Page 32 of Kilts and Kisses at Highland Hall (Kilts and Kisses #1)

‘What is that?’

Bex stared at the contraption in front of her, trying to work out what it was.

They had walked away from the castle, down a thin path that weaved through the trees and bushes, until it opened onto an expanse of fields by the loch.

From there, she had followed Duncan over several stiles and even through one kissing gate until he’d come to a stop a short way away from where the object stood and put down his bags, as if he’d expected her to understand what was going on.

She’d never seen anything like it before.

There was some sort of motor, by the looks of things, and six stacks of little round discs.

‘It’s a clay trap.’

‘A what?’

Duncan’s answer had left her absolutely none the wiser.

‘For clay pigeon shooting,’ he expanded. That, Bex had heard of.

During her years at the accountancy firm, Bex had been on hundreds of those damn workplace retreats where she was required to do archery and axe-throwing, normally after filling in endless questionnaires which resulted in being teamed up based on whatever colour, animal, or other personality profile was assigned.

But she’d never done anything like this.

She’d never even held a gun, let alone aimed one at something that was moving.

‘I’m not sure I’ll be any good at it,’ she said hesitantly.

‘Really? I get the impression you’re the type of person who’s good at everything.’

A light laugh escaped her. ‘Okay, I am good at a lot of things, but that’s normally because I use common sense and logic. I’m not sure that’s going to work here.’

‘You’d be surprised. Besides, I’m here to help you. Let’s give it a go. As long as you’re up for it. I mean, you can always go back to the study and keep working on those accounts if you want?’

His smirk was infuriating, not to mention attractive. Of course she didn’t want to go back into the study. It was stunning out here and the crisp clean air was a far cry from the stagnant, dust-filled atmosphere she had been working in all week.

‘Okay,’ she said after a pause. ‘But if I’m not any good, then I’ll blame you for being a terrible teacher.’

‘Of course you will,’ he replied. ‘Now, protection first.’

‘Protection?’

From out of his bag, he pulled two pairs of fawn-coloured defenders.

‘May I?’

Bex nodded, assuming Duncan was going to hand her the ear defenders, but instead, he moved closer towards her, raised his hands and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ears.

‘Hopefully these fit okay,’ he said, the gravelly tone in his voice resonating all the way through her.

Once again, she nodded, having apparently lost the ability to speak.

‘So before we fire the clays, we need to work on your position and mounting the gun. Now, be careful not to pull the trigger. I’ve just loaded. ’

A flurry of nerves cascaded through her. She’d never considered herself clumsy before. But then, she’d never been given a loaded shotgun to hold before, either.

‘So, place your left hand here,’ Duncan said.

His voice was a gentle, warm whisper in her ear as he rested his palm on the back of her hand.

Bex tried to ignore the tingle that was spreading on that side of her face and focus on listening to what he was saying.

But it wasn’t easy. She just seemed to dissolve into his lilting accent.

‘Great, and now you’re going to lift it up, so that your cheek bone is lying flat against it there, that’s it.

You don’t need to tilt your head. You’ve got it. ’

Bex wasn’t aware she had tilted her head.

Actually, she wasn’t aware of any movements her body was doing at all, and she sure as hell wasn’t in control of them.

It was taking all her willpower not to be distracted by the constant shivers running down her spine as Duncan’s chest pressed up against her back.

‘Sorry, but I need to get this close to do it properly,’ he said, as if he was reading her mind.

‘Really?’

‘Well, it’s definitely the easiest way of doing it, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t picked something that meant I’d get to be close to you. Just tell me if you want to move.’

He was giving her a way out, but more than that, he was reading her. Seeing if she wanted him close to her the same way he did.

‘If this is the best way to learn, then I’ll just have to cope,’ she said, trying to stop the smile from flickering on her lips.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll only hold you like this until you’ve got the hang of it. You need to be able to feel the recoil and allow your body to move without losing control.’

‘Right,’ Bex said, wishing her voice didn’t sound quite so breathy. ‘Of course.’

‘Now, just squeeze there. That’s all you’re doing, squeezing gently.’

‘There’s nothing to shoot at,’ she said, forcing herself to swallow. It may have been summer, but even so the heat was stifling.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll get the hang of this first, then I’ll do the clays,’ Duncan said, still holding her close. ‘Just squeeze a little more.’

Finally, Bex did as instructed and pulled the trigger.

