that flanked a dirt trail. âItâs like everyone
knows everything thatâs going on with each other. Like
sometimes weâre all a bunch of gossipy older women Iâve seen at salons,
sitting under dryers with their wet curls.â
âUm, I have never, nor will I ever, sit under a dryer and
gossip,â Drew said. He raised both eyebrows, shooting me a glance. A smile tugged
at the corner of his mouth. It made my palms a little sweaty against the reins.
Clare, Lex, and I giggled at his pretend offense.
âWeâre not including you in our gossipy olds count,â
Khloe said.
Drew put a hand over his heart, neck-reining Polo. âWhew. So
relieved you donât see me that way.â
Clare and Fuego and Khloe and Ever entered the trail first with Lexa close
behind, followed by Drew and me.
âUp for a new trail, LT?â Khloe asked.
âOui!â I said.
âAlways.â
âGuys, is the one following the creek to the meadow okay?â
Khloe asked.
âPerf,â Clare said.
Drew added a yes, and we kept walking through the woods. We walked the
horses under a canopy of trees, and I took a mental snapshot of the scenery. The light
filtered through the trees, casting shadows of all shapes and sizes onto the dirt
trail.
âItâs so gorgeous,â I said to Drew. âLook at the
way the sunlight reflects on those leaves.â
I tilted my head toward some maple leaves, and Drew followed my gaze.
âI like how you notice those things,â he said.
âYouâve got this attention to details that no one else sees.â
I blushed. âIâm definitely not the only oneââ
Drew shook his head, stopping me. âTry to let me finish my
compliment. Youâre way too humble to say anything, but I want to.â
I looked at Whisperâs mane, then back up at him. âOkay, okay.
Go.â
Drew smiled, satisfied. âI didnât even look at the leaves, but
once you pointed them out, I took a closer look. You notice the beautiful things,
Lauren, that I think most people walk right by.â
His words silenced me. I forgot where I was, what we were doing, and who I
was talking to for a second. Then Isnapped back to reality, staring
at him. âWow. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. Thanks, Drew.
That was so sweet.â
âJust calling it like I see it,â he said.
I grinned and looked ahead, seeing that Lexa had slowed Honor so she was
closer to us. I was so calling her on that later. Eavesdropper! But I wasnât
mad.
âRight at the next fork,â Khloe called.
We made the turn, and the dirt trail widened so we could ride side by
side.
The woods were peaceful, and I couldnât imagine anything else
Iâd rather be doing.
âWant to play games while we ride?â Drew asked. He was still
next to me, with Clare on his right, then Khloe. Lexa had ended up to my left.
âTotally!â Clare said.
âI miss games!â Lexa said.
âRemember when those actually counted as a lesson?â
âIf only we could convince Mr. Conner that passing the flag or an
egg-and-spoon challenge was a good lesson,â I said, giggling.
Khloe frowned. âI always dropped the eggs. Once, when I was in Pony
Club and competing against another chapter, I lost so many eggs that they ran out ! How does that happen? One of my most embarrassing moments ever in the horse world!â
âWeâre so doing that one day,â Clare said.
âWeâll get a bunch of riders together and play. Khlo, maybe weâll glue
your egg to your spoon or something.â
Khloe nodded, patting Everâs neck. âDone. Iâm so not
above that.â
We approached the fork in the trail and veered to the right. The path was
free of debris, minus a few branches, and it was wider than the path weâd been