The a Circuit (3 page)

“But you’ll probably need to leave for the ring before I’m done.”

Tommi waved a hand. “No biggie. I’ve got an extra jacket.”

Of course. Kate should have known better than to ask. She was probably the only rider at the entire show who owned only a single, well-worn show jacket, a nice quality but not particularly trendy plain navy one she’d bought secondhand.

“Thanks,” she told Tommi, feeling a little awkward.

Tommi nodded. “You ready to go?”

Kate glanced over at Ellie, who clearly knew something was up. The sensitive mare was practically breathing fire as she pranced at the end of her reins.

By now Fitz had led his horse out of the ring. “Looks like Ellie’s ready, too,” he commented. “Like, ready to enter the starting gate at Churchill Downs.”

“Yeah. Not exactly the best look for a show hunter,” Tommi said. “Better work your magic before Jamie gets here with the buyer, Kate. Want a leg up?”

“Thanks.” Kate pulled down her stirrups and checked the girth, then lifted her left knee.

“Wait, allow me.” Fitz tossed his horse’s reins to Tommi and stepped forward. “This is a job for a man.”

“Really? See any around here?” Tommi quipped.

Kate hardly heard her. She was totally focused on Fitz as he grabbed her knee, his hands squeezing her leg through the thin fabric of her breeches. For a second she sort of spaced out, just standing there with him holding her leg, not sure what to do.

“One, two, three,” Fitz counted.

Kate spaced back in at the critical moment, springing upward as Fitz hoisted her toward the saddle. She landed a little awkwardly, which made Ellie spurt forward and almost crash into the fence. But Kate recovered quickly, getting the mare back under control and riding toward the gate as Tommi swung it open.

Yeah, real smooth, Kate thought, trying to ignore the way her knee still felt warm where Fitz’s hand had held it.

She was all too aware that he was still standing there watching her, along with Tommi. But she pushed that aside as best she could as Ellie immediately spotted the warm-up jumps in the center of the ring and tried to jump into a canter. When Kate stopped her, the mare objected by squealing like a pig and spinning around in place, humping her back.

“Easy …,” Kate murmured.

She sat quietly, letting the mare get her objections out. Then she set her to work, cutting across the ring as often as needed to avoid passing too close to the adult rider on the Roman-nosed gelding. After a couple of laps she could feel the tenseness seep out of Ellie’s body, and by the time the adult rider had finished her warm-up and left the ring, Ellie was trotting around as steadily as an old pro. Finally Kate brought her back to a walk and dropped the reins to the buckle, leaning forward to give the mare a pat.

“Looking good, Kate!” Fitz called.

Kate glanced over and saw him wave, then amble off toward their show stalls with his horse trailing behind him. Whew! It would definitely be easier to stay focused without him watching.

Tommi shot her a thumbs-up. Kate flashed her a smile, then gathered up the reins again, asking for a canter this time. Once again, Ellie started out a little excited, a little too speedy and uneven for a hunter. But Kate soon worked her down into a nice, easy hunter lope.

As she did, she found herself thinking about how the horse she was riding right now—the horse the potential buyer would see and possibly ride—wasn’t really the same horse that she’d been at the start. Kate was doing what everyone tried to do in the hunter ring—make the horse look stylish, relaxed, and easy. But in truth, Ellie was anything but easy when she was fresh. At moments like this, Kate sometimes found herself wondering just how fair it was to the potential buyer to get all the kinks out before he or she ever even saw the mare, let alone tried her.

She knew what Tommi would say, or Jamie. They would say that there was no point in showing a sales horse at less than its best.

And that made sense, it really did. Still, Kate couldn’t help wondering what would happen if a buyer fell in love with the perfect, easy horse and then wasn’t ready to deal with the not-quite-so-perfect reality …

She cut off the thought, feeling a little disloyal. Jamie wouldn’t show Ellie unless both he and the potential buyer’s trainer thought the buyer could handle her. As long as Ellie stayed in a good program, she would be fine.

