A/N: Hello everyone So real life kind of kicked my butt for a little while, and I pulled the story because I wanted to change some things and now here I am, back and hoping to keep this story going. It's basically because of all of my readers who kept asking about this story's progress that I'm continuing. So thank you all, and I hope you enjoy!

I own nothing Twilight related. Only the plot and the horses are mine!

Chapter 1 – Just a Sketch of Me

I suppressed a shudder as I stepped out of my impeccably clean Kia Spectra 5. I had not been around any real level of dirt and mud since childhood. And this place was full of it. As I caught a whiff of the air outside of my car, I nearly gagged as I tried to stop breathing entirely. As far as I could remember, I had never smelled anything so raw before. I ducked as a fly dive-bombed my face, gasping as I was forced to breathe the country air. It wasn't that I was adverse to rural life, necessarily; it was just that this felt a bit like stepping onto another planet.

What on earth had I gotten myself into?

As I was attempting to remember how to effectively breathe through my mouth, I was able to steal a few glances at my current surroundings. Bella, my future sister-in-law, and present activities manager, had won a raffle that gave her six weeks of free horseback riding lessons at a relatively nearby stable. Being terrified of horses, terrified of heights, and busy planning her wedding to my brother Edward, Bella had given me the tickets as an early birthday present. I'd determined that she was simply trying to force me into some semblance of a normal social creature, and while I would ordinarily be wounded at this obvious betrayal, I had always been spellbound by horses and thus forgave Bella. Just this once though.

The farm was absolutely gorgeous, and I made a mental note to thank Bella significantly. As far as I could see, there were evenly cut green fields, bordered off with crisp criss-crossed black fence, and dotted with horses of every colour. There was a large steel blue barn, also trimmed with a neat black border. There were flowers arranged precisely around the barn and also at the entrance to a large fenced in riding area. I counted eleven brightly coloured obstacles set up in the ring, and I felt my stomach drop in nervous trepidation. I wouldn't be expected to soar over those, would I?

As I was pondering both the intelligence of my plan, and the danger it seemed to be presenting me, I noticed a tall blonde man striding purposefully toward me. He had appeared from a barn that was identical in colour but half the size of the first barn I'd seen, and if his furrowed brow was an accurate indicator, he was annoyed about something. Honestly, all I could really seem to pay attention to was the fact that he was wearing skintight fawn-coloured pants, and that his ass looked fabulous in them.

'Alice Brandon?' he asked when he had gotten closer to me.

'Yep,' I answered quickly, the pants were so distracting that eloquent speech seemed impossible.

For some unknown reason, while my brain faltered, my limbs seemed to work on autopilot, and I bounded toward the stunning man, hand held out. 'Nice to meet you,' I managed to squeak out.

I must seem like such a crazy person.

He faltered just a bit, taken aback by my bipolar-esque behaviour, but then he regained his composure and answered, 'Jasper Whitlock. I'll be your instructor today. You're late, so we need to get started immediately.'

Now it was my turn to be taken aback. All previous thoughts of his eye-catching physique had nearly disappeared with the occurrence of his attitude. How on earth did he figure he had a right to be such an ass?

'What do you mean I'm late?' I checked my watch as I asked my question. 'I was told to be here at eleven o'clock. I'm actually three minutes early!'

I was so indignant that I wanted to cry. I was never late, punctuality was my middle name.

'Well then, you were told incorrectly,' Jasper said unsympathetically, still striding ahead with his back to me, his tall black boots making an even staccato noise on the cement floor. 'Your lesson starts at eleven, but you were supposed to be here a half-hour early to prepare.'

I was jogging to keep up with him. Prepare? What the hell kind of preparation did this entail? Didn't I just get on?

As we stepped into the shade of the smaller barn, I noticed with approval that the smell had improved considerably. I could easily pick out the smell of leather and also something very sweet, like mown grass taken up a notch.

'You are expected to catch your horse yourself, groom and tack up your horse yourself before every lesson,' Jasper told me brusquely. He finally stopped as he finished speaking, and I nearly crashed into him. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, and decided to play it off.

'Geez, why the sudden stop?' I grumbled, looking at anything but his face.

'This is the horse you'll be riding today,' Jasper announced, nodding toward a wooden door that had a brass number twelve centred at the top. I noticed with a juvenile glee I'd forgotten I had that the name Trojan was what was engraved on the customised nameplate.

'What is so funny?' Jasper questioned stiffly, looking over at me like I was absolutely idiotic.

