You Before Me (13 page)

“So what do you think?” He
asks.

“It's crazy,” I breathe honestly,
looking out at the target. “There's so much power in it, and it
floods through me, trying to overrun me. It's addicting, but
scary.”

“Obviously considering your four
back-to-back shots.” His hands move up and down, one along my spine
and the other along my leg, soothing me.

I almost feel faint, so I lean into
him, resting my head on his shoulder. After about five minutes of
silence and his hands gliding over me, I feel calmer. The rush is
still there in the background, zipping back and forth in a little
box, waiting to come out and drown me. I sit upright again, anxious
to test out the other gun, but my eyes catch sight of a line of
vehicles coming up the path at different intervals. Have we been
out here long enough that it's time for his family to be here?
Suddenly, nerves wash over me again, but these are
different.

“Is that your family
already?”

Gabe follows my gaze. “Yep. That'd be
them.” He turns to look at me again. “Don't be nervous,
Ryan.”

I narrow my eyes. “What makes you
think I'm nervous, Gabe?”

He laughs and picks up the hand I had
resting on my knee, showing me that it's shaking a little again. I
hit his shoulder and then remove myself from his lap as the first
truck gets closer. He backs up near where we were standing earlier
to shoot. Seconds later, another truck. Then a car and doors are
starting to open and shut. Gabe stands, takes my hands, and leads
me closer.

It's a huge relief when I see Owen get
out of the truck that parked close to the shooting area. He grins
at me and then his brother. All the men from five different
vehicles look alike. It's scary, really. There is one, though, who
sticks out like a sore thumb with his blonde hair.

“Who's that?” I can't resist
asking.

“Charlie. He married into the
family.”

Ah. That makes sense then. They start
towards the picnic tables with guns and bullets in hand. That's not
scary at all. My eyes land on the man with Owen, though. That has
to be their father. He has rough, rugged features and is seriously
handsome to be what looks to be his late fifties. Each pair of eyes
are focused on me, the intruder to their men's day. Never have I
felt so intimidated as I do right now. Without meaning to, I show
them my fear by taking a small step closer to Gabe.

He lets go of my hand to wrap an arm
around my waist as the men set the guns down on the picnic tables.
It's not until they've finished that they truly acknowledge
me.

“Hey, Ryan,” Owen says. “It's good to
see you again.” His eyes do a quick once-over of my body, and I
remember what Gabe told me.

Before I can think about it, I say
with one eyebrow perched, “Still as hot as you
remember?”

Owen laughs, and a couple of the men
chuckle. “Yep.”

“Guys, this is Ryan Kavanaugh.” As
Gabe introduces the men, they step forward to shake my hand and say
nice to meet you. “This is my father, Larry. My uncle Frank. His
son-in-law, Charlie. His sons, Frank Jr. and Nolan. Owen, of
course. And last, but not least, this is my grandfather,
Billy.”

His grandfather, with his hair salt
and pepper, but again, good-looking for his age, clasps my hand
between his worn ones. “It's nice to meet you, darlin'. Gabriel
didn't tell us he was bringing a pretty, young thing to distract
us. I may be retired, but I can out-shoot any of these boys any
day. You'll see.” He winks, and I laugh, but my stomach is a mess
of angry bees. Gabe didn't tell them I was coming?

“Gramps, leave her alone.” Gabe
chuckles. “You all knew she would be here. Today is her first time
shooting.”

“Is that so?” Frank says with a
smile.

I nod and Owen chirps, “Let's see what
you got, girl.”

“How about y'all go warm up first?”
Gabe saves me. I don't want to be the first person to shoot with
them here.

Why I expected to have an ally in
Gabe's father, I don't know, but he's not one because he locks eyes
with me and says, “Owen's right. Ryan should go first.” He's
looking at me like I've done something wrong already. Have
I?

Gabe looks at me. “Ready?” His eyes
are an open question. I can back out if I want. I told him that I
might.

But I'll be damned if these men,
especially his father, will intimidate me.

“Yes.”

Gabe reloads the shotgun, and all eyes
are on me as we walk to where we were standing earlier. When I
glance over my shoulder, the men are in a line, arms folded over
their chests, watching from about ten feet away. All except Owen.
He looks like he has faith in me.

Gabe's lips brush over my ear as he
stands behind me. “Ignore them, Ryan. They're testing you, but
you've got this.” Gabe hands me the gun before walking to place
another can on top of the post. I didn't even see him grab it. Gabe
walks back to me, smiles, and puts my earmuffs back over my ears.
He steps aside. This time, even though he's not as close as before,
I know he's there.

I take a deep breath before lifting
the gun into position. It doesn't feel right on my shoulder, so I
adjust it until it's sitting at the right spot. There's no way I'm
going to miss this, so I take my time. My hands, which were shaky,
are now steady. I'm calmer than ever. I turn off the safety and
move my finger, hovering near the trigger as I hear someone faintly
laugh behind me.

Once I zone in on the middle of the
can and feel sure of myself, I pull the trigger. My shot is dead on
as the can bursts. A thrill runs through me. I cock the gun to toss
the empty shell and push the safety back on before turning around
to see seven stunned men and a grinning Gabe. My eyes briefly land
on each man until I reach Larry, his father.

With a glare towards him, I ask,
“Satisfied?”

The men burst into laughter, a faint
smile on Larry's lips. Gabe walks over, takes the gun, and gives me
a kiss as I remove the earmuffs.

“You're amazing,” he whispers, before
taking my hand to lead me over to the guys. “We were here only an
hour before y'all, and she hit every can with the shotgun. I don't
know how, but she's good with that one and the others.” Pride seeps
from his voice.

“I'm up,” Owen declares, picking up a
gun from one of the picnic tables and walking to take aim at the
target on the board.

