Zach and Sabrina: Round 1

by K. M. Hill

  Zach pointed to the rear of the horse.

  “Did you do you feel it?” he asked again.

  Oh, right. He meant Max.

  “Yes. He feels more underneath himself. That feels great. Can we do some jumps and try it out?” Sabrina asked.

  “Yes of course. Why don’t you go ahead and jump around a bit and I’ll watch again.” Zach leaned back against the fence.

  Sabrina wasn’t used to this approach. Her past trainers were always at her, talking her through everything. She sometimes got frustrated because she couldn’t even think with them always talking at her while she rode. She liked being able to think about things on her own.

  But what was Zach thinking? She found that distracting.

  Pretty soon, Sabrina was caught up in her riding again. She tried different jumps and different ways. After she jumped about two dozen jumps she pulled up.

  “Good. One thing you need to think about is making sure your horse is straight. You let him dodge to the right as he leaves the ground. That may be from the lack of discipline in the corners. Hold up a minute.” Zack walked over to the fence.

  She waited while Zach put a pole on one side of the fence and then one on the ground after the fence.

  “Pick up your left lead and come do this jump. Use the pole as a guiding rail to keep him from shifting as you leave the ground.” Zach directed.

  Sabrina did the jump a half dozen times and Max was really light and straight. His jump was better too.

  “Good. Now, let’s incorporate what you did on the flat with the turn. Cut the distance in half as you approach this jump again and add your outside leg two steps before you think you need it. Remember to keep your inside leg on him, though, so he doesn’t fall in. Add some speed to these next set of jumps.”

  Sabrina did just what Zach said. Max was flying. She whipped him around the corner, keeping him from bulging and then hit the gas. He never jumped better and she was faster than she had been on him previously.

  Wow.

  Zach honed in on the exact issue she had been having with Max for the last year. Maybe he wasn’t going to be a bad trainer after all.

  As if he was reading her mind, he asked, “What do you think?”

  “I think this is the best he has jumped for me. That exercise helped so much.” Sabrina said as she smiled.

  Sabrina was happy but reserved. Maybe it was beginner’s luck. Let’s see what Zach had to offer for the other three horses.

  Chapter 8

  He was as good with the other three as he was with Max.

  With Indy, he tried a new bridle and bit to help with his habit of tossing his head around on the way to the jump. When she was riding Chester, he worked on giving him more room before the fence so he could jump better. Getting him too close was causing him to jump over his shoulder. Chester was worried about hitting the jump so he would jump out of shape.

  It was on Ben that she had the biggest breakthrough.

  After watching her jump Ben around for a few minutes, Zach’s opinion of her soared. This stallion was not easy to ride and she rode him really well. The stallion clearly loved her but was still being a bit of a punk, as stallions like to be.

  “Sabrina, let’s try an exercise with him. Come over here first.” Zach directed.

  She trotted over to Zach.

  “When you put your leg on him, he gets a little feisty, right?” asked Zach.

  “Yes, that’s why I am careful not to put my leg on him,” replied Sabrina.

  “Well, he’s winning then. He’s trained you instead of the other way around.” Zach responded.

  Sabrina looked at him a little annoyed that he just insulted her.

  “We need you to train him to accept your leg so that when you need to accelerate quickly, he reacts and goes forward. Look at what your leg looks like now. You’ve kicked it a little in front of the girth and now you don’t have your leg underneath you. But if you slide it back behind the girth and turn your toe out like this…”

  Zach put his hand on the toe of her boot and the other hand on her knee to slide it back. She jumped.

  He didn’t look up. He just smiled. So, the cool lady was having a similar reaction to him as he was to her. Interesting.

  She can’t believe she just jumped when he touched her. What was she, seventeen years old? Her traitorous body was not paying attention to the plan of just riding. And the man knew she reacted to his touch. He didn’t look up but she saw the smile around his lips. Bastard.

  Zach kept talking without looking at her, sliding her leg back to the proper position.

  “So that’s one thing that will help him. Here’s another. He’s hanging his legs a bit at the top of the jump. Come jump this exercise here. By jumping the canter rail before the fence and after the fence, it will force him to give you a better jump. He probably won’t figure it out on the first time and it may not be pretty but that’s ok. They catch onto this exercise quick.” Zach continued as if they weren’t just fused together with his hand on her knee lighting up her world.

  Focus! Sabrina chided herself.

  Sabrina cantered down to the exercise and sure enough, Ben more or less swam his way through the exercise the first time.

  Chapter 9

  “Good. That’s fine. It takes them a few tries to figure it out. But he was thinking the whole time. Do it again. He’s probably going to give you a better and bigger jump this time so be prepared,” commented Zach.

  Sabrina cantered down to the exercise again and Ben skyrocketed over the top of the jump, clearing even the height of the standards that held the jump up. She didn’t expect SUCH a big effort on his part and went to grab his mane to help her stay with him but she was too late.

