CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rising at dawn was one thing. Rising at dawn for some yoga stretching was actually rather pleasant. But following that rather pleasant stretching by being whipped into squats and lunges changed the entire complexion.

She kept up, well enough, but squats, lunges, jumping jacks with Annika smiling, even letting out an occasional laugh, as she herself struggled through them—without even a single hit of coffee—made Sasha want to try out her right jab on her friend’s beautiful face.

Then came the dreaded push-ups.

She was the only one of the six who couldn’t manage more than two. One and a half if she was honest. Even with her knees down in what Riley called (with a definite sneer) girl push-ups, she struggled.

She would get stronger.

Pull-ups—not even one. Crunches until her abs screamed. More stretching—thank God—then a jog down the cliff steps, along the beach, then back.

Where she just collapsed on the grass in a gasping heap.

“I hate you.” She could barely pant it out. “Especially Doyle, but all of you.”

“That’s a start. Who’s on breakfast detail?” Doyle asked.

“The chart’s in my room. Someone who can still walk should go get it.”

“I’ll get it.” Annika, barely winded, dashed off.

From her prone position, Sasha bared her teeth. “Maybe I hate her even more than Doyle.”

Moaning, she rolled over, made herself stand on wobbly, vibrating legs. Actively scowled when Annika bounced back with the chart.

“I cook with Sawyer today. I can make the coffee. I know how. It’s so pretty!” She turned the chart around for all to see.

Sasha had color-coded it, and since she’d been in a fine mood before this morning’s torture, had illustrated the chart.

Pretty little drawings of pots and pans, a lawn mower, a garden, pecking chickens, the pool, and so on—along with sketches of everyone beside their names.

“I want that,” Sawyer said immediately. “I want that when we’re done. It goes in the kitchen for now, but I’m calling dibs. Let’s go cook, Annika.”

“Can I break the eggs?” she asked as they headed toward the villa. “It looks like fun.”

“There’s a woman who makes her own fun. Let’s find out if she can make coffee.”

“Hold on a minute,” Doyle said to Riley. “You got any Tai Chi?”

Riley tapped her right fist to her open left palm. “Sure.”

“Take Sasha through a beginner’s session.”

“What! Why? No.” Though it shamed her, Sasha was weak enough to look at Bran for help. But he only smiled, gave her arm an encouraging pat.

“It’ll help with your balance and centering,” Doyle said. “You want to catch up with everyone else, you need a little extra. Twenty minutes should do it. How about you show me some of what you’ve put together,” he said to Bran, “while they’re cooking.”

“All right.” Bran took Sasha’s face, kissed her lightly. “Twenty minutes,” he repeated, and left her.

“I want coffee,” Sasha insisted. “I want to sit down. I think I want my mommy.”

“There’s no whining in Tai Chi. Feet slightly apart, knees loose. Breathe from here.” She slapped a hand on Sasha’s aching abs.

“Oh, God.”

“You wanted a unit, Sash. Looks like you’ve got one.”

“It hurts.”

“No pain, no gain,” Riley shot back with merciless cheer. “I’ll go over philosophy later, because I damn well want coffee, too, but for now, breathe in from your center, and do what I do.”

At least the movements were slow, and she had to admire Riley’s fluidity as she tried to mimic them. But that didn’t stop her quads from aching like rotted teeth.

By the time she sat down she could have wept and whimpered for coffee, but she damn well knew where her center was as it quivered from exhaustion and begged for food. Sawyer produced a platter with a golden mountain of pancakes. Where she’d usually have eaten one, she ate three, actually contemplated a fourth before she decided it might make her sick.

Doyle looked across the table at her. “You’re up.”

“I don’t want to be up. Maybe not ever again.”

“I believe he means your clever and creative chart.” Bran gestured to where Annika had propped it on a chair, like another team member.

“Oh. Well. I’ve got me and Bran on cleanup, Riley on Apollo and chickens.”

“Wolf in the henhouse.”

Riley sent Sawyer a sharp, sweet smile. “You’re a barrel of monkeys.”

“Annika and I hit the garden to weed and harvest,” Sasha continued.

“I’m on the pool, Bran’s on the lawn mower. Annika’s on laundry.” Sawyer grinned at the chart. “Leaves Riley and Doyle on the supply run. I think I like the pictures of the bag of groceries and boxes of ammo best.”

“Give me ten for the cluckers, another ten to grab a shower.” Riley downed the rest of her coffee. “Another five to make a call, see where we’ll find the best place for the ammo.”

“The household supply list is on the dresser in my room.”

Nodding at Sasha, Riley pushed away from the table. “Got it. Fifteen tops,” she said and jogged off. How could she jog, Sasha wondered bitterly, to deal with the chickens?

“Might as well grab a swim before I play pool boy.”

Doyle rose as Sawyer did. “Fifteen minutes to add anything to the supply list, otherwise, you get what you get.”

Annika sat a moment after the others left, then looked apologetically at Sasha. “I don’t know how to laundry. Can you teach me?”

“Go ahead.” Bran waved them away. “I’ve got this.”

*   *   *

By the time she’d finished giving Annika a lesson on separating clothes, water temperatures, cycles, he’d nearly finished the dishes.

So she and her partner for the morning went out to the garden with hoes, rakes, shears, and a plastic tub from the shed.

They worked with Annika happily humming. She could hear the rumble of the lawn mower, the drone of bees, and the swish of the sea at the base of the cliff.

All so normal, Sasha thought, so everyday. Anyone looking at the picture would see a group of people tending to household chores. But they were far more.

She bided her time, noting that Annika caught on quickly to hoeing out the weeds, just as she’d caught on quickly to the basics of doing laundry.

But she’d clearly done neither before.

“So you have six sisters,” Sasha began.

“Yes.”

“You must miss them.”

“I do, but I’m happy here. Even though we have to fight, and some of the work is hard.”

“Six sisters,” Sasha repeated. “And you’ve never done laundry before.”

“Today I’m doing laundry.”

“So you had staff?”

Obviously puzzled, Annika straightened, mimed holding a tall stick. “Staff?”

“Not that kind. People. People who do things like laundry and cooking and cleaning.”

“Oh. We’re staff now.”

Annika bent back to her weeding, avoiding Sasha’s eye.

“You’ve never really said where you live.”

Annika weeded another moment, then stopped, turned to face Sasha again. “Will you be my friend?”

“I am your friend.”

“Will you be my friend and not ask what I can’t tell you? I can promise, I have nothing bad. It’s . . .”

“Like an oath.”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

Annika reached out to take Sasha into a hug. “Thank you. You taught me laundry.” She eased back, smiling. “I’ll teach you how to . . .” Bending over, she lifted her legs into a ridiculously fluid handstand.

“I think that’s going to take a lot longer than teaching you how to do laundry.”

“I’ll teach you.” Annika dropped down again. “And we’ll find the stars. When we do, and they’re where they belong, I can tell you everything.”

“All right. And whatever it is, we’re still going to be friends.”

After gardening and laundry, after supplies were put away and they ate the gyros Riley brought back from the village, Sasha had her first lesson in gun safety.