Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
It was just a crush, and I was sure I’d grow out of it.
Several people stopped Ridley before he could actually get past the line that separated the crowd from the competitors, but he brushed past each one with a few words.
“He looks kind of rough,” James observed.
I took in Ridley’s attire.
He was rough.
Or at least he looked it.
He was wearing faded blue jeans that had holes in the pockets from where whatever he’d been carrying in them had worn through the denim.
I could see part of the red underwear that he was wearing beneath his jeans, making my mouth water.
Then there was the black shirt and his cut over the top of it.
To finish off the ensemble he had on a pair of black boots and a red ball cap that declared him a Texas Rangers’ fan.
“He’s had better days,” I agreed, knowing that to be a fact.
He would have had to have driven all the way from the prison, which was two hours past Kilgore. Then he’d had to drive all the way down to Houston, which added another five hours onto his drive.
Add into the fact that he’d just gotten out of prison the day before and that was the very definition of a long day.
I guess I should be lucky he’d at least taken the time to change.
“You did good, you know,” James continued as he watched Ridley prowl towards him like he’d taken his favorite bone straight out of his hands.
“Thank you,” I replied softly. “It was luck.”
“No,” James said. “It was skill. We’ve been telling you that for a very long time.”
I shrugged, not wanting to get into it with him.
“Do you think you can take my rifle to your place and store it for me for a couple of days?” I asked him.
He stared at me for a few long moments, then nodded abruptly.
“You’re ever in trouble and you need my help, you know where to find me,” he ordered.
And it was an order, not an offer.
Men like Ridley and James, they didn’t say the things they did for shits and giggles. They said them because they expected to be obeyed.
“Got it,” I nodded, walking to my gun and getting it unloaded and into its case.
My brother had a heavy-duty case for his sniper rifle.
He’d been shooting competitively for a very long time and had started when he was younger and had just joined the military.
The bug had struck him, and even though he’d left the military four short years after he’d gotten in, he’d kept up with the long distance shooting he’d grown to love.
He and James shared their love of long-distance shooting by competing, and that’s how I eventually met him.
James had shared quite a bit of knowledge with the both of us, and he’d been there just as much as my brother and I had.
I hadn’t shot with my brother because I enjoyed it like he had.
I shot with him because it gave me the chance to share in something my brother was passionate about with him.
When you love someone, you do what they like to do because you want to experience their joy, and that’s what I’d done with Corey.
I’d experienced joy after joy with him, and didn’t regret a single thing about all the hours I’d had to put in with him at the shooting range.
“You got my number, right?” James asked.
Ridley was only a scant few feet away when he asked, and I could tell Ridley had heard.
“Yes,” I said in exasperation. “You know I have it.”
And he did.
James had my number just as I had his.
I had his wife’s number.
And his daughter’s number.
It wasn’t out of the ordinary that we spent time with each other.
Hell, once a month I had a book club meeting with Shiloh and about ten other ladies at a coffee house in town.
James had said it because he wanted Ridley to know I had backup if I needed it.
And Ridley realized it, acknowledged it with a nod, and offered his hand.
“Ridley Walker,” he introduced himself.
James took his hand.
“James Allen,” he shook Ridley’s hand.
“Know who you are,” he replied, not blinking an eye at James’ battered face.
James smiled.
“I know who you are, too.”
Ridley shrugged and turned his eyes on me.
“That was amazing,” he informed me without preamble.
A blush started to climb up my face.
“Thank you,” I said.
His eyes took in the blush, and he grinned.
“Never expected that out of you,” he said. “You’re such a tiny little thing.”
I bared my teeth at him and James laughed.
“Gotta go,” he patted my shoulder with his uninjured hand, then picked up my rifle and carried it off without another word.
Ridley didn’t say another thing until James had made it back to his wife, but his eyes said more than his words could ever convey.
“What?” I asked softly.