Still having an issue with that self control but ya'll benefit from it lol. Just to be clear the chapters do get longer lol.

Chapter Two

Steph POV:

Behind the counter stood a man. He was about six foot four and his red hair was in a military regulation crew cut. His hard blue eyes cut to me, and I saw his eyebrow raise.

There was another man sitting in the corner. He was younger than me, but in his late twenties. He was cleaning guns and organizing the boxes of bullets.

"How can I help you?" The first man asked, putting down the magazine as I approached.

"I was wondering if the gun classes were still offered?" I asked. He nodded.

"They are. Do you have any experience with guns?"

"Some." I shrugged.

"What are you using the gun for?"

"I'm a bounty hunter," I answered, resisting the urge to sigh. He raised an eyebrow.

"And you need a class?" he asked, surprised. I nodded, feeling a blush creep up my face.

"Do you already carry a gun?" he asked, from behind the counter shuffling for some paperwork.

"Yes, a snub nose .38 revolver."

He paused. "Really?"

I frowned and nodded. "Why?"

"A revolver doesn't sound like that good of an idea for a bounty hunter to carry, not as the main weapon. As a backup, sure. Too hard to reload and not very efficient. How often do you clean it?"

I felt a blush creeping up my face. "I uhhh, haven't."

He looked up at me. "You haven't?"

I shook my head. "I don't know how."

"When did you buy this gun, and how often do you use it?"

I shrugged. "My mentor bought it for me here about a year ago. I've fired it a few times. Most of the time it stays empty in my cookie jar." I paused. "My first big case as a bounty hunter ended with me with a bullet in my ass, and a dead man in my apartment."

"What were the circumstances?" He asked, voice slightly softer. Understanding flashing through his eyes, but not pity.

"Five shots to the heart through my purse. At the time, I had only had my gun for a few days, and I had practiced with it once. The only reason it was loaded was because my mentor loaded it."

He nodded. "So you've had to defend yourself with it. How about we work on non lethal shots first? Then once you have that down, you shouldn't have an issue aiming for the lethal spots." I nodded my agreement.

"What good does an empty gun do?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not to mention not carrying it."

"I don't like guns."

"You don't have to like guns, but you shouldn't be afraid of them. Has anyone ever taught you how to use it?"

"I spent a few minutes in the range with my mentor when I first got it."

"And you can't hit the broad side of a barn?" he guessed.

I blushed and nodded. "You must have had a pretty shitty mentor."

I felt my hackles rise and then I remembered what had happened. Why I was here. He was a pretty shitty mentor. "He's a good guy," I said softly. "Maybe I was a bad student."

"Even if you were, a bad student there are things you still should have picked up." He paused, his gaze softening. "Do you have the gun?"

I nodded, slipping it from my bag. He frowned and opened the cylinder. "Not loaded." He sighed. I felt my blush darken. I had removed them before I left home this morning, not figuring I would need it.

"Alright, I'll grab a kit and a box of bullets. First, I want to see if this is the gun for you. I think you would do better with a small semi-automatic. It's easier to take care of also."

"I can't uhhh…." I started to tell him I didn't have the cash.

"I have a feeling you'll be around." He smiled softly. "Besides you need someone to teach you and it just so happens I make a pretty good teacher."

"Well, if you're going to be teaching me, can I know your name?" I asked, offering him my hand.

"Jay McAlister. Yours?"

"Stephanie Plum," I answered, and he smiled, shaking my hand.

He pulled two pairs of earmuffs and glasses from behind the counter. "We'll see how you do with this revolver and then we'll try out some semi-autos, okay?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

He readied the lane and handed me the gear he had gathered for me. I put them on, and he handed me the box and gun. I loaded them both, setting them on the small counter in the stall.

"Show me your stance," he said.

I bit my lip. "I don't really know one."

"How many times have you used your weapon?" he asked.

"A few. I've shot at some things and shot some things," I said. He nodded, not pushing the question.

"Then we'll start at the basics," he said. "I'll show you the position and you copy it. Every time you aim, take this position so it becomes muscle memory."

I nodded and followed his lead. After a few minutes he instructed me to step up into the lane. I picked up the gun and felt his hand on my shoulder, touching to tell me to adjust. He wasn't close at all. His touch was light and guiding. Different from what I was used to.

His foot tapped mine and I moved my foot. "Alright you're good to go." He said, taking a step back. "Go ahead."

Just as I put pressure on the trigger, my whole body clenched. The shot went wide, hitting over the shoulder of the target. "Finish the rest."

I felt my body tightening with each shot, my breath quickening. I couldn't wait to put the gun down. I set it down when I was finished and turned to look at Jay. He watched me carefully.

