“What do you think?” Joy was still grinning as she stepped over and patted the soft leather of the saddle. “They said if it’s the wrong size, you can exchange it.”
Kate gasped as she realized what Joy was saying. “Wait,” she said. “They got me a saddle?”
“A nice one, too.” Joy ran her fingers over the pommel. “County, which makes me think Jamie must’ve told them which of his extra saddles is your favorite to ride in.” She winked. “Brand-new, though, unlike Jamie’s dinosaur. The guy from the tack shop dropped it off about an hour ago.”
Kate couldn’t answer. Couldn’t do anything but stare at the saddle. Was this really happening? There had to be some mistake. Fable’s owners hadn’t actually bought her a saddle, had they?
“Wanted to make sure you saw it before you start tacking up for the lesson, since I’m sure you’ll want to break it in.” Joy checked her watch. “Speaking of which, I’d better finish that grain order before it’s time to start. Feel like taking Jupiter for a spin today?”
“Huh? Um, sure.” Kate wasn’t really thinking about the spunky large pony, one of her favorite rides before Fable had come along. She was staring at the saddle—her saddle—trying to comprehend the idea that she could own something so nice.
As Joy hurried out, Kate cautiously put one hand on the seat. The leather was buttery soft and smooth.
Just then Marissa and Dani hurried into the tack room, chattering about the lesson. “Hey, Kate,” Marissa said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” Kate cleared her throat, a little worried that she was about to start laughing hysterically. “Um, except that Fable’s owners sent me a saddle.”
Dani’s eyes widened as she glanced at the saddle Kate was caressing. “Whoa! Really? What kind is it?” She grabbed the flap, flipping it up to check out the name printed on the panel underneath. “Nice!”
“What a sweet gift,” Marissa added. “The Langleys seemed like really nice people—I’m not surprised they wanted to thank you for helping them with Fable.”
Just then Fitz stuck his head into the room. “Am I late?” he asked.
“Get in here, dude.” Dani grinned at him. “I’m thinking you’re going to have to start buying your girlfriend much nicer gifts if you want to keep up.”
“What?” Fitz sounded confused. “Gifts? What are you talking about?”
“Check it out—Fable’s owners gave Kate a saddle!” Dani waved a hand at the saddle.
“Oh!” Fitz stepped inside. “Really? That’s great, babe. You earned it.”
“I—I don’t know.” Kate gulped. “Can I really accept something like this?”
“Sure, why not?” Fitz walked over to check out the saddle. “It’s a gift. It’d be rude not to accept it.” He glanced up with a grin. “At least, that’s what my mom tells me every time my crazy great-aunt Phyllis sends me another ugly sweater.”
Marissa laughed. “Are you going to ride in it today, Kate?”
“Duh!” Dani stepped over and grabbed her bridle off the wall. “Of course she’s going to ride in it! Why would she ride in one of Jamie’s thousand-year-old spares when she could ride in that?”
Tommi hurried into the room, followed by Summer. “I’m serious, Tommi,” Summer was saying. “If you see any good eq horses for sale while you’re looking for prospects and stuff, let me know.”
“What’s going on?” Tommi asked, surveying the room and ignoring Summer.
Everyone started talking at once, filling her in. Well, everyone except Kate. She just stared at the saddle in wonder.
“Whoa,” Tommi said when she caught on. “That’s awesome, Kate! Congratulations—you definitely deserve it.”
“It’s a County?” Summer sniffed and turned away. “Too bad they didn’t get you a French saddle—they’re much nicer.”
“Is that right?” Tommi said with a slight smile. “Hmm, guess I missed that memo.”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about your saddle, Tommi,” Summer said hurriedly. “Um, I mean, if you have a County, I’m sure they’re really nice.”
At any other time, Kate might have laughed. Leave it to Summer to accidentally insult Tommi while acting snooty toward Kate. Right now, though, she wasn’t really focused on anything except trying to accept that this was really happening.
Just then Zara stepped into the tack room. Marissa waved to her. “Check this out, Zara,” she said. “Kate got a new saddle.”
