Then she took out her notebook, pen, and smartphone. Pulling up the blog, she started scrolling through the posts again. This time, she jotted down the basics of each story—who, what, when, where, why, how. Those were the questions you needed to answer to solve a mystery. Zara had learned that during several boring weeks she’d spent on the set of one of her mother’s movies one summer. It had been a crime caper, and the guy playing the main detective had loved spouting off about all the Method research he’d done to get ready for the part. Who knew something like that would come in handy someday?
Zara quickly filled several pages with notes. First she needed to figure out how many of the stories on the blog were actually true. Anybody could have made up the stuff that wasn’t true, like the rumor about Zac. But once she’d confirmed the real stories, she could start interviewing people, trying to figure out who had been around at the time the events in question were happening. Like, who had witnessed each event, and how many people they had told. Stuff like that. By cross-referencing that information with what she was writing down now, Zara hoped she’d be able to narrow down her list of suspects and eventually unmask the blogger.
She was so focused on what she was doing that the sound of someone clearing his throat made her jump and almost fall off her chair. Looking up, she saw a guy lounging with one elbow propped on the stack of chairs, watching her.
Not just any guy, either. He definitely wasn’t a rider—Zara would have known that at first glance, even if he wasn’t wearing a uniform indicating he was part of the janitorial staff. He was probably in his early or mid-twenties, lean but muscular, with floppy black hair falling over his eyes and some serious stubble.
“Hey, babe,” he said. “Nice hideout. You got room for one more back there?” His gaze slipped to the cleavage peeking out at the top of her unbuttoned show shirt, leaving no doubt as to his intentions.
She smiled automatically. Skeevy but hot? Just her type.
At the same time, she felt a flash of annoyance. Why did he have to interrupt her just when she was making progress?
“Get lost,” she said. “I’m busy, and I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be working, not hitting on underage girls.”
The guy’s mouth twisted, and he backed up a step. “Okay, chill out,” he said. “I was just being friendly, all right?”
“Great. Go be friendly to someone else. I’m busy.”
“Freaking horse show snobs,” the guy muttered.
Zara felt a twinge of regret as he grabbed one of the spare trash cans and disappeared. Too bad. He could’ve been fun. Somehow, though, she couldn’t get too worked up about it. She just wasn’t in the mood for that kind of thing right now. Whatever.
Returning her attention to her phone, she got back to work. Just a few more posts to go through, and she’d be ready to start interviewing people.
“Kate. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Kate jumped and spun around. She’d been so focused on sweeping up some spilled shavings in the aisle that she hadn’t heard Jamie coming. “Um, sure.” She couldn’t help noticing the troubled look on the trainer’s face. “What is it?”
Jamie glanced at Marissa, who was fussing over her horse as Elliot tacked it up nearby. None of the other older juniors were tacking up for the Large Junior Hunters yet, but Marissa always liked to be in the saddle well before the division started. Her gelding, Miles, an experienced show horse with a placid temperament, didn’t need the extra time, but Marissa did. She always told Kate it settled her nerves to walk around for a while before beginning her real warm-up.
Jamie took Kate by the elbow and steered her around the corner into an empty stall. Kate clutched her broom in her other hand, wondering what was going on. An empty stall was about as close to a private spot as there was in the cramped indoor stable area. That meant whatever Jamie wanted to talk to her about had to be serious.
“I just ran into Kara Parodi,” Jamie said. “She told me she asked you to catch-ride something for her today, and you said no.”
Panic shot through Kate. Would Jamie hold it against her for even being asked to ride for another trainer? Was that why his expression was so solemn? Her mind raced, trying to come up with something to say.
“Um …,” she began.
“Look.” Jamie ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking way too tired for late morning. “Kara’s a good person and an excellent horsewoman, but she’s not the forgiving type when she thinks someone screwed her over. I need to know why you left her hanging till the last minute—and why you said no.”
“I—I—” Kate swallowed hard. Jamie didn’t seem angry, just confused. “I didn’t think you’d want me to ride for another barn.”