"What stresses you out so much about guns?" he asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Do you want to try another gun? Maybe a small 9mm?"

I shrugged. "I can. I haven't really fired a semi-auto."

"That's alright. I can teach you," he said. I nodded my agreement.

XXXXXX

I stayed at Sunny's a lot longer than I intended. When Jay closed the store at five, he took me behind the counter and started teaching me how to clean a gun, both a revolver and a semi-automatic.

I was leaning towards the Glock 19 he had brought out to show me. It had a slightly longer barrel than the Glock 26. Both held 10 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber.

Currently I was reassembling the Glock. Jay was sitting on the stool next to me, observing. I finished putting it together and glanced at him. He nodded.

"Perfect," he said. "You don't have to be able to assemble it in a hurry, but you need to know how to do it. How do you feel now that you can do both the revolver and the semi-auto?"

"Better."

"Which do you prefer?"

"The Glock," I answered. "Easier to load and clean. More compact, easier to carry. Fits better in my hand."

"Do you want to take it home?" he asked.

"Jay…" I started.

"Let's make a deal. You sell me the revolver, and I'll sell you the Glock. The .38 would be easy to sell. It's a very nice gun."

"Jay, you don't have to do that!"

"It's no skin off my back." He shrugged. "It would do the both of us good."

I smiled. "Thank you."

He smiled back. "Let me start the paperwork."

As I was signing the paperwork for the guns, my stomach rumbled. Jay chuckled. "Since it's past dinner, you want to get something to eat?"

"I've taken up most of your day," I said.

He shrugged. "Making a new friend. You won't hear me complain."

"The least I could do is buy dinner."

He smiled. "Alright, I could deal with that."

"Have anywhere you want to go?" I asked, as he handed me two boxes of bullets and the gun in a box.

"Wherever you want." He shrugged. "How do you feel about getting your PCH?"

"One thing at a time." I laughed.

"Well, you don't need it to carry open, but it would help with your job to carry concealed." He smiled. "Wouldn't be too hard to finish up the process."

I rolled my eyes. "How about we work on it?"

"Fine." He laughed. He walked me to the door and closed it behind us. He locked it before pulling down the metal shutter.

"There's a diner not too far from here," I suggested.

"Good burgers?" he asked.

"Yeah, they've got good burgers."

"Lead the way." He smiled. I slid into Big Blue and he straddled a Harley that was in the corner of the lot. I watched him strap on a helmet and motion for me to go ahead.

Just a few miles down the road was said diner. The same diner I had met Ranger at a year previous. I shut the door of Big Blue as he pulled his bike up next to me.

We walked inside and it looked the same as the last time I was here. We slid into a booth in the back. The waitress walked over and took our drink order and handed us menus.

"So, what made you become a bounty hunter?"

I snorted. "I needed the money, so I blackmailed my cousin."

"What'd you do before you became a Bounty Hunter?"

"This'll make you laugh." I smiled. "I was a lingerie buyer."

He snorted. "No shit?"

"No shit."

"When you said you had no experience you weren't kidding." He laughed.

The waitress wandered back over to take our orders. "I'll take a jumbo whiskey cheeseburger and fries."

"Damn that sounds good." Jay said. "I'll have the same."

She walked away and I raised an eyebrow. "What were you going to get?" I asked.

"A salad." He grinned. "Then I realized I wasn't a rabbit."

"Jesus." I laughed softly. "That's a drastic change."

"Well, I spent too many years risking my life to not be able to enjoy a burger." He smiled.

"That's one way to put it." I smiled.

He sat back in his seat and studied me for a moment. "You didn't ask." he said simply, not quite a question.

"If you wanted to talk about it, you would have elaborated." I shrugged.

He smiled. "I am a Marine. Was a Marine. I retired last year."

"What made you come to Trenton?" I asked. "You don't strike me as someone who grew up in Jersey."

"I have a cousin that lives in Newark. He's my only family."

I nodded my understanding. "Trenton isn't a hot spot for people to live, not unless they have to."

He shrugged, "It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it's not bad."

I smiled. "Why not Newark?"

"Trenton isn't that far of a drive. Plus, Sunny's had just gone up for sale; it was already set up to be a gun store and range."

"So, your goal after leaving the military was to open a gun shop?" I asked, taking a bite from my just delivered burger.

"I was a scout sniper; might as well stick with something you know."

"Now if I had done that we wouldn't be sitting here right now." I smiled. He chuckled.

"Not everybody has too." He said, "But in our cases we did the right thing."

The start of a beautiful friendship...