The a Circuit by Georgina Bloomberg Read Free Book Online Page A

ponies, who were mostly of saintly temperament but often half lame and usually less than half trained.
    “Sounds like an adventure,” she said lightly, knowing her friend would take offense if she asked too many questions or sounded the least bit disapproving. “Speaking of good old Roscoe, I saw a pony at the show that reminded me of him. Same type of markings.”
    “Hmm.” Nat didn’t sound too interested. She never seemed interested in hearing about anything that happened at Jamie’s barn or the A shows Kate attended. It seemed strange to think that the two of them didn’t have much in common anymore when it came to horses. Especially considering that horses were what they’d bonded over in the first place, playing together for hours with their Breyer models long before either of them ever got the chance to touch a real live horse.
    Still, Kate knew better than to force things with Nat. She didn’t deal well with that sort of thing. Time for another change of subject.
    “So you said Frankie had a party,” she said. “Fun?”
    “Totally!” Nat’s voice brightened immediately. “Justin swiped some vodka from his drunken mom’s stash, and snooty Stacey Wilcox got plastered and ended up making out with that loser Dave Duffy and then posting all over Facebook today how much she hates him.”
    They chatted about the latest high school scandals for a few more minutes. By the time she hung up, Kate felt better, or at least more normal. She peeled off her filthy barn clothes and wrapped herself in a clean towel—one of exactly four stacked neatly on the chair near her closet—and headed downstairs to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. A few minutes after that, clean again, she climbed into bed and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

    Tommi opened her eyes on Tuesday morning to a beam of bright sunlight slashing across her room. Instantly wide awake, she glanced at the clock beside her four-poster and groaned. Six thirty. Her body was still on school time, even though summer vacation had started over a week ago.
    Summer vacation. Tommi stretched and smiled, relishing the thought of long summer days at the barn and nights out on the town with her friends. What could be better?
    A few minutes later, showered and dressed, she headed downstairs. Mrs. Grigoryan was in the kitchen bustling around with the dishes, and Tommi’s father was in the dining alcove with a cup of coffee at his elbow and that morning’s Times spread all over the table. He glanced up as she came in.
    “Morning, sunshine,” he greeted her.
    “Morning. What are you still doing here?”
    Her father raised one bushy eyebrow. “Aren’t you happy to see your old father, Thomasina?” he asked in a mock-insulted tone.
    Tommi rolled her eyes. Her father only used her full name when he was angry with her—which he clearly wasn’t at the moment—or when he was feeling extra jovial.
    “Usually you’re at the office by now,” she said, dropping into a chair.
    “Got a tennis date with the mayor at eight.” Mr. Aaronson folded back another page in the business section. “Figured there’s no point in heading downtown until afterward.”
    That explained his good mood. Tommi’s father and the mayor had a standing tennis date, and her father almost always won. Winning made him happy.
    “By the way,” he added, “I have some exciting news.”
    “Oh?” Tommi was already back on her feet, heading toward the fridge for some OJ.
    “Your sister’s coming home next weekend.”
    “Isn’t that nice, dear?” Mrs. Grigoryan cooed in her thick Armenian accent. “It will be so lovely to have Miss Callie around the place again, if only for a short while.”
    “Callie’s coming home?” Tommi stopped for a moment, staring into the open refrigerator with surprise. Then she grabbed the orange juice carton and a glass and headed back out to rejoin her father. “What’s the occasion?”
    “No occasion. She just misses her family, I