As soon as Kate mounted, most of her nerves fled. This was her thing, the place she felt most at home. The horse shifted his weight beneath her, giving her a hint of his hair-trigger athleticism.
“Good boy,” she murmured, gathering up the reins. “Let’s see if we’re going to get along, all right?”
It felt like seconds later that Kate was staring out through the tunnel into the main ring. The warm-up had gone well. Porter wasn’t an easy ride, but he wasn’t as difficult as Kate had been expecting, either—sensitive, maybe a little insecure, but a real tryer. He’d overjumped the first warm-up fence by about a foot, eliciting snickers from a few of the watching riders, including Charity. Kate had stayed with him easily, though, pushing him forward and bringing him around again, steadying him more firmly on the second try. That time he’d sailed over in perfect hunter form, and Kara had actually smiled and shot Kate a thumbs-up.
Now the trainer was standing beside Porter, holding his bridle and barking out instructions that Kate barely heard. It was almost their turn to head into the ring. Was this really happening? Kate had ridden in her share of junior hunter classes at shows up and down the East Coast. But this was different. This was Indoors.
“Okay, you’re up.” Kara let go of the bridle and stepped back as the gate swung open. “Go!”
Kate took a deep breath, urging Porter forward into the show ring. He was alert, and she could feel his muscles bunching as he looked for something to spook at. She ignored that, pushing him forward into a brisk trot and then asking for a leg yield to give him something else to think about. Still, she couldn’t blame him for being nervous. Her own stomach was fluttering like crazy, and her palms felt clammy beneath her gloves. Why did the arena look so much bigger now than it had when she’d been sitting out there earlier, watching other people ride?
Porter swerved, eyeing a large white banner hanging on the arena wall, and Kate realized she had to focus. “Come on, now,” she whispered, half-halting softly. “Let’s not be silly, okay?”
She slipped her outside heel back, sending the horse into a canter so smooth and silky Kate couldn’t help smiling, just as she had when she’d first felt it back in the warm-up ring. No wonder Kara and the horse’s owner had been so eager to get him into the show ring. If his rider could convince him to concentrate on his job, Porter could be a world-beater.
And for right now, it was Kate’s job to make him look like exactly that. She sent him in a big, loopy circle around the jumps, letting him take a peek at several of the spookier ones. At the same time, she kept him softly but consistently on the aids, not letting him think for a second that he could get away with anything. It hadn’t taken more than a few minutes in the warm-up to realize that was the way this horse needed to be ridden. A hunter round was supposed to look easy and effortless, but often a whole lot of effort was going on behind that pretty picture.
Kate felt light-headed as she turned the horse toward the first jump, a solid-looking vertical off a long approach. Was she really here, or was this a dream? She almost closed her eyes as she felt the horse’s muscles bunch in front of the fence, but she resisted the urge. They sailed over, and Kate felt Porter’s muscles bunch again as if he were thinking about tossing in a celebratory buck. Kate closed her leg, sending him forward to short-circuit that idea. The horse responded well, flowing smoothly toward the next obstacle.
By the time they finished the course, Kate was smiling. She could hear people cheering as she rode toward the gate. Glancing up at the stands, she picked out Tommi, Zara, and Fitz in the front row. All three of them were on their feet, whooping and waving wildly. She grinned at her friends but didn’t dare wave back; Kara was waiting at the gate.
The trainer was smiling when Kate reached her. “That was terrific,” she said. “Good job. Find Liam and tell him to cool him out and keep him calm until the handy.” Then she turned away and crooked a finger at Charity, who was sitting a few feet away on her big mare. “You’re up. Let’s go.”
Charity urged her horse forward, staring at Kate. Kate smiled uncertainly, waiting for Porter’s owner to say something, to acknowledge what a truly nice horse she was lucky enough to own. But Charity didn’t say a word, turning her gaze toward the ring and riding past.
