Chapter 5

 

 

Reed’s clip lasted seconds, but the sensation of her against his side seared into his memory. Neither of them spoke of the encounter but Reed sensed a shift in their relationship. Up until this point they had kept a discreet distance, but now they’d come to a line of demarcation. He knew it wouldn’t be the first time they did. The question would be, when would they cross?

“Did you enjoy shooting?” she asked as they left the range.

“A great deal,” he said, choosing his words carefully.

She smiled, clearly pleased. “Every Christmas I go shooting with my brothers.”

“Most people open presents.”

“We do that too,” she said. “Going shooting with them was a way for them to include me. Their lives are very different from mine, but an interest in guns was always something we shared.”

“Who is the best shot?”

“Depends on who you ask,” she replied with a laugh. “Each brother will say they are.”

“And what would you say?”

“My oldest brother is Baker, but we call him Bake. He’s a Marine and by far the strongest. And I’d say he’s the best shot. My second oldest is Tyler. He’s the smallest of my family and close to my size. But what he lacks in stature he makes up for in intelligence. He decided to join the Air Force and went to the Academy here in Colorado.”

Reed recalled her mentioning her family on their first date, but it seemed like ages ago. “And the last brother?”

“Orin. He’s the only one not in the military,” she said. “But he always did march to the beat of a different drum. He’s a mechanic at a shop outside of Memphis.”

“I bet they were protective of you,” he said.

Her eyes lit with amusement. “One guy tried to grab my chest on a date to a football game. Bake found out and had a conversation with him in the parking lot. I thought the guy was going to go home with broken bones. He never touched me again. Come to think of it, he never spoke to me again.”

“I hope he still had his teeth.”

“Bake is very intimidating,” she said. “But only on the outside. He’s a teddy bear on the inside.”

“A teddy bear that can kill you.”

She cast him an amused look. “Are you worried?”

Reed considered his answer. If their relationship did turn exclusive, he was probably going to meet her family at some point. Until now he’d kept a professional distance from the families of his dates, and he wondered how he would be received.

“Not worried,” he said. “But I’d be stupid not to be cautious. It’s clear they care about you a great deal.”

“I couldn’t ask for better siblings,” she said.

She pulled onto the freeway and headed back into town. The sun had already set but the horizon glowed red and orange. Most of the cars already had their lights on and she activated hers. Several times he noticed her stealing looks his way, her eyebrows pulled together as if in confusion. He guessed it was because of the moment at the range.

Kate drove them to the eastern edge of town, and as they got off the exit he spotted the twinkling lights of a fair. Complete with a small Ferris wheel and other rides unloaded from trucks, the traveling fair was packed with people.

“The fair?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought it would be fun,” she said. “This particular one has a lot of shooting games, so consider what we just did as practice. Now you need to win me a bear.”

He grinned as they pulled into a grassy parking lot and found an open space. Reed stepped into the warm air and was immediately surrounded by the scent of popcorn and the sound of laughter. Noticing his smile, Kate gestured to rides.

“Memories?”

“When I was a kid there was a fair that came every year,” he said. “They had a giant zipline that felt like flying.”

“I love the fair,” she said as they fell into step together. “All the sights and smells.”

Reed put his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to hold her hand. If she noticed the gesture, she gave no sign. She paid their entrance and they walked down the center of the fair, enjoying the sights.

Tents and carnival style games interspersed the rides, which were surprisingly large for a traveling fair. The enormous Ferris wheel and tilt-a-whirl seemed to be favorites, while a spinning ride and a hall of mirrors were also popular.

“Hungry?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said.

They stopped at a hot dog vender, which proved to have dozens of toppings including bacon, peas, corn, potato chips, and even chocolate. Several kids were eating chocolate covered hot dogs while their parents looked on in disgust.

“Hot dog with bacon, please,” he said.

“Same,” she said with a smile.

With food in hand they strolled through the crowded fair. Reed savored the surprisingly tasty hot dog as he watched a pair of teenagers attempt to throw rings onto bottles, the rings inevitably bouncing away.

Small tents served caramel corn and cotton candy. Others provided burgers and fries. Parents struggled to contain their overactive children, while a handful of older couples seemed to be lost in memories.

“Ready for the first game?” she asked, pointing to the shooting gallery.

“I don’t know if I can do any better,” he said, but allowed himself to be lead to the booth.

Built to resemble a forest scene, the shooting gallery had country music blasting from speakers. Targets on deer, bear, and smaller critters dotted the trees and ground, and when hit they swung out of sight. The guns were surprisingly sophisticated, and showed point counters on a display.

“Step right up!” the man called as two players left with two hundred points each, earning themselves stuffed squirrels. “Do I have myself some shooters?”

Kate stepped to the first of the two guns and the man smiled, his eyes flicking to Reed. “Does the lady know how to use a gun?” he asked.

“Oh, the lady does,” Reed said with a laugh.

The man led Kate to the right gun while Reed took his position at the left. “Two minutes on the clock,” the man said, rattling off the rules with practiced ease. “Break a thousand and get a special prize.” He pointed to the board behind him that depicted rewards for succeeding at varying levels.

She shouldered her rifle and took aim at a squirrel. “Smaller animals are worth more,” she said.

“You assume I can hit them,” he said, aiming at a deer.

“Let the hunt begin!” the man shouted, and the targets burst into view.

Kate swiveled, firing at a squirrel and then a badger before taking aim at a bird soaring in the background. Metal pinged in rapid succession, her gun never missing the mark. Reed missed as much as he hit, but found that, after the practice earlier, he did better. When a timer buzzed and all the targets flipped out of view, they both looked down.

“Woah,” Kate said.

“You cracked 1,000,” Reed said, dropping his gun back into the holster.

“I thought it would take us a few hours to come close,” she said, throwing the man a confused look. “Marta’s cousin said it was impossible.”

“Not impossible,” the man said, a smirk on his face as he pointed away from the range. “Are you ready for your reward?”

“It’s not one of the stuffed animals?” Reed asked, gesturing to the hanging prizes.

“I’m afraid not,” he said, leading them away from his booth and to the Ferris wheel across the way.

“This little lady got a thousand at the range,” he said to the Ferris wheel operator.

The youth, who couldn’t have been more than eighteen, smirked and gestured them to the front of the line. Bewildered, Kate tried to protest, but they were ushered onto the Ferris wheel and a moment later sent spinning upward.

“Hope you’re not afraid of heights!” he called as they gradually climbed into the sky.

“I’m not,” she said, and then noticed they were the only ones on the wheel.

She frowned and leaned over the edge of the bench as the wheel came to a halt—with them at the apex. The basket swung slightly at the abrupt stop and they both looked down. The operator looked up to them, his smile smug.

“Enjoy your time in the sky!” he called.

Reed stifled a smile as Kate called for answers, only to be met with silence. The operator leaned back and folded his arms, clearly content to watch them have time alone at the top of the wheel. Then she finally turned to Reed, her eyebrows knit in confusion.

“I’m not sure . . .” Then she noticed his expression and her eyes narrowed. “You did this?”

“I did,” he said.

“You hijacked my date?” she asked, her voice going up an octave.

“I did,” he said with a smile.