16
H eather cupped her left hand under the right, where it held the pistol out in front of her and sited in on the target. When she was sure she was on it, she squeezed the trigger, then repeated the process until she’d emptied the magazine.
“How many rounds do I need to put through it before you’re satisfied?” she asked as she hit the release and popped out the magazine.
“At least thirty. I’d be happier with at least fifty,” Matt said, handing her another magazine.
“I can reload myself,” Heather said as she shoved the clip home then pulled back the slide and let it go.
“Yeah, but it’s faster this way. I’ll let you reload them later while I clean that.” He nodded toward the pistol in her hand. “Then you can take it to Wyoming with you, and I won’t have to worry quite so much about you.”
“I don’t mean for you to worry about me.” She picked the pistol up and aimed again.
“I know you don’t,” Matt said after she finished emptying the second magazine at the target. He hit the button next to her to bring the paper target to them while she ejected the spent magazine. “You’re doing pretty good. A nice tight grouping, except for this one over here.” He pointed to one hole a couple of inches from the rest.
“That was my first shot. I was getting a feel for it.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Everything after that one has been good.”
He watched her for a moment, as if waiting for her to change her story or as if he doubted her and was waiting for her to break. But she wouldn’t. It had been her first shot, and the pistol had kicked a little more than she’d been prepared for. After the first shot she’d had a better idea and had braced for it.
“Could you pull it if Mitch or the men he’s mixed up with find you? Could you use it on a person if it meant your life?” Matt asked, one brow lifted.
“Damn. You’re not pulling any punches today, are you?”
“I can’t afford to. I’m getting ready to let you take off and go two states away on your own. I want to know that if something happens, you can, and will, defend yourself.”
Heather laid the pistol on the counter between her and the range where she’d been shooting at the target, turned to Matt, where he stood a little behind her. And wrapped her arms around his middle. She hugged him, pressing her forehead against his chest.
“Thank you.” She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t force the words past the lump in her throat.
“What are you thanking me for?” His voice was gruff, but his arms went around her, holding her and letting her know that even though he was gritty, abrasive, and often not the nicest person she knew, that he cared. That he wanted her to know he cared, even if it wasn’t in his nature to show it.
“For trying to take care of me. For caring. Just for being you I guess.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him, propping her chin against his chest as she did. “Mostly, I think for being there when I needed you, and not fighting me when I want to do this. I know it’s probably a stupid thing to do. That it’s unlikely it will be more than a fling between old friends, but it means a lot to me that you’re not trying to stop me or talk me out of it.”
“Sweetheart,” Matt looked down at her with one corner of his mouth quirked up, “I learned a long time ago not to try to get between you and whatever you’ve set your mind on. I’m pretty sure I still have scars from the last time I tried.”
She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Sweetheart, I was nearly trampled by the mustang you had decided you were going to ride.”
“And I did it, didn’t I?” She remembered the incident. She’d been barely fifteen and determined to do the same thing all the boys were. She’d spent the week following her brothers and cousins around, wanting to be included. The way she’d seen it, the only way to be considered one of them was to do what they were doing. And she’d refused to be talked out of it. Not by Matt, and not by her brothers, once they’d realized she was serious about climbing on that horse’s back just like they had.
“You did it, but we all learned a lesson that day.” His voice was serious as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Don’t issue a challenge because we think it will scare you off. I swear you scared the shit out of me that day. But your dad nearly killed Billy and Craig.”
Heather lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “They’re the ones who thought it up and challenged me to do it. I just wanted to be included. And I can’t say I failed.”
“No, you didn’t fail but when your dad stepped out of the barn and saw you on the back of that mustang, it bucking as hard as it could, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. When you managed to get off the horse without being hurt, I thought he would kill your brothers.”
“He wouldn’t kill them. Maybe chew them out a little, but I can’t recall them getting into much trouble before that. He always seemed to think they could do no wrong.”
Matt shook his head. “You were just too young to remember them getting into trouble. They got into plenty. They’d mostly calmed down by the time you were big enough to remember it.”
“But you do?”
“Remember them wild? Sure do. Of course, for a lot of it, I was in the thick of it with them, so of course I’d remember it.”
Heather stared up at him a moment, then spoke, “And that’s why you’re my favorite cousin.” She pulled away and turned back to the pistol lying on the counter. “But if you tell anyone I said that I’ll deny it.”
Matt chuckled. “Of course you would. But I don’t need to tell anyone. Knowing myself is all I need.” He handed her another full magazine, then clipped a fresh target to the carrier, then sent it back into position with the press of a button. “Two more magazines and we can call it good.”
Heather picked up the mag, slammed it home and took aim. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy shooting, but she had other things she needed to get done. She wanted to make sure she had everything for her trip and that she’d gathered all her things up from where they’d been scattered around Matt’s house over the last couple of weeks.
Still, that he was going to loan her a weapon, and that he was taking the time to make sure she knew how to use it wasn’t anything small, and she did appreciate it. Even if telling him as much would make him start to question her sanity. Well, maybe not start. She was sure she’d made more than a few decisions in the past that had already started that line of thought, but she didn’t need to push anyone, especially not Matt, with all he’d done for her recently, farther in that direction.
“L et’s grab something to eat,” Matt said as he turned the key in his pickup. “That way you can finish packing, and we won’t have to worry about cleaning up afterwards.”
“Sure. What do you have in mind?” She’d learned in the time she’d been staying with him that Matt didn’t cook much. It wasn’t that he couldn’t but who wanted to cook for one person? She did it frequently, but it wasn’t that she wanted to, or liked to. Her reason was that she got tired of nothing but eating out and fast food. Besides, her cooking tasted better. But today, with other things to do, she’d take it.
“What do you have left to do to be ready?” he asked once they were seated in what she’d discovered was his favorite diner and had given the waitress their orders.
“Not a whole lot. I want to make one last pass through the house to make sure I’ve gathered up all my junk. You don’t need to put up with my shit in your way, especially if I’m not there.”
“I’ll miss having you around.” He tilted his head to one side and watched her. “It’s been nice having you around again. I didn’t realize how much I missed being around family, and you and your brothers in particular.”
Heather shook her head. “I don’t know why anyone would miss those fools.” She couldn’t resist teasing him. “I see them way too often to suit me.” Well, she had before she’d come up here.
Going to Craig had been her first thought when she’d known she had to get away from Mitch, but as soon as she’d thought it, she’d dismissed it. She couldn’t endanger his family. The same with Billy. Plus, it couldn’t hurt to put more distance between her and the club he’d all but sold her too. No, she couldn’t put her brothers or their kid in danger. That had meant going to someone who didn’t have the same entanglements, and who had what it would take to help her figure things out, at least until she figured out what to do about Mitch and those people. Maybe then it would be safe enough to go back to Alabama, if only to see her family again.