in high school movies.

Wyatt places a hand over his heart shaking in silent laughter. "You wound me, Kate. I don't know if I'll ever recover."

I throw my head back in laughter, finally breaking.

Wyatt smiles victoriously.

Writing the end of this chapter I thought of me and my brother. We will argue back and forth till one of us finally breaks and laughs.