The A Circuit

by Georgina Bloomberg

  “Guess your horse doesn’t like fly spray, huh?” Zara said as she stopped to watch.

  Both girls stopped what they were doing and smiled at her. “Hi, Zara,” Kate said. “Yeah, Miles is a wuss about fly spray.”

  Marissa nodded, giving the gelding a pat. “Which is weird, ’cause he’s totally bombproof about everything else.”

  “That’s horses for you, right?” Kate said with a laugh.

  “Guess so,” Zara agreed. She was a little surprised they were being so friendly. Sure, they’d all hung out yesterday. But these girls barely knew her.

  Just then Summer appeared, clutching her ratty-looking little brown-and-white dog in her arms. “Zara!” she squealed, rushing over. “OMG, I just saw your dad on TV.”

  “Oh?” Zara said.

  Summer nodded eagerly, brushing past Kate. “He was talking about that charity concert thing in Tribeca next week,” she said breathlessly. “Are you going? It sounds like it’s going to be sooo fun! Too bad it’s sold out, or I’d definitely go!”

  Summer was definitely angling for an invite to Zac’s benefit concert. The girl just kept finding new ways to get on Zara’s nerves.

  “No, it doesn’t sound fun,” Zara said bluntly. “It sounds like a total drag. I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a hoofpick than go to that thing.”

  Summer looked startled. “Really? Um …”

  “Gotta go,” Zara said. “I want to check on my horses.”

  She made her escape before Summer could protest, then walked over to the aisle where Fitz’s horses lived. His eq horse and his older Appendix were in their stalls, but his big gray jumper was missing. Okay, so he was probably riding. Zara took a few steps in the direction of the indoor, wondering if she should tack up one of her horses and join him, or maybe just hang out and wait for him to finish so the two of them could pick things up where they’d dropped them last night.

  She smiled as she thought about the way he’d looked at her after she’d kissed him the first time. Surprised, turned on, and kind of amused all at the same time. Things had only gotten better after that. The guy definitely knew what he was doing.

  But the nice feeling faded a little when Zara remembered how he’d backed off so suddenly, even though they could’ve easily hidden behind the stall door until Summer walked by. What was that about? It wasn’t as if she was discouraging him, giving any hint that she wasn’t ready to go as far as he wanted.

  A sudden clang broke into her thoughts, and Zara noticed a wheelbarrow sitting in the aisle just ahead. As she watched, another chunk of manure flew out and landed in the wheelbarrow.

  Zara hurried over and glanced into the stall. A horse was dozing along one wall as Sean the stall mucker cleaned around it.

  “Hey,” Zara called loudly enough for him to hear over his iPod.

  He glanced up, and a slow grin spread across his face. “Hey,” he replied, yanking the earbuds out of his ears. “What’s up, Zara?”

  “Not much.” She leaned on the partly open stall door. “Having fun in there?”

  “Yeah, shoveling shit is a real party.” He slid his gaze down to her cleavage. “But at least the scenery just got a lot better.”

  Before Zara could respond, she heard someone calling her name. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Jamie hurrying toward her with a serious look on his face.

  “Uh-oh,” she whispered to Sean. “Speaking of shit, I think I might be in some deep stuff.”

  She stepped away from the stall, not wanting Sean to get in trouble for talking to her while he was supposed to be working. Especially after the last time Jamie had caught them together.

  “What up?” she said when the trainer reached her. He was still in his riding clothes, his helmet tucked under his arm.

  “Zara,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.”

  “Yesterday?” Her mind flashed immediately to Fitz. Did Jamie have video cameras in the stalls or something? She wouldn’t put it past him.

  But he was already saying something about the lesson. “… and I realize you’re still new here, but I can’t have you disrupting things the way you did yesterday,” he said sternly.

  Zara had been feeling pretty good since arriving at the barn, Summer aside, but her mood suddenly plummeted. “Well, excuse me for having the nerve to fall off,” she said. “I didn’t realize I had to be perfect to freaking ride here.”

