She looked up at him.
He motioned to the two men. “Middle-aged males. Jogging gear, no weapons.”
A motion toward the family. “Young couple. Two toddlers. No weapons.” He held her eyes without looking around. “Patio door—three unarmed older women. Railing—two hikers in their twenties, unarmed. Right railing—four fishermen in their thirties. One has a handgun, three carry knives.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t even think of looking at people like that.” What if there’d been PZs in the crowd? She’d been watching her son, enjoying the flowers, anticipating the food. Not watching for trouble.
“Situational awareness. Be aware. Sit or stand where you can keep an eye on things.”
That was why he’d chosen a table where he could view everything around him. His back was to the wall. Oh.
Mouth tight, she angled her chair outward so she was still beside Aric but could see the entire patio.
He nodded approval. “Check the people—and hazards—around you.”
“Go on.”
“Where’s your line of retreat?”
“Like finding the exit in a movie theater?”
His lips twitched. “If the armed fisherman starts shooting, do we defend or retreat?”
Dear heavens, did he do this with everything? Her jaw clenched. “Tell me.”
He rapped on the table. “Too thin to stop bullets, so we attack or run.”
She eyed the door into the restaurant.
“No, too many windows.” He pointed to the railing. “Jump it and hide.”
He didn’t even look around. He’d already done his own assessment. She realized whenever he looked at her or Aric, his gaze also swept the area.
“What else?”
“Watch for anomalies. At a resort, people should be relaxed. Are they uneasy or too interested in you?”
She looked around again. No one was paying any particular attention to them. Everyone appeared relaxed. “Anything else?”
“What if you can’t run?”
The thought made her stomach clench. “I don’t know.”
“Kit, find a weapon.”
“Here?” Weapons? “Like the chairs?”
“Good.” He tapped the table knife and fork. “For stabbing.”
Turning, he picked up a fist-sized decorative stone from the planter box. “Throw it. Or hit someone in the head with it.” He swung it and stopped like he’d smacked someone’s forehead.
What a horrible image. “Um, right.”
He unscrewed the lid of the pepper shaker and smiled at her. “Chemical warfare if thrown in the eyes and mouth.”
The planter box again. He touched the dirt. “Throw it in their eyes.”
“Huh, I get it. We’re surrounded by weapons, aren’t we?”
His slight nod said, now, she was catching on.
When two men sat down at a nearby table, she observed them. Dressed in suits. No observable weapons. Not uneasy. Not paying her or Hawk any attention.
Frowning, she pulled in a breath. “At the cave…what should I have done?”
“You did okay. Stayed put.”
“What about before that?”
He gave her a considering stare. “Next time, trust us.”
Ouch. She’d delayed them by not obeying Bull’s order immediately. “I’m sorry.”
“A team is stronger than a person alone. But it takes trust.”
“Oh.” That might be difficult. “You and your brothers are a team.”
“Yeah. Now.” He rubbed his neck. “At first, I didn’t trust them to have my back—or for Gabe to give orders.”
“And how old were you when you learned?”
His eyes filled with laughter. “Around eleven.”
They’d been a team for a long, long time. Why did that feel awfully sweet? Smiling, she leaned back to study the area, the people, the possible weapons. What she might do if anything happened.
Hawk let her think, while he used a french fry and ketchup to draw a stick figure on his almost empty plate, then pushed it over so Aric could add arms and hair.
After a couple of minutes, Kit sat back. Assessment was complete. Now she could enjoy the view. “I love places that use color coordination. Did you notice how they planted purple petunias to match the colors on the welcome sign?”
Hawk followed her gaze. “You studied horticulture?”
Frankie must have told him. “Mmmhmm. After I got my degree, I worked in a garden nursery, doing landscaping consultations. Trying to teach Texans to work with nature instead of against it. The idea of natural landscaping is catching on.”
“Yeah?” He motioned to the grounds they could see. “What would you change?”
“Hmm.” She studied the grounds now, although, in her head, she’d totally criticized everything on their walk here.
She pointed downslope. “The trees they planted there require massive amounts of care—and some of Alaska’s native plants would work just as nicely. I love your red-twig dogwoods and mountain ash. Over there to the right, a patch of crab apples would be gorgeous in the spring and the apples would draw in animals for the tourists.”
He started smiling as she continued her imaginary changes to the grounds.
“Okay, I know I get carried away.” She laughed and wasn’t able to resist adding, “You said the resort wants to stay open all four seasons and summer tourists tend to bring their children. So really, they need a small playground so munchkins can work off their energy. When traveling, it’s nice to be able to finish a meal while the kids play within eyesight.”
She nodded at her son. Aric had smeared ketchup all over the plate and partly down his front.
Hawk’s snort was slightly exasperated and mostly amused.
Smiling, Kit poured some water from her bottle onto a napkin and wiped down her boy. “There you go, nice and clean.”
When he gave her a worried look, she laughed, kissed the tip of his nose, then poked him in the tummy. “And all full, too.”
He giggled—and wasn’t that amazing?
Hawk ruffled Aric’s hair. “Time to get back.”
As they rose, Kit realized the two men seated nearby had been listening—and were watching her. Probably not PZs, though. The pissers weren’t the kind to wear suits.
One of them nodded at Hawk. “Calhoun.”
Hawk gave him a chin lift and hoisted Aric back up onto his shoulders. “Hang on, kid.”
With a huge grin, Aric gripped Hawk’s thick hair and gave a bounce.
Envy rose inside Kit. From Aric’s expression, he’d discovered being with Hawk was the safest place in the world.
She knew just how he felt.
Chapter Seven
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. ~ Dalai Lama
Late Saturday afternoon, Kit had a chance to see what Hawk had meant about teamwork.
When Bull announced that he and his brothers planned to celebrate the solstice today with combat games, Kit had politely mentioned that solstice was two days ago. And what were combat games anyway?
Bull had simply laughed.
Shaking her head, Frankie told him she was a civilian and staying home to taste-test a new recipe. Kit had planned to help her until Hawk showed up to get Aric.