Lord, did I ever!! He was a hottie on the football team that scored very well. Off the field, too.
"He came by looking for you about...six months ago? Arnold told him that you had joined a commune up in Northern California and weren't interested in meeting anyone who wasn't willing to devote their lives and their pocketbooks to some sort of alien almighty."
An alien almighty? That might have been funny had I not been so damned angry.
"Laura? Thanks for telling me all of this."
Laura stared at me with a puzzled looking expression as I removed my apron and set it on the kitchen counter.
"Do you mind finishing up in here for me? I have to fetch something outside."
Laura blinked a couple of times.
"Uh...sure Lauren. What are you going to do?"
I smiled at here before replying.
"I am going to go get my gun. Then I am going to shoot your husband and his brother."
I then turned around on my boot heel and left the kitchen through the side door, ignoring Laura's protests. Once in the barn, I went to office in there and went straight to the gun safe. Once there, I spun the combination knob on there, calmly stopping on the three numbers I needed to in order to open the door. I was known for my cool head under pressure after all. I looked at the vast weaponry there as I considered how gravely I wanted to injure my brothers.
Did I want to maim them? Yes. Did I want to kill them? Yes. Did I want to put them out of commission? No. I did not want to pull their weight hunting hogs for the next week or so. So, I decided on the airsoft gun pistol. Sure, I would have to pull the slide back for each shot, but if I timed it just right, I should be able to put the hurtin' on my meddling brothers. After checking the magazine, I closed the safe and spun the lock. It would do.
After grabbing my sunglasses off of the desk next to the safe, I left the office and the barn. I felt the wind behind me, whipping my long blond hair off of my back and around my face. Mentally, I made the calculations that would allow me to be accurate when I shot the two sons of bitches. Rounding the side of our ranch-style home, I found my brothers and my father talking to each other and not really looking around them. I then heard Tim laugh like a jack ass and decided that he would be my first target. I had already pulled back the slide back for the first shot, so he would not know what hit him until I shot him.
I was probably seventy feet away from him when I shot at his left, boot covered foot. Watching his face go from humor to pain delighted me in my soul. I pulled the slide back as I watched his blue eyes bug out from his face and blood rush from his neck to his black hairline. As he yelled, I looked for Arnold and shot him while he stared at Tim like an idiot. I got him on his right foot. I pulled the slide back again as Tim and Arnold both yelled like morons. In a panic, my dad turned around and faced me.
"Lauren Elizabeth McCoy! What in the hell has gotten into you?" he bellowed.
I was going to answer, but then Tim looked like he was about to run for cover. I shot him on his right foot and then pulled the slide back again. His yells went high-pitched then.
"Stop shooting!" yelled Arnold.
Sneering, I shot him on his left foot.
"Lauren! Put that gun down and explain yourself this instant!" demanded my father with angry blue eyes.
I approached them and pulled the slide back again, just in case. Aiming for Tim's family jewels got everyone to stop bellowing. Even Laura stopped yelling as she stood on the front porch.
"Who in the hell do you two think you are?" I yelled at them.
I watched my dad open his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. It was my time to talk now.
"I am twenty five years old! I am a grown woman! I can outshoot and outhunt you guys any day of the damned week! How dare you get into the way of my love life? Who gave you permission to turn away my suitors?"
That diverted my dad's attention from me and my shooting spree to my big, stupid brothers who stood there opening and closing their mouths like idiots.
"Cole Manning! Jackson Ricciardi! Who told you it was okay to play games with my love life?"
My dad shifted his weight on his feet as he regarded them.
"Cole Manning? The one who left for the Army? He's a good guy. What did you say to him?"
Arnold was positively chatty then. Maybe I should have shot him again.
"Yeah, dad. He is also stationed in Germany. Do you want him to drag your only daughter to Germany?"
My dad nodded at that. "That is a ways away."
"Exactly," replied Tim.
I shot him in the foot, making him yell again.
"Damnit, Lauren! Knock that off," yelled Arnold.
"I will not! I have had it with your meddling!"
My dad turned to face me then.
"Lauren, calm down. Your brothers are only trying to look out for you."
"Well, I don't need looking after, pa. Not one more hour and not one more day."
Suddenly tired, I put the gun down and turned back for the barn. After safely locking up the gun, I went back inside of the house and went to my bedroom. I stood there for a minute, staring at my closed closet doors. My art was in there. My secret art was in there. It shouldn't be that way. I then looked at my reflection in the mirror and spoke to the woman in there.
"It's time to go."
The pretty blond woman wearing a pink plaid shirt and blue jeans smiled back. With that image in my mind, I went to the hallway closet and pulled out two large suitcases from there and brought them back to my room to pack.
Chapter 3
I'd been sitting on my bed with a steno pad and a pen, making a list of what I would take with me and what would stay when I heard a knock on my door. I ignored it and went back to my list. A few seconds later, there was another knock accompanied by the sound of a twisting doorknob.
Sighing, I set my pad down and looked towards my doorway. Laura poked her head in my doorway and smiled.
"It's just me. Don't shoot." She'd raised her hands in surrender which made me smile.
