He was still grinning as he inspected the potato gun. “You want, I can take you out tothe shooting range sometime. Teach you a few tricks.”
“Don’t you go teasing me like that. You ever shot a spud gun before?”
His wide grin answered the mating call in her pure redneck heart. “Never one like this.”
“You’re in for a treat.”
“For once, I just might agree with you.”
The woman was nuts,but Lance liked her craziness more with every passing day.
Did he honestly need to shoot off his wedding set to get over Allison? Hell no. And his own momma would probably have a heart attack at the idea. But when he twisted a potato into the barrel and dug out a channel in the spud to shove in what should’ve been his wedding ring, he felt an anticipationstronger than the anticipation he’d had in the weeks leading up to his wedding.
Might be some appreciation growing for being here in Georgia too.
Not enough to stay—he still wanted to see the world—but enough to make it tolerable for the next year and a half until he could hopefully get an early assignment anywhere else.
“Shove that ring in there good,” she said. “Don’t want it to come out on launch. But not too deep—don’t want the potato to explode either.”
“Yes, Dr. Boudreaux.”
Shehumphed. “Or maybe youdowant the potato to explode.”
He sucked in another grin. Too easy to get her goat.
Once he had the potato loaded with his ring, he took the broomstick handle from her and shoved the spud all the way downthe barrel.
“Put the strap over your shoulder and aim it from your hip,” she said. “You put that puppy to your shoulder, you’ll land on your ass and probably have to see a doctor about your rotator cuff.”
“Lesson learned the hard way?”
“By a man who didn’t listen to me.”
He tucked in another grin. “He deserved it, then.”
“Dang right. This here’s the fuel control. Watch the pressure gauge when you’re filling it—that’s good right there.” Her arm brushed his, and the contact sent warm shivers over his skin. She eyed him, then stepped back. “Let her rip whenever you’re ready.”
He glanced down the way at the canopy of green over the lively creek. Patches of orange and yellow were finally peeking through after a long, lingering summer thathad lasted most of October. If he’d been married now, he’d probably be headed home to a discussion of what had gone on at the Officers’ Spouses Club meeting, which vegetables had been on sale at Winn-Dixie, and if the chicken was too dry. He’d probably be tired and half-bored, but attentive because that was what husbands were supposed to be.
And he wouldn’t have ever met Kaci Boudreaux.
The brilliant beauty queen who made redneck sexy as hell.
He hit the switch to fire the igniter. On the third try, it lit.
A swiftshoompsent reverberations up his arms. The potato sailed over the leafy canopy, a spud rocket racing toward infinity.
Kaci whooped. “Beautiful shot!”
He lost sight of it beyond the trees. The thing had to have gone four or five hundredyards.
Lighthearted peace took up residence in his chest.
“Feel better?” she asked with a broad grin that lit her blue eyes and put a shade of pink in her round cheeks.
Damn. She was right.
Hedidfeel better.
