New Step Brother, New Family, New Life? Thanks for Nothing, Dad

I pulled open the door to find Trent, leaning against the wall across from my bedroom door. He was wearing dark fitting jeans and a plaid button-up shirt. Trent had crossed his arms over his chest and was looking down.

"Hey, are you ready to go riding?" I asked, stepping through the doorway and closing the door behind me. Trent looked up and smiled. He took in my appearance and chuckled lowly.

"What's with the hat?" Trent asked. A smirk played across his lips. I laughed and shrugged one shoulder.

"Hey, don't the judge the hat. It's amazing. Besides, I love riding in it. Speaking of which, all good horseback riders need a cowboy or cowgirl hat, including you." With that, I trotted down the hall in the opposite direction to a storage closet. Inside was my dad's older cowboy hat. It was made of golden straw and a dark brown trim.

I grabbed the hat from the top shelf and took it back to Trent. "Here!" I stated proudly, putting it on his head. "There. You know, it actually looks good on you," I continued. Trent rolled his eyes.

"Sure. Whatever you say. Let's get going now before I regret it," he replied, smiling his cute but joking smile. I nodded happily and headed to the stables with Trent right beside me.

The walk was quiet but comfortable, as though neither of us wanted to disturb our surroundings. The sun was just above the horizon mixed with shades of pink and orange. It was absolutely beautiful.

I pulled the stables door open and smiled as the familiar scent of horses, leather and hay hit my nose. It wasn't exactly the best smell, but I couldn't help but love it.

"So which horses are we taking out?" Trent asked me, staring in awe down the rows of strong horses. I smiled and walked to the first pen on the left.

"This is Dalila, my horse. The one next to her is Smokey's horse, Danger. Other than these two, you can pick any horse you like," I said in reply, gesturing to the other nine or so horses in the stables. Dad had brought them in for the night. During the day, they are out running around in the pastures.

Trent started down the row and I kind of ignored him for a moment so I could get Dalila ready for our ride. Her bridle, like all the others to their designated horses, hung outside the gate next to her pen. I grabbed it and a brush before stepping into her pen and slipping the bridle over her face. It fit snuggly and perfectly, like always. I brushed her quickly before grabbing the lead rope and taking her out to the tack room.

I tied her up to the post just outside the room when Trent came up next to me, tying a rope of his own a little ways down from Dalila. He smiled at me, making me curious of who he chose.

I turned around to look and found Prince, the largest and by far the strongest horse we owned. He was a mixed-bred horse. My dad thought Prince could be Thoroughbred and Clydesdale. Prince had always been my father's horse

Anyway, I turned in astonishment back to Trent. "Prince? Really?"

He chuckled lowly and nodded. "Handsome horse. Easy to control, I think, since he let me put a his bridle on him when I'm a stranger." I was impressed by his observations. He really was experienced with horses.

I shook my head to clear it and smiled. "Um...ok. Well, his saddle is in the tack room." He nodded and we stepped around the horses into the room.

Trent looked around in awe. The walls were covered in racks full of saddles, saddle blankets and other supplies. I rolled my eyes as I watched him.

"Close your mouth. Your drooling," I said teasingly. Trent looked at me, shocked and quickly closed his mouth, checking for drool. I laughed and turned to the saddles, grabbing the largest one and its matching blanket from its spot above the others.

"Here, this is Prince's." I handed the heavy things to him and turned to grab the floral saddle and blanket that belonged to Dalila. We readied the horses, climbed on to their strong backs, and headed out.

I ended up showing him our farmland. The pastures, livestock, corrals, crop. You get the picture. The weird thing was Trent seemed genuinely interested in it. Well, mostly in me. But whatever.

The sun was setting right as we made it to my favorite spot: the cliff. Or at least that's what I call it. The farm has a large at almost the farthest point away from the house. From its peak, you can see every inch of land.

We tied our horses to a tree at the bottom of the cliff and walked to the top. There, we sat on the hillside and watched the sunset.

"It's beautiful," I said, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin on the tops of them.

"Yeah," Trent said, though he was looking at me. I glanced at him and smiled.

"So did you have fun on our ride?"

"It was a blast. I never noticed how big this place was." I laughed and nodded.

"I know what you mean," I replied. The sky continued to darken as the sun slid down out of view. I shivered at the biting chill that soon set over. Trent scooted closer, wrapping one arm over my shoulders.

"Maybe we should head back. It's getting pretty dark out here," he said softly. I took one last look at the bright moon and stars of the night before agreeing.

The ride back was pretty silent, just the crickets and bullfrogs chirping the song. The stables was quiet too, the horses all asleep.

After putting up the horses and equipment, we walked up to the house. I turned to face him once I reached the front door.

"Are you staying to hang out with Ethan tonight?" I asked. Trent nodded in reply. We headed inside and upstairs. Once I reached my door with Trent behind me, he placed a hand on my shoulder. Surprised, I turned to face him.

"Something wrong?" I asked, concern in my eyes.

Trent shook his head. After a moment he said softly, "Listen, there's been something I've been meaning to do." I stared at him, confused. Trent only smiled and shrugged before bringing his lips down to mine.

At first I was so shocked, I had no idea what to do. I couldn't believe Trent and I were kissing. It had never occurred to me that he liked me this way at all. Did I like him like he did me?

Eventually, I relaxed. Though I was still indecisive about my feelings, he was a good kisser.

We pulled away from each other after a moment. I blushed and stepped back. Trent smiled down at me triumphantly.

"W-well...um..." I stuttered, "G-goodnight, Trent." I backed into my bedroom door, opening it still facing him.

Trent chuckled and replied, "Goodnight McCartney." I turned into my room and closed the door behind me, my jaw dropping in complete and utter surprise. I leaned against my door and slid to the ground, pulling my knees to my chest.

Did that really just happen?