Zoe and Olivia tied for second place, Hawkins and Kayla for third, and Slick came in last.

Sam removed the protective ear gear and moved off to the rifle range. Again she made a perfect score. More whoops of pleasure. Hawkins came in second, with the other three Rainford wives coming in third. Again, Slick was last.

Two hours later, the teams split up. They cleaned their guns while sitting on the ground. This was when Pappy did his stroll and handed out the scores. Sam didn’t even bother to look up.

“Good work, Rainford,” Pappy said, dropping her score sheet on the ground when she made no effort to take it from him. Suddenly she looked up at the tall man hovering over her. The others stopped what they were doing. “It’s easy when you can put a face to the target,” she said coldly.

Her team started to babble in the hopes of warding off a verbal confrontation of some kind between their leader and the man who operated the camp.

“I belong to the NRA,” Kayla said. “They offer great health insurance to their members.”

“These guns would be nice if they came in colors,” Zoe said. “I think I’d pick lavender. Stainless steel is so cold and deadly.”

“That’s the point,” Slick said sarcastically.

Striving to keep Pappy occupied, Olivia looked up at him and said, “I think the Cubs stink.”

Sam laughed. It was a pure sound of pleasure. It was also a great put-down and too good to let pass. She continued to work at her SIG Sauer.

Hawkins opted to take the high road and remained mute, but a grin stretched across his lips.

Pappy walked away, aware that six pairs of eyes were boring into his back. None of them had forgiven him for what they perceived he’d done to their leader. To date, all four teams were proving to be a pain in the ass. The following day, he decided, would tell a different story. They would all be preparing for the next round of PT and DT testing, after which was Paintball Day—where there were no rules or regulations. It was also known as Last Man Standing. The players, including the entire staff, would be divided into three teams. Teams One and Three, teams Two and Four. The staff made up their own team. It was a drill they did four times a year.

Just the day before, the results of previous paintball drills had been posted in the dining hall next to the menu. In ten years of paintballing, the staff had won twenty-seven of the forty games. After the game, there would be a barbecue and socializing. Even beer. They were all looking forward to it, especially Sam.

Team Three watched silently as Pappy walked away.