Shadow and Skulls (Rebel Skull MC Series Book 6)

36. Chapter Thirty-Six

“Right there. Take a breath. Release …”

My dad grabs Ash’s arm and jerks him away from me. “Too close.”

“Dad,” I grumble. My eyes connect with Lexi’s for a second, and she dips her head, embarrassed on my behalf.

“That would have been a perfect shot,” Ash jokes, not letting my father get to him.

I shoo my dad away with the wave of my hand. “You said he could teach me. Let him do his job. He’s the best in the club, isn’t he? Don’t you want me to learn from the best?”

His nose flares because Kelsie one, Dad zero. I mentally throw up the tally on the whiteboard of my mind.

Dad goes back to sulking under a tree away from us.

“Jesus, I think I shit myself,” Ash jokes, making Lexi smile.

“I’m sorry my dad is so intense,” I tell them both. I bring my gaze back to the target. This time Ash doesn’t lean in with me. I’m on my own.

After it goes off, I stare at the hole for several minutes. I wonder if Tank is watching. If he sees how much I’m healing.

Lexi stands up and does a little cheer for me. When she finishes, I jerk my head. “Your turn.”

Ash looks over his shoulder at her.

“I’ll … I’ll just watch for today,” she says quietly, sitting back down on the grass.

He sighs, running his hand through his hair. “Okay, again.” We turn our focus back to the target. “Once you get this down, then we’ll move on to a moving target.”

My earlier pride deflates. It took me forever to hit something that wasn’t moving.

“What happened to your boyfriend? I haven’t seen him around lately,” Lexi asks when Ash and I take a break.

Ash looks away.

“He’s not … we’re not …” I sigh looking at the tree line, wondering if he’s really crazy enough to be stalking an inexperienced shooter.

“Her dad won’t let her see him,” Ash explains.

“Oh.” Lexi hugs her legs and rests her cheek on her knee while she stares at my dad.

I glance over at him. His gaze roams around the area, then stops on me for a brief moment before circling back. I’d swear he’d worked in the secret service if I didn’t know better.

“It’s hard to be mad at him about it,” I say quietly. “I’m lucky to have him.”

She lifts her eyes to mine. Lexi and I aren’t as different as I thought we were.

I know it was hard for the club to understand why I wanted to help her get even with Matt and Jason. I guess it was the way she took the heat off of me in class that day. I wanted to return the favor. Besides, I don’t think Lexi has too many people looking after her. She has two parents, but something tells me she’s alone.

“Maybe you could ask him to let you write him,” she offers.

Yeah. I really misjudged this girl.

“Like handwritten letters?” Ash asks.

She sits up, her cheeks turning pink. “Sometimes that’s the best way to get to know someone, you know?”

“Why not just text?” he asks, genuinely curious about her response.

“Because their fingers caress the page, their smell permeates the paper, and you can see their mood by each stroke of the pen.” She picks at the corner of her nail. “There’s something about seeing your thoughts come to life at your very hand. The page seduces you to reveal more. Or not.” She drops her face. “Never mind. Useless ramblings.”

Ash stares at the top of her head as if he’s hoping to see more of her thoughts.

“My dad will never go for it,” I say. “But I’d love to get letters from Tank. Before I came here, the club used to write to me. I lived for those letters.”

Her eyes dart to mine, and she smiles shyly. “Well, you said your dad was going with you to see Jason. Ask him when you leave there. Maybe he’ll be more inclined to say yes.”

“Emotional blackmail,” I chuckle lightly.

Ash shakes his head, jumping to his feet. “I don’t know why you even want to go see that asshole. The world would be better off without him.”

Lexi and I stare at each other as he storms away. “Why are you going?” she asks me.

“I don’t know,” I sigh, the wind blowing wisps of hair in my face. “Just a feeling I have.”