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He nodded and moved toward the back of the house and the shooting range. His shoulders felt stiff, and he still had that nagging heaviness weighing on him. Damned if he knew what it was. His mouth watered as he entered the kitchen. "Supper smells good, Helissa."
She turned from the stove and smiled at him. “Roast pork, potatoes, carrots, and apple pie for dessert.”
“I’m gonna weigh a ton when I get back home.”
She laughed, and he felt joy at the sound.
He continued on through the garage and to the shooting range Aidyn’s parents had set up for them. It was a blessing having one on site. They’d always had one back home in Lynyrd Station and it was one of those things you got used to but thought little about. When they first got here, they set up a temporary range at the construction site. What they found was they seldom used it because there was always something going on. Plus, after a few months, the rubber and sand they shot into had to be cleaned out. That was a tremendous pain.
As the lights flickered on, he pulled his practice gun from its shelf and set about loading the magazine and checking his gun over. Donning his protective eyewear and noise-cancelling earbuds, he stepped up to the shooting lane, added a target to the clip and pushed it back to fifteen feet.
The first squeeze of the trigger he felt tight. Rolling his head on his shoulders, he inhaled deeply and slowly released it. Hold, aim, shoot, breathe. Repeat.
His first magazine of thirteen rounds emptied, and he refilled. Thirteen more and he’d call it a day.
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Laying his gun in its case, he pulled his earplugs out and chuckled when he saw the name on his phone.
“Hey, Mom.”
Her laughter on the end of the line relaxed his shoulders.
“Hey, sweetheart, how are you?”
He grinned and leaned on the table with his butt. “What’s up?”
“I miss you and wanted to touch base. How are you?”
“I’m good. We’ve gotten a small reprieve here from the BRR. But it looks like not a complete reprieve.”
“They sure are stubborn.”
He laughed. “That they are.” He inhaled and let a breath out. “How’s Dad? How are you?”
“Dad’s good. Dani’s getting married.”
“She is? Wow, to Rhys, or did she find someone else along the way?”
“Spencer! You make your sister sound like a tramp.”
“I did not. I don’t think she’s a tramp at all. Last time I spoke to her, though, she seemed hesitant about Rhys.”
She was hesitant about Rhys, but she said Rhys feared her family. Tough shit, he’d have to deal if they were getting married.
“She told me Rhys is afraid of us.”
He laughed. “Yeah, that just popped into my head, too. Too bad. If they get married, he’ll need to deal and if he does anything to hurt her, he’ll know genuine fear for sure.”
“Spencer! Don’t go scaring him off.”
“There’s no better way to find out if he’ll stick around than to make him work for it.”
His mom was quiet for a long time, then she burst out laughing. His mom was a tough cookie. She was beautiful and smart, too. But she wasn’t a shrinking violet at all.
“That’s true!”
Spencer stood and paced the floor a few steps in one direction, then turned and paced back.
His mom’s laughter faded. “Dad and I are thinking about making the trip down to see you. When is a good time?”