  The impact of Ben launching himself high, kicking up at the top of the 5-foot fence with his back feet because he was delighted with himself and landing hard, jostled Sabrina right out of her saddle and off she went. She almost landed on her feet but the propulsion of the jump ended up tossing her on her ass.

  Zach was on her in a flash.

  “Sabrina!!! Sabrina!!! Don’t move.” Zach was frantic.

  Sabrina was mortified. Other than a sore butt, she was fine. The real issue was her ego. She hadn’t fallen off in over 5 years. And she had done it in front of Zach in her first lesson! She would rather dig a hole and crawl in it than deal with her incredible embarrassment.

  “Are you ok? What hurts? Don’t move. Tell me what hurts. Can you move your leg? Did you hit your head? What… “ Zach was inundating her.

  “Zach!” Sabrina said sharply.

  Zach stopped the onslaught of questions and looked in her eyes. He saw her steely determination and that shut him up.

  “Zach. I am fine. A bit mortified for falling off, but physically, I’ll be fine. Give me a hand standing up,” directed Sabrina.

  Zach stood and took her hands in his. Electrifying. What was it about touching this woman that went straight to his groin? He wanted to shift to adjust his growing bulge but didn’t dare. Apparently, his body had immediately forgotten that she had just fallen.

  And she was right at eye level. Did she notice?

  Oh yeah. She noticed. She looked right up at him and raised an eyebrow.

  Talk about mortifying.

  “C’mon. Up you go.”

  Sabrina stood and shook out her legs. She watched Zach grab Ben who had stopped after she fell and walked back over to her. She walked in a circle and found that indeed, the only thing she would need to manage was a nasty bruise on her butt.

  Well, the only physical injury thing she would need to manage that is.

  She still needed to manage Ben over the jump AND her raging and growing attraction to Zach. And apparently his to her. Damn it all. Why can’t she just ride? Why did she have to find the hottest rider on the planet to board her horses with? How had she missed pictures of him along the way when he won various competitions? She recalled a few but his riding helmet obscured his face.

  Sab
rina stood still and looked at him. What the hell was he smirking about now? Seriously? He had no room to smirk based on what she just witnessed on her way to standing up, eye to eye with his growing hard on.

  Men. No shame.

  “Why are you smiling?” asked Sabrina.

  “I’m glad you are ok. But you aren’t off the hook for that fall.” said Zach.

  “What are you talking about?” Sabrina asked.

  “We have a rule here at Chestnut Hill Stables. Anyone who falls off buys lunch or dinner that day for whomever is on the property at the time.” Zach explained with a chuckle.

  “Who the hell made up such a stupid rule?” demanded Sabrina.

  “Lewis. He had an adult rider who kept falling off. The thing was, she just wasn’t working hard enough. But Lewis found a solution. She cared more about her money than she did her pride. After the fifth time she fell off in one week, he instituted that rule. She fell off twice more, paid a big bill because EVERYONE was here that day including a bunch of other clients, the staff, the blacksmith with his team and the gardeners. She paid that bill twice that week and then decided that was it. She hasn’t fallen off since.” Zach explained still smiling.

  “Well, no one is here so it doesn’t apply.” Sabrina retorted.

  “I’m here. You are here. It does apply. Looks like you are buying me dinner. Unless you want to be a sore loser and not participate in barn rules but you would need to call Lewis to get dispensation. I can’t teach you again if you don’t buy dinner or until you get a dispensation from Lewis.” Zach stood with his hands in his pockets waiting for her reply.

  Who was this guy? Did he have any clue that no one pushed her around like this? Everyone in her world of work jumped at her command. Here he was insisting she buy him dinner after falling off during a lesson. A LESSON THAT SHE IS PAYING FOR!

  If she didn’t, she would look like a bitch but she also had no intention of going to dinner with Zach. Nothing good would come of that. She would just call Lewis and clear this up.

  Chapter 10

  She pulled her phone out of the holder on her hip and dialed Lewis.

  “Hi Lewis, this is Sabrina Chandler. Yes, my trip was fine. The horses do look good... I did… I’ve done three of them with Zach. I’m on the fourth one and had a little mishap. Ben gave me a big jump and popped me off. No, no, I’m fine.” Sabrina explained to Lewis.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you are ok. Do you need Zach to get on Ben? Is he misbehaving?” Lewis sounded worried. He was probably extra sensitive based on his own recent fall.

  “No, he’s being great. I just didn’t expect the jump he gave me. We were doing a canter rail exercise. The first time he was figuring it out but he certainly figured it out the second time,” replied Sabrina with a sigh.

  “Well that sounds great except for the falling off part,” laughed Lewis.

  “Yeah, that’s why I am calling. Zach told me about some foolish rule about a person who falls off needs to buy lunch or dinner?” Sabrina asked.

  Lewis laughed.

