Kayla & the Rancher, Paige Tyler [story read aloud TXT] 📗

Cord, rifling through his things couldn’t be further from her mind.

Cord got back just as the sun was setting, and she could tell from the

expression on his face that things hadn’t gone well in town.

“What is it?” she asked.

He glanced at her as he hung his hat on a peg by the door. “That damn sheriff is good for nothing,” he told her. “If he’s not in Jeffries’ pocket, then he might as well be.”

“He wouldn’t do anything?” she asked in surprise.

Cord scowled. “Said he couldn’t prove Dalton Jeffries was behind the

shooting, even though everyone in this town knows he is. Hell, every rancher in the area has been harassed by Jeffries and his thugs at some point.”

Her brow furrowing, she hugged her arms around her middle. “What do we do

then?”

“Protect ourselves,” he said without hesitation. “Which means that you need to learn how to use a gun.”

Her eyes widened. “A gun?” she protested. “But I’ve never even held one.”

“Which is why I’m going to teach you,” he told her. Coming over to where she stood, he put his hands on her shoulders and gazed down at her. “Most of the time you’re alone here while I’m out on the ranch, and I don’t like the idea of you not knowing how to protect yourself.”

She chewed on her lower lip. “Do you real y think Dalton Jeffries would

purposely come after me?”

Cord’s mouth tightened. “He doesn’t exactly hold women in high regard. So, yes, I certainly think he would come after you if it got him what he wanted.”

The next day, she and Cord rode out to a section of the ranch where there

was a large hill. Tethering the horses to a tree, they let the animals graze while Cord instructed her on how to use a pistol.

“This is a single-action revolver,” he explained, holding the weapon to show her. “Which means that you have to pull back the hammer before you pull the trigger.”

He had placed several tin cans along the hillside a short distance from where they stood, and Kayla stood back while Cord demonstrated. She watched as

he thumbed back the curved portion he called the hammer, and then carefully took aim before squeezing the trigger. The gunshot echoed off the

surrounding hills, and Kayla jumped at the sound. The tin can he’d targeted fell off the piece of wood it had been sitting on.

“It’s louder than I thought it would be,” she observed when he turned to her.

He nodded. “Here,” he said, holding out the gun to her, butt first. “You try.”

She eyed the pistol warily, but then reached out and took it. It felt awkward and heavy in her hands. As she turned to face the tin cans, Cord stepped

around behind her to put his arms on either side of hers. It was difficult to concentrate on anything with him standing so close, and her gaze was

transfixed on his hands as he slowly lifted her outstretched arms and helped her aim at one of the cans.

“Okay,” he said, his voice soft in her ear. “Now, thumb back the trigger.”

She did as he instructed, trying to hold the gun steady, but it was shaking all over the place even with Cord supporting her hands.

Behind her, Cord nodded. “Good. Now, take aim, take a deep breath and let it out slowly, then slowly squeeze the trigger when you’re ready. Don’t jerk it.”

Easier said than done, Kayla thought. She never realized that there were so many steps involved in firing a pistol. And it didn’t help to have Cord standing so close to her. She could feel the contours of his body pressing up and down the length of her. Concentrating hard, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She tried to keep her eyes on the target, but instead she shut them tightly in anticipation of the noise, and squeezed the trigger.

The revolver jumped in her hand, which in turn made her jump, and she

would have dropped the pistol if Cord’s hands hadn’t been supporting hers.

Afraid to look, she turned her head to talk to Cord. “Did I hit anything?” she asked.

Soft laughter drifted to her ear. “I’m pretty sure it’ll it hit the ground...someday.

If it doesn’t hit a bird first.”

Her eyes flew open and she gave him a sheepish look. “You don’t think...?”

He laughed again. “No. At least you didn’t drop the gun,” he said, and then added. “I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. It wasn’t bad for your first time. But you might want to try keeping your eyes open next time.”

Kayla blushed. Lifting the revolver again, she aimed it at one of the cans and slowly squeezed the trigger. She still jumped a little, but her hand was

steadier this time. Keeping her eyes open definitely helped, too. Though she didn’t hit the can she’d been aiming for, she was at least able to see where the bullet hit when some dirt kicked up along the hillside.

The next few shots were the same and Cord had to reload so that she could

try again. After putting more bullets in the pistol, he once again took up his position behind, which only made it more difficult to concentrate, and she couldn’t resist rubbing her bottom up against him in between shots.

“Hey,” Cord admonished gruffly, lightly smacking her behind. “This is serious stuff. Pay attention.”

Knowing full well the effect that she was having on him, Kayla only smiled as she aimed at her target again. This time, the bullet pinged against the can, knocking it off its perch, and she laughed with delight.

She turned to see Cord grinning at her. “Maybe I should spank you more

often,” he said.

Blushing at his teasing, Kayla turned back to try her hand at shooting the rest of the cans. Much to her delight, she managed to hit all of them, and when