Jamie sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. Look, Kate, lots of juniors catch-ride for other barns all the time—you know that. It’s no big deal.”
“I know, but …” Kate’s voice trailed off. She didn’t dare mention that job rumor, though it filled her mind. Didn’t that change things?
“I appreciate your loyalty.” The corners of Jamie’s mouth turned up in a wry half smile. “But it’s not necessary in this case, I promise. If you weren’t sure what to do, I wish you’d come to me to talk about it. I would have told you to go for it.”
“Really?”
“Definitely. You’re the hardest worker I know, Kate—I want you to have exactly these kinds of opportunities. I’m just sorry I didn’t have anything to offer you this time myself.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Kate tried to return his smile, but it wasn’t easy. She’d really blown it this time. Kara Parodi had offered her the chance of a lifetime, and Kate had turned it down. And for what? Nothing, apparently.
Jamie was still smiling. “I hope you brought some better breeches than that,” he said, gesturing to Kate’s well-worn schooling tights. “Because Kara likes her riders turned out to the nines.”
“Huh?” Kate shook her head, wondering if Jamie had missed the point of this whole conversation. “But I—I said no.”
“I know. Lucky for you, I said yes.” Jamie cocked an eyebrow. “I even managed to make Kara think the misunderstanding was all my fault, so she wouldn’t think you were jerking her around.”
Kate just stared at him for a moment, not sure she was hearing him right. “You said yes?” she echoed numbly. “You mean I’m showing that horse?”
“Yeah, if you’re interested. I can still call Kara and take it back, but I hope I don’t have to. For one thing, she might never speak to me again.” He smiled to show that he was kidding—mostly—but his eyes were serious as he watched Kate carefully. “More importantly, I think it will be a great experience for you. So what do you say? You up for it?”
“Yes,” Kate blurted out, so overwhelmed by what was happening that she could barely think straight. She’d always known that Jamie was the best in the business in every possible way. This just proved it. Who wouldn’t want to work for a guy like that?
“Good.” Jamie looked pleased. “I hear the horse is a tough ride, though, so get your game face on.” He plucked the broom out of her hand. “I’ll get someone else to finish up here—you’d better hurry and get changed. Your division starts in an hour.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Good boy,” Tommi murmured, giving Toccata a pat and smiling as she heard Zara whooping from the stands nearby. She’d just finished her first hunter round, and it had gone really well. Toccata was focused and jumping like a freak of nature, and Tommi had found every spot and made it look easy.
Jamie and Javier were waiting just outside the ring. The young groom immediately took hold of Toccata’s bridle, murmuring soothing words to the horse as Tommi dismounted.
“Well done,” Jamie said. “You two looked good out there.”
“Thanks.” Tommi gave Toccata a quick pat as Javier led him off toward the stalls. Then she unhooked her helmet. “He’s really on his game today.”
“Feeling ready for the handy?” Jamie asked.
/> “Yeah, we’ve got it. I’ve been working with him on trotting jumps all year, remember? He thinks they’re boring now.”
The handy hunter round, which was coming up as soon as everyone had finished the first round, was the reason Tommi and Toccata had ended up out of the ribbons at Harrisburg last year. They’d been eating up the course until they came to the trot jump, which Toccata had taken as an invitation to act silly and pretend he’d never been asked to do such a thing in his life. She’d barely gotten him over it on the third try—totally embarrassing, and not a moment she planned to repeat.
Jamie nodded, his gaze wandering to Marissa, who was up next. She was sitting on her horse halfway down the entryway, huddled over and looking as if she might be sick at any moment. “We’ll talk later, okay?” Jamie told Tommi.
“Sure.” Tommi didn’t need Jamie to go over her round with her to know it had been pretty close to perfect.
She was smiling as she turned around, planning to head up to where Zara was sitting and watch Marissa and Fitz go. Kate wasn’t riding until later—Tommi hoped she’d be able to watch her before she had to warm up for her handy round. She’d been thrilled when Fitz texted to say that Kate had accepted that catch-ride. Apparently Jamie had talked her into it or something. Tommi wasn’t sure of the details, but she figured Zara might know. Ever since she’d started her campaign to identify that blogger, the girl had been on top of every bit of news and gossip out there.
