Then they were all done shooting, and the men were packing up the guns to go.
By the end of the day, Ellen had learned how to shoot several handguns and two long guns, though none of them felt good to her and she still didn’t think she would buy one. She couldn’t even have told anyone the names of all the different kinds of guns, there was too much to remember, and she hadn’t written anything about them down.
The shotguns had made her shoulder hurt and she seemed to be the only female there who wasn’t excited about shooting.
Travis waved goodbye to everyone and headed for his truck.
Ellen watched his retreating back. With long muscular legs in those jeans which fit him well and cowboy boots, he was a sight to see.
That’s one good looking man. I could’ve watched and listened to him all day. If the shooting hadn’t been so noisy and busy.
But they weren’t supposed to go out with any of their instructors. So, this couldn’t go anywhere. He was so busy teaching the others that he probably hadn’t noticed her. She was tired, achy, and ready for a hot shower as she walked toward the ranch’s lodge house.
Realizing she didn’t have her water bottle or her hat, she turned back to the range to collect them. She’d been in such a hurry to leave and was so busy watching him walk away that she’d left her things behind.
The guns were all packed away, and the men were getting in their trucks. She stood looking around at the empty range and the targets once again.
She didn’t want a gun. What she really wanted was her old life back, where she could just teach kindergarten, and not have to worry about buying or carrying a gun. But it wasn’t coming back. And that realization made her sad and tired.
There would be other range times with lessons, not just this one, but she couldn’t get excited about it. Maybe she’d see Travis again. Maybe she wouldn’t. She couldn’t ask about him or draw attention to the fact she found him attractive because she didn’t want to get in trouble or to get a lecture from Leah. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about men.
Usually, her days had centered around children. It was nice to be in an adult environment, around a handsome SEAL. She thought back to his wink. It was nice to not be just Ellen the teacher, which was how everyone saw her, but Ellen the woman.
When he looked at her and when he winked, she felt like a desirable woman. And that felt good.
As she turned to head back to the main house for her shower, her thoughts on the handsome SEAL, she decided she also needed a long nap. Lack of sleep was catching up with her and she would look better without the dark circles under her eyes. Tomorrow she’d start wearing makeup again so she wouldn’t look like a racoon.
He hadn’t seen her at her best.
Lately she’d been too tired to care what she looked like. Now she vowed to take better care of herself. First, to get more sleep. And second, to put more effort into her appearance. She glanced down at her t-shirt, one of her oldest. It was fine for working out and self-defense class and she didn’t care if the shirt tore. But it sure didn’t do anything for her appearance.
* * *
Travis had notedthe little woman, Ellen, who’d seemed so intimidated by the guns. She was a pretty lady with long dark hair and soft brown eyes who had that innocent wide-eyed thing going on, whose eyes could have been quite a draw, if he’d been looking for a woman. But he wasn’t. And they’d been warned not to date the women at the center who had all been attacked in the past and were now dealing with the aftereffects of their ordeal.
Leah had also warned the women might see them as heroes and put them on a pedestal looking for a man to save them, but they were here to learn how to save themselves. They wouldn’t do that if they started depending on the men. So, the men were only there to instruct not to fraternize.
Travis agreed with all that. He thought about Ellen as he walked to his truck and felt her eyes on his back, watching him. He hadn’t let on that he’d also been watching her, in between shooting instructions.
Any woman of his would damn sure learn how to shoot whether she was excited about guns or not. Because even if he wanted to be her constant protector, and the protector instinct was strong in him, he could not be by her side twenty-four seven.
He felt sure he could help Ellen get over what appeared to be a fear of guns if he had the chance. It hadn’t worked out this time. Next time it would.
That was all he’d do. Help her with her gun issues so she’d feel comfortable shooting. He wanted to be the one to do that and would step up. But nothing more. The last thing he needed was another full-time woman in his life.
She sure was a pretty little woman, though. A natural beauty.
He climbed in his truck and then headed to the Patterson Ranch. There was a Brotherhood meeting in an hour, and he wanted to talk to Hank before it started.
* * *
“Ellen,”Leah called to her the next morning as she walked into the kitchen to where Ellen stood by the coffeepot. “You’ve got a half hour private lesson on the gun range, before class today.”
“Just me?” Ellen frowned.
Why am I being singled out? Did I suck at shooting guns?
Though she wasn’t thrilled about shooting guns, she was competitive enough that she didn’t want to be the student in class who sucked at anything.
