“Rob.” He dropped his arms with the bow and arrow still gripped tightly in his hands.
“Okay Rob, tell me what’s throwing you.”
“Everything. My balance is off and it’s throwing everything else off.”
“How long have you had your prosthetic?” Jase asked. He didn’t mince words. Ignoring the ugly baby didn’t make it less ugly.
“I got fitted about a month ago,” Rob said.
“And how long did it take you to learn to walk after you healed up?”
“Shit, I was in rehab for eighteen months.”
“Right. It took you eighteen months to learn how to walk again, so you’re not going to learn archery in an hour. It’s a new skill. It’s going to take practice, just like anything else. Don’t get frustrated. You get frustrated and it’s just going to mess you up even more. What service were you in?”
“Marines.”
“Okay, so this should sound familiar. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
Rob smirked. “Yeah, it’s familiar.”
“Same principle. Focus. Find your balance. Take your time.”
Rob closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out. Jase stepped back to give him room. Rob shifted his weight between his prosthetic and his leg, finding his center of gravity. He raised his arms and pulled back on the string. Jase could see the moment, on the fall of Rob’s exhale, when he released the arrow. It flew forward and landed on the outer ring of the target with a dullthunk.
He clapped Rob on the shoulder. “Good job, man.”
“Thanks.” Rob picked up another arrow, a small smile on his face. Jase walked down the line, leaving Rob to his victory. Small as it may be, for a lot of guys those small victories were all that kept them going some days.
By the end of the class, each student was hitting the target four out of five times. It wasn’t until they were putting the equipment away that he noticed the extra guy, Ryan, hadn’t been using an arm guard.
Jase grabbed Ryan’s wrist and turned it to look at his forearm, noticing the extensive scars that ran from the back of his hand all the way up to his bicep. “Man, your arm is going to be black tomorrow. It’s already bruising. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Ryan ran his fingers over his forearm as Jase released his wrist. “I don’t have a lot of feeling from my elbow to my wrist because of the scarring. I honestly didn’t know it was happening.”
“Sorry, man. I would have fixed something up if I had known.”
“Really, it’s no problem. Although my physical therapist is probably going to ream me a new one tomorrow.”
“He a dick?” Jase asked.
Ryan laughed. “It’s a she and she’s gorgeous. Usually nice as can be, but I’ve seen her lay into guys before when they weren’t sticking to their program. She scares me a little. She used to deploy with Special Ops guys and doesn’t put up with anyone’s bullshit.”
Jase smiled. “Well, if she gives you too much shit, give her my number and I’ll take the brunt of it for you.”
“Ha! Don’t think I won’t. I wasn’t kidding when I said she scares me.”
After the students left, Jase and Chris returned the hay bales to the metal shed, stacked the equipment on the racks, and locked everything up. Chris took off with a wave to go back to his place, and Jase headed to his house on the other side of the property.
Jase turned off the ignition and sat in his truck. Even while running the class, he couldn’t get Bree out of his head. Every breeze seemed to carry a hint of her perfume, the only trace she’d left behind. He tapped his phone against his thigh, thinking about calling his brother, a cop on the Haven Springs police force. He felt kind of stupid doing it. He could just imagine how that conversation would go.Hey, man can you put out an APB for a woman I took home last night? I only got her first name.His brother would never let him live that down. Plus, what could Jase really tell him? He knew her name, knew it was short for Brianna. Knew she had long, red hair that felt like silk running through his fingers. Knew her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled when she laughed and got dark when she was turned on.
He hit the steering wheel.Fuck. He couldn’t believe she had just taken off that morning. He yanked the keys out of the ignition and slammed out of his truck. He had nothing to give his brother. Nothing.
Bree let out a small moan, rolling her hips. She whimpered, trying to reach fulfillment. The alarm sounded and her eyes opened abruptly. Her arousal faded along with the erotic dream teasing the edges of her subconscious.
Dammit!
She slapped the snooze button and groaned. The unfulfilled orgasm lingered, leaving her edgy, frustrated, and downright grumpy. She’d dreamed of Jase every night for the past week, always waking just before climax. She couldn’t get him out of her mind. To make matters worse, the memory of his hot mouth trailing down her body would suddenly burst into her mind and she would get hot and flushed. Patients saw her reddened cheeks and asked her if she was feeling well. She thought about driving by his house, but she didn’t want to be that girl. How embarrassing would it be if she showed up and he didn’t remember? Or had another girl there?
