Page 54 of In Safe Hands
“No shooting out the windows.” Ian put a hand on the heavy bag to steady it while he sent a warning glare over his shoulder at Rory. “This is not the Old West, and our homestead is not under attack.”
“It’d be good practice for defending the house from zombies.” Since Rory was the queen of deadpan humor, Daisy wasn’t sure if she was serious or not.
“Can I practice shooting from the window, too?” Lou asked, exertion making her breathless. “I’ll bring my new gun. This’ll be so much fun.”
“We’ll only aim at the annoying neighbors,” Rory promised. That time, Daisy was sure she was kidding. Fairly sure.
“No.” Callum added his voice to the chorus that time.
Rory rolled her eyes, as if the guys’ protests were ridiculous. “Fine. No shooting the obnoxious neighbors. I’m sure there’s at least one window in this place that faces an unpopulated area. Daisy, again.”
As Daisy obeyed, she tried to decide if training-tyrant Rory or gun-toting Rory was scarier.
“Have her dry fire at a target,” Ellie suggested from her spot on the elliptical machine. “When do I get to kick people?”
Looking at Ellie with surprise and, Daisy was pretty sure, dawning respect, Rory nodded. “Good idea. Get her comfortable with it until we figure out how to work around the not-leaving-the-house thing. I’ll bring a couple of handguns for you on Saturday.”
“And you get to kick people when the doctor clears you to kick people,” Chris answered Ellie. George, apparently done talking for the day, grunted. Although Daisy was still learning to interpret George-speak, she was pretty sure it translated as something like, “What he said.”
Ellie grinned. “Should I ask the doctor to write me a note specifically stating that I am healed enough to kick, knee, elbow, and punch others?”
“I have to get to work.” Callum extended the kick shield toward George. “Mind taking my spot?”
With a nod, George rolled to his feet and moved to stand opposite Lou, who appeared to be taking full advantage of her break. Her hands were braced above her knees as she panted for breath.
Dropping a kiss on Lou’s cheek, Callum asked, “Sure you don’t need the truck today? You could drop me off at the station.”
“Nope, I’ll be fine. We’re going to have some breakfast here while we talk about death.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.” Callum headed for the door.
“Don’t I always?” Lou called after him. “Have a nice day at work, honey!”
Turning away from her departing boyfriend, Lou eyed George’s massive form. “I’m glad I’m the one doing the kicking.”
“Be right back,” Daisy told Rory, who looked a little relieved to drop the shield and shake out her arms.
“Callum.” Daisy hurried after him. “I’ll let you out.”
Pausing just outside of the training room, he nodded and stepped back so she could lead the way. When they reached the entry, she unfastened the locks and opened the inner door for him. With a nod of thanks, he started to pass through the doorway, but then he paused.
“Don’t let them start shooting,” he said quietly, “from anywhere in your house.”
Daisy laughed. “I’m pretty sure Rory and Lou were kidding about that.”
“Probably.” Despite his words, his frown said clearly that he doubted it. “Thank you for letting us use your gym.”
“Anytime. It’s fun. I like having people to train with—besides Chris, I mean.” She kept her focus on Callum and off the exterior door. Her hands were sweating, and she wanted to dry them on her pants, but she didn’t want to give away her nervousness.
“We appreciate it.” His expression was analytical, and she knew he noticed the signs of her anxiety, even though she tried to hide them. “Take care, Daisy.”
“Bye.” She forced herself to count to five in her head before she allowed herself to close the inner door behind him and start locking the dead bolts. Her impulse had been to slam the door as soon as he was through, but she managed to quietly shut it and not embarrass herself by smacking him in the backside with the door. Even the thought of the potential humiliation that could have occurred made her squeeze her eyes closed.
Resting her forehead against the door, she took a minute to compose herself before heading back to the training room.
* * *
Since Ian had grabbed five doughnuts and headed home to sleep, only the four women, George, and Chris gathered around the dining room table for coffee, water, and breakfast pastries. Chris pulled out a chair, preparing to sit, but Daisy shook her head at him.
