Broken Rider(15)

He ignored her question. “First time shooting one of those?” He nodded towards the Remington cradled in Erin’s arms.

“Yes. Is it that obvious?”

Jack strutted forward. “Do you mind?” he asked and reached his hands out for the rifle. Erin handed it to him and watched as he gave the rifle a one over. “Did your purchase this at Jim’s Ammo?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

He handled the rifle with care. “Well I can tell the rifle is new, and usually a new rifle needs a lot of adjusting before it’s ready to be fired, but Jim does a good job of that and this one here is ready to go. Do you mind if I fire it?”

“No, not at all. Please, help yourself.”

Erin watched Jack’s big hands running over the barrel of the weapon and couldn’t help but feel aroused. The man was a walking testosterone machine, but had such a soothing presence about him. Erin stepped back and watched as Jack slung the rifle up to the crook of his shoulder and quickly took aim. In an instant the bottle she’d been aiming at exploded and a loud crack echoed off the formation of rocks.

“Wow, you didn’t even have to aim,” Erin exclaimed. “I hope I can shoot like that one day.”

Jack ignored the compliment and handed her back the rifle. “I don’t see why you wouldn't be able to. Shooting is the same as any other skill. If you work hard at it on a consistent basis you will get better. Would you like some tips?”

Erin nodded. “If you don’t mind of course. I don’t want to keep you from your... whatever it is you're doing out here alone.”

Again he ignored her inquisitive probe. “Don't mention it. First thing you need to do is think less when you aim. If you noticed the way I aimed and compared it to the way you were doing it, you will notice how quickly I acted. That’s the key. Take your brain out of the equation and fire. See the target, lock on it and pull the trigger. Don’t sit and think about it, just fire. Now, try again.”

Erin did as he instructed and swung the rifle up to her shoulder just as Jack had. She eyed the remaining bottle on the log and pulled the trigger. Bark shattered and Erin frowned. She’d come close, a lot closer than before in fact, but still missed the bottle. “I can’t do it,” she whined.

Jack looked at her and said flatly, “If you quit that easily you might as well pack yourself up and head back to the city. This is hard land Erin, and just because you’re not naturally gifted at a task doesn’t mean to get to stop trying to be better.”

The sting from Jack’s words bit Erin in the ass and lit a fire in her belly. She didn’t even care about shooting well anymore; she just wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t some pushover from the big city. She swung the barrel of the rifle up and again took aim. After one short breath she steadied herself and fired. Another piece of bark exploded near the bottle, but the bottle itself remained defiant. Erin opened her mouth to complain but remembered Jack’s tongue lashing and instead looked up at him for guidance.

He nodded at her and said, “Good job.”

“But I missed!”

“And? How many times have you shot a rifle before today?”

“Never.”

“Like I said, good job. They key to learning a new skill, or anything for the matter, is to get good at failing. So don’t beat yourself up for missing the target, because you tried to hit it, and that's more than most people can so. So instead, pat yourself on the back for dusting yourself off and trying again, okay?”

“Okay. Any other tips before I try again?”

Jack strode to her side and told her to bring the rifle to her shoulder again. She did and he slipped behind her and wrapped his rough hands around hers on the barrel. The stark contrast in skin color between the two was magnified by the remaining pink nail polish Erin still had on. He reached behind her and placed his other hand over Erin’s near the trigger. “Breathe slowly and calm yourself,” he whispered in her ear. His breath was warm and his smell masculine. Erin’s loins began to ache and she realized it had been nearly a year since a man had held her so tight. She shook the thoughts out of her head and tried to focus. “Focus on your breathing,” he soothed. “In, out, in out…nice and slow.” Erin cleared her mind, of both the target and Jack and felt her body relax. “Now take aim and fire,” he whispered.

Erin did as he instructed and this time when she fired it was the sound of glass exploding in the distance that rang though her head. “I did it,” she screamed. Jack stepped back and Erin hugged him. She felt so warm and safe in his arms and forgot the two were basically strangers. Not to mention Jack’s dead wife. She stepped back and apologized for the hug, saying she was overcome with emotion. “No need to apologize,” he said as he looked down at her. The man is like an oak tree, Erin thought. Nothing seems to affect him…