Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Owen

Annalee's eyes grew twice their size as she looked around.

"You want to teach me to shoot a gun ?"

"You never have before, right?"

It was safe to assume she hadn't. I looked into her records as well as her family’s. No one had a permit for a gun. Not even a hunting rifle. She also didn't have a license to carry one nor did anyone in her family. Maybe a previous boyfriend had taught her, but based on the way she was side-eyeing the Glock on the counter, my assumption was no.

"No, I haven't. I never had a reason to learn."

That right there was a lie. At least in my mind. Sure, there were some people who would disagree with me but I was a firm believer everyone should know how to shoot a gun. Everyone should know how to protect themselves.

"Well, now you have a reason."

Walker, the owner of Locked plenty of space to practice, especially for a beginner.

"Yup. And Walker will make sure we have the place to ourselves as long as we’re here. You don't have to worry about anyone else in here with us." My explanation didn't relax her the way I was hoping it would. "Look, I'm not expecting you to be an expert marksman by the time we’re done. I just want to know that you’re comfortable enough around guns to shoot one if needed."

"I don't think I'll ever be comfortable."

This wasn't going how I planned at all. "Here, put these on while I walk you through this. They will protect your ears from the noise and your eyes from any stray casings." I handed her a set of ear protection and safety glasses.

I spent twenty minutes walking Annalee through the safety steps. I showed her how to load the magazine, how to properly grip it in both hands, and worked with her until she felt comfortable with the slide. I made sure I stood directly behind her with my hand over hers as she squeezed the trigger for the first time, and still, Annalee jumped when the gun went off.

"I can't do this!" Annalee screamed.

Thankfully I had both hands on the gun because that statement came with her throwing her hands up and completely releasing her grasp on it.

"First rule of gun safety? Never drop the weapon out of your hands."

I released the magazine and unloaded the round in the chamber before setting the gun down on the shelf. I could feel Annalee shaking in front of me. Removing both of our ear protection, I spun her around until she was facing me.

"Talk to me."

She covered her face with her hands and mumbled her response but I thought it sounded something like, "This is all too much."

I grasped both of her hands within mine and pulled them away enough so I could see her beautiful face. "I know I'm getting on in age, but I like to think my hearing isn't that bad yet. Want to try saying that again?"

My joke had the desired effect and Annalee chuckled. It was followed by a sniffle but the tiny laugh was still there.

"This is all starting to be too much. My father's death. The will. The letter. My stepfamily and now the article this morning. Dennis is trying to blame this all on me and the sad part is I want to just give them the money so they’ll leave me alone, but I know it isn't what my father would want. I know I need to be prepared and learn to defend myself, but it's one thing to talk about it, and another to actually do it."

There was a slight chance that teaching her to shoot a gun was the wrong move. Did I feel she needed to learn? Absolutely. Especially if she was going to continue working for Mav. Was it possibly too soon? Maybe.

"Let's table this particular lesson for now. I still think you should learn but I can admit it might be too soon. We can talk to Walker about the self-defense classes he has coming up."

I moved to step away but Annalee's small hand on my bicep stopped me. "Thank you. I know when you guys put out the job posting, you were just looking for a receptionist, not a woman with a headache on her hands. I appreciate your patience with me."

She wasn't going to make this easy for me. The rational part of my brain knew I needed to keep distance between us. Annalee wasn't even sure she was staying at this point. But my heart had other ideas. It did from the first moment I heard her voice. Spending time with her only further cemented my heart’s feelings.

I swiped a wayward tear with the pad of my thumb off her cheek. "No need to thank me."

“Why do you keep being so nice to me?” Annalee blurted the question out and then covered her mouth with her hand.

Before I could open my mouth to respond, she was waving me off. “Nope, please don’t answer that.”

She was shaking her head so violently I had to laugh. I did manage to finally grab her hands and force them to her sides so she had to give me her full attention.

“This is certainly a first for me. I’ve never had anyone complain about me being nice to them.”

I gave her a half smile when she groaned at me.

“One of these times being impulsive is going to bite me in the ass.”

Probably, but so far it was in my favor, so I wasn’t in a hurry to get her to stop. I also wasn’t going to tell her just how much I liked her impulsivity.

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But how about you tell me why being so nice to you is such a problem.”

Annalee threw her hands in the air. “It’s not a problem. I just don’t know what to do about it. I brought problems to your door. I can’t decide if I even want to stay in town. Last night I kissed you and then you stormed off, but by the time I came upstairs, you didn’t treat me any differently. You could’ve made me feel uncomfortable, but no, that’s not you. Now this.” She motioned to the lane we were still standing in. “You offered to teach me and I freaked out on you. How the hell are you not running for the hills yet?”

What I got out of all that was no one in her life ever stuck around. It was sad to think she didn’t have a single person who showed her what it meant to be cared about.

I took her hand in mine, partially because I wanted the connection with her and partially because I needed her to stop flailing them around like a madwoman. She wasn’t one even if she looked like it at the moment.

“To run would mean I was scared or freaked out. I’m neither. I’m just a man who fell for a voice over the phone.”

So much for keeping things close to the vest. At this rate I was going to be confessing my love.

Wait, love?! When the hell did that happen?

“As for acting normal after the kiss. I was anything but. Thankfully I’ve had years of hiding my feelings. The Marines made sure I knew how to keep my emotions in check but there was nothing normal about how I felt when you crawled into bed with me. I wanted nothing more than to sink myself deep inside you.”

I didn’t bother to mention the fact that I had to rub one off in the shower before she came up. I couldn’t remember the last time I was forced to do that. Nor do I remember ever coming so quickly. All it took was thinking about our kiss and I was a goner.

Annalee stepped closer. “But you won’t be doing that.”

It wasn’t a question but I shook my head anyway. “Not while you’re still questioning if you want to stay or not. I’ve had years of meaningless sex. I don’t want that with you.”