"Come in. I'm not armed."
She smiled again and closed the door behind her. After taking a seat next to me, she looked down at my list. She then looked at the old suitcases next to my desk and then turned back to me.
"So you are heading out then, huh?"
"That I am, Laura." I replied with a nod.
"Don't leave in a rush. Don't leave mad."
I stood up and walked towards my closet, opening it up.
"Well, I am mad and it is about time."
"I don't debate that at all, Lauren. You just want to be sure that you aren't rushing into anything. Make sure you are getting the right place. Make sure that you are getting the right landlord. Make sure that you don't leave your family with very angry words the last few nights you live with them."
I hated that she was being so wise. I was supposed to be mad, and righteously so. I turned to face her.
"I am leaving, Laura."
"Tonight? On a Saturday night? What are you going to do? Stay at a hotel until you find a place. That doesn't sound very logical. And you are logical, Lauren. Calm under pressure too."
Darnit. She was charming me into staying.
"Why are you putting the brakes on me, Laura? Did Tim and my dad put you up to this?"
Her brow furrowed at that.
"No, they did not. I'm talking out of experience here, Lauren. I was on my own when I began dating your brother, after all."
Ugh. She was right. That was the final nail in the coffin. Slumping my shoulders, I sat down next to her again.
"Fine. I won't leave tonight."
She smiled at me and patted my shoulder. "Good. But that's not to say that we won't get online right now to look at rentals. That's also not to say that we won't get on the phone to schedule some appointments for tomorrow."
Feeling encouraged, I gave her a big smile. "You'll come with me?"
"I sure will. It's the least I can do after what my stupid husband did
."
Happily, we went to the office in the barn and looked at rentals online for the next hour. It was great to have an ally, I thought. I told her that and she winked at me.
"We girls have to stick together."
I felt good that night, I decided. I was sitting on our screened in porch while I drank a beer. Laura and I had scheduled three walk-thrus for the following day and I was excited. I'd even managed to ignore my brothers. My dad too. I decided that I was over trying to win him over on my moving out. One and a half beers later, the screen door opened and slowly closed.
It was Arnold I could tell, by the corner of my eye. I rolled my eyes and took another swig.
"Nice night we're having." he said.
I shrugged. He ignored my cold shoulder and sat down on the bench next to me. After a minute, he spoke again.
"Look - I'm sorry about the interference I've been running on your love life."
I didn't believe him as the apology sounded too hurried. I turned to face him and shook my head.
"Liar."
Arnold shook his blond head. "No. I mean it. Mostly."
I shook my head and took another swig of my beer. "You are such a jerk, Arnold."
I went back to looking at the sunset. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched his brow furrow.
"Hey. Maybe you need to have a little more faith in me and in Tim. We are only trying to look out for you."
I couldn't believe the idiot.
"For the millionth time today: I. CAN. TAKE. CARE. OF. MYSELF," I yelled at him.
"Shut up and listen, Lauren. You don't know shit about Jason Ricciardi! Maybe not even Cole Manning," he yelled.
"Then tell me and quit trying to protect me," I yelled back.
Arnold took a deep breath and then expelled it out of his nostrils.
"Jason Ricciardi is a man-whore. He hits up In Cahoots ever Wednesday and Thursday night looking for a girl to take home. He is mostly successful at that. He is also deeply in debt." He took a deep breath before continuing. "You are a pretty girl, Lauren. Everyone in Starling County knows that. But they also know that you make good money and stand to inherit a good bit of land someday."
I was so not expecting to hear that about Jason Ricciardi. My ire died a bit.
"Cole Manning was the same way right until he left for the Army. Who knows if he's changed?" He let that question hang in the silence. "I don't and neither do you."
"Fine. You have a point about Jason. But maybe I would have liked to find out about Cole on my own."
Arnold shrugged and tossed his hands up in the air.
"Fine. I'll give you that. But the truth is that you would only know the man he would show you while he was on leave. You don't know the man he is in Germany. You wouldn't know if he had changed or not."
Frustrated, I set my beer bottle down and turned to face him.
"I know that. That is what courtship is about, Arnold. You get to know someone. You get to decide if that person is compatible with you or not."
I could see that my argument was softening him. Sighing, I calmed myself too.
"You and Tim might have had good intentions and I appreciate that. But I have to be the one to decide who is suitable for me and who is not. That's not your job."
Arnold shrugged and took a sip of his beer before replying.
"Fine. We'll keep our noses out of your love life."
I smiled at him. "Thank you."
"But I am going to tell you when you are dating an asshole," he quickly added.
I laughed. "I expect no less."
He nodded and took another swallow of his beer. Just then, I noticed the curtains on the window above my head move. Great. My dad had been listening in on us. It was definitely the time for me to move out.
My brother and I sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.
"Hey. The guy conversation was not the reason why I came out here."
I turned to Arnold, waiting for him to continue. He smiled before speaking again.
"The maximum effective range on that air gun you shot. What is it?"
I smiled. "Sixty feet."
"How far were you from us?"
My smile widened. "At least seventy feet away."
