The a Circuit (18 page)

“What?” He blinked at her across the table. “Doing what? Talking? Eating fries? Having dinner with a gorgeous girl?”

“Yeah, that last one.” She frowned, knowing her face was probably bright red but actually not caring that much. “It’s flattering and all, but I don’t have time to waste being, like, a notch on your belt or whatever, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Kate, stop.” His smile faded. “Look, I know I’ve messed around a lot in the past. But that’s not what this is about. I know you’re not like that.”

“What is it, then?”

He shrugged, his eyes suddenly uncertain. “It’s different this time, with you,” he said, poking at his burger. “I’m not sure why. I guess I just see something in you—something different from all those other girls.”

Kate wasn’t sure what to say to that. There was a look in his eye that she’d never seen before, and it made her more uncomfortable than ever. She grabbed her glass and took a gulp, but her hands were shaking and she ended up dribbling iced tea down her chin.

Fitz looked up in time to see it and grinned. “Looks like you’re developing a pretty serious drinking problem there,” he quipped, sounding much more like his normal self. “Let me give you a hand.”

He reached out and dabbed her chin gently with his napkin. Kate didn’t move as she felt his fingers brush her face. She would be the first to admit she wasn’t used to getting up close and personal with guys very often. But she couldn’t remember ever feeling that quiver before when one touched her.

“So how about it?” Fitz asked, dropping his napkin and leaning forward. “Will you give me a shot, see what happens?”

Even under the fluorescent lights of the diner, he looked handsome and sincere staring at her like that. She couldn’t help smiling.

“Um, sure,” she said. “I guess. Why not.”

“Cool!” He flopped back in his seat, grinning. “Then I guess this is our first official date, huh?”

“Okay.” Kate sneaked a peek at her watch. “But I’d better cut it short. Sorry. But I need to be back at the barn in like six hours.”

Fitz looked disappointed, but shrugged. “Okay. Don’t want to get you in trouble with the boss.”

He paid the check and they headed back to the barn. Fitz had driven to the diner, and pulled his racy red convertible in right next to Kate’s car.

“Thanks for dinner,” Kate said, suddenly feeling shy again.

“You’re welcome.” Fitz unhooked his seat belt and leaned toward her. Kate closed her eyes, knowing what was coming and not sure if she was ready for it.

She felt Fitz’s hand touch her arm and then his lips gently brush hers. “Good night,” he murmured. “Sweet dreams. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

Kate opened her eyes, her heart beating faster. “Good night,” she whispered. Then she climbed out of the car and hurried to her own, fumbling with her keys. She was very aware of Fitz watching her until she’d started her car, then he revved his engine and followed her down the winding drive. Glancing into the rearview as she paused at the end, she saw him wave as they prepared to turn in opposite directions down the quiet country highway.

Soon she was speeding toward home, her mind buzzing with everything that had just happened. Fitz thought she was special. He wanted to be with her, see what might happen between them. Was he for real, or was that just another line? She had no idea, and suddenly didn’t really care. She spent way too much time worrying and wondering and trying to figure things out ahead of time. Maybe this time she just needed to go with it for once, be a little more daring. Kind of like Zara seemed to be—going for what she wanted without worrying about the possible consequences, or what anyone else might say.

She liked Fitz, and he seemed to like her. So what was the worst that could happen?

SEVENTEEN

“Bag, boots, helmet case,” Kate muttered under her breath as she dashed out of her bedroom and took the stairs two at a time. “Bag, boots, helmet case …”

It was very early the next morning, and Kate was rushing to get out of the house and over to the barn. She was trying hard not to forget anything important—always a difficult task on four hours’ sleep. Today it was made extra challenging because every time she slowed down, she caught herself thinking about Fitz. Had last night really happened? She was pretty sure it had, because she was even more sleep-deprived than normal for a show morning. But it was still hard to believe someone like Fitz could really be interested in her.

As she reached the first floor, she heard her brother’s voice shouting in the kitchen. Uh-oh. That couldn’t be good.

She stepped into the room just in time to see Andy slam his hand down on the counter. “I don’t care what you say!” he yelled. “I can do what I want!”

Their mother shuddered as if he’d physically slapped her. “Keep your voice down, Andrew,” she said. “You’ll wake your father, and he needs his sleep. He worked the late shift last night.”