“Really? That’s nice.” Zara barely glanced at the saddle before her eyes swept around the room. “Is everyone here? Good. Because I have something to tell all of you.”
“Bad timing.” Marissa grinned. “We’re too busy drooling over Kate’s new County.”
Zara pulled out her phone and held it up. The HorseShowSecrets logo was gleaming out from the tiny screen.
“I think you guys are going to want to hear this,” she said. “I finally figured out who’s behind the blog.”
Chapter Nineteen
Zara smiled at the looks of surprise and curiosity on everyone’s faces. Well, everyone except a couple of people. One was Tommi—she already knew what Zara was going to say, of course. As for the other person …
“Seriously?” Summer exclaimed. “Who is it?”
“Yeah, spill.” Fitz looked excited. “Don’t keep us in suspense!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Zara surveyed the room. “See, I figured it out when I saw what was posted on HorseShowSecrets first thing yesterday morning.”
“What was it?” Marissa pulled out her phone, quickly pulling up the blog and scrolling through it. “Not the thing about the weirdo from Kentucky with the horseshoe fetish?”
“Nope. The post before that.” Zara glanced at her own phone. “See? It talks about how Pelham Lane did so great at Medal Finals. …”
“‘And they might do even better next year, since at least one more junior from that barn was inspired to start shopping for an eq horse so she can go for it next season,’” Marissa quoted from the blog. She looked up. “They must mean Summer, right?”
“Right.” Zara glanced at Summer, who looked as perplexed as the rest. “But how could someone find out she said that? Only the seven of us were there to hear her say she wanted to start doing the eq.”
“Wait.” Summer frowned as several people turned to stare at her. “I’m not writing the blog, if that’s what you’re thinking. I swear!”
“I know,” Zara said. “I’m not accusing you of anything.”
Marissa looked confused. “So then who was it—Miguel?”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure Miguel’s totally using all his free time blogging.” Fitz grinned. “I can picture it now.”
“It’s not Miguel,” Tommi said quickly.
Summer turned toward her. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”
Tommi just shrugged and raised an eyebrow at Zara. Okay, Zara might not be a professional actress like her mother, but she could pick up a cue.
Now she just had to hope that the guilty party could, too. As satisfying it had been to solve the mystery, Zara wasn’t sure she had the stomach to actually out someone. Not now that she knew who it was.
“Tommi’s right, it’s definitely not Miguel,” she said. “Or Summer, either. But the blogger is in this room right now.”
“Huh?” Fitz stared around, looking confused.
“Zara, what are you—” Marissa began.
Before she could finish, Dani stepped forward, swallowing hard. “She’s right, guys,” she said, her voice shaking a little. “It, uh, was me.”
“You?” Summer shrieked. “Oh my god, Dani!”
“I’m really sorry.” Dani twisted the bridle she was holding in both hands. “I never meant for it to cause so much trouble. I was just really bored and lonely and missing the barn after I broke my leg. My parents wouldn’t let me go anywhere or do anything fun, so I started the blog. You know, to sort of stay connected to the show world while I was out of commission.”
“Wait,” Fitz said. “This doesn’t make sense. Like you said, you were stuck home with a broken leg—so how could you post stuff from shows you didn’t even go to?”
“Like Cap Challenge, for one,” Kate put in.
Dani shrugged and sneaked a guilty look at Marissa. “I got the gossip from various sources,” she said. “Um, mostly Marissa, when it came to the stuff about you guys.”
“You mean you two were working together?” Fitz asked.
“No!” Marissa and Dani said at the same time.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” Marissa added with a frown at Dani.
“She really didn’t.” Dani bit her lip. “I’m sorry, M. At first I didn’t say anything because it was just for fun, you know? I figured I’d tell you guys when I got back here. But then the blog caught on and everybody was talking about it, and well …” She shrugged helplessly. “Things sort of got out of control.”
Yeah, no kidding. Zara felt a flash of anger when she thought about that rumor about her father. Not to mention some of the other stuff that had been posted about her and her friends. And of course if it wasn’t for that freaking blog, maybe she and Marcus would still be on speaking terms …
She shook her head, trying not to think about that.
