Page 44 of A Mile of Ocean

“It was horrible. None of us has had much sleep. Who sleeps with bullets flying everywhere? And yet, when they release Brock from the hospital, he’ll come and stay with us because it’s much easier to take care of him here than running in and out of the bunkhouse.”

“Have you heard from Tate?”

“Blake picked her up early this morning. She’s probably at home, trying to get a little nap in before tonight.”

Once they had made the dogs comfortable, Savannah and Brogan headed back outside, grateful for the brief moment of peace the puppies provided. But the tranquility was short-lived. As they stepped into the yard, the distant crack of gunfire reminded them of the chaos that lay beyond the ranch’s borders.

“Is that target practice, or has our gunman returned?” Savannah asked, ducking down, her brow furrowed with concern.

Brogan’s phone alerted to a text from Lucien. “It’s target practice. He’s perfecting his shot from long range. Speaking of practice, maybe we could take the horses out for a quick riding refresher course. It’s been a good while since I’ve been on a horse.”

Savannah chuckled. “No problem. I wouldn’t mind saddling up again to convince Trent that I know what I’m doing. But without Tate, how do we know which ones best suit us? Horses can be temperamental. We want the ones who aren’t. How long has it been since you were on a horse?”

“Don’t ask. I was in my teens the last time I rode through Malibu Canyon,” Brogan replied. “Let’s go take a look at the onesin the stable. Did you see that beautiful one with the reddish brown and white coat?”

“That’s Confetti Queen,” Duchess said with a smile, carrying her shotgun by her side. “She’s my favorite, too. Let’s go pick you out a couple of winners. I could use a nice long ride myself.”

They followed Duchess back to the horse barn, where she picked out two of the gentlest mares they owned. Savannah swooned over the one known as Giselle, a beautiful, graceful, two-toned brindle bay, softly stroking her mane. At the same time, Duchess chose a copper-colored sorrel named Penny Lane for Brogan. Penny Lane’s playful demeanor instantly put Brogan at ease.

Duchess watched Savannah put the saddle on Giselle while saddling Confetti Queen, nodding with approval when she fastened the last cinch with expertise. Brogan tried to follow Savannah’s lead but needed help with her gear. Duchess gladly repeated the steps for her benefit.

“How tight do I fasten the breast collar?” Brogan asked.

Patient as a priest, Duchess answered, “You want itsnug but to allow enough room to make a fist between the collar and Penny Lane’s neck. Make sure there’s no slack. But you don’t want the saddle to slip. Make sure Penny’s comfortable with it. See?”

“Long time since I was on a horse,” Brogan admitted to Duchess as she put her foot in the stirrup and lifted herself onto the saddle.

“How does that feel?” Duchess asked.

“Great.”

“Brogan looks like she was born to ride, right?” Savannah said with a wink.

“Nothing better than born a horsewoman,” Duchess remarked with a chuckle, grabbing three bottles of water from a refrigerated unit at the end of the barndoor. “Put this in yourpack. Never go out anywhere without taking water with you. Be prepared for anything on the trail.”

“Is that why you have the shotgun ?” Brogan asked.

“You bet. I didn’t have it with me the night Barrett died. I’m not making that mistake twice.”

“We have an hour before Trent’s meeting,” Savannah reminded them. “I don’t want to be late for it.”

“We have plenty of time to ride out to Turtle Ridge. I’ll teach you how to handle a shotgun. How’s that sound?” she promised.

“Show me too,” Brogan begged.

“I’ll show you both how easy it is to aim and shoot. You always aim for the chest, a bigger target. People are wrong when they say to aim for the head. It’s a smaller target and sometimes easy to miss in the heat of battle.”

Savannah and Brogan exchanged wide-eyed looks at the Duchess Callum, realizing why nobody ever argued with her.

Duchess pointed west toward the ocean and exclaimed, “Look at those clouds building. There’s a storm moving in. In less than eight hours, we’ll all spend a very wet Monday night. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, ladies. We’re in for an old-fashioned hammering storm tonight.”

The noon strategysession lasted three hours. To ensure everyone was on the same page, Trent gathered everyone for a debrief before heading out for the evening.

He shook up the teams by placing Savannah with him at the eastern boundary.

Knowing both were good with a rifle, he paired Tate with Blake together to patrol Painted Heart. He pulled Toby off the Painted Heart detail and teamed him with his grandmother, who had insisted on maintaining a presence on horseback like everyone else. Their team would patrol the northern corridor.

Lincoln and Cecil would move closer to the middle of the ranch to back up Toby and Duchess. Lucien and Brogan would shore up the southern defense behind Woody and Monty, who kept their positions at the southernmost border. He shifted Hawk and Drum to the western edge, so they were closer to the main house.

---