Page 84 of A Better Place

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Carly

A shooting range is the absolute last thing I would have guessed for our date tonight. But it’s the absolute best thing that he could have picked.

“Ready to head in?” he asks, but I’m already halfway out the car door.

“Oh yeah,” I say.

“Carly.” He chuckles. “Wait.”

I stop walking and turn around for him to catch up. He opens the back driver’s-side door and reaches into the back seat. When he starts walking toward me, he’s carrying a black case in his left hand. He stretches his right hand out to me and interlaces his fingers with mine. He tugs me close to him, pulling my arm so it’s around his waist as we make our way into the building.

He opens the door and with his hand to my lower back, ushers me inside. I take a moment to look around. Along the walls are posters of different guns, a few pictures, but for the most part, there’s white walls. There are two doors, one that says Restroom on the front, and the other has a sign listing the rules of the range. Behind the counter-height desk stands a large burly man with a full dark beard and a black beanie covering his head. He has on a white long-sleeve t-shirt rolled up to the elbows. The stark contrast of the shirt makes the tattoos on both arms stand out.

The moment his eyes lift from whatever he’s looking at on the countertop, they brighten, and a smile breaks out across his face.

“Holy shit,” I whisper.

James really opened my eyes to the beauty in the ruggedness of a man. Once hating facial hair and tattoos, I now see a guy displaying both, and my body leaps to attention. He’s hot.

“Easy,” James growls into my ear.

“James!” he shouts, his voice boisterous. He comes around from behind the counter and pulls James into his arms for a man hug. They slap each other on the back a few times.

“Hey, Will. How the hell are ya, man?”

“Can’t complain. Not as good as you, I see.” Will nods his head in my direction.

I smile as James returns to my side, his grip around my waist tighter than moments before.

“No doubt about that,” James confirms while looking at me. “This is my Carly.” No way did Will miss the emphasis of the word my there.

Will chuckles. “Carly, nice to meet you. I’m Will. Known this idiot since third grade,” he tells me.

“Oh really? I bet you have some good stories, then?” I say, smiling up at James.

“No, he doesn’t,” James answers at the same time as Will says, “You bet your sweet ass I do.”

James puts his hand up in front of us. “Don’t even think about it, man.”

Will grins at James’s possessiveness. “Wasn’t.” He raises his left hand showing off a tattooed wedding ring. He looks over at me again and narrows his eyes. “Have we met before?”

Ha! I almost laugh out loud. I would definitely remember meeting him.

“I don’t think so. Do you have a kid at Liberty Elementary? I’m a first-grade teacher there.”

“Nope. Kids are in high school now. You sure we haven’t met though? You look really familiar,” he says, still looking at me like he’s trying to solve a puzzle.

“Sorry, maybe I just have a common face?”

“Nope,” James answers for him.

Will scrunches his eyebrows, still looking at me. “Huh. Weird. Anyway, you guys ready?”

“Hell, yeah,” I say, to which both men laugh at my exuberance.

“Been shooting before?” Will asks me as he leads us through the door.

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