  “I’m not talking about the fall,” Jamie said. “I’m talking about what happened afterward. Taking that jump was incredibly reckless and irresponsible—what if you or Ellie had been hurt? Not to mention the example it sets for other people. If you were to pull something like that at a show, it would reflect badly on me, your fellow riders—the whole barn. I can’t have that.”

  Zara felt her whole body tightening up. Who did this guy think he was? He was treating her like some bratty pony that needed remedial schooling to remind it not to run away with its rider.

  She was ready to go off on him, tell him exactly what she thought of him and his uptight attitude and his freaking barn rules. He wasn’t worth it. Neither was this stupid stuck-up barn. Maybe she should just tell him to shove it, that she was done with riding—or at least riding at prissy Pelham Lane Stables. Tell him she’d be spending the summer partying in Europe and finding a new barn when she got home.

  But something made her hold back. Clenching her fists at her sides, she avoided his eye.

  “Fine, I hear you, okay?” she muttered.

  He gave her a long, searching look with those cool blue eyes of his. “All right,” he said. “As long as we have an understanding.”

  She shrugged, staring fixedly at the horse in the stall across the way until Jamie left. A moment later she was aware of Sean sidling out of the stall to stand behind her.

  “Whoa, the boss was pretty heinous to you just now,” he said.

  Zara rolled her eyes, still not sure why she hadn’t told Jamie off. He’d definitely deserved it. “Tell me about it,” she muttered to Sean.

  He nudged her in the side. “Don’t sweat it, babe, the guy’s a tool,” he said. “But listen, if you’re interested, I’ve got just the thing to help you relax …”

  “Good boy,” Kate murmured as she tightened Fable’s girth.

  As she stepped around the horse to grab the bridle, she saw Tommi coming. “Hey,” Tommi greeted her. “Taking Fable for a hack?”

  Kate nodded. “After yesterday’s lesson, I figure we need all the saddle time we can get together.”

  “Come on. You guys did fine yesterday.”

  That was the kind of thing Tommi always said. But this time she had a weird look on her face.

  “What?” Kate asked, suddenly suspicious. Had she done even worse than she’d thought in the lesson? Nah, that probably wasn’t possible.

  “What what?” Tommi asked.

  “You look weird.” Kate brushed a hand over her face. “Do I have something hanging out of my nose or something?”

  Tommi laughed. “No way, I’d tell you if you did.” She hesitated, uncertainty flitting through her eyes.

  “Seriously, what? Are you trying to figure out how to tell me I’m not cut out for the eq and I should take up tennis instead?”

  “No, nothing like that.” Tommi bit her lip, glanced around, then smiled. “But actually, I do have some news. It’s about Legs …”

  Kate listened as Tommi told her about her new deal with her father. The more she talked about it, the more excited Tommi got, waving her hands and grinning as she outlined her plans.

  “… so of course I’m already totally panicking that I’m going to screw this up,” Tommi finished breathlessly. “I just hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew, you know?”

  “You’ll do great. This kind of thing is right up your alley, and Legs is an amazing horse.” Kate smiled. But her stomach churned with conflicting feelings. On the one hand, it was great that her friend was so happy. Tommi was so even-keeled, so all about
keeping her game face on. Seeing her so openly excited and nervous was different, and kind of nice.

  At the same time, Kate couldn’t help feeling a twinge of resentment. Did Tommi even realize how lucky she was to have this kind of opportunity? To have a father who could buy and sell horses that cost more than Kate’s family’s house? Sure, Tommi had worked hard for every bit of her success in the saddle—Kate knew that as well as anyone. But what did she really have to be nervous about now? How much of a gamble was this, really? If she succeeded, she got to try again, maybe building things up into a nice little business eventually. If she “failed,” she ended up at some fancy college. Boo freakin’ hoo.

  Almost as soon as the thoughts flitted through her mind, Kate wished she could take them back. How could she think such things? Of course Tommi knew how lucky she was. Kate should realize that as much as anyone, since she was supposed to be one of her best friends.