As Tommi started up the steps into the stands, someone came barreling down toward her. “Sorry,” Tommi said automatically, starting to step back out of the way.
“Don’t be sorry.” It was Scott. He grinned and took her by the arm, steering her up to the nearest landing. “That was an amazing round.”
“Oh! Hi.” Tommi’s elbow felt warm where he’d touched it, even through layers of show shirt and jacket. “I heard yours was good, too. Didn’t get to see you go—I was warming up.”
“It’s okay, I don’t blame you for not wanting to watch and get psyched out.” He laughed, then reached out and took her hand. “Seriously, though, you were amazing. Glad I got to see it.”
“Thanks.” Tommi’s heart thumped as he squeezed her hand, and they just stood there smiling at each other. For a second she wondered if that blogger was watching. Would she and Scott end up a featured story tomorrow?
She shook off the thought. What did she care if they did? She and Scott were both young, single, and interested. Nothing wrong with that. Not that her love life was the world’s business, but hey, she’d had worse things written about her.
“Hey, my friend’s up next,” she said, noticing that Marissa was performing her opening circle.
“Cool. Let’s watch.” He pulled her toward a row of seats, stepping back to let her go in first. Always the gentleman, huh? Nice.
Tommi leaned her elbows on her knees, watching as Marissa aimed her horse at the first fence. She looked tense, but Miles was used to ignoring that. The horse yanked up his knees, sailing over the fence like a pro.
“Easy, easy,” Tommi murmured under her breath, her muscles automatically tensing into a half-halt as she saw Miles building speed toward the next jump.
“Ouch,” Scott said as the pair ended up chipping in.
That error seemed to wake Miles up, though, and the horse adjusted his own stride on the approach to the next one. The rest of the round was decent, though Tommi knew there was no way it would make the cutoff. Still, she guessed that Marissa was probably just happy to survive without fainting or falling off or something. That wouldn’t be good enough for Tommi, but not everyone was as competitive as she was.
Then again, some people were. She shot a look over at Scott.
“So are you ready for Sunday?” she asked him.
“Haven’t really started thinking about eq yet.” His quick sideways glance told Tommi that probably wasn’t true, but she let it slide.
“Must be nice to be competing on a familiar horse,” she said. “Still, that’ll make it even sweeter when Fable and I beat your pants off.”
“Already trying to get my pants off, huh?” Scott raised an eyebrow and smirked, glancing down at his breeches. “Can’t wait.”
Tommi blushed. “That’s not what I meant, you perv.” She smacked him on the arm, then leaned back and watched the next rider come into the ring. “Anyway, Fable and I aren’t slacking off. We’ll be in the ring Saturday night making sure we’re ready. Jamie thinks if we get in there around eleven or so, it won’t be crowded.”
“Maybe not, but I can guarantee there will be at least one other horse in there.” Scott shrugged. “I was planning to school around that time myself.”
“Then I guess we’ll see you there.” Tommi knew she shouldn’t be so excited about that. She and Fable really did need all the schooling they could get if she wanted to have a chance of pinning.
Still, maybe having Scott there would be a good thing. Tommi always performed best under pressure, right? Besides, having Scott around might distract her just enough to keep her show nerves at bay.
“Yeah.” Scott sounded pleased, too. “Guess we will.”
“How do I look?” Kate spun around slowly. “Any hay on my jacket? Hair sticking out?”
Fitz was lounging on one of the director’s chairs in Pelham Lane’s tack stall. Even though his handy round was still to come, he’d swapped out his tall boots for his favorite shabby old boat shoes, and his jacket, tie, and helmet were nowhere in sight. He stood, stretched, and stepped over to tweak Kate’s helmet, straightening it.
“You look perfect.” He cupped a hand around her neck, planting a whisper-soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “Gorgeous. Like always.”
