“What’s your plan then?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I made a plan for the other night, and it was a disaster. I’m thinking this time, I just go with it.”
“Do you plan on telling him someday?”
Deep in her heart, Dani knew she would have to tell Cole, but her protective instinct with her boys was impossible to ignore. Could she trust Cole? She wanted to think she could, but she needed toknowit. He’d lied when he broke up with her—Megan had snooped and there had been no other woman. Then he’d quit his Texas Ranger job a few months after she went to New York. She’d begged him to do that after the accident, but he’d refused. And of course there was the letter she’d sent about a week before the boys were born, asking him to call her so they could talk about what had happened. She’d meant that as an open door. All he would’ve needed to do was walk through it. But he hadn’t. He’d simply left it to close on its own.
“When I tell him, it’ll be for the boys’ benefit, not his. I gave Cole plenty of chances, and he hasn’t done much good with any of them.”
“But he did kiss you. Does that make you think he wants to get back together?”
“No. It makes me think he enjoys kissing me, which does nothing to fix the past.”
As Dani pulled into the drive at the Royal Gun Club, she realized she’d managed to avoid the topic of Rich, but she knew she was going to have to bring it up at some point. She couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room forever. Megan didn’t always like to talk about the things that made her vulnerable, but how could she not be feeling that way? She’d married a man who was assuming someone else’s identity, and that man had, in turn, killed her brother. Every nerve in her body had to be raw right now. She was hiding it well, too, which only made Dani worry more.
“I sort of hate to ask this, but did the Rich situation precipitate the gun purchase?” Dani asked as she and Megan walked through the parking lot toward the sprawling one-story cedar-clad building housing the firing range.
“I need to protect myself. It’s most likely that he killed my brother. There’s no telling what he’s going to do next, or who he might go after just to get what he wants.”
“That’s some scary stuff.” Dani could only imagine what Megan was enduring. Dani might’ve felt betrayed by Cole, but what she’d gone through didn’t come close to this. “Are you going to keep the house?” Add that to the list of nightmares Megan was currently living—sleeping in the same house where she and her lying “husband” had once lived as a happy couple.
“Will thinks I should move to the ranch for my personal safety. I don’t want to move. I’ll feel like I’m letting Rich win if I do that.”
Just outside the main entrance to the building, Dani put her arm around Megan and pulled her close. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll feel better once I pull the trigger.” Megan patted Dani on the back and stepped back. “Plus. I’ll be honest. Will’s a little too tempting and I’m not ready to go there. The last thing I need is romance.”
Dani wasn’t surprised. How could Megan not be attracted to the real version of the man she thought was her husband? “You do what’s best for you.”
Dani and Megan walked inside and made their way to the reception desk for the indoor firing range. As a member, Megan had already completed the necessary paperwork, but Dani was asked to sign a waiver and present identification. She decided to rent a gun so she could shoot as well, choosing the same model Megan had bought, minus the pink pearl handle.
“Are you two sisters?” the man behind the counter asked.
Dani and Megan looked at each other, each trying hard not to roll their eyes. They used to get this all the time in high school. Even though Megan had blue eyes and Dani’s were brown, they were nearly the same height, both with long dark hair. “We’re not, but people ask us that all time.”
“We might as well be sisters,” Megan said. “We tell each other everything.”
The man behind the counter simply nodded. “You’re free to go through the airlock. You have lanes five and six.”
They put on their ear and eye protection and headed in. There was only one other person in the range and it appeared as though they were packing up. Dani got settled in her lane, arranging her ammunition to one side, placing the gun on the ledge pointing downrange and carefully loading the magazine just as her father had taught her years ago. As a police officer, he’d been thorough about gun safety, drilling it into her head. She’d found it a bit annoying as a teenager, but she could appreciate it now.
Both women sent their targets downrange and began shooting. Dani was impressed with this little gun. It fit perfectly into her hand and had very little kickback. She had to admit that she was proud of her aim, too. She hadn’t lost it after all these years. Between reloads, she watched to see how Megan was doing. Shot after shot, she hit close to dead center of the target, the usual outline of a faceless man. Wherever Richard Lowell was lurking these days, he’d better give her a wide berth.
Dani used up her practice ammunition and stood back, watching Megan as she kept going. She waited for Megan to quit, or even just notice her, but she didn’t. She kept reloading round after round. Megan’s shoulders were tense. Her jaw was set with determination. After about ten minutes of this, Dani noticed that Megan was trembling as she went to reload. Dani stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Megan jumped and pulled off her earmuffs. “What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”
“No, honey. Everything is just fine, I hope. But if you don’t slow down, you’re going to cut that target clean in two.”
Megan’s brow was glistening with sweat. Her eyes were wild. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it from her lips. “I think I need to get out of here.”
“Good idea. Let’s scoot.” Dani gathered her things and met Megan at the door. She turned in the gun she’d rented, and they made their way outside.
As soon as they were back in fresh air, Megan leaned over and rested her hands on her knees, like she was exhausted. “I feel like I’m losing it. Some times it feels like somebody is trying to squeeze the life out of me.”
Dani again went to comfort her. “You’re grieving, honey. You lost your brother. Your marriage isn’t what you thought it was. Honestly, I’m surprised you’re even able to get out of bed in the morning and go to work. I don’t know if I could do that.”
Megan straightened and held her hand to her chest, taking more deep breaths. “It’s not so much what he did to me. It’s Jason. My brother is gone. My sweet, amazing brother. He had his whole life ahead of him and he’s gone. And my niece, Savannah, not only had to lose her mom, she’s lost her daddy, as well. It’s just not fair, Dani. It’s not fair.” The tears rolled down Megan’s cheeks and Dani knew that her best friend was in agony. Megan never cried. She was always tough about everything.
