Chapter 23 #3
He’d been correct about me.
I blew out a breath and turned away from him. I couldn’t look at that pleased face of his. And why did I think I was so adept at reading it? Perhaps he was simply excited about the prospect of having stiffer competition.
Either way, it was an exemplary response.
As much as I hated to do it, I was going to have to move Captain Calder to the top of Hattie’s list now. I couldn’t let someone who shot as well as he did join some other family.
We each reloaded and shot again. Centers for us both.
“This could take a while,” he said while he waited for me to finish ramming my tow in behind my ball. I wasn’t particularly fast at loading like he was, but it wasn’t the loading he was talking about. How many shots would it take before one of us missed?
“If you want to finish quickly there is a certain way to accomplish that.”
He laughed again. “I wouldn’t dare do you the disservice of shooting anything worse than my best.”
I shrugged. “Then it will take a while.”
We shot another three rounds.
No clapping or hollering happened any more. Other than the deafening shots and Charlie’s shouts of “center,” the lawn was quiet, as if no one wanted to be the cause of either of us losing focus.
But losing focus might not be the worst of ideas. If one of us didn’t do something soon, no one else would have a chance to shoot.
It was, however, bad form and frankly dangerous to speak while your opponent was shooting, so I couldn’t distract him then. But concentration could be lost at any point, couldn’t it?
We stood side by side at the mark. I’d just hit another center and it was his turn to shoot. I leaned to the side just as he was bringing his fowling piece to his shoulder and stated casually, “I think Charlie might not be as impressed with you if he knew you drooled in your sleep.”
I stepped away, giving him all the space he needed, but his confident stance stuttered just as I’d hoped it would, the barrel of the gun pausing before being completely raised.
He murmured something under his breath and when he took the next shot, and the smoke cleared, Charlie yelled, “Left of center!”
Whoops hollered behind me and Brookhouse jogged up and clapped me on my back.
“Set it to fifty,” Captain Calder said, his voice dangerously low. It seemed he didn’t like my method of winning.
“I haven’t shot yet.” Papa took Calder’s fowling piece.
The Captain looked as though he wanted to say something to Papa, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Papa and I made quick work of striking all three of our shots in the center.
“Now we can set it to fifty.” He turned and motioned for Calder to return to the mark.
No one complained about the fact I hadn’t beat him nor that I would be shooting against Captain Calder again.
Papa handed Calder back the piece and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t let her get into your head this time. No matter what she says.”
I did my best to look indignant, but Papa simply laughed as he strode away. He knew me too well and he wanted to give Captain Calder a fair chance to beat me.
We settled in for what could be a very long competition, but at fifty yards it would be over sooner than it would have at forty.
We both hit center on our first shots. I resisted the urge to say anything else distracting to Captain Calder, even though I thought of many things I could have used.
Did he know he resembled a marble statue when his shirt was removed?
Did he know that he’d begged me not to leave him?
Did he know that no one had ever scared me more than he did that night and that I hoped never to repeat a vigil as terrifying as it had been?
We loaded our guns and I lined up for my second shot.
He stood behind me but just as I raised my piece to my shoulder, he leaned forward.
I don’t know how I knew he did—I didn’t have eyes on the back of my head.
But I could feel his presence somehow. And when a soft puff of his warm breath cascaded down the back of my neck, I froze.
“Did you know,” he said so softly my ears pricked,“that you looked like an angel the first time I saw you?”
Blast him.
I waited for him to step back, but he didn’t. “I was certain I’d died.” His words were warm against my neck. “And you were there to greet me in heaven all in white with your hair down.”
I brought the gun to my shoulder, certain that would force him to step back. It did. But the damage was done. I wasn’t here on the lawn. I was back in the croft, reliving the first moment Captain Calder opened his eyes after his delirium.
I took a deep, calming breath, but to no avail. His comment was highly inappropriate. So much worse than what I’d said to him.
I shot anyway.
“Right of center!”
Captain Calder made a tsking sound from behind me. He lined up to shoot and as he raised his piece I could feel him pause, waiting for me to say something distracting. But I didn’t. He was much better than I was at this game and I would not engage in a battle I couldn’t win.