“Are you going far?”
“Just up the road.”
“I’m going to skip the plastic then. It’s just a pain, and I can fluff the bow real nice with some pretty tissue paper for you.” In a flurry of scissor snips and wispy ribbon, she had that bouquet looking fit for a beauty queen in about three seconds flat. “Tada! Just have your lady friend plop them in a vase, and you’ll be all set.”
“You’ve done that before,” Randy teased.
“A couple times. I love growing and arranging flowers. It’s my thing. And if you’re looking for something fun to do we have a sunflower maze on our farm. You can ask anyone for directions.”
“Well, thank you. I think she’ll really enjoy these.”
He paid and left her a tip on the counter for the extra care with the flowers, while she helped the next person in line.
He headed out of the parking lot and down the street with the flowers on the dash.
It was basically one street of businesses, but it looked like they had pretty much all they needed. Randy passed the sign to get to the fire station, two churches, and the restaurant Natalie had mentioned. It was a couple miles up a quiet country road before he got to the curve in the road. He turned on his blinker and slowed to look for the unmarked lane. He stoppedand opened the pole gate, and closed it before he went on. His truck shifted down as he climbed the hill.
The incline was steep before the trees finally parted, and the road widened. Randy followed the path, wondering if this much seclusion was more than Natalie had bargained for. He didn’t know too many women who would opt into something like this, but if he knew one thing about her, it was that she was determined.
She was right, it was a primitive trail back to the bridge.
He pulled his truck right next to hers.
Randy got out of the truck, and Natalie was already heading toward him across the bridge. He lifted his head in a nod, her smile contagious.
“Good morning!” She waved frantically.
He leaned back into the truck and pulled the flowers from the dash.
Her mouth dropped open. “You brought me flowers?”
He shrugged, questioning whether it was as good an idea as he’d thought at the time. “They were pretty. The lady said sunflowers were inherently happy. I thought you’d enjoy them.”
She took them and pressed her nose into the bouquet. “I love them. They are happy. I’m happy. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was an awkward hesitation, and he rushed to fill the vacancy. “So, I brought guns. Several of them, and targets. I thought it would be a good way to measure which was a better fit.”
“Cool. What can I carry?”
He opened the back door, shifted the rifle case onto his shoulder, and handed her a pack of small round targets, then somelife-sized human silhouette targets. “I know you won’t be shooting people, but we don’t carry a lot of bear targets at the police range. This is what they had.”
She laughed. “Well, when a bear stands up, they are pretty much the size of a man, aren’t they?”
“For your sake, I hope there aren’t any that big out here, but you’ll be in good shape if we can get you to hit any of these targets. It takes practice.”
“Like anything.”
“Pretty much.”
“Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you my place, and then we’ll figure out where the best place to practice shooting is.”
“Sounds good.” The narrow bridge crossed over a babbling stream. His work boots echoed against the planks, or maybe that was his heart pounding. He hadn’t been this nervous since, well, maybe forever, but darn if he didn’t feel like a schoolboy today. Unprepared, confidence waffling, and not quite sure what to say or do. He followed behind her across the bridge. There was a pavilion-type building across the way, probably where the hunters had tied up their deer and skinned them, dressed them out. A hunter’s paradise for sure.
“The cabin is just around this break in the tree line,” she said.
She looked cute in blue jeans and a three-quarter-sleeve T-shirt in bright orange. He wondered if she’d been trying to go for a blaze-orange safety look or if it had been an accident. “Wow, you really are tucked away.”
