I Always Wanted to be a Spy by Judith A. Barrett

Author:Judith A. Barrett [Barrett, Judith A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wobbly Creek, LLC
Published: 2019-02-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Kate woke me while it was still dark. “Let’s run before breakfast.” We ran the driveway, the washboard dirt road, and the smooth-scraped dirt road almost to the highway, and then we ran back. While Kate cooked breakfast, I tossed our dirty clothes into the washer.

After breakfast, I hung the laundry and leaned over to pick up the basket. Kate slammed me to the ground and put her foot on the back of my neck.

We went for another run after lunch. I let Kate get a few feet ahead of me, and then I barreled into her and knocked her down. I veered into the woods and slipped back to the cabin.

When she returned to the cabin, we sat on the back porch with cold tea. Kate saluted me with her glass. “This training is doing as much for me as it is for you. I didn’t realize how soft I’d gotten.”

“You, soft? Isn’t that like calling my yawning tiger cuddly?”

Kate spewed her tea. It’s a rare day when I can catch Kate off guard twice.

“I miss the range. I haven’t practiced in ages.” I drained my glass.

“Shooting is like any other skill. Proficiency levels drop off with no practice. We have enough room here. We can set up a temporary range for ourselves. I’d worry someone might hear, but it’s close to hunting season. It wouldn’t be unusual to hear gunshots off in the distance around here, and no one is close.”

Kate set up our targets. I was rusty at first, but I was back to my old level by the second day.

“Does Taylor’s training include shooting?” I asked on our break.

“It does, but did you know her dad taught her to shoot? Her dad is a hunter and all his children hunt. Taylor got her first turkey at fifteen.”

I brushed my hair away from my sweaty forehead. “Impressive. Taylor never said she hunted.”

“Maybe she was worried about your reaction.”

“Maybe so. I remember a girl at school saying farm eggs were gross; she said she ate real eggs her mom bought at the grocery store. I agreed. We believed eggs popped out of machines into egg cartons on conveyor belts in a factory and meat came on a tray and was wrapped in plastic.”

“Ryan grew up on a farm. He always said we’d have chickens someday. We’d look at coop designs together and talk about how to protect the chickens from predators. I’d almost forgotten about that. He’d approve of us living in the cabin and foraging for our salads.”

Kate stood up and blindsided me. I was on my belly, and she sat on my back.

Dang, she’s good.

I flipped her to the ground, jumped up, and ran away.

Kate lay in the dirt and laughed.

“Good one,” she called.

I was good at running away. Until Kate threw in a twist on the third day after I ambushed her and ran away.

“Bang!” she shouted. “I just shot you in the back. You’re dead. Your next lesson is to make sure your attacker is incapacitated or at least stunned before you run.

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