Arnold laughed out loud at that and smacked his knee.
"You know, I'd be envious if I wasn't so damned proud of you. My little sister is a sharp shooter."
Feeling warmth in my chest, I reached over and squeezed his arm.
"Thank you, Arnold."
He nodded and stood up.
"Alright. Let's go."
"Where to?"
He looked at me like I was crazy.
"The firing line. Where else?"
Feeling game, I shrugged. "Why not?"
Twenty minutes later, we climbed off of our ATV's and headed towards the targets we had set up at the western side of our ranch. There was nothing for a couple of miles around us, so it was safe to shoot.
Arnold went up to a small shack with the generator and turned it on before turning on the flood lights around the range. It was kind of a redneck rig, we knew. But we didn't care. Maybe we were rednecks, after all.
We shot 9 mm hand guns before moving on to rifles and shotguns. I kicked Arnold's butt every single time. We sat on our ATV's for a few minutes, just before turning around to go home.
Arnold's face had a sneaky look to it. His eyes looked mischievous and he was having a hard time keeping his dimples hidden.
"What are you smilin' about over there?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Nothin'."
"Do you have a date with Mara tonight?"
Mara was one of my best friends. She was a rancher like we were and had her own little hog catching business. Sometimes, we went out to the bars at night. Sometimes, she came and gave us a hand when we had big jobs to do. During our last couple of jobs, I'd seen her and Arnold talk to each other a lot.
"Mara? A date with Mara? What would make you think that? Did she say that?"
I laughed out loud. I then smiled, as I had just received confirmation that my brother was into Mara. She was short just like I was, but was a voluptuous redhead. They were a good match, I thought to myself.
"No. But I've seen the way you guys look at each other."
My brother's eyes squinted and he opened and closed his mouth a few times. Shaking his head he said, "I've got nothing to say on that topic."
"Then what are you acting so weird about?"
He smiled again, looking confident.
"American Sharpshooter. The TV show."
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Is that something on the Outdoors channel?"
"Yeah. You mean you've never heard of it?"
I shrugged. "No. I don't watch TV as much as you do."
"I don't watch that much TV."
"You watch more TV than I do," I said before taking a swallow of my bottled water.
Arnold rolled his eyes before shaking his head.
"Whatever," he said as he threw his hands in the air. "I'm not debatin' our TV viewing habits. I'm talking about the TV show."
"What of it?"
"I think you should audition for it."
I laughed at him for a second, but then realized he was serious.
"Come again?"
"American Sharpshooter! You send in a video where you show them your chops and tell them a little about yourself. If you get selected, you go and compete against eight other shooters for a chance at forty grand."
I stared at him in shock.
"I'm serious, Lauren! I think you would be a shoe in! You are beautiful. You are an excellent shot. You hunt hogs for a living in a family business. They'll eat that shit up!" He said with a smile.
"Oh my Lord. You are serious."
Suddenly, I felt very nervous. I felt like my shooting was under a microscope. There was no way I could go on public television to show off my shooting skills.
"No way, Arnold. I'm good, but not that good. N
ot only that, there is no way I am dragging myself on a reality TV show. How tacky is that?"
"No, it ain't like that," he nearly yelled. "It's a reality show, but it's not seedy or tacky at all. You go in there, share a room with other female contestants and compete on something every day."
Arnold appeared to get more excited with every passing second; consequently, I grew more uncomfortable with every second that passed.
"Arnold, you are sweet for thinking of me like that, but I don't think that's for me..."
Arnold raised his hands in the air.
"So what? Who is born for shooting on a TV show? Nobody! But who can shoot really well? You can! You can also make forty grand! You can buy a house with that kind of money, Lauren."
Buy a house outright? Wow. That was tempting. Sure, I could build a place of my own on daddy's land, but wouldn't it be nice to get my own place out in town? With no strings attached? It sure was. Still, I was very uncomfortable with the idea.
"Arnold, there are bound to be better shooters than me on that show. I'd mostly likely lose."
I turned on my ATV, hopefully signaling that the conversation was over. Arnold turned his ATV on but kept talking.
"Then go for the experience, Lauren. You've never gone far from Texas. You'd meet other people. You'd get away from dad and us. You might even market Hogs-Be-Gone! Lord knows we'd love more business!"
Darnit, those were good points. I'd never been further from Texas than Oklahoma and Arkansas. I didn't know anyone that wasn't from Texas. Heck, if I was even only gone for three days it might prepare pa and Arnold for my moving out soon. And daddy might take to the idea if he thought it would bring us more business. I felt my resolve wavering. Heck, I felt excitement in my chest and heart. I put up a fight anyway, though.
"Arnold, I wouldn't even know how to audition!"
He knew he had me there. He fist pumped and then clapped before yelling out a howl.
"That is okay, Lauren! I know how. We'll come out here tomorrow night with my digital camera and we'll film you shooting. Maybe the next night we'll go out hogging and we'll film you then. Maybe we can put something in personal too - like why you like to shoot and what you would do with the money if you won."
I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.
"How long you been thinking about this, Arnold?"
Nice Shootin' Tex Page 2