The force with which the gun recoiled was far stronger than she’d expected, and she found herself pushed back into Duncan’s chest. A rush of adrenaline bolted through her, though she didn’t know if it was from firing a gun or the fact that his body was so close.

‘How did that feel?’ Duncan asked.

‘How did…?’ She took a second to realise he was talking about the gun, and not his arms around her. ‘Good,’ she said, her pulse still pounding against her ears. ‘I mean, yes, yes, that was… yes, good.’

‘Okay, right, well, I’m going to try letting a clay go now.’

In her flustered state, she had stepped away from Duncan, yet it was only as he moved across to the trap that she felt that distance between them.

‘The key is to make sure you keep the gun mounted like I showed you,’ he said. ‘The clay’s going to go up in the air, and you’re going to follow it with your eyes and your gun. Keep moving them together, and when you feel ready, squeeze that trigger again. Ready?’

‘Probably not,’ she replied truthfully.

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

The first shot was a bust. As the small disk rose through the air, Bex continued following it, keeping the gun in the position Duncan had shown her, waiting for the moment she felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger.

Only just when she thought she was ready, the clay slowed and began its descent, and suddenly she was all off balance.

In a rash attempt to save herself from failure, she swung the shotgun down, losing sight of the clay as she finally pulled the trigger.

‘I think it’s safe to say I’m not a natural at this,’ she said.

‘That was your first attempt,’ he said. ‘You just need to go for it sooner. Let’s reload and go again.’

Bex followed every instruction Duncan gave her to a tee, and after twenty minutes of hit and misses, she struck three clays in a row. After that, they paused to eat the sandwiches he had brought with him, then they started again.

Straight off the bat, Bex hit four shots, but then it started going downhill.

‘I think this is where we have to end it,’ she said, having missed her third consecutive clay. ‘I think I’ve peaked.’

‘You’re just tired. I think you’re a natural.’ Duncan grinned, taking the gun from her and holding out his hand for the ear defenders, too.

‘No, you don’t.’ Bex laughed back.

‘No, okay, maybe not a natural, but I think with a bit of work you wouldn’t be bad at this.’

Bex looked out into the sky, at the miles and miles of blue. ‘So, do you shoot other things too?’ she said. ‘I mean, like pheasants or deer?’

‘No, that’s not my thing,’ Duncan said, crinkling his nose. ‘Strange, I know, for a country boy, but I’m perfectly happy with the clays.’

A warmth rose through Bex at the thought of this burly man with his giant cat and aversion to shooting living things. He was full of surprises, that was for sure.

‘So, given that I helped you this morning, that means I’ve almost worked off my five days, right?’

‘You didn’t help,’ Bex said. ‘You brought me gifts and stopped me from doing work. Technically, because of you, I’m behind where I would have been. Anyway, the five days just restarted.’

‘What?’ Duncan’s jaw dropped, eyes widening. ‘Why?’

‘Well, because of this,’ she said, gesturing to where they were standing.

‘This?’

‘This. This was absolutely a date,’ she said. ‘We went somewhere, just the two of us, we did something fun together, and you brought me food. That’s a date.’

‘Oh, Barker, this was not a date,’ he said. ‘Trust me. When you and I are on a date, you will know.’

‘Is that right?’

The butterflies were swarming in her stomach again, trying to push her towards him. She was an arm’s length away at most. A few small steps and she could be pressed up against his chest.

‘Well, I’m booking a table for Friday,’ Duncan said, breaking her stream of thoughts before she could do anything stupid. ‘I’m taking you for dinner.’

Dinner with Duncan. Was that what she wanted? She knew his situation, and Lorna had specifically warned her off, but really, how well did she know Lorna? It wasn’t like they were close friends; they had just met.

Bex stepped back, shaking her head as she moved. No, that wasn’t the type of person Lorna was. Besides, she had already arranged to meet her again. Next Friday.

‘No can do, I’m afraid,’ she said, leaning in. ‘I’m going out with your sister then. Lorna said it’s the only evening she’s free.’

‘Oh, is that right?’

‘Yes.’ Relief billowed through Bex at having a justifiable reason to say no to Duncan’s request, without having to find any willpower of her own. Yet as the smirk rose on his lips, she suspected she might not have got out of the situation quite as easily as she’d hoped.

‘I guess I’ll just have to check with her if I can come then, won’t I?’ he said. ‘And just so you know, Lorna never says no to her big brother.’ With that, he slipped the gun back into its bag, flashed her another smile, then began walking back up towards the lodge.