Chapter 1

Honey

"READY?!" Rattles and clicks responded to the call as weapons were loaded and guns were poised to shoot. "AIM!" A hush fell across the open field as the wielders breathed and narrowed their eyes at their individual targets. The silence before the shot was the most terrifying time for Honey Duke. It was hard to know what to expect when there were no auditory clues to help draw any logical conclusions. In moments like this, she could only see her target, her weapon, and the impossible dangers that could possibly happen when there was nothing but stillness. The final command, "FIRE!" released her bullets and Honey from her madness. Shots sounded yards away, tall grass was cut, and there was a satisfying pounding as the neat reds and whites of targets were compromised by holes.

An hour later, Honey stiffly trudged through the greenness. Standing still for so long sure left a person feeling older than they actually were. However, the discomfort she was feeling did not show on her face. She found that such expressions showed weakness, weakness she couldn't afford in battle. But, when she saw the curly black locks of her husband in the distance, Honey couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Zephyr-baby," she said sweetly, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

The muscles of a bodybuilder wrapped around her small waist and a deep voice with a soothing drawl tickled her ear. "Hey, freckle-face." Prickly stubble roughly rubbed against her cheek. "Did you miss me?"

Honey chuckled. "Boy, you were only gone for a hour and a half. I didn't miss you." She picked a blade of grass from his gray flannel shirt. "What did you do? Wrestle with the target?"

"It started it. Said I couldn't hit it. Sure showed it a thing or two. Filled all those rings with holes just 'cause I could."

The blonde laughed. "Well, aren't you a badass? Not that I didn't know that already," she said and she gave him a soft kiss on his pale lips, her slim arms wrapping around his neck.

Zephyr smiled down at her and his gray eyes had bits of blue. He ran his fingers along one of her braids and twirled the end between his fingers. "Did I tell you this morning that that shirt makes you look real fine?" A mischievous grin had formed and was flashing white teeth at his wife.

It was an orange flannel shirt he had seen more than a few times, but Honey gave a flirtatious smile. "I think you mentioned it once or twice." A black curl of his was being teased as she said this.

"Well, it's true," he said as if confirming a publicly known fact. He fiddled with the Velcro on one of her brown gloves and his head fell onto her shoulder. "Does it ever bother you?"

"What?"

"The ring."

"No."

"I've said it before, but you don't have to carry it with you all the time, y'know?"

"I know. You don't have to carry yers either."

She felt a smile on her shoulder. "You know I can't do that if yer carryin' yers. What kind of man would I be?"

Honey smiled and gave him a hug. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to enjoy her husband's warmth. She sighed deeply. "C'mon, let's go find the other two."

"Do we have to?" Zephyr whined. The blonde lightly punched him in the chest. He laughed and raised his hands defensively. "Alright! I'm going!" He then took off running and the couple raced each other through the field. Honey won because she found their teammates first despite being four inches shorter than the six-foot Zephyr.