  “Just let me know what I can do to help you, Tommi,” she said. “You know I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks. I know, and I really appreciate it.” Tommi smiled. “Good thing, too. I’m sure I’ll need tons of help to make this work.”

  “Hey, buddy,” Tommi said as she reached Legs’s stall. The gelding was nosing at his hay, but came over to see her with his ears pricked forward.

  She patted him, looking him over with a shiver of nerves. Was she doing the right thing? Should she have stuck with the status quo, or was this gamble worth it?

  She decided to try not to think like that. What was done was done—she’d made the deal, now she had to make it work.

  “Come on, let’s celebrate,” she told the horse. “I’m taking you for a nice hand graze.”

  Minutes later they were out on the grassy lawn between barn and rings. Tommi watched the gelding as he wandered around with his head down, searching out the tastiest patches of clover.

  As they came within view of one of the outdoor rings, she saw Kate leading Fable in through the gate. Tommi watched her mount, wondering if she should have told her about seeing Fitz with Zara. She’d almost spilled it just now. But at the last second, she’d decided to keep quiet. Kate was so focused on horses that Tommi wasn’t sure she knew what a guy was for. She probably hadn’t even noticed Fitz flirting with her. Maybe Fitz had realized that, too, and decided to move on to easier pickings. It certainly seemed like it, based on what she’d seen last night.

  A buzz interrupted Tommi’s thoughts. Shifting Legs’s lead to her other hand, she dug her phone out of her pocket. She didn’t recognize the number, but decided to live dangerously by answering anyway. What the heck? Maybe it was some top European jumper rider looking to drop a wad of cash on the perfect prospective Grand Prix horse.

  She was still smiling at that thought when she said hello.

  “Tommi?” the voice on the other end of the line said. “Hi. It’s Grant. Your dad gave me your number.”

  Of course he had. Nobody had ever accused Rick Aaronson of being subtle.

  “Hey, Grant,” Tommi said. “What’s up?”

  “Dinner was fun the other night. But we didn’t have much chance to talk. Want to get together tomorrow night? You can help reintroduce me to good old NYC.”

  Tommi hesitated. With this new business venture on her plate, she wasn’t going to have much spare time for hanging out or partying. Besides, she didn’t want to lead anyone on—Grant or her father. She’d been glad to see her old friend again, but there definitely hadn’t been any romantic sparks between them. Now or ever.

  “Um …,” she began.

  “It’s cool if you’re busy or whatever,” Grant added, clearly catching on to her long pause. “Just figured I’d ask.”

  “No, that’s okay,” Tommi said quickly, feeling a flash of guilt. “I was just, um, trying to remember if I was doing anything tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I’m free.”

  “Great!”

  He sounded so happy that Tommi was glad she’d said yes. Grant might not be her dream guy, but he was a good friend. Why not get reacquainted now that he was back in town? Besides, her father liked him. And it wouldn’t hurt to stay on his good side right now.

  They made plans to meet up the following evening. After she hung up, Tommi stayed out with Legs for a good long time, daydreaming about the future.

  Finally she headed back to the barn. As she was passing the small six-stall quarantine barn where Jamie kept new imports or sick horses, she smelled something. A certain familiar sweet, smoky smell.

  Tommi’s heart started pounding. No way. Nobody would be stupid enough to do that here, inside one of the barns.

  She peered inside. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she blurted out.

  Two sets of eyes looked back at her—guilty ones belonging to Sean the stall mucker and defiant ones belonging to Zara. The two of them were passing a half-smoked joint between them.

  “Yo, Tommi.” Zara held it out. “Want a hit?”

  THIRTEEN

  Kate stared in the front window of the swanky SoHo boutique, wondering what could possibly possess someone to buy six-inch metallic sandals. “So then what happened?” she asked Tommi.

  Tommi shrugged. “I started yelling as soon as I realized what was going on,” she said. “Sean tried to take off, but Miguel happened to be nearby and saw them, too, and he called Jamie. I had to take Legs back to his stall, so I’m not sure what happened after that.”

  “I heard Sean got fired,” Kate said.