  “Yep, that’s right. How big of a bill do you have ahead of you? Is the place packed with people? Is everyone still there?” Lewis inquired.

  “Actually, it’s only Zach and I here.” Sabrina responded.

  “Well, I guess it’s Zach’s lucky day. He doesn’t have to cook tonight.” Lewis said with another laugh.

  “Lewis, I heard the story about why you instituted this practice but c’mon. This is hardly the same. I think it is very unnecessary. Let’s just make an exception for this time.” Sabrina said sounding annoyed.

  “Well, Sabrina. I’ve made exceptions in the past under four conditions. So my first question is do you have some place to go after the barn that prevents you from fulfilling your obligation?” Lewis inquired.

  My obligation? Sabrina thought. Because of their stupid rule? My obligation?

  “No, I don’t Lewis. And I hardly think this is my obligation.” Sabrina replied.

  “Well, it is and it is clearly posted in the barn lounge. So the second condition we grant exceptions for is if you are too hurt, sore or tired because of the fall. Are you?”

  “No, Lewis, I am not hurt.”

  “The third exception is if you cannot financially fulfill your obligation. Are you having money problems, Sabrina, where you can’t buy dinner for one?” Lewis said with the smile in his voice.

  Sabrina rolled her eyes. She just shipped four horses here where the board for each horse is nearly $10,000 per month. They ran a credit check on her before accepting her as a client. He knew darn well that she wasn’t having money problems.

  “No, Lewis, I am not.” Sabrina huffed out her reply.

  “The last exception is a rare one we have granted only a few times. If you choose to be a sore loser and not participate in our barn rules or this one in particular, we’ll let you off the hook. But you need to turn to the trainer you are working with at the time and say, ‘I’m a sore loser and I will not be buying… in this case dinner… dinner for you tonight,“ explained Lewis.

  Zach knew exactly what Lewis had said because Sabrina squinted her eyes and set her jaw as she listened to him. Zach turned and pretended to adjust a strap on Ben’s bridle. He knew if he laughed that he would definitely not be getting dinner tonight and for some reason, against his better judgment, the idea of dinner with Sabrina tonight delighted him.

  Which is the lesser of two evils considered Sabrina? Saying that stupid thing to Zach or having dinner with him? She decided she would never give him the upper hand in such a direct and obvious way so it looked like she would be going to dinner.

  “Great Lewis. Just awesome. Thanks for your non-help. I need to go.”

  She could hear him chuckling as she hung up the phone.

  “Well Zach, looks like I need to fulfill your idiotic practice.”

  “Great! There is a new restaurant down by the marina I wanted to try that I haven’t had a chance to so let’s put Ben away and get going. “ Zach said with delight.

  “No. I need to get back on and do that exercise again.” Sabrina said seriously.

  “Sabrina, I don’t think that is a good idea. You will be sore. You clearly know how to ride. He just gave you a big jump. Let’s try it again another time.” Zach said, trying to get her to move towards the barn.

  “No. You may be able to bully me about your stupid buy dinner rule but you aren’t going to move me on this one. Everyone knows you need to get back on the horse if you fall off. I’m getting back on. Now give me a leg up.” Sabrina directed Zach.

  Stubborn woman! Why the hell can’t she just listen for once? There was no need to get on again today.

  Chapter 11

  Zach stopped.

  Was he listening to himself? That actually was one of his cardinal rules that unless you were maimed beyond recognition, you always got back on. What was going on that he quickly dropped his standards for this woman?

  If he was honest with himself, it was because his heart hit his shoes when she fell. He’s always worried about clients and their safety but nothing like this.

  “Fine, let’s do this,” grumbled Zach.

  He walked behind her as she stood in front of her saddle and bent her leg back at the knee for a leg up into her saddle.

  He cupped her knee with his left hand and her ankle with his right hand and lifted her into the saddle. As she went up, he had an overwhelming urge to bite her ass. Great, thought Zach, just great.

  She settled into the saddle and as she looked down at him, she saw a strange look on his face that wasn’t there before he gave her the leg up.

  Fine, he may get his stupid dinner but I’m going to torture him during the whole dinner. We’ll see who is in charge, Sabrina thought.

  “Ok, pick up your canter and do one lap around the ring to warm him up. This time when you come to it, as you go over the canter rail, step into your heel and grab a little mane to help keep you balanced.” Zach instructed.

  She
did that and Ben sailed over it.

  “Let’s do it again to make sure it wasn’t luck.” Zach directed.

  They did it four more times, each time getting an outstanding jump from Ben. Sabrina was thrilled. She never felt this horse jump as well as he did today. Maybe it was worth dealing with this egomaniac after all if her horses were going to go this well.

  “Great. That was fantastic! He’s a really talented horse. You might want to work without your stirrups so that you aren’t loose at the top of the fence with him now giving you such big jumps.” Zach said with a bit of a smile.