I waved my cooking tool in the air. “These might just be the best things you’ve ever sunk your teeth into.”
He shot me a wink. “I don’t think so.”
I was brought back to the little neck nibble last night.
He held up his plate. “Come on, girl. Toss one over.”
“Really? You won’t get mad if you have pancakes flying into your wall?”
“I have faith in you, Fern Ethel.”
I took my spatula and flung a pancake to the plate he held in the air. “Boom!”
“You have a good aim.” A second later two more hit his plate before he set it on the table and grabbed the syrup. “Before I knew I’d be hanging with a pretty nurse today, I’d planned to head over to the indoor gun range in town.”
I controlled my smile. “Let’s do it. Lord knows recent events are a reminder that I should be shooting more often.”
He grinned through his pancakes. “Are you sure you feel up to it?”
“Yes, I think I’d like to kick your ass in shooting this morning.”
He laughed. “You sound a little cocky there, Fern.”
“It’s not cocky if it’s the truth.”
“Touché.” He gave me an impressed nod. “Besides, I need to get a mile marker or something where your car is located to get it towed out. I texted a friend and he’ll get it home for you.”
“It’s actually my dad’s car. I’ll wait until I get home to fill him in on the good news. A fun conversation ahead.” I took a bite of breakfast. “That’s very nice of you.”
“I’ve found Christian Brothers Automotive in Inver Grove provides good work at a fair price.”
We visited my car next to mile marker 402 on Highway 370. Gabe insisted on sliding down to it when I mentioned my favorite gloves were inside. Yes, he’s sweet as sugar and hot as a jalapeno.
Forty minutes later, we were inside the Bellevue Rod and Gun Club, each wearing goggles, as he handed me the 308 out of his bag. “Will this work for you? It’s the smallest I own.”
“I prefer a big one.” OMG, can you even believe me? Yes, we giggled like a bunch of girls for a solid minute.
“Alright, Fern Ethel Novotny, let’s see what you’ve got.”
He stood back as I took aim at the targets in the distance. I could feel his eyes on me and focused on deep breathing to keep my mind on what was in front of me as I picked off all but one of the targets.
“Nice going.” Gabe slid up behind me and put his hands around mine as my back rested against his chest. “I believe if you were about an inch over, like this, you’d get that last one.” One of his hands slid to my stomach. “And breathe in deep from here so you can concentrate.”
The last thing I was doing with his hands wrapped around me was concentrating.
I felt his breath on my cheek. “What are you going for, Fern? What do you want?”
I clenched the gun harder to steady my hands that were suddenly shaky. What did I want? A man like Gabe in my life forever? Maybe, but that wasn’t in the cards. Second choice? Have him for the weekend. Could he guess? I cleared my throat. “Let’s have a challenge.” I took the shot and got the last target.
“A challenge? I must say you might have a problem with this competitiveness. You may need to seek medical attention.”
I could hear his smile. “Me? You’re a hockey player. There’s no worse competitive streak than that. It’s almost like a curse.”
“You got me there.” He scratched his head. “So Fern wants to have a contest here at the gun range. What shall the prize be?”
I shrugged.
His eyes flashed. “Well, how about a weekend pass option? Seventy-two hours?”
