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The sheets next to me were cold when I woke, and I could hear Jimmy in the shower. I was more than a little sad I’d missed him exiting the bed. All that beautiful skin on display, and I missed it. If I couldn’t touch or do, you’d think I could at least look. I had a very pretty husband, and it had to be some kind of crime not to enjoy him. I stared at the ceiling, contemplating the various charges. Failure to yield to a hot body. Attempting to elude sexy times. Aggravated assault on my panties. Hijacking my hormones. I sighed. Listing his offenses wouldn’t get me any closer to enjoying the crimes.

I made coffee and smiled as he joined me in the kitchen. Button-down plaid shirt, tan slacks, and a baseball hat. It was a look. He was carrying a camo bag I didn’t recognize. Earmuff style hearing protection was clipped around the handle.

“What’s that?”

“My firearm. Today’s range day. I practice every week. I have to qualify with a firearm if I make it into an investigation role. You up for coming with me?”

I controlled my expression with an effort. “To the gun range? Not my thing.”

“Have you ever tried?”

I shook my head. “No. My dad and brothers own them, but I’ve never been interested.”

“Do you know basic safety?”

I paused, then shook my head. “Honestly, no. I want nothing to do with guns.”

I’d seen too many headlines about unintended consequences. Or intended ones. Nothing about them appealed.

“You realize I may need to carry a firearm for work, and I need to store them here at home in my lockbox.”

I nodded. “I accept that, and I’m glad you’re responsible. Doesn’t mean I need or want to use one.”

“No, but I want you to know the safety basics. I secure them, but you should be able to safely handle them. I don’t want you to be intimidated by them. Or me.” He searched my face. “Come with me today. I’ll give you a crash course.”

There was a mountain of paperwork I could be doing, wrapping up my client insurance billing for the month. Since some insurance companies took forever to pay claims, staying on top of billing them was key. Then I thought of spending more time with Jimmy. I didn’t want to admit he had a point. My family’s hunting rifles weren’t the same as a gun used in a professional capacity. I didn’t want to be nervous every time I saw the lockbox in our closet. I nodded. “Let me get dressed.”

I showered and slipped into jeans and a dark T-shirt before applying some quick makeup. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I’d never have to do it again. I glanced at the stacks of boxes as I met Jimmy in the living room. Those boxes weren’t unpacking themselves, and my insurance billing couldn’t generate income until I finished it.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

It was a short ride to the range, and I was relieved the appearance didn’t match my preconceived picture. It was a clean, modern building. A steady stream of mostly men came into the building while I filled out the range’s waivers. This close to the military base, the range was busy.

I watched a safety video and signed my life away before Jimmy took me into a training room with inert weapons. He went over the basic rules of range safety, then helped me practice ejecting the clip and clearing the chamber to ensure a gun was unloaded and safe. His fingers wrapped around mine, and he showed me the basics of a secure grip before walking with me to the target and using a mock laser gun to practice my aim.

“Very good,” he said, as I showed I could sight and hit what I was aiming at.

“Am I done now?” I asked as I stepped back from the practice line.

He laughed. “We haven’t even made it out to the range with the real thing.”

“And I’m totally fine with that. This laser gun thingy is more my speed. You were able to show me the safety basics, right? I don’t need to actually shoot.”

He watched me carefully. “If that’s really how you feel, that’s fine. You don’t have to shoot, but I still need to get some practice in. It might make you feel better to practice a few times with the real thing.”

Or not. Still, he needed to practice for work. His life might depend on it. “I’ll come watch you.”

We slipped on our ear and eye protection, and he grabbed his gear and target before we walked through the double doors to the range area. We paused in the middle to let the outer door close, and when he pushed open the inner door, I was accosted by the sharp report of gunfire.

Three of the eight practice bays were already occupied. Jimmy walked us to an empty bay and stapled up his target before sending it out onto the range with the controls. He removed his ammo and set it on the table, following it with his gun, muzzle pointing down range, clip ejected, and chamber open. I could see the gleam of a real bullet loaded in his clip, and my stomach churned. Something about it looked more sinister than the plastic ones I’d practiced with in the training room.

When he was all set, he turned to me. “You sure you don’t want to try?”

I shook my head.No, thank you.The laser gun had been okay, but the real thing didn’t appeal.

“Okay, I’ll get my rounds in, then we can go. You’re welcome to stay here with me, or if you want to watch the others too, there’s a stool back there.” He gestured over his shoulder.