"Does each horse have a specific color for their equipment?" I ask her curiously. Kristy nods at me as she's finishing up with Indie's blanket.
"You're absolutely right," she comments. "Each horse that lives here, as in we own them, gets their own color. It makes it a lot easier to figure out who's is who's without having to read the nameplates on the cheek piece. If you couldn't tell, Indie's is an indigo color. Her halter, lead rope, leg wraps, and practice saddle blanket are all the same color. We figured it suited her name." I nod, giving her a small pat on the nose.
"It sure does suit her," I whisper. "It's my favorite color."
An hour and a half later, the stalls are mucked out, the horses are running freely in their paddocks, and Kristy and I are starved. Even though it's only ten in the morning, it feels like lunch time, so we take a break.
"I have a couple sandwiches in the fridge in my office," Kristy says. "Let's go for a picnic out in the trails." The color sinks from my face.
"Trails?" I manage. "As in, riding in the trails?" Kristy laughs at my nerves, then pats my shoulder and starts walking toward her office.
"No, sweetheart," she assures me. "We can take a walk. There's a pond less than a mile down the trail with some picnic benches and tables. We take group trail rides out there in the summer. Let's invite a few of the barn hands to go as well, or else they might get a bit jealous. I'll leave my husband here to look after things." She winks at me.
I've never met any of the barn staff here before. I hope they're as nice as Kristy when she first met me. What if they don't like me? What if they can tell I'm not as rich as them? What if I'm not good enough?
But my doubts completely disappear when I meet Valerie, Kim, and Tom. They all smile at me with kind eyes, and don't seem to mind my unprofessional appearance. I recognize Tom from my first day here, when he brought his horse in before I met Kristy. He had been the one to smile at me, reassuring my frayed nerves.
"Val is the trainer here," Kristy explains. Val gives me a wave and a flash of white teeth. "She's in charge of all of the lessons, lunging, and exercise rides for the boarders." Wow, what a job. It seems like such a wonderful thing to do; being paid to ride horses every day.
"Kim and Tom, here, they're in charge of things such as feeding, grooming, and medications. It's similar to what you'll be doing here, but most of what you do will be with me," Kristy explains.
Once introductions are over, we hike our way over to the trails. It's a half mile walk down a dirt road just to reach the trail entrance, but I don't mind. I've always loved walking, and I do it almost every day.
The trail we enter is wide enough for a horse to comfortably walk through without being spooked, but small enough to give the feeling of a forest adventure. There are trees on every side of us as the opening swallows the five of us whole, and suddenly the whole world becomes green, gray, and brown. I close my eyes and feel the rays of sunlight on my face.
"The picnic area is just a little ways in," Val tells me. She's holding the picnic basket with sandwiches, drinks, and snacks. "There's a little pond there we usually let the horses drink from when we ride in the woods. It's really nice. Someday we're even thinking about doing a campout there for a few days with the horses. You should join us!"
"Woah, there Val," Kristy laughs. "As much as we'd love for her to join us, it's her first day and she doesn't know how to ride, apart from a few lessons years ago." Val doesn't seem offended or put out, for she continues to babble on. An idea strikes her.
"Well, if she can't ride, then why don't we teach her?" She asks enthusiastically. "We have lots of horses here, and she's working here for free. Volunteering. It's so nice of her to do for us, so can't we do something nice in return?" Kristy looks doubtful.
"When riders pay us for lessons, it's all right, considering if they get hurt, we aren't liable because they wanted it. If Becky gets hurt, then it'll be on us," Kristy responds. I'm loving the huge part I'm taking in the conversation deciding what I'm doing.
"Can I step in for a second?" I ask nervously. "I mean, I'm the one we're talking about." Kristy and Val both laugh for a second.
"I guess you're right," Val says. "We need your opinion as well. What would you prefer to do? Do you want to ride? I'm the instructor, and you get to-"
"I own the barn, it's my call," Kristy cuts her off. She looks back at me. "If you'd like to ride here, I'm sure it would be fine. But we would need both of your parents to sign a document permitting it." I nod happily, unable to say anything. Maybe I'll even get to ride my precious Indie!
When we reach the pond, it's much bigger than I had imagined. The clear water stretches for hundreds of feet in each direction, with a large beach the first ten feet out of the water. Picnic tables are located by the tree line, maybe thirty feet past the water line, along with water pumps and charcoal grills for campouts.
The five of us settle down to eat our lunch, laughing and chatting as we peel back the tin foil on our sandwiches. A few minutes later, we hear Kristy's phone ring.
"It's Hugh," she tells us, her husband. "I'll just be a moment." She stands up and walks a few feet away to have her conversation privately. None of us think anything of it.
I smile at Val, Kim, and Tom as they quiz me on horses. All three of them are shocked at how much I know compared to how much experience I've had.
"You're insane!" Kim exclaims. "You know everything!" Kim can't be more than twenty years old, maybe even younger, but I've always been bad at guessing ages. She has curly brown hair that cuts off at her shoulders.
Our conversation has turned to the barn and how I like the horses so far, when Kristy returns. The smiles drop from our faces and the laughs die in our throats when we see the pale color of her cheeks.
"Lunch time is over, everyone," she whispers. "We have to go home now." Tom is the only one brave enough to question her.
"Why?" His voice is curious.
"Indie is missing."
A/N: So, quick little authors note after this one. I just got this idea in this chapter, so I'm gonna try and work with it the best I can! If you like it, comment, vote, criticize!! <3
Chapter 2
Start from the beginning
