The A Circuit 04- Rein It In (6 page)

“We saw Legs go,” Zara said when Tommi arrived. “He did awesome!”

“Yeah.” Tommi sat down next to her, pulling her schoolbag out from under the seat.

Zara sat up and peered at her. “What’s wrong? You don’t seem too happy about it.”

Tommi unzipped her bag. “I am. It’s just, seeing him reminded me I’m supposed to be looking for my next project.”

“You’re doing another one? Cool,” Fitz said.

“That’s the plan.” Tommi lifted one shoulder. “So if you guys hear of any, like, promising young horses that might work for me, let me know, okay?”

“Will do,” Fitz said, while Summer and Zara nodded.

Tommi didn’t have much hope that any of the trio would be likely to turn up a viable prospect. Summer rarely paid attention to anything that didn’t directly benefit herself, and the other two weren’t exactly the most pragmatic of shoppers. Exhibit A? The way Fitz had snapped up that off-the-track Thoroughbred Kate had noticed at a little local show. It looked like that one could actually pay off, since the horse was really
nice. But Tommi had the distinct feeling that if the beast Kate had commented on had been a donkey or a draft horse, Fitz might have bought that, too.

Still, you never could tell who could hear something interesting. Tommi glanced over at Marissa, who knew just about everybody on the circuit and liked to keep up with all the news at the shows. She might actually have a shot of hearing about something that would work for Tommi.

“Marissa?” Tommi said. “Did you hear what I said? I’m looking for a new project horse.”

“What?” Marissa finally looked up from her computer. “Oh, okay. But listen, you’ll never believe what just popped up on HorseShowSecrets. Check it out—it’s about Joy!”

“Joy?” Fitz looked intrigued. “As in, our assistant trainer Joy?”

“That’s the one.” Marissa turned the laptop so they could all see the screen. “See? It talks about how everyone at Pelham Lane is saying Joy hasn’t been herself lately. And how there could be lots of reasons for her weird behavior—like maybe she’s spying for another barn, or just got diagnosed with something horrible, or is plotting to push Jamie out and take over Pelham Lane.”

Tommi rolled her eyes. “Is that really what passes for horse show gossip these days? The blogger must be getting desperate. Joy hardly ever even goes to shows.”

“I know, right? Who cares about her.” Summer bent forward to grab a candy bar out of her bookbag. “Tommi’s right, the blog is supposed to be about the shows, and duh, one of the biggest shows of the year is happening right now!” She waved her candy bar at the arena around them.

“Maybe that means the blogger isn’t here at Cap Challenge,” Fitz speculated. “Maybe he or she isn’t even really an A circuit insider.”

“Ooh,” Tommi put in. “The plot thickens.”

If the others noticed her sarcasm, they didn’t show it. Marissa was shaking her head. “There was a post yesterday about that trainer from Alabama or Georgia or wherever who melted down when his fancy green hunter didn’t pin, remember?” she said. “Only someone who was here could have known about that.”

“Good point,” Fitz agreed. “Still, it’s kind of weird that something about Pelham Lane is coming out now.”

“I know, right?” Marissa grabbed her phone. “Let’s text Dani and see if she’s at the barn today. Maybe she can stalk Joy and find out the truth.”

Summer gasped. “Wait—what if
Joy
is the blogger? That would totally explain why there’s a post about her! And Jamie could have mentioned that Georgia trainer when he called home.”

“Are you for real?” Fitz shook his head. “I had to teach Joy how to set up the barn’s online bank account last year. I seriously doubt she’s mastered the art of blogging since then.”

Summer looked wounded. “Whatever. It’s just a theory, okay?”

“Chill, Summer.” Marissa’s thumbs were flying over her phone’s tiny keyboard. “He’s just giving you a hard time. We’re all wondering who’s behind that blog.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Zara muttered.

Tommi glanced at her, realizing she’d been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes. Was she still upset over that piece about her father? Zara noticed her glance, but turned away to grab a math textbook.

