Page 28 of Hard to Hold
That was an interesting one. I had no idea who would’ve thought that one up, but hey. Gossip had no rhyme or reason.
Amy was Lynx’s new wife.
Considering the first one, that one kind of creeped me out. But still, it wasn’t as hard to understand. Since Lynx’s impromptu nuptials, no one knew what to expect from the guy. But seriously, the ink wasn’t even dry on the divorce papers.
Amy and Wolfe were undercover, working with me.
How I'd been dragged into that one, I wasn’t sure. It could’ve had something to do with my repeat visits to the shop. Hence, I had been playing it cool. The last thing I wanted was to be caught up in the rumor mill.
I opened the truck door and climbed down. I adjusted myself, my jeans damned uncomfortable, but I sure as shit wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.
“Hey, Sheriff,” Wolfe greeted.
Amy glanced back, her eyes rounding slightly before darting over to Wolfe.
“It’s cool,” he assured her. “He’s off duty.”
“Oh.”
That seemed to appease her somewhat. I wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting. Maybe she thought I was there to stop them?
This was the country. I couldn’t stop the Caines from taking up target practice on their own land. They were secluded, and with all the animals on the far side of the ranch, not even they would get in the way.
“Go ahead, try again when you’re ready.” Wolfe stepped back.
Amy held the shotgun steady, her eyes trained on the bale of hay at least thirty yards out.
I refrained from talking, not wanting to startle her while she was getting ready. She pulled the trigger, and this time her shot went way left.
“You’re jumpin’ before you get the shot off,” Wolfe informed her.
“But I didn’t do that the first time,” she countered.
“Because you hadn’t felt the recoil. Now you’re expectin’ it.”
“Oh.”
“Remember how to load it?”
Amy nodded.
“I want you to do it yourself this time. It’ll hold five in the barrel and one in the chamber.”
I leaned against the wooden rail and watched. Amy caught on quickly. She loaded the shotgun in no time and had it up and aimed before Wolfe said anything more. When she fired the shot, her aim was significantly better, although she missed the target by at least three feet.
“I’m gonna step back here. You’ve got plenty of ammo. Shoot until your heart’s content. Remember, five in the barrel, one in the chamber. And when you’re not using it, keep the barrel aimed at the ground.”
Amy smiled up at Wolfe, and that lightning bolt of lust shot through me once again. There was something seriously hot about a pretty woman with a pump-action shotgun. Provided the shotgun wasn’t aimed at me, of course.
Wolfe joined me, hefting his big body up on the railing beside me. We weren’t quite close enough to touch. I was tempted to remedy that, but I kept my cool. I had all the time in the world when it came to moving this forward. I'd waited years for an opportunity at something that wasn’t casual. Which meant I couldn’t treat it as such.
No reason to push when the timing wasn’t right.
With every shot, Amy’s aim was better, the slug moving closer and closer to the target.
“She’s good with the twenty gauge,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“She is.”