“So you actually did it.” Fitz turned to Zara, looking impressed. “You cracked the secret.”
“Yeah. I figured even Summer wouldn’t have had time to blab about her new eq dreams before school started on Monday.” Zara shrugged. “And when I remembered how Dani’s always texting people at other barns, it was pretty easy to figure it out.”
Tommi was staring at Dani. “So what are you going to do now?” she asked. “You wrote a lot of messed-up stuff on that blog.”
“I know.” Dani looked abashed. “I’m really sorry, guys. I never meant to hurt anyone.” She looked uncomfortable. “I guess I have to confess to everyone else too, huh?”
At that moment Joy stuck her head into the room. “Why are you all standing around?” the assistant trainer said. “Is my watch wrong, or aren’t you all supposed to be meeting me in the indoor in less than twenty minutes?”
“Sorry, Joy.” Casting one more frosty look at Dani, Marissa hurried over and took her bridle down from the wall. “We were just going to start tacking up.”
“Right.” Fitz reached for his bridle, too. “Come on, Kate. Grab that gorgeous new saddle of yours and let’s go.”
Soon everyone was collecting their tack and scurrying out of the room. Zara followed more slowly. She’d done it. She’d solved the mystery, done what she set out to do, righted a wrong.
So why did she feel kind of let down?
“How’s the saddle?” Tommi stopped her horse beside Kate’s.
Kate glanced down at the pommel of the new County. Her new County. She couldn’t quite get used to that thought.
“Amazing,” she admitted. “The leather’s so nice it’s like it doesn’t even need to be broken in.” She hesitated. “But I still feel a little weird about, you know, accepting it as a gift or whatever. I mean, these saddles are really expensive.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Tommi turned to watch Fitz jump through the gymnastic Joy had set up in the center of the ring. “If you were a pro instead of a junior, you’d probably be getting a share of the commission on Fable’s sale. And that would be a lot more money than any saddle costs.”
Kate didn’t respond. It was easy for Tommi to talk about this stuff so casually. She owned at least three or four nice saddles. How could she possibly understand how weird this was for Kate—knowing her new saddle was worth more than most of the people in her neighborhood brought home in two or three paychecks?
“Kate!” Joy’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Wake up, darling. Your turn.”
“Sorry.” Kate gathered her reins and nudged Jupiter forward.
By the end of the lesson, she’d regained her focus. Jupiter, another sale horse, had been a lot of fun to ride, even though Joy had told her she hadn’t had time to do more than lunge the always-energetic pony since the previous week.
“Go ahead and cool out, guys,” Joy called, already heading for the gate. “I’ve got to go. Text me if you need me.”
She hurried out. “Bet we all know where she’s going, thanks to a certain blog I could mention,” Marissa said as soon as the assistant trainer was out of earshot.
“Yeah.” Fitz grinned. “She’s got an appointment with the porcelain god.”
“Ew.” Summer made a face. “Being pregnant sounds gross.”
That made everyone laugh, although Kate noticed that Dani’s giggle sounded a bit forced. She’d been pretty subdued during the lesson, too. No wonder. Kate still couldn’t quite believe she’d been behind the blog all along.
“Listen, guys,” Dani spoke up hesitantly as they all walked their horses around on a loose rein. “I want to make things right. How about pizza after the lesson—my treat?”
Kate traded a look with Tommi. In the summer, the juniors ordered pizza after just about every group lesson. Things were more rushed during the school year, so it had been a while since they’d had a chance to enjoy that particular tradition.
“Sure,” Tommi spoke up first. “That sounds like fun. Thanks, Dani.”
“Yeah, free slices are always a good thing,” Fitz added. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” Summer said.
“Cool.” Dani looked relieved. She cast a cautious look at Kate and Marissa. “What about you guys?”
“I said I’d help Joy and Max bring horses in from turnout after the lesson,” Kate said. “But I’ll come by when I’m done. Thanks, Dani.”
Marissa shrugged, not meeting Dani’s eye. “If everyone else is going, I guess I will too.”