Kate shrugged. Riding over to a clear spot in the passageway, she slid down and gave Porter a pat before running up the stirrups. “You were amazing, big guy,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
By the next afternoon, Kate was half convinced that this entire weekend had to be a dream. Porter’s handy hunter round had been almost as spectacular as his first round, with only a slight bobble on the rollback to the third fence. Kara had warned her that the horse could be fussy and a little aggressive when he felt crowded, so in the under-saddle class Kate had worked hard to keep her mount away from the other horses as much as possible, and to distract him when someone did get too close. She’d been vaguely aware of Tommi, Fitz, Marissa, and Charity passing now and then, but had kept most of her attention on her own horse, using every trick she knew to keep him focused.
And it had worked—they’d placed second to Tommi and Toccata in the class. Still, even after two more great jumping rounds today, Kate had hardly dared to believe it when she heard they’d finished third and fourth that day. Tommi and Toccata were champions, and Kate finished just off reserve. She’d beaten Fitz and his hunter, Tommi’s new friend Scott, Charity and Marissa. It was an amazing experience.
Kate was standing in the aisle near the Pelham Lane tack stall with several of the other juniors when she heard the news. “Congratulations!” Marissa exclaimed, grabbing Kate and jumping up and down. “You’re amazing!”
Fitz was tall enough to lean right over Marissa’s head and plant a kiss on Kate’s lips. “That’s our little superstar,” he said. “I always knew you were destined for greatness.”
“It’s nice to meet a man who isn’t threatened when his woman kicks his butt.” Zara smirked at Fitz. “And she so totally did, by the way.”
Marissa let go of Kate. “Where’s Tommi? We should congratulate her, too.”
“I think she’s off handwalking Toccata somewhere.” Dani pulled out her smartphone. “I’ll text her and find out where she is.”
Kate didn’t hear what the others said after that. She’d just spotted Kara Parodi standing out in the open area in front of the rows of stalls, talking to another trainer. “Be right back,” she told her friends.
She hurried over, waiting until Kara finished her conversation with the other trainer and then tapping her on the arm.
“Excuse me,” Kate said. “I just wanted to thank you again. You know—for the opportunity. Porter’s a great horse.”
Kara looked pleased. “Yeah, I guess you just proved that to everyone,” she said. “You did great, Kate. I’m glad this worked out.”
Before Kate could respond, Charity stomped over to them. “Oh, it’s you,” she greeted Kate with a frown. “Thanks for making me look bad.”
“Uh, what?” Kate blurted out.
“Charity, that’s enough.” Kara’s voice was sharp. “We agreed that you didn’t want to ride Porter at this show, and Kate was kind enough to step in. End of story.” Her words held a strong hint of warning.
Charity glared at her, then at Kate. Finally she shrugged. “Whatever,” she muttered. “I’m going back to the hotel.”
She stormed off. Kara shook her head. “Sorry about that,” she told Kate. “It’s not you, it’s her, if you know what I mean.”
“It’s okay.” Kate smiled weakly, then wandered back over to rejoin her friends, who had drifted closer while she was talking to Kara.
“What was that all about?” Zara asked, glancing after Charity.
Kate swallowed hard. She hadn’t realized her friends had witnessed the exchange with Porter’s owner.
Dani smirked. “Isn’t it obvious? Little Miss Snotface didn’t like having Kate whip her butt on her own horse.”
Fitz saw Kate’
s expression and threw an arm around her. “Don’t let it bother you, babe,” he said. “Dani’s right—that girl’s just being a sore loser.”
“I guess.” Kate tossed one last glance in the direction Charity had disappeared. “Anyway, it’s no big deal.” Doing her best to shake off the momentary dark spot in her perfect day, she smiled at the others. “Did you guys find Tommi? We should go congratulate her, like you said.”
Kate was still in a daze as she picked out Fable’s stall that evening. Most of the competitors had gone back to their hotels an hour ago, but Kate was in no hurry to leave. She wanted to savor this day as long as possible. Even if she never got to do it again; even if she spent the rest of her horse-show career scooping poop and warming up bratty ponies at midnight, it had been worth it for those few glorious moments in the big ring.
“Your turn starts soon, big guy,” she murmured to the burly gray horse, who was watching with interest as she sifted through the bedding in his stall. “You’d better be good for Tommi, you hear?”