That reminded Tommi that she was behind on her own studies. “Tell Dani I said hi,” she told Marissa.

She pulled her laptop and physics book out of her bag. The jumper class was still going on in the ring, and it was tempting to chill for a while and watch. But Tommi knew she couldn’t let her grades slip even a little. If she did, her dad was likely to use that as an excuse to back out of their deal. And Tommi definitely didn’t want to give him any excuses.

“Easy, buddy,” Kate murmured as she checked the girth of the medium pony dancing in place beside her. “Nothing to be scared of here, Dazzle baby. You’re a brave boy.”

That was a lie, and Kate knew it. The pony, a dapple gray Welsh cross, was just as high-strung as he was fancy. He tended to snort and leap around and sometimes buck his eight-year-old owner off if someone didn’t school him in the ring before his division started. That was Kate’s job, and it was one she normally enjoyed. Dazzle was fun to ride despite his quirks, and if she did her thing now he was all but guaranteed to place in the pony hunters the next day.

Or later
that
day, technically. Kate stifled a yawn, trying not to think about what time it was. She’d waited until the wee hours of the morning to school the pony, hoping it would be easier to settle him in while the ring was relatively quiet.
There were a couple of other riders still schooling out there, but the atmosphere was nothing like it had been earlier in the evening, when the whole place was a sea of riders, lungers, and trainers yelling orders or advice.

Kate glanced up at the stands. They were also mostly empty at this hour, though Kate spotted two or three juniors bent over laptops or schoolbooks. Trying to squeeze in some studying whenever they could, she guessed.

The thought brought on a pang of guilt. Kate had been so busy that she’d barely cracked open a book all week. She would have to do something about that. She could only imagine what Mr. Barron would say if she turned up after the show with none of her chemistry homework done. Not to mention that five-page English paper she was supposed to write, or those problem sets for trig, or …

The pony jerked his head to one side, yanking the reins out of Kate’s hands and Kate’s mind back to the here and now. She couldn’t afford to get spacey at the moment, sleep or no sleep.

“Okay, here we go—easy now …” Kate gathered up the reins, then stuck her left foot in the stirrup and swung carefully aboard. Dazzle scooted forward a few steps, but stopped when Kate asked.

Kate rubbed his withers, then picked up the reins and nudged him forward toward the gate. The pony felt quick and nervous under her, but that was normal for him. It was also normal for Kate to feel like a giant while riding him—he was definitely a
lot
shorter than Fable or Flame or most of the other horses she rode. That was why Joy usually schooled the mediums at home, since she was several inches shorter than Kate and almost as slim.

Kate waited for a beefy chestnut to pass at an easy canter, then sent the pony into a trot. The gait started off rough, but Dazzle soon settled into his usual long, sweeping stride.

For the next few minutes, Kate kept the pony trotting, throwing in changes of direction, circles, serpentines, some basic lateral work, and anything else she could think of to occupy his busy little mind. It was warm in the ring, and before long the pony had worked up a sweat. Kate started to calculate how long it would take her to bathe him after the workout, then walk him dry and get him groomed. She would need to have him ready to go by the time the braider arrived at—what time had she said she was coming again? Kate tried to focus on what Jamie had told her earlier, but forgot about that when Dazzle suddenly veered off the rail and tossed his head.

“Easy,” Kate said, reeling him in and nudging him back over.

The pony soon settled and Kate stifled a yawn, deciding there was no point in trying to guess when she might actually make it to sleep that night. Still, she couldn’t help wondering what time her friends had gone to bed. Zara had said something about trying to hit some party the juniors from a different barn were throwing, but Tommi and Marissa had seemed skeptical. In any case, Kate was sure that all of them had been snoring away in their hotel rooms for at least the past couple of hours. And would probably still be sound asleep when Kate arrived back at the showgrounds to help the grooms feed …

Realizing she was sinking into a pity party, she did her best to shake it off and focus on what she was doing. This was what she’d signed on for, right? This was the life she loved, living and breathing horses and showing and all the rest. The only
way she could be a part of this world was through hard work and long hours. Sometimes
really
long hours.

