Free Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) by Becky McGraw Page B

cursed under her
breath, staring at the fifth balloon, wondering how in the hell she
could be so incompetent at everything.
    This was a lot harder than she thought it
would be. Maybe she should go to the gun range more. Once she had
her own pistols she probably would. She almost had enough money
saved up to do that. But that wasn’t going to simulate shooting
from a horse at breakneck speed. It wasn’t her aim that was off, it
was her focus. The gun range wasn’t going to improve
that.
    Randy walked up behind her and put his hand on
her shoulder to lead her back to the fourth target. He had her face
forward with the balloon at her right. The fifth was catty-corner
to her left, on a post a little shorter than the others. He moved
behind her and his heat surrounded her, as did the piney scent of
his cologne. He put his left hand on her belly and funny flutters
danced there. He took her right hand, and his fingers curled around
hers to hold her arm out straight, aiming it at the
balloon.
    She heard him inhale deeply when he leaned
close to her ear. His words came out with a slow exhale. “Keep your
body square on the horse, Twyla. Keep your balance. Move your eyes
and your arm, not your body. You can lean forward and back, but
don’t turn your body. The best advice I can give you though is to
relax.”
    The thumb on his left hand, which rested on
her midriff worked slow circles there and that was definitely not
relaxing to her. It was irritating. If he wasn’t interested in her,
why was he holding her so tight to his body, she wondered.
Definitely closer than he needed to be to give her the correction.
Or was she imagining things again? Like when she thought he’d been
about to ask her out. And was she wishing that he would ask her
out, so she could get on her way to forgetting Ryan Easter? Because
his touch sure hadn’t started the wildfire in her body that she
expected. A few pleasant flutters, nothing more. Not good news at
all.
    She pulled her hand from his, and spun around
to face him. Randy looked at her a little strangely, but quickly
recovered. “Um, let me get the balloons reset and you can try
again.”
    He turned to walk off, and Twyla couldn’t help
but admire the view. Randy was definitely a good looking man, and
well-mannered. What she couldn’t understand though was why his
touch hadn’t caused the instant lust in her body that Ryan’s had
done with one almost kiss when she was still a wet-behind-the-ears
teenager. That just didn’t make sense to her.
    She sighed and forced her eyes toward the
barn. Movement, as someone dashed into a stall caught her
attention. She could’ve sworn it was Ryan there for a second. But
there was no way in hell he was out here. She had left him at the
apartment. That again must be wishful thinking on her part. She had
to accept that missing that man was going to be a part of her life
for a good while to come. He hadn’t been gone a few hours and it
had already started again.
    Damn his black soul for making her want him.
If Randy would just finally find his balls and ask her out, at
least she’d have a distraction to get on the right track to
forgetting him. Who knew maybe eventually she’d feel the same way
about Randy. If she focused on him and forgot about Ryan
Easter.
    It was almost dusk when Randy walked her to
her truck. She was tired, but exhilarated too. Their lessons today
had really helped her. She made a run on Tango before they quit,
and she’d hit every target. Her time hadn’t been fantastic, but
she’d nailed every fricking target!
    Randy said he was proud of her, and that meant
a lot coming from him. That man was a Range Master at CMSA events
and a level six shooter to boot, with several World Champion titles
under his belt. He was also a damned good teacher. It was probably
better if they didn’t muddy the waters between them by getting
involved. She needed to quit hoping for more, and just accept his
friendship. Her new career was what was