Kate wondered why she always worried about things like that more than she should, way more than other people did. Maybe she was still getting used to the way things were done on the A circuit. This wasn’t that local lesson barn, where buyers almost never had trainers and sellers rarely even bothered to knock the mud off their sales horses. No, even after being with Jamie’s barn for over two years, it still seemed like a whole different world to her sometimes.

“Want me to lower the fences to start?” Tommi called as Kate rode past her.

Kate glanced at the jumps. There were two lines set up, one a pair of simple verticals at about three feet and the other a pair of higher fences that Fitz had been jumping, the 3’9“ vertical and an oxer at the same height.

“We should be fine,” she called back to Tommi. “Thanks, though.”

She aimed Ellie at the smaller line. The mare’s dainty ears pricked eagerly as soon as she realized they were jumping. She took the first vertical about a foot higher than required and rushed the second, but after a couple of times through she settled down and started jumping in her usual superb form, slow off the ground, knees up and even, back rounding over the fence. That form, along with her long stride, had turned her from a jumper to a hunter and added a healthy percentage to her asking price.

“Good girl,” Kate murmured, cantering the mare around to the larger jumps. “Easy …”

She steered toward the larger vertical, keeping her leg on. Ellie met it out of stride and cleared it smoothly. Okay, five strides to the oxer …

Two strides out, Kate noticed a good-sized group of people walking toward the ring. She glanced over and spotted Jamie near the front of the group. Then she recognized the tall, handsome man striding along beside him. It was world-famous rock god Zac Trask!

Kate’s whole body clenched with surprise. She turned her head, wanting a better look to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

She was so distracted that she totally forgot where she was for one critical second. Ellie threw her head, annoyed by Kate’s hands tightening on the reins, and her stride wobbled.

The oxer was only a stride away when Kate finally clicked back in to what she was supposed to be doing. Her eyes widened as the jump loomed ahead of her, both too close and way too far away.

She started to pull up, to yank the mare around the jump instead of trying to clear it from the scary long spot. But she instantly realized that wouldn’t work. It was too late; Ellie was already locked on. So instead Kate loosened the reins, gave the mare a kick, and prayed.

For a second she thought it might actually work. Ellie pushed off hard, stretching to make it. But her front hooves clipped the back rail of the oxer, and she lurched downward; with a clatter of rails, the entire jump collapsed around them, and all Kate could see was the ground coming up fast.…

THREE

“Oh my God!” Tommi blurted out as she watched Kate and Ellie crash through the jump. The mare landed hard, throwing her head down to balance herself as she tripped over a falling rail. Kate was tossed forward on the mare’s neck, but Ellie stayed on her feet and Kate managed to cling on and shove herself back into the saddle as the mare bolted away from the fallen jump, snorting with annoyance.

Tommi finally let out the breath she’d been holding, relieved that nobody was hurt. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen someone miss that badly over a jump that size—especially someone like Kate.

It was only then, as she became aware of murmurs and gasps from behind her, that Tommi realized Jamie had arrived at the ring. A bunch of people were with him, including a familiar-looking girl with curly black hair, flawless dark skin, and full, pouty lips. She was around Tommi’s age or a little younger, pretty in an offbeat way. Her curvy body was encased in a too-tight polo shirt and flashy custom fringed full chaps. The latest trendy helmet—the one all the big-time jumper riders were wearing these days—was tucked under one arm.

“Is that Eleganz?” the girl asked, stepping to the rail beside Tommi. “Not much of a jumper, is she?”

Before Tommi could figure out a response to that, she noticed that another member of the party was Zac Trask. As soon as she recognized the singer, she also belatedly remembered where she’d seen the girl before—she was Zac’s daughter Zara, a top junior rider out on the West Coast. Tommi had never ridden against her or even met her before, but she’d seen her picture here and there.

So Zara was the potential buyer. Tommi couldn’t help a flash of disappointment that Ellie might be going so far away. She wasn’t the type to get overly attached to the sales horses, but this mare was something special.

“What’s going on here?” Jamie asked, staring at Tommi. “I thought I asked you to ride Ellie.”

