Part 22 (1/2)

He had curly, baby fine blonde hair, two different colored eyes, one green and one blue, and a killer smile.

However, I knew as soon as he'd looked at me that there was more than what met the eye.

I could tell with just one look that Trance and Viddy were in love. Trance only had eyes for Viddy; just being around them made me feel like I was a voyeur.

They instinctively knew where the other was, even without glancing over at each other.

Radar had stuck to Viddy's side like glue for the last twenty minutes we'd been here.

”That's 'cause you can't see,” Adeline, Viddy's twin sister, said.

It was most obvious that the two of them were twins. It'd saddened me to hear that Viddy had limited eyesight; however, from what I could tell, she'd dealt with it just fine.

”Be nice, and don't start,” a deep, rumbled command came from behind us.

That would be Kettle.

He was large.

In fact, I would even go as far as saying he was ma.s.sive.

Tall, with dark brown hair and nearly translucent, pale blue eyes, he was hypnotic.

He could easily compete in the looks department with Trance.

No one held a candle to Cleo, though.

”Make me,” Adeline retorted.

I giggled as Kettle's eyes narrowed on his wife.

”Really?” Kettle asked with a tilt of his head.

”Uh, no?” Adeline back tracked.

He rolled his eyes and turned, but left with a parting shot. ”I didn't think so.”

When would men ever learn?

She started tiptoeing in his direction, coming to a stop about three feet away from him before launching herself at his back and reaching her arms over his shoulders to start digging her fingers into his armpits.

”Ack!” He roared.

Adeline held onto Kettle like a monkey while the man started doing everything in his power to get her off without actually using force.

”They're not always this weird,” Cleo said as he locked an arm around my neck and pulled me into his chest.

”Sure they aren't,” I teased good-naturedly.

I liked that he had friends that could be silly.

I was practically annoying when I was in 'one of those moods,' as my dad used to call it.

A wave of sadness. .h.i.t me as I remembered how I used to go into those hyperactive times, and then my dad would take me out to burn off the energy.

He was a gun smith.

Which was why I smiled slyly when Cleo had patiently showed me how to use a shotgun a little over a half hour ago.

Cleo knew my dad had been a gun smith.

Just who did he think helped test those guns out before my dad sold them?

They may have died ten years ago, but shooting was kind of like riding a bike.

You never forgot.

”Okay, what are we doing?” I asked after a few more minutes of the impromptu WWF show going on in front of me.

Cleo grinned at me. ”Can you pull that lever back?”

I looked where he was pointing at the skeet thrower and blinked. ”Well yeah, but I thought I was going to shoot?”

”Well, really we just brought y'all along so you wouldn't feel lonely. Now y'all have each other to talk to while we shoot, but it'd be nice if one of you would load the skeet and pull for us,” he said slowly.

I looked over at the two women with me, and they hid knowing smiles.

”So...you wanted me to come along with you so you could shoot with these two. Not for me to do it with you, do I have that correct?” I asked.

He nodded. ”Yep.”

I inhaled slowly. ”What if I wanted to shoot?”

”Can you shoot?” He asked in return.

I nodded.

”You can shoot...this?” He asked as he held up the shotgun for my inspection.

”Yep,” I agreed.

”And just who taught you that?” He asked suspiciously.

I wanted to smile, I really did, but I managed to hold it in check just for him.

”Show me what you got,” he said tauntingly.