Thanks to my beta Fran, my preaders Dani, Ariel, and Gemma, and you all for reading and reviewing. Love you all!
"You good?" Edward calls over his shoulder as we walk towards wherever he has in mind to teach me how to shoot. I'm only a few paces behind, but he must hear the way I've been cursing roots and branches that are never in his way but miraculously only appear in mine.
"Think so," I mutter back to him. I somehow manage to catch up to him. "I thought we weren't going far."
He chuckles. "We're almost there. Just a few more minutes. Is that all right?"
"Yeah," I sigh dramatically but only because I know my exaggerations amuse him. Sure enough, he peers at me from beneath his hat, but I can still see his bemused grin on his shadowed face.
"Okay."
We walk beside each other comfortably, Edward every so often ducking beneath hanging leaves or holding them out of my way so I can cross easily. We chat along the way, the conversation light and helping me take my mind off whatever he has planned.
I'm not nervous, per se. Unsettled is more like it. Aren't we taught the dangers of guns like they're never to be touched unless absolutely necessary? That the purpose of a gun was to construct damage? Just the thought of myself behind the trigger makes me tempted to turn around and tell Edward to forget it.
But I can't.
I need to be prepared for when he finds me.
And if I find him one day at the other end of the barrel of my gun, then I'll know all my nerves today were worth it.
"It's just up here," Edward points out. "Just around this bend."
When we get into the clearing Edward talks about, I stop in my tracks to take it all in.
It's almost too beautiful to stand in, let alone disrupt the peacefulness that inhabits this place with the shrill sound of a gunshot.
"How did you ever find this place?" I ask once I can find the words. With green grass on the ground and trees surrounding us on almost all sides beginning to change colors, this meadow is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
"My dad used to take me through all these trails when I was a kid. We used to stop here for lunch," Edward says, moving to stand next to me and take in the view like I am.
It's the first time he's mentioned anything about his family or friends, and it dawns on me that while I already feel a connection to him, there's so much more to Edward that I know nothing about.
It hits me now when I realize I do want to know more about him, as much as he's willing to tell me.
"And shoot?"
"It's the best place around here for it. Level ground with no one around, really."
I nod, turning so I can see it all once more. "So it's just us?"
He nods and shoots a shy smile towards the ground. "Just us."
I wouldn't mind being in a position with Edward where I can say it's "just us." Just sayin'.
See you tomorrow!