“Sorry, Jamie,” Tommi said. “We just thought …”

She didn’t bother to finish. Jamie’s tone was mild-mannered and his facial expression neutral, but she knew him well enough to tell that he was annoyed. And she couldn’t really blame him. It was pretty obvious now why he’d asked her to ride Ellie today instead of Kate. Kate was a great rider, but a little too easily flustered. Having an international superstar watch her ride was likely to throw her off her game. Obviously.

Tommi, on the other hand, was well known for her nerves of steel. Besides, she’d met more rock stars, actors, and other celebrities than she could count, and she’d figured out when she was still pretty young that people were all about the same anyway.

“Sorry about this, folks.” Jamie was instantly jovial again as he turned to face Zac, Zara, and the others, who Tommi guessed to be bodyguards and managers and such. “Let me get my rider up, and then you can see what this horse can really do.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zac said with an easy smile. “Right, Little Z?”

Zara shrugged. “Whatever. But somebody should probably be taping it for the next thrills and spills video.”

“This will only take a sec.” Jamie gestured to Tommi, then ducked through the fence and strode out toward Kate and Ellie.

Tommi snapped her helmet’s chin strap and scurried after him. By the time she caught up, Kate was on the ground staring at her feet and Jamie was holding Ellie, who was dancing nervously, her eyes rolling in her head.

“You okay?” Tommi whispered as she passed Kate.

Kate shrugged, not meeting her eye. Tommi felt bad for her, but there was no time to worry about hurt feelings right now. Jamie was already checking the girth and adjusting the stirrups.

“Ready?” he asked Tommi.

She nodded and stepped forward, already assessing the mare’s mood—freaked out—and planning what she’d need to do to fix it. Time to salvage this situation if she could.

Kate watched out of the corner of her eye as Tommi mounted, gathered up the reins, and sent Ellie into a smooth trot. She’d forgotten about her jacket and was riding in just her show shirt with the collar undone, but even so she looked cool, capable, and professional. In other words, the total opposite of how Kate felt as she slunk out of the ring at Jamie’s heels.

She couldn’t believe she’d made such a spectacular fool of herself. But looking stupid wasn’t the worst of it. After all, horses could make anyone look stupid. No, the worst part was that she knew she’d disappointed Jamie. Buying and selling horses was a huge chunk of his income, and she might have just screwed up a big sale.

Kate wanted to run straight back to the barn, hide out in a stall, and cry into a horse’s mane like a little kid. But she knew she couldn’t. The least she could do was stick around to help Javier take Ellie back to the stalls after this, since both Jamie and Tommi would probably have to book to make it over to the jumper ring in time. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to step over to the group at the rail.

“H-hi.” Her voice shook, but she did her best to smile. “Sorry about that. It was all my fault—I, um, really messed up the approach to that fence.”

Zac shot her a smile that practically oozed with charisma. “No worries, sweetheart,” he said in that raspy, distinctive voice Kate had heard on the radio and MTV a million times. “I’m impressed you stayed aboard. You could make big bucks at the rodeo.”

Jamie and several members of the entourage chuckled, though Zara just rolled her eyes. She stared at Kate for a second as if she had two heads, then turned away without a word to watch the horse in the ring.

Kate turned to watch Ellie, too, relieved to see that the mare already looked calmer. Tommi was making her focus on some lateral work, helping her forget about what had happened. As they passed the group at the rail Tommi sent the mare into a canter, showing off her flawless depart. Impressed that Tommi didn’t seem fazed by the identity of the prospective buyer, Kate sneaked a peek at the girl beside her.

Zara caught Kate’s glance and frowned. “Can I help you?” she asked in a cool voice.

“I—I was just wondering what you thought,” Kate stammered, taken aback by Zara’s hostile tone. “Um, of Ellie. That’s what we call her. Her barn name, you know. Eleganz, I mean?”

Zara stared at her, her moss-green eyes sizing her up. “Yeah, thanks. I never would’ve figured that one out.”

Jamie had been chatting with Zac, but now he joined the two girls at the rail. “As you can see, Zara, the mare is a fantastic mover and a natural for the hunter ring. She went reserve in the First Year Greens at Devon last month, and I think she’ll get even better as she matures.”

“What do you think, Little Z?” Zac asked. “Like her?”

