My Favorite Mistake (26 page)

The crowd was murmuring with concern, while the announcer called for the paramedics to please come to the equitation ring.

Marissa herded Zara back to the others, making soothing noises at all of them. Playing mother hen. That seemed to be her thing.

Summer chose that moment to ride over from the direction of the warm-up ring. She was supposed to ride after Fitz.

“What's going on?” she asked, pulling her horse to a halt.

“Kate came off,” Marissa said. “I guess Fable jumped her loose, and she couldn't hold on.”

Dani shook her head. “I think there was more to it than that,” she declared. “I mean, since when can't Kate ride a big jump? It looked like she, like, passed out or something!”

Zara glanced at the ring again. Miguel had appeared out of nowhere and caught Fable. Meanwhile Kate had actually managed to sit up, with Fitz and Jamie supporting her on either side.

The others were still chattering excitedly, but Zara stayed silent as she watched Tommi take Kate by the hand, helping her to her feet. The ring's reddish-brown footing was ground into Kate's clothes from head to foot.

As she stared at the other girl's lean frame, her bony wrists
sticking out from the sleeves of her jacket, Zara started to wonder if Dani was right, if something was seriously wrong here. Was it possible that Kate could be anorexic or something, and none of them had even noticed?

“Knock, knock,” Tommi called out as she pushed open the door to the hotel room Kate was sharing with Dani. “Can I come in?”

Kate looked up. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, dressed in baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt.

“Sure,” she said. “But don't come too close. I might be contagious.”

Tommi studied her face. Jamie and most of the others seemed perfectly willing to believe Kate's story about having a virus or something. And in a way, it did make sense. It certainly explained Kate's scary fall in the eq ring yesterday, along with her paleness and generally unhealthy look the past week or so.

But Tommi wasn't so sure. Call it a hunch.

“So when did you feel yourself getting sick?” she asked, perching on the edge of the bed.

“Oh, I don't know,” Kate said vaguely, waving a hand. “You know how it is at shows. I was so busy I probably didn't pay attention soon enough.”

“So do you think it's, like, a stomach bug or something? Could it be food poisoning?” Tommi asked. “What did you eat yesterday?”

“I don't really remember, but yeah, maybe. Anyway, I'm already feeling better,” Kate said. “Jamie's making me stay here
and rest, though. I just hope things aren't too crazy today being one person short. At least it's the last day.”

“I'm sure we'll manage.” Tommi felt troubled as she stared at her friend. She could tell that Kate wasn't telling her the truth. At least not the whole truth. What was really going on here?

Kate was picking at her fingernails, not looking at Tommi. Her blue eyes were anxious and distant.

“Look, Kate,” Tommi blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. “You'd tell me if something was really wrong, right? I mean, you know you can trust me.”

Kate's head shot up; the startled look in her eyes reminded Tommi of the time she'd almost hit a dog with her car. It had looked at her the exact same way before darting to the curb just in time.

“I—I …,” Kate began, then gulped. “Look, you can't tell anyone, okay?”

“Swear.” Tommi held her breath, not wanting to push too hard.

Kate bit her lip so hard it left a dent. “I really screwed up,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I—I stole something. A brand-new pair of Tailored Sportsmans.”

Whatever Tommi had been expecting to hear, that definitely wasn't it. “Huh?” she said. “What do you mean, you stole them?”

“My show breeches got ruined, and then Mrs. Walsh sent me to pick up some stuff for her at the vendor's tent, and I saw the breeches there and just sort of added them to the pile without thinking.” Kate took a long, shuddering breath, clutching the bedspread in both hands so tightly that her knuckles were
white. “And now they're ruined, too, so I can't take them back, and there's no way I can ever pay for them before Mrs. Walsh finds out, and—”

“Wait.” Tommi was having trouble following this. “So you charged a pair of breeches to Mrs. Walsh's account—the ones you were wearing when you fell yesterday?”

“Uh-huh.” Kate looked sick. “I know it was wrong. I have no idea what got into me, I guess I was so desperate I wasn't thinking.”

“But what happened to your other breeches?” Tommi asked.

Kate shrugged, her gaze skittering away and focusing on the hotel room wall. “I, um, spilled Thrush Buster all down the front of them when I was treating that new import horse with the bad feet,” she said. “You know how that stuff stains. It's not like I could go into the ring with big purple blotches all over my pants.”

That part wasn't so hard to believe. Kate was famous for focusing more on keeping the horses' turnout spotless than her own.

“Okay,” Tommi said. “So why didn't you just tell someone? Me, for instance? You know I would've helped you out.”

She had to admit it, she was a little hurt. They were supposed to be friends. Tommi wouldn't hesitate to go to Kate for help, advice, whatever. Didn't Kate feel the same way?

“I don't know,” Kate whispered.

“It's not like I couldn't have spotted you the cash for a new pair,” Tommi went on. “Or just got them for you as an early birthday present or something. And actually, I bet Mrs. Walsh would've bought them for you if you'd just asked her. You've
done her enough favors over the years, helping out with her horses and stuff.”

Kate just shrugged. “Too late now. I've got to tell her the truth and figure out a way to pay her back.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I hope she isn't too mad; I never meant to hurt her.”

“You didn't hurt her,” Tommi said. “If you didn't tell her, she'd probably never even notice the extra charge. An extra pair of breeches to her is like, I don't know, the cost of a DVD or something would be to most people.”

That didn't seem to make Kate feel any better. She just sniffled, then hid her head in her hands.

Tommi slid onto the bed and put an arm around her. “Look, I'm sorry,” she said. “I've got to go. But I'll help you fix this, okay? I'll tell Mrs. Walsh, um, that I asked you to pick up those breeches for me, and things got confused. I pay her back, and it's all good. How's that sound?”

