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Nora studied Bo as they waited for the elevator to reach the floor he’d selected.
“Basement?” she questioned, having just noticed which button was lit.
Bo smirked, “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course, I’ve just never been down to the basement.”
“Well then you’re in for a treat.” The doors separated and Nora followed Bo down the hall to a counter.
“This is the range desk.”
“What’s a range?”
“You’ll see.” To the officer he requested, “Can I have a .22? Give me my set of eyes and ears and an extra for the lady.”
“Yes, sir.”
And then it dawned on her. “Bo, is this a shooting range? You really think shooting a gun will give me stress relief?”
“Yes, I do. You trust me, remember?”
Nora took a deep breath, not totally convinced, but willing to give it a try. “This is safe, right?”
“Yes, I will show you everything you need to know, but the range is where the officers train, in a controlled environment. Protocols are followed to ensure safety for everyone. Now, there are a couple of ground rules to follow.”
After she nodded, he continued, “First, you have to wear eyes, or safety glasses, and ears, ear protection, every time you enter the range.”
Nora started to put the large earmuffs on that the officer had set on the counter, but Bo stopped her. “If you put them on now, you won’t be able to hear me talk.”
“Hmm, maybe I should get some for the house when Matthew has his music blaring,” she said, setting them back down.
“Second rule, only hold the gun when you intend to shoot it. If you have a question while we’re in there, set the gun down, barrel always pointed away from you, and step away.”
He went on to review a few more basics. “I’ll load the gun for you, but if you decide you want to learn more, I can show you how. For today, this is getting you comfortable shooting, and then its just target practice.”
“Okay, I think I’ve got it.”
They both put their goggles and ear protection on, and Bo grabbed the carrier that the range officer had prepared, handed her a roll of paper targets and headed toward the double door at the end of the hall.
“How did I ever not hear this down here, it’s loud!” she yelled.
“The room has built in insulation to limit the noise, and there is a caliber limit for the indoor range. There’s another range, an outdoor one, out off the Lake Road for larger weapons.”
Bo led Nora to a lane, set up a target and demonstrated the process. He shot a round with his own service weapon, and then set it down and motioned for Nora to come forward. “The gun I brought for you is a lower caliber so it won’t be as loud or have as much kick as mine. Are you ready to try?”
Nora nodded and tried to mimic the posture she had seen Bo use just moments before.
“Hold on,” she heard a muted voice call. She set the gun down and turned to see Bo stepping up to join her. “You need to adjust your stance a bit.” Nora assumed because she wouldn’t be able to hear him, he set his hands on her hips and then moved one leg down the front of one of her legs to tell her to push that leg back. Once he was satisfied with the lower half, he stood at her side and adjusted her arm angle. Bo was completely focused on what he was doing, but all she could think of was how her body was tingling with awareness and how she hoped Bo didn’t notice. Then their eyes clicked together.
It had been many years since they had been man and wife, but those years they had shared together had been so incredibly intimate and she’d been able to tell at a glance just what mood he was in. When their eyes locked just now, the expression from Bo was surprise, and then humor, like whatever had surprised him he had found funny. She knew without a doubt that he had seen the sexual arousal on her face.
Nora held her mortification in and refocused on his lesson and on remembering what he had shown her about the right way to use her weapon. Bo had been right, once she was used to the feel, the noise didn’t bother her and she made some decent shots. He’d also been right about the stress relief. To be accurate and hit the target, you had to focus on your stance, lining up the site on the gun, holding the safety, breathing, and then actually pulling the trigger. There was no room left in her brain to think about much else, which in this case was a good thing.
Bo motioned for her to put her weapon down, and then tugged at her elbow. He signaled to one of the men that he would be right back and escorted her from the room. Out in the hall, he pulled off his safety gear and ushered Nora into an empty conference room.
“I thought you said you were dealing with stress?” Though his tone was caring, she could hear the confusion in his voice.
“There are all kinds of stress, Bo. I’d really rather not talk about it.”
“So you’re just going to ignore it?”
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing to ignore, or fix…or anything.”
“So the expression on your face when we were in there was just—“
“None of your business.”
“Maybe so, but it was damn attractive.”
She looked up in surprise. “It was?”
“And impossible to resist.”
“I highly doubt that!” she scoffed.
“You doubt the word of a well trained member of Llanview’s finest?”
Nora stepped back, eager to pull back from his teasing tone. “Are we going back in there to finish what we started?”
“Anytime you’re ready.”
“I meant target practice.”
“Of course, that’s what I meant too.”
Nora rolled her eyes and walked out of the room and back to the range, leaving Bo with a grin.
To be continued...
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