“What’s happening?” Kate asked, since neither of them had noticed her standing there.

Andy whirled around and glared at her, as if whatever had wounded his fourteen-year-old being to the core
this
time was somehow her fault. “Mom’s being a Nazi, that’s all,” he spat out.

“Andrew!” Their mother looked shocked. Stepping over to the sink, she touched a glass sitting in the drying rack. Once, twice, three, four times. Then she moved on to the next glass. And the next.

“Seriously, what’d you do?” Kate asked her brother, mostly for an excuse not to watch her mother’s rituals.

Andy shrugged. For a second she thought he wasn’t going to answer.

“Went out with my friends, lost track of time,” he muttered at last. “Got in a little late. So sue me.”

His mother paused in her rituals long enough to shoot him an accusing look. “A
little
late? You only got home ten minutes ago.”

Kate felt her stomach clench. Now Andy was staying out all night? Who knew what kind of trouble he was getting into with those loser friends he’d been hanging around with lately.

“What’s going on out there?” Kate’s father bellowed from the master bedroom. “Some people are trying to sleep!”

“Gotta go.” Kate grabbed a banana out of the bowl on the counter and her boots from their spot beside the back door. “Don’t forget, I’ll be at the show all week. Back Sunday night.”

“Have fun, sweetheart,” her mother said without looking at her. “Don’t forget to leave your phone on in case we want to reach you.”

“I always do. Bye.” Hearing her father’s grumbled curses coming closer, Kate slipped out the back door quickly, relieved for the excuse to escape.

“So what divisions are you doing?” Marissa asked.

Zara leaned on the fence of the warm-up ring, watching the usual chaos in there. “Junior Hunters with Ellie,” she said. “Jumpers with Keeper. You?”

“Hunters and maybe Eq,” Marissa said. “If I don’t die of nervousness first. I hate doing eq at huge shows like this—it totally freaks me out for some reason.”

Zara glanced around and shrugged. Yeah, the show was bigger than the first one she’d done with Jamie’s barn. There were three rings going full-time, hundreds of horses, tons of vendors. But it was nothing compared to some of the biggies out on the West Coast.

“I thought you guys did all the big shows,” she said. “This one doesn’t seem that huge to me.”

“I know, right?” Marissa laughed, rolling her eyes. “Ignore me. I do this every time. Dani says I should, like, buy stock in Xanax.”

Zara shrugged again. If Marissa got so freaked out by showing, why did she bother? But she didn’t ask. People usually got offended by questions like that for some reason.

It was Thursday morning, and Mickey had dropped her off a little while ago. She’d run into Marissa within minutes and been hanging out with her ever since. The girl talked too much, laughed too much, and seemed a little clingy. But hanging with her was better than feeling invisible like last time.

Zara’s eyes stopped on one particular rider in the crowd. “Hey,” she said, “I heard Tommi bought that horse she’s riding right now.”

“You mean Legs?” Marissa turned to scan the ring. “Yep, that’s him. She and her dad bought him together. Like a business deal, or something.”

“Really? Wow, how totally Wall Street of her.” Zara watched as Tommi trotted past them, dodging an out-of-control pony rider.

She was pretty sure Tommi hadn’t noticed her and Marissa standing there. Every bit of her attention appeared to be on her horse. Not that it was doing her much good. Legs looked majorly tense. He kicked out every time she asked for a transition and tossed his head every few seconds.

“Looks like she’s having some trouble with him today.” Marissa sounded sympathetic. “Maybe he doesn’t like all these other horses so close.”

Zara had a feeling that wasn’t it. Legs wasn’t the only one who looked tense—Tommi did, too. Zara could see that she was riding defensively. No wonder, after that fall she’d taken in the lesson last week. That one would take a while to shake off.

“Hi, guys. Have either of you seen Max?”

It was Kate, looking harried and freaked out as usual. Zara was pretty sure she hadn’t seen the girl stand still for more than two seconds since she’d met her.

“Haven’t seen him,” she said as Marissa shook her head.

Meanwhile Kate had spotted Tommi. “Legs looks cranky,” she commented. “What happened?”

“Nothing that we saw,” Marissa said. “Maybe he’s just having a bad day.”

