Page 22 of Missing

“Thank you for explaining. And Doug, if you ever don’t want to talk about something, it’s okay to say so.”

“Noted.” I held my glass up and she tapped hers to mine.

We talked for a few more minutes. When I saw her look at the clock on her microwave, I asked, “Time to go?”

“It is.”

I hid my disappointed while I finished the last of my tea and rinsed out my glass.

“I had a great time today and would like to take you out to dinner.”

When she lifted her caramel eyes to mine, I held my breath, resisting the urge to brush a wayward curl off her face, while I waited for her to answer.

I’d been building up the courage to ask her out for the last three months, and now that we’d had our first date, there was no point pretending I wasn’t hooked.

“I’d like that.”

I smiled as I released my breath. I’d been worried she’d hesitate after my attitude earlier. Other than that, I thought the date had gone well, and believed she felt the same. I considered myself to be good at reading people, a necessary skill in my line of work, and a helpful one in everyday life. Usually I trusted my ability, but today was different.

Because you’re nervous.

“Good.” I couldn’t stop smiling. “Can I call you later to schedule?”

“Sure, Chase is in bed by seven-thirty,” she said as she walked me to the door, “so any time after that is good.”

I wanted to kiss her, feel her soft lips on mine, but it felt wrong to ask for one after a lunch date. Instead, I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to the back of it. “Thank you for a wonderful afternoon.”

“Thank you, Doug.”

#

It was still early, so I decided to go to the range and get in some trigger time. I went at least once a month, sometimes more if my schedule allowed.I’ll be happy when the SSI range is done.

The builders were making great time on the training building, having already laid the concrete foundation and put up the walls. A second set of contractors recently broke ground on the outdoor range, but it was a long, drawn-out process to build a hundred-yard range.

The indoor range would be a two-story, twenty-yard open range, allowing for everything from introduction classes to multiple level room clearing. The ranges were ambitious and would take another six to eight months to finish because SSI wasn’t taking out loans to pay for it.They don’t have to.The Parker County and Weatherford police departments had invested heavily in the training center, allowing them full use for their officers. SSI was footing the rest of the bill.

I stopped at home to grab my range bag, rifle, and training log.

After fifteen minutes of shooting, I assessed my targets.Not my best day. Most people would look at them and be happy, but I was capable of better. I’d let my mind wander. Never a good idea with a lethal weapon in your hands.

I took a few deep breaths and cleared my mind of all thoughts of Beth.

For the next half hour, I shot with the speed and precision I expected from myself.

The first thing I did when I got home was clean my guns. Afterwards, I jumped in the shower. My mind drifted to Beth as I lathered up— she looked beautiful in her sleeveless top, and slacks that accentuated her curvy hips.

An image of Beth wearing jean shorts and a loose-fitting American flag decorated tank at the Fourth of July BBQ flashed through my mind. My dick went hard.

I laughed at the memory—I’d come ‘this’ close to asking Jamie who the beautiful woman standing next to his Mom was. Though I would have left out the word beautiful because I wasn’t the type to broadcast my attraction.

Then I heard John yell. We were being rowdy while playing corn hole and aiming the bags at each other instead of the holes in the boards. It wasn’t until I saw Chase that I realized the beautiful woman was Beth. She looked different with sunglasses covering her eyes and her curly brown hair framing her face.

That was the first time I’d seen her curls, and I’d been dreaming about running my hands through them ever since.

I took care of myself in the shower, imagining my hands clutching her curls while she was on her knees in front of me.

After throwing on shorts and a t-shirt, I tossed the clothes I’d been wearing in the washer.

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