I let loose with giggles. 'The-horse's name-is-Trojan!' I managed to get out between peals of laughter.

Jasper looked at me blankly; he seemed unsure of whether I would be fit to continue the lesson or not. 'He came with the name,' Jasper answered matter-of-factly. 'He's a pony, and his owners thought with would be funny to name him after such an imposing figure.'

I actually stopped laughing to stare at him. He clearly didn't share my unconcealed amusement at the horse's name, and I didn't want to dig myself into a deeper hole with my distant, albeit attractive, instructor. 'Wait, isn't a pony a baby horse?' I asked, my attention span of a gnat kicking in full force. 'I don't want to ride a baby horse.'

Jasper actually attempted to mask his feelings of my stupidity this time; I felt quite honoured. 'A pony is a fully grown, smaller version of a horse. A foal is a baby horse,' he said tersely.

Okay. Man, he was good at making people feel like utter shit. Really, the best I'd ever met. So I did what I did best and ignored the current issues. I turned to gaze apprehensively at the fuzzy looking horse in the stall Jasper had pointed out.

'Hi Trojan,' I said, trying hard not to snicker too hard as the tiny horse–sorry, pony–blinked slowly at me, two stalks of hay sticking out of his mouth. It was hard to take him too seriously in this light. I didn't think I'd ever seen something so cute in my entire life.

'Well, go ahead,' Jasper said, motioning to the stall door with his left hand.

I gawked blankly at him, 'Go ahead and what?' What exactly did he expect me to do? I had no intention of going into an enclosed space with a horse, when I'd never been anywhere near a horse before.

'Go ahead and catch him,' Jasper answered in a monotone, 'so you can bring him out and tack him up for your lesson.'

I looked dubiously at Trojan who simply continued munching his hay. How in the hell did one catch a horse? I deduced catching him like a butterfly was out of the question.

'When do I get my lasso?' I asked turning back to Jasper, who wiped away a small smirk when he noticed me watching. He began to stare at me impassively. 'You know,' I said with mock seriousness, I had after all seen at least one western movie before, 'to catch the horse?' I couldn't help it, my snarky side came out when I was nervous, and Jasper Whitlock seemed to be an expert on making me nervous.

'That's what we use a halter for,' Jasper said shortly, handing me a contraption of leather and buckles.

I took the bundle both gratefully and grudgingly, and retorted, 'Well maybe you should make things like that clear to those who obviously don't know any better.'

He looked slightly abashed and I was quite proud of myself until I realised that I had no earthly clue how this halter nonsense was supposed to work. Suddenly, a lasso seemed like a much better idea.

'Here, let me help you with that,' Jasper said in a quiet voice. I was surprised that he was standing beside me, his hands on the halter.

'Sure,' I mumbled, releasing the leather bundle and stepping back. I tried to memorise the exact way that Jasper put the halter on, so I would have no problems the next time. I also tried not to let my smile show through; Jasper needed to be taken down a peg or two, and this was a significant victory.

Twenty-two minutes later, Jasper had placed a saddle on Trojan's back, explaining every step to me, and was getting the horse's headgear–a bridle, he'd clarified–ready, when I asked about equipment for myself.

'Don't I need a helmet or something?' I asked, twirling the silver ring on the right side of my mouth.

Jasper's gaze went from my eyes to my head to my hand in quick succession. 'Yes, you need a helmet. Did you bring a helmet?' His face brightened slightly when he asked, and then he added, 'it's not a bicycle helmet, is it?'

I rolled my eyes. Seriously? What did he take me for? I had the internet at home. 'Nope. I don't have a helmet to my name. Bicycle or otherwise.'

He darted into the room he'd brought the saddle and other contraptions from, and returned seconds later, brandishing an ugly ass white plastic hat.

'Oh, God, please tell me I don't have to wear that,' I said helplessly.

He looked puzzled, and spoke with an emotion I couldn't identify, 'Of course you have to wear this. It's a rule, and it will protect you in case something happens.'

Oh man, now I was going to have one more thing to be terrified about before I even stepped on the horse. Why oh why had I agreed to this again?

'Okay.' I nodded, reaching my hand out for the ugly helmet, and cringing at the thought of the state my hair would be in at the end of this little adventure. It wasn't necessarily that I was overly self-conscious of my looks, but with short spiky hair, wearing headgear of any kind was a risky game.

'You need to lose the, uh,' Jasper motioned weakly toward my mouth with his hand and fumbled over his words. He ran a hand through his disorderly hair and looked at me with a sort of discomfort.

