Page 24 of The Friendship Pact

“You too, Kate.”

They walked to their assigned lanes. “Everybody is so friendly.”

“That’s our small town for you.” Nick placed his bag on the shelf and pulled out safety glasses and ear protection. There was only one other shooter, in lane eight, and he looked to be packing it in for the day. Nick nodded to the older gentlemen. He placed a semi-automatic handgun and two magazines in each lane.

“You mentioned you hadn’t fired a gun in a while. You’ll be using my 9 mm Glock. Let’s get you set up, and I’ll show you how to load the magazine.”

Kate said little but listened and nodded. Nick moved the paper target closer. “Let’s start at five yards.”

He moved behind her.

As Nick’s arms reached around to show her how to hold the gun, Kate could smell Nick’s body wash. A minty-fresh goodness—yum. Damn if she wasn’t attracted to Sheriff Nicholas Reid. Not good. Not good at all. She needed to adhere to the rules on the friend-zone list. One was to keep physical contact to a minimum. Technically, leaning was minimal contact.

She wondered if she was receiving standard or special treatment. Either way, she wouldn’t complain about the sexy sheriff standing irresistibly close. Her pulse quickened.

“Okay, square up the target and place your feet shoulder-distance apart,” he instructed. “Place your gun in your hand like this.”

He showed her the correct grip. They put on their noise-cancelling ear protection, and she squared to the target.

All right, hotshot. “Like this?”

“You got it. Nice and slow.”

Kate placed three shots into the 10-ring, center mass. She removed the mag, placed both pieces on the table before her, and removed her ear protection.

She brought the target in and unclipped it. “You know what they say about assuming, Sheriff.”

“Damn.” Nick grabbed Kate’s target. “My bad. Lesson learned.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel bad. I made it to Olympic trials for pistol shooting.”

He shook his head. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She shrugged. “It was more fun to see your expression.”

“Can I keep this?” He held up her target.

“Sure.”

“Are you always this full of surprises?” he asked.

“I guess you’ll find out.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“You must be Kate.”

Kate looked up from her booth in Rosie’s Diner, where she was waiting to meet Cole. “Yes.” Judging by the man’s slight paunch and receding hairline, she guessed him to be in his mid-forties.

He extended his hand. “I’m Morty Benson, the mayor of Deer Creek Falls.”

She shook his hand, and he placed his other hand on top of hers. Feeling uncomfortable, she said, “Nice to meet you, Mayor Benson,” and slipped her hand from his grasp.

“Welcome to our town. Please let me know if you need anything.” He pulled a card from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to her.

She looked at the card and back at the mayor. “Thank you. I will.”