And that was okay. Even at times like this, when she was so tired she was yawning every ten seconds and could hardly muster the strength to keep her grip on the reins, she felt lucky and grateful to be here. It wasn’t easy, but it was her life—the only life she could imagine. If her parents and her teachers could just understand that and maybe cut her some slack once in a while …

“Heads up!” a voice rang out.

With a burst of adrenaline, Kate realized she’d drifted into the path of the lumbering chestnut as it headed toward a jump. She quickly kicked Dazzle into a canter to circle out of the way.

“Sorry!” she called to the other rider.

Shaking her head to clear it, she did her best to banish all thoughts of schoolwork, her parents, and the rest. She could worry about that stuff later. Right now she had a job to do.

Chapter Five

“I can’t believe it’s Saturday already—it feels like we just got here like two seconds ago, I swear,” Marissa chattered, her words coming so fast Zara had trouble following them. “Where did the week go?”

“You got me.” Zara grabbed the rag out of Marissa’s hand before she could spook her cross-tied horse by flapping it around. The girl got nervous before every class, but this was ridiculous. “Trust me, I’m not exactly thrilled about going back to school in two days. I doubt I’ve even finished half the crap my teachers gave me to do.”

“You and me both,” Tommi put in, glancing up from the next set of cross-ties, where she was tightening her junior hunter’s girth.

Summer was leaning against the wall nearby, watching Tommi and Marissa get ready for their large junior hunter under saddle class, though Zara noticed she didn’t seem to feel any need to help like Zara and Fitz were doing.

“I got all my homework done yesterday,” Summer announced,
studying her manicure. “I wanted to enjoy the last weekend of the show without school stuff getting in my way.”

“Well, aren’t you special,” Zara said with a snort. “I guess every barn needs a resident nerd.”

Summer frowned, while everyone else laughed. Well,
almost
everyone. Kate was dashing around helping with this and that—rubbing a little more oil on the horses’ hooves, wiping an invisible spot off Marissa’s saddle flap, whatever. It made Zara tired to watch her, especially since Kate seemed even more stressed than the two people who were actually about to ride in the class.

“We’d better hurry.” Tommi pushed back the cuff of her jacket to check her watch. “Where’d I put my bridle?”

“Here it is.” Kate lunged across the grooming area and grabbed a bridle off a hook. “I’ll help you.”

“Can you help me, too?” Marissa begged, clutching her own bridle so hard her knuckles were white. “I’m a total fumble fingers when I’m nervous.”

“Got you covered,” Zara said, stepping forward. She took the bridle from Marissa and slung the reins over her horse’s head. “Unclip him on that side and get the halter off—I’ll do the rest.”

Marissa’s smile was insanely grateful. “Thanks, Zara.”

“Where are all the grooms, anyway?” Summer sounded vaguely annoyed. “Shouldn’t they be here helping you? Isn’t that what they get paid for?”

“Hello! Kate’s standing right in front of you.” Fitz pointed at Kate, who was helping Tommi wrestle with her hunter. Toccata was clearly picking up on the nervous energy zipping around him and had started dancing in place.

“Okay, but she’s not really a groom.” Summer shot Kate a dismissive look. “Just a working student.”

At that moment a girl around their age came rushing down the aisle, trying to shrug on her jacket as she went. Zara had seen her around all week, which meant she probably rode with one of the other barns stabled nearby.

“Are you guys in the hack?” the girl blurted out breathlessly. “Because we’re supposed to be out there right now. They said if we—hey, aren’t you Zara Trask? You know, Zac’s daughter?” She stopped dead in front of Zara, the panic on her face suddenly replaced by naked curiosity. Her gaze slid toward the other girls, quickly looking each of them up and down.

“Zara Trask? Nope, never heard of her,” Zara said, deadpan.

A muffled announcement came over the loudspeaker—something about a five-minute warning. The girl let out a squeak of terror. With one last curious glance at Zara and the others, she raced off.