Page 7 of A Mile of Ocean

Savannah smiled, feeling a connection she hadn’t expected. “I think I understand that. There’s something satisfying about working with animals. You’re where you should be.”

“And are you where you should be?” he asked.

She smiled, all the while thinking, I am now.

Chapter Two

She didn’t have much time to dwell on her newly minted crush before they were rounded up for lunch served off the terrace. While Mrs. Callum ushered them under a pergola where a table had been set with colorful melamine plates and a delicious-looking buffet, Trent had disappeared into the vast landscape.

One of the girls tugged at Savannah’s sleeve, asking about his whereabouts. “Miss Quinn, where did the cowboy go? Did he leave to take care of one of the horses?”

“I’m not sure,” Savannah said, glancing at Mr. Callum for an answer.

“Trent had to rescue a calf that wandered off on its own,” Barrett explained, taking a seat at the head of the table, still puffing on his pipe.

“Barrett, do something about the smoke,” Duchess decreed, waving her hand back and forth, a not-so-gentle reminder he should put out his pipe at the table.

“Yes, ma’am,” Barrett mimicked with a wink, setting his pipe next to his plate.

Duchess gestured for the kids to help themselves to the food—an array of sandwiches, two different kinds of mac and cheese, and assorted fruit—while she explained another side of ranching. “The calf that went missingrelies on his mother’s milk because he’s still a baby. A prolonged separation will put the calfin a dangerous situation, leading to dehydration. In other words, he’s got to eat. Don’t worry, though. Trent will find him and get him back to his mother. I promise.”

“Because he’s been doing this since he was a kid,” a wise-sounding Joe Bradley added. “He’s been ranching since he was my age.”

“Indeed he has,” Duchess assured the group after filling her plate and sitting at the table. “And if you want to be like Trent, you should learn to ride. You can do a whole list of things if you know how to sit in a saddle. You learn problem-solving and how to make snap decisions. Builds confidence, too. When you have all three, you can run a ranch like Trent does.”

The boy nodded thoughtfully. “I’d love to ride, but where would I keep a horse? My dad barely let me get a dog.”

“It just so happens our Tate has decided to open a riding school. Anyone who loves horses could take lessons this summer. If they wanted to, that is.”

“Is it expensive?” Joe asked. “I’d have to pay for it out of my allowance. My parents will think it’s a silly way for me to spend the summer.”

“It’s not expensive because we don’t charge for the lessons,” Tate said, entering the tented pavilion and grabbing a plate. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in riding. We also have horses that need the exercise. You’d be doing us a favor by learning to ride.”

Tate looked at Savannah. “Didn’t you tell these kids that you also know a thing or two about riding? She grew up in Fallbrook around horses.”

The teacher’s face split into a grin. “It never came up.”

“It has now. Maybe this summer, you could help me teach these little brats how to ride,” Tate offered with a wink. “They seem pretty interested in learning.”

“We’re not brats,” Daisy Wyman chimed up. “At least I’m not. I always do my homework and hand it in on time. If anybody’s a brat, it’s Sam Geller.”

Sam immediately countered with a retaliatory accusation of his own.

“Welcome to my world, where insults fly back and forth,” Savannah said.

Amused at the banter, Duchess showed a rare smile. “What makes you think it gets better as they age? It sounds like I’m having lunch with a room full of grandkids. Trent and Tate still bicker when it suits them. I keep telling them they’re too old for such childish antics that one day they’ll have to grow up and stop fussing at each other.”

Before digging into her sandwich, Tate nodded. “It’s mostly Trent who does the bickering. That man could argue with a fence post.”

It was Savannah’s turn to smile, remembering the squabbles with her own brother Owen. “It’s natural for siblings to argue.” She waved a hand toward her students. “These guys have no excuse except their competitive nature in the classroom. They compete to win in everything from a math test to a spelling bee.”

“That competitive spirit works with learning to ride,” Tate pointed out to the kids. “You’ll need permission from your parents before lessons can begin. I’ll give Ms. Quinn the legal stuff before you leave here today. You return the documents to her, and she’ll get them to me for our files.”

During the rest of the meal, Savannah could feel the excitement generated by the kids. She’d never seen them so enthusiastic about anything. The end of school was always a time for restlessness as they looked forward to summer without homework. But this felt different.

After the group helped clean up the table, their visit to Rio Verde was filled with more questions and the infectious energy of curious minds.

Savannah continued to look for Trent, scanning the landscape for any sign of him. But when it was time to leave, he still hadn’t appeared.

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