Bree turned her head, then peered more over her shoulder. “Could also be that you’re kicking your feetup.”
Blushing, Denise lowered her feet and splayed them out on the ground in the more traditional prone position. “Habit.”
“It still boggles my mind that you made it through the Army while kicking your feet up when youshoot.”
Denise made the adjustments to the scope and pressed her cheek against the rifle stock. She sighted through the crosshairs and focused on her breathing and the beat of her heart. The thin lines of the optics rose and fell with each breath. She paused at the end of the inhale, counted to three and exhaled. At the bottom of the breath, she again paused and counted, squeezing the trigger until she felt the slight resistance in her finger, and fired when she hitthree.
“Dead center,” Bree said. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Guess it was thescope.”
Denise dropped her head and kicked her feet, which had come up again at some point. She raised her head. “That’s how I got through the Army with kicking my feet up. I always shotexpert.”
“How did your dad let you get away withit?”
She smiled and laughed. “My mom told him it was cute and to leave me alone. That was the first time I remember seeing his eye twitch. He said, ‘Karen. There is nothing cute about being able to take out a target at two-hundred meters.’ She threatened to dress me in a tutu the next time he took me hunting just to prove there was. This was way before they made pink camo, otherwise I’d have been hunting inthat.”
“I can totally hear your parents having that argument.” Bree glanced at her watch, then up at the sky. “We’ve got about fifteen more minutes before we lose all the good light. Thank goodness the rain held offtoday.”
While packing up the rest of her bedroom at the rescue, she’d pulled out her rifle from under the bed where it had been collecting dust and realized she hadn’t been shooting since before Sarah got sick. Her off-handed comment had led to Bree’s suggestion that they get some target practice in before the sunset.
She’d jumped at the chance. For some reason, she’d always found shooting targets relaxing. The rhythm, the focus, the precision—it all calmed her. She had no choice but to let go of everything when she was shooting, otherwise she couldn’t focus on the hitting the target. Even in the heat of battle, she’d been able to keep her cool by focusing on themechanics.
She’d set up to take another shot when Bree asked, “So what’s going on with you andChris?”
She jerked the trigger and the shot went wide, hitting the edge of the target. She raised her head from the rifle and turned it slowly, glaring at Bree through slittedeyes.
Bree’s face was the definition of feigned innocence. “Was it something Isaid?”
“You’re lucky I likeyou.”
“I know, right? Spill. I watched you with him today. You were this weird combination of standoffish and blushing schoolgirl.”
Laying the rifle down, she rubbed her eyes. “I’m not sure I know what Iwant.”
“Yes, you do,” Bree said. “You’re just afraid to admitit.”
Denise stacked her hands and rested her chin on them. “I want what you and Jase have,” she said quietly, turning her head towardBree.
“What’s stoppingyou?”
“When we’re together, it’s great. I’m in the moment and I can pretty much ignore all the other crap, but when we’reapart…”
“When you’re apart you question whether it’s real or if it’s the adrenaline or the situation or justhorniness.”
Denise pressed her lips together. “Yeah. How did you figure out it wasreal?”
“I listened to you.” Breesmiled.
“What the hell did you do thatfor?”
“It made sense at thetime.”
“Andnow?”
“And now I think you should listen to your ownadvice.”
“I don’t think I could take it if he walked away again.” The bottom dropped out of her stomach at the mere thought of giving him another chance and him choosing his job over her. “If I go all in and it doesn’t work, whatthen?”
Bree rested her head on her hands and mirrored Denise's position. “Not every relationship works. You run that risk no matter what. But you have to give it the chance to work first. If you go in from the very beginning with the idea that it’s going to fail, then you’re doomed before you evenstart.”