“You've never shot before?” Frank asks
me.

“No. I've never been around guns
before today.”

Charlie, the son-in-law, comes over to
shake my hand. “You did great. Don't worry about them. They made me
do it when I first started coming too.”

I give him a sweet smile. Larry still
hasn't said anything, and he doesn't. Not until Owen returns and
Gabe goes to put up a new target to shoot. How evil. He waited
until Gabe wasn't around. Larry doesn't come over to me, he just
speaks to me from the next picnic table over.

His eyes narrow, and the men turn away
from watching Gabe when he asks, “If I may, how old are you,
Ryan?”

Gulping, I glance at Gabe. He looks so
hot and manly holding the gun in his hands. I turn my attention
back to Larry. “Nineteen, but I turn twenty later this
month.”

“I knew it!” Owen says from next to
me. He decided to come sit on the same bench as me. “I knew you
were younger than Gabe, younger than he led on anyway.”

My age has all the men's attention.
Uh, oh. Is my age really a problem? That makes me the second
youngest person here thanks to Owen.

“Gabriel is a little old for you,
don't you think?” Larry asks.

“If I did, would I be here?” I see a
hint of surprise flash before his eyes narrow at my words. Shit. I
don't need to push him into hating me further. This was a bad idea.
I shouldn't have come. My parents don't think I'm good enough. I
shouldn't have thought that Gabe's would be any different. And his
dad is supposed to be the open-minded of the two. His mother would
definitely hate me. A shot sounds, but I barely hear it.

Frank clears his throat as if that
would ease the tension I feel. “Are you from around
here?”

“No. I'm originally from Asheville,
but I came here for college. I'm a sophomore,” I add as if that
will help anything. It won't because I've already ruined what
chances I had at making his father like me. My age, and most likely
my smart mouth, stands in the way.

Gabe returns and mentions something
about a skeet thrower, and that gets the guys excited. He looks at
me, his smile quickly fading as he sees me attempting a fake smile.
He lays the gun down, and all the guys over by Larry's truck
now.

“Everything okay, Ryan?”

I shake my head. “I don't
feel well. Could you take me home?” My voice shakes a little, and I
hate myself for it. Maybe it's just older adults that hate me. Not
just my parents, but all of them. Teachers didn't care for me, but
couldn't deny that I was smart. My friends' parents always thought
I was a bad influence. Maybe it's not my parents. Maybe it's
me
.

Gabe sits next to me. “What's wrong?”
he asks, full of concern, but I don't look at him. I
can't.

“Nothing,” I sigh. “I want to go home.
Please, Gabe?” My eyes were focused on the grooves of the wood
making up the top of the picnic table, but Gabe hooks a finger
underneath my chin to make me look at him.

“What happened?” When I shake my head,
he repeats his question with a harder edge to his voice.

Quietly, I say, “I told
you this wasn't a good idea.” A shot goes off, momentarily
distracting me as I see something orange fall apart in the sky. To
keep Gabe from asking his question again, I explain. “You told me
that my age scares you, and you didn't tell them. I don't see why
it's a big deal, but that's just me. They care.
You
care. I don't want to cause any
problems, Gabe.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“Your father asked how old I was, and
I didn't lie. Then he asked if I thought you were too old for me,
and I may have given him a smart ass answer. I told him if I did, I
wouldn't be here. Pretty sure I pissed him off. Just take me home,
please.”

“Ignore my father, Ryan.”

“But-”

“Hey, darlin',” Gabe's grandfather
calls out. “You want to try a moving target?”

“We'll be there in a second,” Gabe
yells back without looking. He cups my cheeks in his hands, and I
notice his father watching us. “Ryan,” he says, waiting until I
look at him again. “The girl you were the day I pulled you over, be
her today. My father's respect has to be earned, and he's expecting
that. Don't let him intimidate you because that's what he's trying
to do.”

“Well, he's a jerk for that.” I try to
laugh, but it sounds mangled.

“That's how he operates. C'mon. Let's
go show 'em what you got.”

Gabe

I'm angry that my father upset Ryan,
but it reminds me of what I was worried about. What I think about
when I'm not around her. The guys seem to like her, though. Except
Dad, of course. He's being reserved today. But Ryan quickly shows
the guys that she's a force to be reckoned with. It takes her a bit
to get the hang of it, but as the orange clay targets are flung
into the air, she starts hitting them. She giggles after each round
with excitement. She's hooked on the thrill, the weight of the
power, and the accomplishment she feels when she hits the marks
each time. I love watching her and her confidence grow.

“I feel like a badass,” she laughs,
coming to stand next to me. “Well, just with the shooting part. Not
the extra handling stuff.”

“You should be proud of yourself. This
is your first day, and you're doing better than everyone
else.”

“Except me,” Gramps inserts, making
Ryan giggle. I can already tell that he likes her.

“Yeah, except you.”

Gramps walks over and puts an arm
around her shoulders. “Darlin', you sure have surprised me. Lookin'
sweet and innocent with your age, but you're a firecracker. Keepin'
us all on our toes. I hope Gabriel keeps you around.”

Ryan blushes, the second time I've
ever seen her do that. “I hope so too, Mr. O'Connor.”

“Might as well call me Gramps,
darlin'.”

“Gabe, you're up,” Owen tells me, as
my father prepares the skeet thrower.

In the background, I hear them
talking. Owen, in particular.

“You know, it's totally possible that
we could be dating too.”

Ryan laughs. “You might be close to me
in age, but you're still too young. You're cute though.”

My brother groans. “Cute? That's a
dude's worst nightmare.”

I fire at the skeet, hitting it just
in time to hear Ryan's response.

“You're cute as a button,” she teases.
“Shooting a gun like what we're doing makes you hotter though, if
that helps.”