Zara shook her head, though she didn’t say anything. She could see why the gelding was acting up. Tommi was sitting way too deep, and it was pissing him off. Zara recognized all the signs, mostly because Jamie had gotten after her about the exact same thing a couple of lessons ago.

Still, none of her business. Tommi was a big girl, and pretty much the barn superstar from what Zara could tell. Let her figure it out for herself. Why should Zara help the girl who’d busted her, gotten her in deep doo-doo with Jamie?

She watched as Tommi brought the gelding back to a walk, then asked for a canter depart. Legs planted his front legs, shaking his head. Then he popped up in a half rear and jumped sideways, almost crashing into a girl on a fat bay gelding.

“Watch it!” the other rider exclaimed.

“Sorry,” Tommi muttered, wrestling Legs over to the rail, then letting him walk on a long rein. Her expression was fierce and frustrated, and Zara felt a twinge of sympathy. She’d been there.

“Hey,” she called when Tommi and Legs neared the spot where she and the others were standing. “Ellie was doing the same thing with me last week. Try lightening up your seat a little and let him stretch his neck and relax, see if that helps.”

Tommi shot her a dark look. “When I need a riding lesson from you, I’ll let you know, okay?”

Zara scowled. “Whatevs,” she snapped. “Sorry I said anything.” She spun on her heel and stormed away, ready to go back to being invisible.

Tommi barely noticed Zara’s departure. The last thing she was in the mood for right now was riding advice from Miss Rebel Without a Clue. She half-halted strongly as Legs started jigging.

“Stand, dammit,” she muttered, keeping her hands firm as the horse flung his head all over creation.

Only when he finally stopped for a second did Tommi realize that Marissa and Kate were standing at the rail, too. Kate had a troubled expression on her face. The girl was pretty much an open book.

“What?” Tommi snapped.

Kate bit her lip. “Don’t kill me, okay?” she said. “But Zara might be right. You’re the one who’s always saying Legs needs a soft touch until he gets into the groove. Sort of like Ellie. It looks like you’re sitting pretty heavy right now, and he’s getting frazzled.”

Tommi scowled, ready to bite her head off, too. But she forced herself to stop and think. Kate wasn’t Zara. She actually knew what she was talking about. Could she be right?

As soon as she asked herself the question, the answer was right there staring her in the face. “Duh,” she said, more to herself than to Kate. “How stupid am I?” She shot Kate a rueful smile. “Thanks, I’ll give it a try.”

Tommi gave Legs a pat as she slipped out of his show stall. “Sorry about before, buddy,” she said, fishing in her pocket for a peppermint. “Good thing you aren’t the type to hold a grudge.”

She’d taken Kate’s advice and relaxed, giving Legs the freedom to loosen up his back and neck—and his restless mind—before picking up more contact again. They’d done fine after that, ending the warm-up on a much better note than they’d started it.

But it wasn’t really
Kate
’s advice, Tommi reminded herself. It had been Zara’s first. Zara might not be her favorite person in the barn, but she deserved an apology. She’d seen what Tommi herself had been missing. Thanks to the change in plans, Tommi hadn’t had to scratch from their first class as she’d been seriously considering. She and Legs hadn’t gone in and made a spectacle of themselves, either. An unlucky rail had blown their shot at a ribbon, but overall Tommi was pleased with the way the gelding had risen to the occasion. She smiled as she glanced back at his head hanging out over the stall guard, suddenly looking forward to seeing what they could do together when they took it to the next level.

Tommi checked Zara’s horses’ stalls, the tack stall, and everywhere else she could think of. But Zara was nowhere to be found. Nobody had seen her since she’d left the warm-up ring.

“What do you want with her, anyway?” Summer asked.

“Nothing. It can wait.” Maybe the middle of a busy show wasn’t the ideal spot for an apology anyway. Tommi could find a moment to talk to her back at the hotel.

Just then her phone buzzed. It was a text from Grant, asking what time she was riding the next day.

“Who’s that?” Summer asked, as tactless as always.

“A friend of mine. He wants to come watch me ride tomorrow.”

“A friend?” Summer’s eyes lit up. “You’re not talking about that yummy dark-haired guy who came to watch you at the last show, are you?”

“I’m not sure who you mean,” Tommi lied. The last thing she wanted was to get some ridiculous rumor started about her love life. “I’d better go get ready for my next class. See you later.”