Free Totaled by Stacey Grice Page B

blanket over her back for the saddle to rest on top of. Mick showed me how to slowly set the saddle on top of the blanket carefully, so as to not spook her. We checked for wrinkles and gaps in the padding and proceeded to cinch the straps under her belly and on the sides of her body. He looked at the stirrups and double checked all of the straps before handing me the rope that was attached to her bridle. I walked her over to the water trough and encouraged her to drink. I talked to her like I was talking to a human. I don’t know if it helped her or me, but I was becoming slightly less anxious as we went along. She seemed to be at ease with me. While I was talking to her and continuing to pet her, Mick had already saddled and bridled Freckles, leading her over to where we were standing.
    “You ready, city boy?”
    “I guess as ready as I’m going to get, country hick!”
    Mick laughed deep from his belly and came over to show me how to get on. He first climbed on Freckles, explaining where to put each foot and where to place my hands to hold on. Then, he dismounted and stood right next to me to help if I needed it. I climbed on just as I’d seen him do. Wobbling a little, I willed my body to propel up, knowing that just a slight hesitation would make me fall on my ass and potentially get a hoof in the mouth. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the saddle. It felt incredibly powerful. I was high above the ground and comfortable. I bent over to stroke Ginger’s head between her ears, thanking her for taking it easy on me. She snorted and shook her head. I worried about my heavy weight on her, but she didn’t seem bothered at all. She stood completely still and waited for my direction. Mick mounted Freckles again and started to turn her and walk away.
    “Wait! What do I do now? How do I make her go? How do I steer this thing?” I yelled to him.
    Mick turned his head to look behind me and made that clicking sound with his mouth. Ginger started to walk towards him and I was thrown off balance with her sudden movement.
    “Do what you think you should do,” he directed. “Follow your gut. Quit thinking ‘bout it so much and just feel her.”
    I readjusted myself and did as he instructed. I had never felt such a conflicting mixture of emotions all at once. I was excited but also scared as hell, empowered but cautious, confident but insecure. Once I allowed myself to relax and trust that Mick wasn’t going to put me in danger, it was crazy and awesome and I loved every second of it. We rode the horses at a leisurely walk all the way to the back of the property, which extended even farther back than I originally thought. Mick hopped off of Freckles to unlatch a gate and opened it wide. He led Freckles through by hand and waited for us to pass through before shutting and securing the gate closed.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly impatient and nervous.
    “I wanna show you somethin’ back here.”
    I followed his lead and the horses both climbed a small hill of grass. Over the hill was a huge field of land that seemed to go on for miles. It was covered in wildflowers of every color imaginable. It was so beautiful that it almost looked fake, like a photograph or something. Mick looked over at me, smiled a shit-eating grin, and without saying a word, took off on Freckles, galloping away. Not having the slightest idea what to do next, I imitated what I had seen him just do and dug my right heel into Ginger’s side with a little kick. Sure enough, she started off trotting right away and broke into a full gallop. I held on for dear life.
    After a few moments, it went from scary as shit to invigorating. I have no idea how fast we were going, but I might as well have been in a racecar. I leaned into turns and squeezed my thighs together to grip her body. I could feel every powerful muscle contract and relax as she galloped and almost could sense what she was going to do next. I’d never had such a strong connection