Page 24 of A Mile of Ocean

Dolly and Tate threw together a fresh salad with lettuce from the garden. As they sat down to dinner, the room filled with laughter and stories, each memory a thread that wove them closer together. Savannah felt a sense of belonging she hadn’t experienced in years and realized that these moments of connection were what truly mattered.

Dinner was a relaxed affair, filled with warmth and friendship. They shared stories of the past, laughter echoing through the room as they recounted family anecdotes and cherished memories. Savannah felt embraced by the familial bonds with each tale they told.

As the evening wore on, they moved to the living room, where more stories flowed, and plans for the genealogy project began to take shape. Duchess and Tate discussed the papers and photos they had collected over the years and Cooper’s potential contributions to their endeavor.

“I talked with him for an hour on the phone yesterday while sulking in my room,” Duchess admitted. “He used to be a photojournalist who’s traveled all over the world. I believe he could bring a unique perspective to the project.”

“What kind of perspective?” Trent wanted to know. “Isn’t genealogy all about following a paper trail, using websites with ancestry data already there? Why do we need a different perspective?”

Duchess frowned. “Trent, you sound exactly like your grandfather. Dubious to a fault about any information we find. I’m not sure why you feel that way, but it mirrors my bumping heads with Barrett about it.”

“I, for one, can’t wait to start digging into our family tree,” Tate remarked, eyes shining excitedly. “Getting detailed information about Granddad’s family was always like hitting a brick wall. But unearthing new tidbits is like uncovering buried treasure, except the treasure is our heritage.”

Just then, the sound of an approaching vehicle broke the reverie.

“They’re here,” Tate announced, peering out the window. “One of them is kinda cute if you like the Secret Service, tight-ass, no-nonsense persona.”

Samantha joined Tate at the window. Within moments, all four men dressed in suits stood beside a luxury black SUV, presumably the security detail. “Jeez, you weren’t kidding. Men in Black for real.”

“That outfit won’t cut it on a ranch,” Trent grumbled in disappointment. “I told them they needed to blend in, not prance around in a suit.”

“It looks like they didn’t get the message,” Tate noted. “Communication breakdown at the very beginning is not a good sign.”

Trent went out the front door to greet them in the driveway. “I’m Trent Callum.”

“Eli Hawk,” a tall, muscular man sporting a short haircut said before he removed his polarized sunglasses. “Pelican Pointe isn’t exactly a hub of activity, is it?”

“We make do. I expected you here two hours earlier.”

“Sorry about that, but traffic from Los Angeles was terrible. And we had trouble finding this place. Have you had any more problems since last night?”

“No, it’s been quiet. But I suggested to my grandmother that she and my sister delay heading into town until you arrive. They rearranged their schedule for tomorrow. I hope that works for you. The plan is for one of your men to accompany them into town and stick with them in case this guy makes his move while they’re running errands.”

“We can do that. I’ll assign Drum to the task. In the meantime, we need a tour of the entire property and instructions on how far you want us to go if we spot this guy.”

Trent noticed all four men carried military-issued .45 automatic handguns. “You’re here to stop him from hurting any of my family or any of our employees. I don’t care much about how you do it. Just don’t shoot any of the ranch hands in the process. Let me show you where your men will bunkinside the main house. It’s up to you to schedule when they sleep.”

“That’s actually up to you,” Hawk stated. “We are here to protect and serve your family twenty-four-seven, however long it takes until the man is in custody.”

“Do any of your men ride a horse?” Trent asked.

“My guys are former police officers with military backgrounds. We can adjust to whatever you need.”

“That’s not really what I asked. But okay. I hope you at least brought proper attire for a ranch setting—jeans, work boots, or boots of any kind will work. It gets muddy and messy around here. I’m sorry if this isn’t the sort of celebrity detail you’re used to doing. It is what it is. There’s a lot of ground to cover and various family and employees who will rely on you to keep them safe.”

Hawk made the introductions. “This is Lincoln, Slade, and Drum.”

Trent wasn’t sure he could tell the four men apart. But after shaking hands with each one and discussing the arrangements, Trent led Hawk and his team through the main house. After dropping their bags in the guest wing, he led them on an extensive tour of the expansive ranch, beginning with the barns and stables and showing them where each outbuilding was located.

“These are great places for our shooter to hide,” Hawk stated. “We’ll need to secure each one every night.”

When it came time to tour the grounds, Trent pointed to a two-seater golf cart they used for hauling feed and hay to livestock in the fields. “This should get you back and forth for now.”

The vast property sprawled across rolling hills. Each section more picturesque than the last. As they toured thegrounds, Trent pointed out key areas particularly vulnerable to an intruder’s approach.

“This is the east pasture,” he said, gesturing to a sizable expanse of open range. “This is where we think our shooter entered. The tree line and ground cover make for a great place to hide. It’s the farthest from the house and the most secluded. We’ve had issues with trespassers here before, minor problems with hunters looking for small wild game over the years, but nothing like what occurred Friday night.”

Hawk nodded, taking mental notes. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. We’ll set up a rotating watch here, especially during the night. We’ll use night vision goggles and heat sensors to pick up any signs of intruders.”

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