He was quite possibly one of the oddest and most fascinating people I'd ever met.

'My lip rings?' I asked shocked. I hadn't taken them out for more than fifteen minutes since I'd gotten them pierced sixteen months earlier.

'Well yeah,' Jasper answered, 'they're a hazard. If you were to fall or get them tangled somehow, you could rip your whole lip off, and that's not a pleasant sight at all.'

I tugged at the delicate silver hoops again and made the decision that surrendering was both imminent and necessary. 'Where can I put them?' I asked with a bit of an edge to my voice; he didn't have to know I was so ready to comply.

I scurried in the direction he pointed me to, warring with all of the different emotions I was experiencing.

As soon as I made my way back to where Jasper and Trojan were waiting, Jasper began talking in his no-nonsense voice again. I tried to listen attentively, and not focus too much on the fact that I was now realising the attractive side of polo shirts.

'The only other thing you might really need are chaps, but that's really only a necessity for someone who intends to ride long-term or intensely,' he began to say when I'd returned, my lip unbearably barren. 'The shoes you're wearing will do at least for now, they have a decent heel. You can get other boots that are made specifically for riding, but again, long term.'

I nodded, digging my hands into my pockets and trying to take in everything he was saying.

'Are you ready?' Jasper asked, nodding toward Trojan who was still standing tolerantly.

'Lead the way,' I said, trying to regain a chipper mind-set. I stood motionless beside the pony and looked at Jasper expectantly.

'It's your lesson,' Jasper told me, his infuriating smirk back on his face. 'You get to walk with Trojan. Follow me.'

His attitude was beginning to drive me crazy. Didn't he realise I didn't have a clue how to do any of these things that he took for granted? So I simply stood there, arms crossed, and staring at his back.

'You hold the reins in both hands, stand by his left shoulder, and just walk. He'll follow you. Now come on, we don't have a limitless amount of time,' he called to me, never slowing down and never turning back.

I glared at his back, at the ugly shade of red that his shirt was. God, red was such a disgusting colour. Then I recognized that I was winning no pissing contests just standing in the middle of the barn like a moron. I choked back a snort of disdain, looked at Trojan warily, and tentatively tugged on the rein. I almost laughed out loud with mad glee as the pony followed me without a hint of hesitation, and I hurried to follow Jasper before he disappeared.

'Now, is this anything like the movies?' I asked wittily. 'Cause I'm not gonna lie, it looks pretty easy there.'

'Nothing at all like the movies,' Jasper answered, his trademark colourless tone back in place. He fiddled around with straps on the saddle and didn't look at me.

I rolled my eyes, and couldn't believe we were doing this nonsense again. Couldn't he just pick an emotional atmosphere and stay there?

'Now, everything with horses is done on the left side,' Jasper was saying, done with his fiddling and back into instruction mode. 'It's from the old days when the cavalry was the basic reason people learned how to ride horses.'

I straightened up, attempted to look completely serious, and only fidgeted with my bottom lip a tiny bit.

Jasper looked over at me to make sure I was listening to his satisfaction; when he saw that I was he continued, 'Anytime you get on or off a horse, it is to be done from the left side. Do you understand?'

I nodded vigorously; it seemed like a simple enough rule. I had always been good at telling left from right.

'Well go ahead and mount,' Jasper directed, motioning at Trojan.

'If it isn't like the movies, then how do I go about this mounting business?' I responded instantly, feeling my patience with him grow thinner and thinner with each assumption. I could tell that he was trying to prove my inexperience; he couldn't have made that point any clearer. I just didn't understand why. He was a riding trainer for God's sake. Didn't he spend all day with people who didn't have the slightest clue about horses? Why was I so different?

Jasper's face changed again as he took in my expression and exactly what it meant. 'Of course,' he said, a small amount of shame in his voice, 'I forget sometimes that not everyone knows these things.'

He was lying. I could tell this with no effort at all. Realising this fact did little more than make my more annoyed than I already was. I tried to put aside my frustrations and follow his coaching about the art of getting myself into the saddle.

'You need to put your left foot in the stirrup first,' Jasper said now, talking more to the gleaming leather saddle than to me. 'Then you grab a handful of mane, and—'

'–doesn't that hurt him?' I blurted out, unable to contain my surprise. I'd be damned if anyone would ever be pulling on my hair. And Trojan looked as if killing me would hardly involve any sort of effort.

