Forged (Gail McCarthy Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

The tide was out and the wet sand along the water's edge was dark and smooth, shiny and firm. We made our way in that direction, the horses sinking deeply into the dry sand with every stride.
    All three geldings had been ridden on the beach before; still they approached the surf with trepidation-eyes wide, plenty of long, rolling snorts. Gunner jumped as a little wave rolled towards us and I clutched the saddle horn tightly. Gunner had always been a spook, and even now, at a mature ten years, he still had that tendency to leap sideways. Since he was in every other way an entirely calm and reliable horse, I forgave him his one fault and cultivated a good grip on the saddle horn.
    I glanced over at Blue and saw that Danny was marching along calmly, which was also typical. Bucking aberrations aside, Danny was an amazingly quiet, easygoing young horse. Plumber trooped in his wake, patiently carrying the loaded pack bags-again, a gesture that was indicative of this willing, kind, and always helpful horse.
    So we rode, our dogs beside us; it came to me that we were the perfect family. I felt a sudden joy in the moment, all of us together at the beach, just so. Dogs running through the waves, horses moving reliably and happily along; this was the life I wanted.
    I looked over at my partner, aware that he was an integral part of this picture. Blue sat peacefully on Danny with a slight smile that I thought reflected the same content I was feeling. The ocean breeze ruffled the red curls that stuck out from under his gray fedora; his long, slender, slightly freckled hands held Danny's reins and Plumber's leadrope with a touch that was both firm and relaxed.
    I knew that touch; I'd experienced it myself many times. Blue met my eyes and I smiled.
    "This is fun," I said.
    Blue smiled back. "We live in paradise," he said simply.
    I followed his eyes as they took in the long, blue sweep of the bay, the empty white sand of the beach, the soaring, screeching gulls and churning waves.
    "It's true," I said. "People come from all over the world to vacation in a place like this and we live here. I sometimes forget how lucky I am; I get wrapped up in my work and feel so busy and frantic I don't even notice how beautiful this area is. And then we come here and," I waved my hand at the scene, "I realize it all over again. Thanks for bringing me."
    "My pleasure," Blue said.
    "And it's low tide, too. That's lucky. It's so much easier for the horses to walk on the firm sand."
    Blue smiled. "I checked my tide chart."
    "You thought of everything, didn't you?"
    "I tried." Blue smiled again.
    "Look," I pointed. A sleek humped back with a dorsal fin rose out of the surf in a curling leap.
    "There's another one." As Blue gestured, I saw the shadow shape again, outlined in the shining wall of a breaker.
    "Porpoises, right?"
    "Yeah," Blue said with a grin. "They're surfing. Watch."
    Sure enough, the animals were riding the breaking waves, exactly like human body surfers. Periodically, they would leap entirely out of the water in exuberant, frisky arches, apparently playing.
    We watched, entranced. The horses marched on, unaware or uninterested in the dolphins surfing beside them. The dogs trotted behind us, tongues hanging out, tired of chasing the shorebirds.
    "Hey," I said, "there's a seal."
    The round, whiskery head bobbed up not far from the porpoises.
    "Look at the gulls." Blue pointed. "There must be a school of fish just offshore."
    Seagulls swooped low over the stretch of water where we had seen the seal; in another moment a dozen brown pelicans flew into view, aiming for the same spot. As we watched, each pelican flapped steadily into position, hovered a split second, and then plunged headfirst with a splash into the water, disappearing completely beneath the surface. When they emerged, the seagulls dive-bombed them, trying to steal fish out of the pelican's beaks.
    "Wow," I said.
    "It's amazing, isn't it?"
    Blue and I stared at the teeming stretch of