Kate reached back to make sure he hadn’t messed up her hair, feeling rushed, nervous, and a little exasperated. This wasn’t the time for Fitz to play Mr. Romance. Didn’t he know that?
“Seriously, I’m not looking for compliments,” she told him. “I don’t want to look like a slob when I see Kara Parodi.”
“Seriously.” Fitz stepped back and smiled at her. “You look like a total pro. No horse slobber on your breeches, no toilet paper hanging off your boot, no boogers hanging out of your nose. Now let’s go find your horse.”
That made Kate laugh. “Okay, thanks.” She stepped over for one last check in the mirror hanging on one canvas wall. She was dressed in the best show clothes she could manage. Her tall boots were old and off-the-rack, but she took good care of them and they fit her well. She’d found her jacket on the clearance rack of the local consignment shop, marked way down due to a small tear in a shoulder seam that had taken Nat all of five minutes to repair.
Kate felt a pang as her fingers slipped up toward the site of that rip. But no—she didn’t have time to think about Nat right now. Instead, she turned her gaze to her Tailored Sportsman breeches, checking for any stray bits of hay or shavings. Those breeches were among the nicest things she owned; they’d been an early Christmas gift from Tommi, and sometimes Kate felt funny about wearing them anywhere near a horse. But they definitely helped her look the part now.
Fitz was watching her. “Enough primping, princess,” he joked, grabbing her hand. “We’d better get you over there.”
Kate knew he was right. She definitely didn’t want to be late meeting Kara. She let Fitz pull her along the aisles and hallways of the show complex. When they reached the warm-up ring, Kate immediately spotted Kara standing by one of the jumps, schooling several riders.
“Wish me luck,” Kate said with a shiver.
“You don’t need it. You’re going to do great.” Fitz kissed her once more, then gave her a gentle shove into the ring. “Knock ’em dead, gorgeous.”
Kate tossed him a quick smile, then hurried into the ring, pausing to let a rider canter past. It wasn’t until the girl aimed her horse at Kara’s jump that Kate realized it was Charity, the owner of the gelding she was supposed to ride. Her current mount was a heavily built old-style warmblood mare with
a massive head. The horse heaved itself over the jump and cantered away.
“Great,” Kara called. “Who’s next?”
As the trainer glanced around, she spotted Kate. She waved her over, and Kate hurried to join her beside the jump.
“Good, you’re here.” Kara grabbed the phone off her belt and sent a quick text. “Liam will bring the horse in and help you get mounted. Go ahead and get warmed up, and let me know when you’re ready to jump.”
Kate glanced at the entrance. A groom had just appeared leading a tall bay horse with a long neck and a graceful jig. “Thanks. Um, any advice?”
“He likes support with the reins but not much leg. When I rode him this morning he was spooking at everything, so be ready.” Kara spun around and jabbed a finger at one of her riders. “No, no, no, Merri!” she shouted. “I told you, you’ve got to ride, not just sit there!”
Deciding she’d been dismissed, Kate waited for a girl on a big gray to thunder past, then jogged over to the entrance. The groom was tugging lightly on the reins and humming as the bay horse snorted and eyed the action in the ring.
“Hi,” Kate said. “Um, I’m Kate. The catch-rider?”
“So you’re the one they picked to be Porter’s next victim, eh?” The groom had a lopsided smile and an Irish accent. “Lucky you.”
“He’s not that bad, is he?” Kate stepped over to pat the horse, who snuffled at her curiously.
The groom chuckled. “Nah. Only to hear his owner tell it.” He winked and shot a look at Charity, who was circling around to the jump again. “Need me to help swap out for your saddle?”
Kate smiled uncertainly. “Um, no thanks. That is, I don’t have a saddle. I mean …” She glanced helplessly at the saddle on the horse.
“No worries.” The groom shrugged. “Guess that’s why Kara wanted him tacked up like this. I was wondering, but it doesn’t do to ask too many questions when she’s in show mode, know what I mean?” He winked again, then turned to pull down the nearest stirrup. “Let’s get these adjusted, then.”
The A Circuit 04- Rein It In Page 13