Page 62 of Give Me a Shot

“That was a very colorful necklace of Maddie’s that fell out of your truck the other day. Did she make it?” she asked.

Mo wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.

“You…you don’t want to ask me anything else about rowing?” he asked.

“No,” she said, drinking again.

He was a little off-kilter. Any time it came up, he was inundated with questions until he felt like he was going to drown. It must have shown on his face. She turned to face him completely.

“That subject will never come up between us again. You said it hurts. I’d hazard a guess that if you’re willing to say that, it means the subject cuts deep enough to cause you physical pain. It seems like HSPs need to maintain wider boundaries than other people, and I want to respect yours. So unless you feel like saying something, I’ll never mention it. Never refer to it,” she said. “And I’m not going to talk about it with a soul.”

He wasn’t sure how to describe what he felt. It was big and warm, and it filled him from head to toe.

“Thank you, Jess,” he said softly.

“You’re welcome, Mo.” She turned a little to watch the band playing in the distance.

Chapter Fifteen

Jess

Maybe this Ren Faire silliness could grow on her. Out in the expansive field behind the Folk School, Jess loudly counted out eight paces then turned sharply, raising the longbow and aiming for the target Ned had placed in the middle of the field. Brian, an archer friend of Ned’s, mirrored her, raising his bow at the same time.

“Better,” Ned called out from a folding chair several yards away.

They’d been practicing for the better part of an hour, learning the first of three archery shows for the guests of the Faire. While Jess had initially turned her nose up at the idea of performing, it felt kind of nice to work in unison with fellow archers to create something that was technically and aesthetically pleasing.

“We said we’d fire on ‘ten,’ right?” Jess called to Brian.

“Yeah,” he called back. “More engaging for the patrons if they aren’t sure whose arrow pierced the sack first.”

Jess nodded. She stretched her neck and shoulders while shaking out her arms.

“Let’s do it again,” she said loudly, walking back to her original position in the routine.

“Nope,” Ned said, squinting at her. He slapped his thighs and stood. “Time for a break.”

Jess jogged to Ned while Brian waited for Keith, the third archer in the show, to come in from farther out in the field.

“I hope you don’t want to stop on my account,” she said to Ned. “I’m good.”

“I’m sure you are,” he said. “But no sense in overdoing it when you’re on a new bow. Can’t have you injuring yourself. I’d have to take your place in this brouhaha. That’ll be a cold day in hell.”

“Ned, you know I’ve shot longbow before,” she said.

Ned squinted again and sucked his teeth.

“Yes, you mentioned that. When was the last time?” he asked.

Jess squinted back. Once she answered his question, she’d prove his point. She hated it when that happened.

“About ten years,” she said.

Ned grunted.

“Like I said. New bow. Come on, slow pokes,” he said to Brian and Keith as they approached.

—

---