Ella Little gave her blood bay gelding a pat on the neck while she was out on the trail with him. He tossed his head with pleasure as soon as he felt his rider's touch, and Ella couldn't help but smile.
It was nice to be out on the trail with her horse and two best friends, Kayla Hartman and Josh Barnes. Ella had become best friends with Kayla and Josh a few weeks before during a three-week camp that they all went on. Even though Ella was new to Sandy Beach and Canter Cove Riding Ranch, owned by Josh's parents, she became fast friends with anyone she met, and she was glad of that.
When Ella first came to Sandy Beach from living in the city for fourteen years, she thought that she would never make any new friends. But that all changed when she met her cousins, twenty-three-year-old Cody Davidson and eighteen-year-old Catania Wilson. They too became best friends, and Ella loved them. She guessed that she was a lot like her mother, Tasha Little, when it came to making friends.
Ella was the daughter of Adam and Tasha Little, and she was from the richest family in Sandy Beach. Ella was a daddy's girl, but she was a lot like her mother. They both shared blonde hair, and they had the same personality. It was often said that Tasha was an eavesdropper when she was younger. Ella was following in the same footsteps according to Cody, but she didn't mind because it was nice to be compared to her mother.
"It is so nice to be on the trail," said Kayla as she patted her palomino mare, Tessa, on her neck.
Ella and Josh nodded in agreement.
"But," Kayla continued, "it means we only have a few more days until we have to go back to school."
"I know, I really don't want to go back. Sometimes I wish that Cobalt and I could just run away and not have to think about school," replied Josh.
Cobalt was Josh's seal brown gelding.
Ella laughed, "maybe we should. I don't want to be the new girl."
"Don't worry, Ella, my mother was the new girl, so maybe she could give you some tips on how to handle it."
Josh was the son of Isabella and Ryan Barnes, and when Isabella was in year ten, she was the new girl. From what Ella could see, Josh was a lot like his parents. He was into horses and he was an amazing rider. Clearly he was such a good rider because he was the son of two professionals who spent their lives teaching riders.
"We should really get back for the lesson," said Kayla as she stopped Tessa just by the river.
Ella looked at the time, "do we have to? We are having such a good time out here."
"We need to be back in time for the lesson," Josh added.
"Okay, okay, we will go."
Ella, Kayla and Josh turned their horses around and they headed back down the trail to Canter Cove. It was good how they could ride abreast seeing as the trail was wide enough. As much as Ella liked trail riding, she didn't like being forced to ride in a straight line for the whole trip. She liked being able to look at her friends when she spoke to them and it was much easier to have a conversation.
Ella felt so lucky to have good friends like Josh and Kayla.
But there was one thing Ella couldn't stop thinking about.
Josh.
Josh had become a really good friend, but there was something that Ella hadn't told him.
At camp, Ella realised that there was a possibility that she liked him. She didn't know why, she wasn't even looking for a boyfriend at the time, but she did have feelings for him.