Kate winced at the hard tone in her voice, so unlike Marissa’s usual sweet attitude. It seemed maybe Marissa wasn’t quite ready to forgive Dani, even if everyone else was.
Surprising—or maybe not. On the one hand, Marissa was one of the most easygoing people Kate knew. And Dani had never written anything rude, scandalous, or untrue about Marissa on the blog, as far as Kate had noticed. On the other hand? She’d used one of her best friends as a source without telling her. Now that Kate thought about it, she guessed that might make it hard for Marissa to trust Dani again.
Come to think of it, Kate was pretty sure that was how Nat saw the thing between the two of them. A breach of trust. Kate going behind her back to take advantage of her.
Not that it had really happened that way. Still. She wondered if Nat would ever forgive her—if things would ever go back to the way they were. How could they, after the terrible things Nat had said—the rumors she’d started, the wild accusations? Did Kate even want to be friends with her anymore?
She knew what Tommi would say, or Zara. They would tell Kate to kick Nat to the curb and forget about her.
But it wasn’t that easy. How could she just forget about a lifelong friendship? After all, nobody was perfect. Right?
She was still thinking about it a few minutes later as she led Jupiter into his stall. When she returned to the grooming area to grab her saddle—her saddle!—everyone else had disappeared, but Fitz was there waiting.
“Pizza’s not here yet,” he said. “But that’s okay—I was hoping to catch you.”
Kate grabbed her saddle and the bridle she’d used in the lesson, then straightened up and studied Fitz. “What’s going on?” she asked. “You look weird.”
“Just what every guy wants to hear from his girlfriend.” Fitz grinned. “But listen, I have a surprise for you. It’s sort of a way to make you feel better about what happened with Fable. Wait here a sec, okay?”
“Um, sure,” Kate said, although he was already halfway down the aisle.
She set her saddle down and waited. What was Fitz up to now? Was this another of his sweet, romantic gestures, like that picnic at the show? Okay, probably not a picnic, since the pizza would be there soon …
S
he hadn’t figured it out yet when she heard hoofbeats at the end of the aisle. “Close your eyes!” Fitz yelled. “Are they closed?”
“Yes.” Kate closed her eyes, smiling slightly. Was he about to whisk her off on a romantic moonlight trail ride or something? If so, she could only hope he’d cleared it with Joy first—and that it wouldn’t take too long. Maybe if she skipped the pizza, she could get everything done at the barn and still be home in time to finish those chemistry proofs she’d started in study hall.
“Okay.” Fitz’s voice sounded much closer now, and Kate could hear a horse breathing and shifting its weight. “You can open your eyes.”
Kate did so. Then she blinked. Fitz had led Flame into view. He wasn’t tacked up, but he did have an enormous, floppy bow tied around his neck in bright purple ribbon.
“Surprise!” Fitz exclaimed.
Kate patted Flame, who was stretching his nose toward her. “Okay,” she said. “Um, I don’t get it.”
“I’m gifting you half ownership in our boy here.” Fitz grinned. “Flame’s half yours now, baby!”
“What?” Kate rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious.” Fitz handed her the lead line. “I mean, it makes sense, right? We’ve been partners in this guy from the start—I’m just making it official. Call it an early sixmonthiversary gift if you want.”
Kate shook her head, waiting for the punch line. Because this had to be some weird Fitzian joke, right?
Then again, maybe not. Now that she thought about it, this was just crazy enough to be a real Fitz idea.
“You can’t be serious,” she said hesitantly. “I mean, you can’t do that, can you? Just—just give someone half of a horse.”
“Sure you can. Why not?” He shrugged. “People do it all the time. Some racehorses are owned by a whole group of people.”
“But …” Kate wanted to argue, but she recognized that look in Fitz’s eye. He was serious about this. No matter how crazy it seemed, he really was giving Flame to her—well, half of him, anyway. She stared at the horse, who was arching his neck as he tried to nibble at his bow. She’d ridden more horses in her life than she could count, but she’d never owned one. Never even dreamed of owning one as special as Flame. “It’s too much!” she blurted out. “You can’t—I can’t—”
The A Circuit 04- Rein It In Page 18