  Tommi shot her a look. “Even on your day off, news travels fast, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Kate ducked a guy trying to shove an advertising leaflet in her face. West Broadway was crowded with shoppers, tourists, and vendors hawking everything from handmade jewelry to bootleg DVDs. Definitely a different world from the peace and quiet of Pelham Lane.

  Kate never quite knew what to do with her day off. After the first few times she’d come to the barn anyway, Jamie had officially banished her. The juniors had a lesson that afternoon, so she was allowed to turn up then. But she knew better than to show her face too early.

  The last place she wanted to hang out was her house. Her brother had skipped his first day of summer school, which meant World War III was in full cry between him and their father. That in turn meant her mom was sinking even deeper into her rituals. Tommi’s invitation to come into the city for lunch and shopping had offered a welcome escape, and Kate had rushed out to the train station without even stopping for breakfast.

  “Guess we won’t be seeing Zara at the lesson this afternoon,” she commented as the two of them wandered on down the sidewalk.

  “Guess not. No big loss there.”

  “Come on. She wasn’t that bad.” Kate felt a pang of sympathy as she thought about Zara’s short time at the barn. Sure, she hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to fit in. But Kate knew that sometimes a person’s exterior didn’t show the whole story. Zara seemed so guarded, almost angry, and yet so lonely somehow.

  “Are you kidding?” Tommi sounded incredulous. “Look, it’s none of my business if she wants to light up a fatty at home, in the barn parking lot, in the middle of Times Square, wherever. But smoking in the barn? Risking the lives of however many zillions of dollars worth of horseflesh, not to mention Jamie’s entire livelihood? Talk about selfish!”

  “Good point, I guess.” Kate shivered, her all-too-vivid imagination immediately latching on to what Tommi had said. Concocting horrible images of horses screaming in terror, their eyes rolling back in their heads as their stalls went up in flames around them …

  “Anyway, Jamie’s already given Zara enough second chances,” Tommi went on as they paused at the corner, waiting for the light to change. “She didn’t walk into a barn yesterday—she knew what she did was stupid and did it anyway. I doubt we’ll see her again.”

  Kate nodded, knowing her friend was right. Jamie was the biggest of Big Name Trainers. He wasn’t afraid to kick someone out of his program. He’d done it before, and with much less provocat
ion. Still, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for Zara. What would it be like to be kicked out? Kate hoped she’d never, ever find out.

  They window-shopped for a while longer, though Kate’s heart wasn’t really in it. What was the point? She’d never be able to afford most of the stuff she saw at the mall with Nat, let alone anything in these shops. Not that she cared. Fashion wasn’t really her thing. If she couldn’t wear it to the barn, she didn’t need it.

  Finally Tommi checked her watch. “We should eat,” she said. “What do you feel like?”

  “I don’t care, I’ll eat anything. You decide.”

  She regretted her words when Tommy led her into a busy, chic little café on Mercer Street. “Seems kind of pricey,” Kate said as she peeked at the menu the intimidatingly glamorous waitress had handed her before rushing off.

  “Don’t worry about that.” Tommi was scanning the menu, too. “I invited you to lunch, remember? It’s my treat.”

  Kate bit her lip, knowing better than to argue. Tommi could be funny about stuff like that. Maybe because it was no big deal for her to make such an offer—or to accept one, either. Why should it be? In her world, expensive lunches were the norm, just like six-figure horses, four-figure monthly board bills, $350 bridles, and name-brand breeches. She couldn’t be expected to understand that in Kate’s world, any lunch that cost more than ten bucks had better be celebrating something important, like a birthday or a graduation.

  “Um, okay,” Kate said. “Thanks. I had a huge breakfast, though. I’ll probably just have a salad or something.”

  As they waited for the waitress to come back, Kate found herself wondering what it would be like. Having that much money. Enough so you could eat anywhere, order anything, shop in any store.

  It took her a moment to realize that Tommi was talking to her. Something about Fitz.

  “Huh?” Kate asked.

  “I said, I noticed Fitz has been hanging around you a lot lately.” Tommi sipped her water. “And it seems like you don’t really mind having him around. True?”