State of Pursuit by Summer Lane

the ridgeline, the better.”
    “No argument there, Commander,” Manny agrees.
    So we take our horses downward to the valleys between the mountains. Going downhill on a steep trail is a new experience for me. I almost have to stand in the stirrups, pulling back on the reins. Katana nearly slides to the bottom, sticking her front legs out in front of her, crouching with her hind legs. I nearly topple over her head, but grab the saddle horn to keep myself mounted.
    “Have you noticed something?” Uriah asks, hanging onto his mount tightly.
    His horse, Mach, is midnight black. It matches Uriah’s personality perfectly.
    “What are you talking about?” I say.
    “I’m talking about
you
.” He wraps the reins in his right hand. “This platoon. Notice how everyone is following your orders? You’re a great Commander.”
    “Uriah,” I sigh. “I’m
not
. Ordering people around doesn’t define a leader. Doing the right thing at the hardest time does.”
    I’m quoting Chris.
    “
You want to lead people?”
he said one day, long before we ever joined the National Guard. Or before I was even enslaved in a labor camp.
“The key to being a good leader is to make decisions based on facts, not on anger or fear. Find the genius in everyone you work with. Be humble. Don’t take credit for victory. It belongs to the group. But the hardest thing about being a leader is doing what you know in your gut is right. So many times, the simplest answer is the right answer. In the heat of the moment, complex strategies aren’t usually the answer. Look for that clear, easy solution. ”
    How did he know this? What did he do as a Navy SEAL that gave him such an enormous amount of insight and knowledge? That kind of discernment is rare. And it reminds me that no matter how much I love Chris, there is a
lot
that I don’t know about him.
    “Hey, Commander,” Uriah whispers, snapping me out of it. “Lighten up. You’re doing good. Give yourself props.”
    I raise an eyebrow.
    “I don’t think patting myself on the back is a good idea,” I murmur.
    Because honestly, good things don’t last.
    “Hold up,” Manny says, making a closed fist to halt. “We need to let the horses rest and get them some water.”
    I pull back on Katana’s reins and we come to a halt. I dismount and hit the ground.
    Dang. My butt is sore
.
    My thighs ache. I walk stiffly for a few minutes. Now I know why they say cowboys walked bowlegged. The rest of the platoon does the same. More than a few moans and complaints are expressed. We allow the horses to drink water, and while they rest, I study Katana’s face. She’s a gorgeous animal. Her eyes are full of intelligence and understanding.
    “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” I whisper. “Yes, you are…”
    “I knew it,” Manny says.
    “What?”
    “You’re a horse whisperer.”
    I laugh for the first time in…well, a while.
    “She
is
a woman of many talents,” Uriah says. His smile is gentle and unguarded. And for some reason that bothers me. He shouldn’t be smiling at me like that.
    “We barely covered six miles,” Vera complains.
    “It’s better than walking,” I say.
    “It’s slow. And we have to rest these things and water them.”
    “They’re
horses
, Vera.” I snap. ‘They’re carrying you
and
pack loads. Would you rather walk?”
    “I’d rather drive or fly.”
    “That’s not an option and you know it.”
    A muscle ticks in her jaw.
    “The horses were
your
idea,” she hisses in a low voice. “If Chris is dead by the time we reach him, it will be your fault.”
    I jerk backward like I’ve been slapped in the face.
    “If we die out here-” she says, but I cut her off.
    “-If we
die
,” I retort, “we will have died fighting for something
worth
dying for. I’d rather die than take the coward’s way out.”
    “So you’re calling me a coward.”
    “I’m not calling you anything. I’m stating a fact.” I take a step back. “This isn’t about politics or