In response, Fable stuck his nose in his water bucket and splashed half of it out onto himself and the floor. Kate sighed and smiled, shooing him away so she could remove the wet shavings. Fable was definitely a character. It still felt a little strange that Tommi was going to be the one to ride him in his first eq finals, but Kate was trying hard to remember that he wasn’t her horse, even if he felt like it sometimes. Besides, it was only for a show or two. Soon Tommi’s eq horse would be better, and Fable would go back to being Kate’s project.
“And by this time next year, who knows?” she whispered with a shiver, remembering those amazing trips with Porter and imagining the even more incredible feeling of entering the ring with a horse she’d worked with all year long. A horse that felt almost like her own.
Kate had already picked out several other stalls, and her wheelbarrow was almost full, so she gave Fable one last scratch in his favorite itchy spot between his ears and then let herself out of his stall. After she dumped the wheelbarrow and returned it to its spot behind the stalls, she went back to refill Fable’s bucket, warning him not to spill it this time. Then she wandered into the tack room, her eyes immediately drawn to the multicolored row of ribbons hanging on the wall. She hadn’t gotten to keep the ones she and Porter won—his owner got those—but still, it almost felt as if they were hanging up there. Maybe someday …
Just then she heard footsteps in the aisle outside. Glancing over her shoulder, she expected to see Miguel or one of the other grooms. But it was Fitz.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked in surprise. “I thought you went back to the hotel with the others.”
“I did. But I came back.” Fitz pulled a large, greasy white paper bag out from behind his back. “I wanted to celebrate your catch-riding awesomeness. I got your favorite—turkey on white and an orange soda.”
“You brought me dinner?” Kate looked down at the bag as he handed it to her, touched by the gesture.
“I brought us dinner.” He grabbed a show cooler that was hanging in the tack stall and spread it on the floor. “I knew you’d probably be too tired to go out, but I thought we could have a picnic. Just give me a sec …”
Soon the two of them were sitting down with sandwiches, chips, pickles, and sodas spread out between them. “Isn’t this Summer’s good cooler?” Kate said, fingering the edge of the monogrammed wool sheet. “She’s going to be mad that we’re getting it all dirty.”
Fitz shrugged. “She’ll never notice. It’s not like she ever cools out her own horse. Besides, she’s done for the weekend—I’m kind of surprised she’s even sticking around to watch the eq, since she’s not in it.”
“She likes to keep track of what’s going on.” Kate picked a sliver of onion off her sandwich.
“Yeah, but who needs to be there in person now that we have that crazy blog?” Fitz rolled his eyes. “Anyway, let’s not talk about Summer. Tonight’s all about you and me. But mostly you.” He smiled and raised his soda, clinking it against hers. “I’m really proud of you, you know. You were amazing out there.”
“Thanks.” She tilted her head playfully. “You really don’t mind that I beat you?”
“I loved it. Keeps me in my place.” He swigged his soda. “There’s just one problem.”
Kate reached for a handful of chips. “What?”
“Now it won’t be such a surprise when you take the show world by storm next year.” Fitz grinned. “I mean, you and Fable will definitely qualify for all the eq finals next season. Flame will be ready to show soon, plus I’m guessing after today you’ll be getting more calls to catch-ride.”
“Yeah.” Kate stared at her food, suddenly realizing something. “Except …”
“What?” Fitz licked his fingers. “Hey, what’s wrong? You look weird all of a sudden.”
Kate shrugged. “I was just thinking about that rumor. You know, about Joy’s job?”
“Oh right.” Fitz smiled. “That’s just one more piece of proof that you’re the toast of the circuit these days.”
Kate smiled weakly. “Yeah, except if I take the job, it will probably mean a lot less showing,” she said. “I mean, that’s kind of the whole point, right? Joy stays home and runs things there while Jamie’s off at the shows.”
“Oh.” Fitz looked thoughtful. “I guess you’re right. I never really thought about it that way.” He reached over and rubbed a smudge of mustard off her chin, letting his thumb wander to her lower lip. “But Jamie wouldn’t want to hold you back,” he said, his voice suddenly husky. “I’m sure something will work out.”