“She’s okay. Need to see her jump,” Zara said with a shrug. “Like,
over
the jump this time instead of through it.”

“Of course.” Jamie glanced over at Kate. “Why don’t you go out and set some jumps for Tommi, okay?”

“Sure.” Kate was relieved to have an excuse to escape from the group at the rail. Otherwise she had the uncomfortable feeling she might end up doing something weird out of sheer nerves, like burst out singing Zac Trask’s latest hit at the top of her lungs.

Zara watched as the tall blond girl set up a line of smallish jumps. She was playing it cool as always, even though what she really wanted to do was clap her hands and squeal like a little girl. She hadn’t really been expecting much out of this trip, especially after seeing that crash, but damn, this mare was gorgeous! Leggy and sleek and dainty-headed like some fantasy pony, but with a killer trot and a canter that made Zara’s old junior hunter look like a lame cart horse. Plus there was something about this mare—some spark that made Zara think she wasn’t just another of those boring overschooled automaton types that her trainers always wanted her to ride. She looked … spunky.

Zara almost smiled, but she knew better than to let her real emotions show. Ever. It was safer not to reveal too much, easier not to trust people. Trust only got her in trouble.
Real
trouble, not the fun kind.

No, the only ones she really trusted were the horses. They never lied to her. Never acted friendly to her face and bitchy behind her back. Never used her to get to her famous parents. That was a part of what had kept her riding all these years. She’d started for the thrills, always seeking out the rush of going faster and jumping higher. But she’d stuck with it for the horses themselves.

Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone. Most people thought she was just in it for laughs. And Zara was fine with that.

Skinny-Blondie finally finished setting the jumps and stepped back, and Zara leaned forward, eager to see what the mare could do. The billionaire chick—Zara forgot her name, but she’d seen her picture in the
Chronicle
enough times to recognize her face—put the horse into a smooth canter and aimed her toward the first fence.

Just then there was a commotion from somewhere behind the group. Zara glanced that way just in time to see someone burst into view from around the corner of a nearby food stand.

Great. It was Mr. Pitstains from earlier. This time he’d brought a couple of camera-toting friends. As soon as they spotted Zac, they all started snapping away.

“Get the daughter, too,” one of the guys called out in a Queens accent so thick and gluey that Zara’s mother would have said it was straight out of central casting.

“Oh, man,” Zara murmured under her breath, shooting Zac an irritated look. The last thing she wanted was for these freakazoids to stand there snapping pictures during her test ride.

Not that she was shy. Far from it. She’d once gone skinny-dipping in the surf right next to the Santa Monica pier. In broad daylight.

But she’d only done that to piss off her parents after they’d taken away her car for partying too much. This was different. It was her own thing, not the property of the
Globe
or TMZ or whatever.

Besides, she hated looking stupid. And if there was one thing Zara had learned in her years of riding, it was that horses could be humbling. That was the flip side of them not caring who you were. They’d just as soon buck off a rock star’s daughter as some anonymous suburban brat.

Zac’s head bodyguard, a tractor-trailer of a man known only as Bo, was already moving in on the photographers, with a couple of the other guys backing him up. Zara turned away as they did their thing, trying to focus on the mare in the ring. Little Miss Billionaire was taking her over a vertical that couldn’t be more than 2’9“, and the mare was squaring her knees, pricking her ears, and looking picture-perfect.

By the time Zara checked again, the stalkarazzi dorks were nowhere in sight. Neither were the bodyguards. It gave her a moment of evil pleasure to imagine what Bo and the boys might be doing to remind those losers not to bother people. Not that it was probably really going down that way, but still. A girl could dream.

But she was irritated that the interruption had happened in the first place. Back home, everyone was used to her being around the shows. There was no fuss even when Zac turned up to watch her ride, or her mom, either. Maybe a few autographs for the tourists, but that was it.

“Frigging East Coast,” she muttered.

“What was that?” the trainer, Jamie, asked politely.

She couldn’t tell from his expression whether he’d heard her or not. “Nothing,” she said. “Talking to myself.”

Jamie nodded, glancing out at the horse. “Want to see a few more jumps, or are you ready to take Ellie for a spin?”