Chapter 21 #2
I faced the stump. Feet apart. Knees bent. I raised the revolver and tried to remember everything she'd told me.
"Stop."
Scout moved behind me. Then she was pressing against my back, her arms reaching around to take my hands in hers. I could feel the warmth of her body through my shirt. The softness of her breasts against my shoulder blades. Her breath on my neck.
"Your grip is too tight." Her voice was low, close to my ear. "You're strangling it. Firm but relaxed. Like shaking hands with someone you respect."
She adjusted my fingers, repositioning them on the grip. Her hands were small but strong.
"Both thumbs on this side. Pointing forward. Never cross them behind the slide, or you'll get bit when it cycles." She paused. "This one doesn't have a slide, but it's a good habit anyway."
I was acutely aware of everywhere her body touched mine. The curve of her hip against my thigh. The press of her shoulder against my arm.
"Now. Sight picture." Her lips were inches from my ear. "Front sight goes in the notch of the rear sight. Level across the top. Focus on the front sight, not the target. The target should be slightly blurry."
I tried to concentrate on her words instead of the heat building in my groin.
"When you're ready to fire, take a breath. Let half of it out. Hold it. Squeeze the trigger slowly. Don't jerk. Don't anticipate. Just steady pressure until it breaks."
She released me and stepped back. The absence of her warmth felt like a loss.
"Whenever you're ready."
I lined up the sights on the stump. Front sight in the notch. Level across the top. I breathed in. Let half out. Held it.
Squeezed.
The revolver bucked in my hands. The report echoed off the hillside. Dirt kicked up three feet to the left of the stump.
"Breathe," Scout said. "Try again."
I fired five more times. The third shot nicked the edge of the stump. The fifth hit it solidly. By the time the cylinder was empty, my hands were steady and my breathing was calm.
"Reload."
We went through three more cylinders. By the end, I was hitting the stump more often than not. My accuracy was nothing compared to Scout's effortless precision, but I was improving.
"That's enough for today. We have reached the point of diminishing returns. You don't want to overdo it."
I lowered the revolver and checked the cylinder the way she'd taught me. Empty. I closed it and slid it into the holster.
"Thank you, Scout. That was a good lesson."
"You're a good student. Most men won't take instruction from a woman. They get defensive. You just listened."
"You know what you're doing. I don't. Seemed pretty straightforward to me."
She smiled at that. It was a real smile, not the guarded one she sometimes wore.
I put the revolver back into its holster and slung it over my shoulder, securing it at my hip the way Abner and Scout did. We walked back toward the cabin in the late afternoon light. Scout moved slightly ahead, her stride easy and confident. The light brightened her golden hair.
At the cabin, she stopped at the bottom of the porch steps and turned to face me.
"Thanks for the lesson," I said. "I mean it."
"It was my way of repaying you for helping with my tooth."
"There was no need to repay me. But I appreciate your help. And especially the gun from your father. That was generous of him."
"He likes you." She said it simply, as if stating an obvious fact. "He doesn't like many people."
"I'm honored."
She grinned. "You should be."
I remembered something. "You've still got that follow-up appointment, you know. Week after next."
"I know." She wrinkled her nose. "More poking and prodding."
"I seem to recall someone enjoying ice cream afterward."
"Mint chip this time." Her eyes sparkled. "And maybe pistachio."
"If you keep eating ice cream like that, you're going to need more dental work."
"I reckon it would be worth it."
We stood there looking at each other. The light was fading, the shadows growing long. Something changed in her expression, a decision being made.
She stepped forward and kissed me.
Her lips were soft against mine. I was surprised at first, frozen by the unexpectedness of it. Then my body relaxed and I kissed her back.
Her hands came up to rest on my chest. My arms went around her waist. The kiss deepened. Her tongue found mine and I felt electricity arc through my entire body. She pressed closer and I pulled her tighter and for a long moment there was nothing in the world but the two of us.
When she finally pulled back, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright.
"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," she said.
My heart was pounding. Blood was rushing in ways that made thinking difficult. Scout was beautiful. She was alluring. And she was so much younger than me.
"I'm glad you came to live in the same woods as me, Thomas Harmon."
She must have seen the doubt in my eyes, the flicker of hesitation. She kissed me again, softer this time. Lingering. A promise of things to come.
Then she stepped back and smiled.
"Goodnight."
I watched her walk away into the gathering dusk, moving through the trees with that silent grace of hers. She didn't look back. She didn't need to.
I stood on the porch for a long time after Scout was gone, the weight of the revolver on my hip, the taste of her still on my lips.