The A Circuit 04- Rein It In by Georgina Bloomberg

nobody knows for sure—but some say a certain working student will likely be asked to step into the job!

Chapter Eight
    “What do you think?” Marissa asked Kate, her eyes shining with excitement.
    Kate couldn’t answer. Her mind felt numb, unable to process this.
    Summer wrinkled her nose. “I think it’s totally weird to picture Joy with a baby,” she said. “I mean, I didn’t even realize she was married.”
    “Yes, you did,” Dani told her. “She brought her husband to the barn picnic last spring, remember? He’s super shy and adorable. Works in real estate, I think.”
    “Not really the point here, guys.” Fitz shot them an annoyed look. Then he turned to Kate. “Congratulations, babe,” he said with a grin. “Should we call you Madame Trainer, or just Boss?”
    Kate was still too stunned to respond, or even really take in what he’d said. She was still staring at the blog post on Zara’s phone, trying to make sense of the words blinking at her from the tiny screen. Was Joy really leaving Pelham Lane? It washard to imagine—she’d been there since long before Kate had arrived.
    Even if that part was true, could the other part possibly be right? Could Jamie actually be thinking of offering Kate the more-than-full-time position of assistant trainer?
    “This can’t be for real,” she blurted out at last. “I mean—it’s crazy, right? I’m only sixteen.”
    “You’ll be seventeen in a few months,” Fitz reminded her.
    “No, she’s right,” Summer said. “It’s totally crazy. Kate can’t be the assistant trainer.”
    “Why not?” Zara challenged her. “She rides better than anyone here except maybe Jamie.”
    “Yeah,” Fitz agreed, giving Kate’s shoulders an extra squeeze. “She’d be awesome at it. She practically runs this place as it is.”
    Just then Tommi rounded the corner leading Toccata. “What’s going on?” she asked when she saw them all standing there.
    Zara and the others practically tripped over themselves filling her in. Tommi’s eyebrows shot higher with every word, and halfway through she grabbed the phone out of Kate’s hand and scrolled through the blog post.
    “This is nuts.” She frowned at the screen. “I doubt it’s more than some stupid rumor, like most of the other stuff on this blog.” She handed Zara’s phone back to her. “But even if Jamie goes temporarily insane and offers Kate the job, there’s no way she’d accept it.”
    “Says who?” Fitz looked annoyed.
    “Says anyone with half a brain.” Tommi led her horse into an open grooming stall and clipped on the cross-ties as shetalked. “I mean, think about it. She’d have to drop out of school, and college would be out of the question.”
    “That’s true.” Marissa glanced at Kate thoughtfully. “I hadn’t really thought about it that way.”
    Zara shrugged. “Not everybody has to go to college. My dad didn’t, and look where it got him.”
    Kate’s mother hadn’t gone to college, either, though she didn’t bother to mention that. Since when was Tommi so gung-ho about college, anyway? Wasn’t that the whole point of this horse-selling deal she had going with her father—that she didn’t want to settle for being some generic college-bound drone? That she wanted to follow her dream of working with horses for a living? What made that okay for her but not for Kate?
    Tommi was scowling at Zara and the others. “I’m just saying it’s not realistic. And probably not even true.”
    Dani glanced at Kate. “You’re being awfully quiet, Kate. What do you think? If it is true, would you take the job?”
    Suddenly every eye was on Kate, making her feel like a butterfly in a jar. Her face was hot, and she wished she could be anywhere else. Why did that stupid blog have to write something like this, anyway? She had enough on her plate right now without one more thing—one more big thing—to worry about.
    “Um …,” she began.
    “Quiet!” Marissa hissed suddenly.