Kate sniffled again and looked up. “Really?” she said. “You'd do that, even after I screwed up so badly?”

“Of course.” Tommi hugged her. “Just stop beating yourself up, okay? Everyone makes mistakes. I'll take care of it.”

Tommi was still distracted as she hurried into the hotel restaurant. Even if it made her a little late, she figured she'd better grab something to eat before she headed over to the show. It would be a long day, and she definitely didn't want to face it on an empty stomach.

She grabbed a tray and headed for the breakfast buffet. When she got there, she found Zara poring over the selection of pastries. “Oh, good,” Zara said when she saw her. “At least if I'm late, I won't be the only one.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Tommi forced a wan smile.

Zara glanced past Tommi. “That dork boyfriend of yours still around?”

“No,” Tommi said. “He drove home last night.”

“Good.” Zara looked relieved. “I was really hoping he wasn't going to be riding back down to the city with us. The boy's cute and all, but man, was he bugging the shit out of me yesterday. Practically invited himself to move in with me once Zac gets back from Europe.”

Tommi shrugged, too distracted to worry about it. Okay, so maybe Alex was taking this whole networking thing a little too far. She was sure Zara had dealt with worse.

“Sorry,” she said, stepping past Zara so she could reach the toast. “He's really into music. Wants to get into producing or something when he's older.”

“Whatever.” Zara didn't sound too interested as she grabbed a cherry Danish. “You check in on Kate this morning?”

Tommi shot her a wary look. “Yeah,” she said. “Why?”

“Just wondering. She looked pretty wiped out yesterday.” Zara picked up her tray. “Way more than I'd expect after a pretty ordinary slide-and-flop fall. I just wondered if, you know, there was something else going on with her. And I'm not talking about having the sniffles or whatever she's claiming.”

“Something else?” Tommi's voice came out sharper than she'd intended. “What do you mean?”

Zara frowned. “Don't bite my head off, okay? If you don't want to talk about it, we won't talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” Tommi grabbed a bowl of fruit salad, then followed the other girl toward an out-of-the-way table.

Zara set down her tray, then flopped into a chair. “Look, I haven't said anything to anyone else,” she said. “I didn't want to be, you know, a gossip or something. But come on—you must've noticed Kate's looking paler and skinnier than ever lately. Then there's that fall. Don't tell me you'd expect her to come off just because her horse overjumped a little.”

“She was probably just nervous.” Tommi sat down across from the other girl. “She hasn't been doing the Big Eq for long. Maybe she tensed up too much trying to hold her position.”

“Maybe.” Zara sounded skeptical. “Or maybe she's got something else going on that's making her too weak to hold on.”

“Like the flu?” Tommi said, not really wanting to know what Zara was thinking. Even though she sort of already did.

“Like an eating disorder,” Zara said bluntly. “Don't tell me it hasn't occurred to you, too. I know you're not that stupid.”

Tommi wanted to leap to Kate's defense, to deny it. But when she got right down to it, she had to admit Zara wasn't wrong.

“I don't know,” she said slowly. “I mean, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions. It might just be a stomach bug or something after all, right? But—” Just then her phone went off in her pocket. “Excuse me,” she muttered, digging it out. The return number was one she didn't recognize. “Hello?” she said.

“Tommi? This is Abby Durand-Evans.”

Tommi's heart skipped a beat. In all the drama over Kate's fall, she'd almost forgotten that she still hadn't heard back from Vanessa. “Oh—hello,” she said. “I mean yes, this is Tommi. How are you?”

“Fine, fine.” The trainer sounded rushed. “Listen, sorry
we didn't get back to you sooner. Had some trouble reaching Vanessa's folks—they're traveling in Nepal or somewhere crazy like that.”

“Oh,” Tommi said. She clutched the phone more tightly to her ear, ignoring Zara's curious stare. “That's okay, no problem.”

“The wait was worth it, though,” the trainer went on. “Vanessa loved the horse, and is willing to pay your full asking price as long as he vets. Actually we were hoping to close the deal today so we can take him home with us from the show.”

“Oh! Wow.” Tommi swallowed hard, her mind racing.

Vanessa wanted Legs. Right now. No haggling. It was like her father's dream come true. He'd probably be so thrilled he'd be willing to help Tommi buy another prospect right away. By the end of the summer she could have two or three sales under her belt, maybe, and then there'd be no way he wouldn't let her keep at it over her senior year. And after that? Well, she would have to see. But at least she'd be off to a good start.

Then her mind flashed to the image of Vanessa riding Legs. Hauling on his mouth. The confused, unhappy look in the horse's eyes. How long could he put up with that? Was it fair to make him try?

Tommi closed her eyes for a second, knowing the trainer was waiting for her response. She knew what her father would tell her to say. Probably Alex, too. Maybe even Jamie.

But she found herself wondering—WWKD? What would Kate do? For all her current issues, whatever they might be, Kate was one of the truest horsemen Tommi knew. She
sort of wished she could put Vanessa's trainer on hold for a few minutes, then run back to Kate's room and discuss it with her.

Was that even necessary, though? Even though Kate might have been struggling with some serious problems right under her nose, giving Tommi the uneasy feeling that she didn't know her anywhere near as well as she'd thought, Tommi
did
know what her friend would say about this. Some things weren't about the money.

“Sorry,” she said into the phone. “I, uh, was just about to call you to let you know. I've decided to keep Legs in training a little longer before I sell him. I just don't feel comfortable with where he is yet, and I'd like to get him going a little more solidly before I let him go.”