Kate closed her eyes as he leaned over the food and kissed her, trying to forget about that job, at least for now. Why let thoughts of the future ruin her perfect day?
Chapter Fifteen
“Who’s Joy?” The girl with the wavy red hair looked distracted as she glanced at Zara over the rack of show shirts she was flipping through in one of the vendor booths.
“Joy—you know, the assistant trainer at Pelham Lane?” Zara watched the redhead’s eyes carefully, but they were a blank. “There was some stuff about her on HorseShowSecrets last week.”
“There was?” The girl shrugged, picking up one of the shirts for a closer look. “I guess I might have seen that. Is she the one who fell off that crazy jumper at Cap Challenge?”
Zara sighed, mentally checking another name off her list. “Never mind,” she said. “I’ll let you finish your shopping.”
She hurried off without waiting for an answer. This whole detective deal was getting frustrating. The pieces just weren’t fitting together—there was no way most of Zara’s suspects could have found out all the gossip that had turned up on the blog.
And the news about Joy was the most perplexing of all. Like the redhead, most of the juniors Zara had talked to had no clue who Joy was. So who could have found out her secret? Who would even care about something like that?
The answer was becoming clearer all the time. Pelham Lane.
Zara stopped in the middle of the aisle outside the vendor stalls, chewing the inside of her cheek. Could someone from her own barn really be the source of HorseShowSecrets? In one way, it made sense. Who else would bother to report the news about Joy? Some thirty-year-old lady getting pregnant wasn’t exactly the type of hot gossip most juniors on the circuit would buzz about. Then there was the fact that Pelham Lane had appeared in the blog more often than any other barn—Zara’s own research had shown that. She hadn’t thought much about it at first, figuring it was just because it was one of the most successful barns out there. But now? She had to wonder.
Still, when she got right down to it, Zara couldn’t figure out who it could be. Marissa was the most obvious suspect—everyone knew she was a huge gossip. But she also couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. There was no way she could have been doing the blog all this time without someone finding out.
Fitz? Sure, he was the type who found it amusing to stir up trouble. But the boy was
an open book, and besides, Zara was pretty sure he wouldn’t keep stringing Kate along on this job rumor if he actually knew anything.
“Kate,” Zara whispered as a new thought occurred to her.
Could Kate possibly be the blogger? Zara wandered along the curved and echoey aisleway, barely noticing the booths she was passing as she pondered her newest theory. Kate was always at the barn, always at the shows, always skulking around on the edges of things. She didn’t usually have much to say, and Zara wasn’t ever quite sure what the girl was thinking. Maybe she’d found out that Joy was leaving and started that rumor about taking over her job in the hopes of planting the idea in Jamie’s mind. Stranger things had happened, right?
Zara sighed, shaking her head. On paper, it almost made sense. But when she thought about how uncomfortable Kate looked every time the topic of that job came up, she found it a lot harder to believe. Kate might be quiet and weirdly private, but she wasn’t a sneak. Not like that. Besides, how would she find out about the hookups and other scandals at the different barns when she spent all her spare time working? Come to think of it, Zara wasn’t sure Kate even had Internet access on her phone—so how could she post updates from the shows?
“Crap,” Zara muttered, realizing she was running out of suspects. Who else was there? Tommi, Dani, Summer? Maybe some of the tweens that did the children’s, or the younger juniors?
Zara stopped in front of a booth of custom oil paintings, staring at a big portrait of a foxhound without really seeing it. Tommi was easy to eliminate. No way would she put more gossip about herself out there. She got enough of that as it was, coming from the family she did. She and Zara had bonded over that more than once.
What about Dani and Summer, though? They both liked to gossip almost as much as Marissa did. The trouble was, Dani hadn’t been at Cap Challenge, while the blogger had posted several tidbits from there. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been to any shows for a while before that, either, thanks to that broken leg, and there had been plenty of updates about stuff that had happened at those shows.
The A Circuit 04- Rein It In Page 14