I saw Jasper roll his eyes faintly, and I clenched my fists in response. It was a perfectly valid freaking question.

'No. It doesn't hurt him at all. He's too big for something so inconsequential to bother him,' Jasper continued, not missing a beat. 'You grab a chunk of mane to support your weight, and your other hand needs to hold the reins with some degree of security to prevent the horse from moving. Then you jump a few times to gain momentum, and you swing your right leg over the saddle, right yourself, and you should be good to go. Any questions?'

I shook my head to let him know I understood, and I looked square at the chocolate brown pony, and was that much more convinced that I had to get this perfectly right on my first try. I had to show Jasper that I was much more capable than he was giving me credit for, and that these six weeks of riding lessons would be a blur.

My plan would have worked perfectly if I had remembered to check Trojan's girth as Jasper had told me when he put the saddle on the round pony. Had I remembered that tiny detail, I probably wouldn't have ended up landing on my ass in the dirt, with Jasper standing above me biting his lip to keep from laughing hysterically.

I sighed as I put my car into park in its designated parking space. The house looked quiet and lonely, but I knew otherwise. The silver Volvo parked next to me meant that Edward and Bella were inside, waiting no doubt to question me about my adventure.

The problem was, I didn't really know what to tell them. I didn't know how I felt about the whole situation. I'd had a tremendous amount of fun riding, once I'd dusted myself off and been able to properly get on the horse. The experience was definitely something I couldn't wait to repeat.

But Jasper, well Jasper's involvement had thrown such a huge loop in the mix that I couldn't fully understand.

Seeing Jasper again was something else I couldn't wait to replicate, and I couldn't figure out why I wanted to see him at all. He was a douche, in the douche-iest kind of way possible.

As I was internally theorising my illogical desire to be in Jasper's presence again, I noticed the curtain in the living room's picture shift slightly. I grimaced a tiny bit when I realised that Edward and Bella were sitting in the house watching my inner debate.

I unlocked my seatbelt and reached over to open the car door. When I looked up at the window again, the curtain was still.

The tidy, two-story townhouse had been Edward's for nearly two years now. He'd moved to Maryland and to this house a year after he'd graduated from college and started a new job as a pharmacist. Bella got a job as a newspaper columnist at a small but well respected local paper, and moved in with Edward when he'd surprised her with a key. They'd lived together in perfect domestic bliss until I'd graduated from college a year later and promptly realised the uselessness of a degree in theatre. I'd had absolutely no luck in being hired anywhere but menial part-time jobs, and Edward couldn't resist the urge to shelter his helpless baby sister from the perils of homelessness, or crummy apartments in squalor at the very least.

It was an arrangement that worked fairly comfortably for the most part. I made up places to go and things to do on special occasions, and invested in a fantastic pair of headphones for every other night.

Four feet from the front door, as I was pulling out my keys, the door opened and Bella popped out. 'Alice!' she squealed, upon seeing me. She wasted no time and prompted, 'Well, how was it?'

I couldn't help but laugh. Edward couldn't have picked a better girl to fall in love with. If I didn't know any better, I say she was destined to be my sister. 'I'm not even in the house yet, Bella. Eager much?'

She faked a pout. 'Can you really blame me? I've been here all morning, trying to decide whether or not the wedding invitations look better in cream or egg-shell. I still maintain that they're the same colour, but what do I know. I'm just the—'

'You're babbling, babe,' I reminded her, giggling now at the look on her face. She blushed and held the door open for me.

'Dinner's getting cold. And Edward and I want to hear all about your equestrian adventures.'

I snorted inelegantly, and preceded her into the door. 'You're such a dork.'

'Watch who you're calling a dork,' Edward's smooth voice warned as he walked up the hallway. He was trying to be serious, but when he stopped a few feet in front of me, I could see his self-control dissipating. 'Glad to see you made it home in one piece,' he said with amused expression.

'I'm fairly resilient,' I retorted back, dropping my jacket on the floor next to the front door. Bella made a face at my blatant act of disorder, but wisely said nothing. I could tell she was positively bursting at the seams to find out everything she could about my introduction to the world of horseback riding. I wanted to talk about anything but what had transpired at the beautiful farm.

Before I could open my mouth and think up an excuse to get Bella off my back for a little bit longer, Edward interrupted my conflicting musings expertly. He turned away from where Bella stood, still looking at me expectantly, and announced, 'You reek, Alice. That's quite possibly the worst I've ever known you to smell. And I mean that quite honestly.'