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I went to the bathroom and threw some cold water on my face. I wanted to believe Chance, but I still couldn't quite accept what he was telling me. He seemed sincere and his kisses left little doubt about his interest, but I guess a little of the local Chance Munroe legend had taken route in my brain. Why would Chance be interested in me? The more I thought about that, I began to wonder why Tom would be interested in me either. Tom was a local hero in his own right—putting himself at risk to save people he didn't even know. They were both romance cover hot and could have any woman they wanted, so why me? The me in the mirror had no useful answers, so I straightened my pony tail and headed downstairs where Chance was brewing a fresh pot of coffee.
While we ate the red velvet muffins, Chance talked to me about shooting. He wanted me to understand why it's important to know how to use a weapon. He explained that we shoot targets to get used to the weapon—loading, aiming. "In a crisis you won't have time to think. You just react. Never fire your weapon unless you're prepared to kill what you're aiming at. You likely won't use your weapon. Unless you plan to shoot Tom if he gets too frisky in the tent. Not sure I'd mind that," he said with a grin.
"Which? Me shooting him or him getting frisky?"
"Did you not pay attention earlier?"
The rifle was not my friend. After loading and sighting, it was time to actually shoot at the target Chance set up for me. He stood behind me and made sure I had the rifle positioned correctly. With all the minor corrections he made, I could see that I'd have to do this many times before it would become anything like natural for me.
Once Chance was pleased with my stance. He stepped back and told me to fire when ready. When I did, the stock of the gun flew back into my shoulder almost knocking me over.
"Fudge. That hurts." I rubbed my shoulder.
He was there in a second, wrapping his arms around me. "That's the kickback we talked about. You'll get used to it."
"I don't think I want to get used to pain."
After whining a bit more, we did it again and again. "I'm done," I announced. "There could be a pack of charging bigfoot heading this way, and I still wouldn't be able to lift that damn gun one more time."
"OK. Time for lunch then." Chance put away the guns and targets, and we headed inside to warm up. Over lunch, we talked more about the museum idea. Chance mentioned that there was a retail space available on Main Street. We talked through the pros and cons of having the museum in the Quonset close to the cafe versus downtown. After seeing the snow this morning, I was thinking I might like to clean up the Quonset and go back to using it as a garage.
"Did you decide what you're doing about Snickety?"
"I think I should sell her. I might need a new truck someday, but if I'm staying here, Snickety doesn't make much sense."
"Glad you're thinking about staying." he said, running his hand up my arm.
"Yeah. I like it here. I'm really enjoying the business stuff, and the area has some other points of interest." I leaned over and kissed him. "I definitely wouldn't want to get involved in the museum thing unless I was going to be here to see it through."
Chance talked about business plans and t-shirts, and my mind wandered to imagining Chance and I as a couple. There was no question we had chemistry. I just wanted to be sure it wasn't the explosive kind before I set my heart on the idea.
We cleaned up our dishes, and Chance looked over the agenda. Before we headed outside again, he told me about the differences between driving the ATV and driving a snowmobile. No matter what he was talking about, my mind kept flashing visions of a future with Tom and a future with Chance. In the versions that played in my head, they were pretty different. Just like with the ATV, I'd only be expected to drive the snowmobile if there was some a crisis that meant all the more experienced drivers were out of commission.
"Dress warm. We're going snowmobiling."
Spending the afternoon with my arms wrapped around Chance's waist and my head against his back, wasn't half bad. The noise of the engine made talking difficult, so I got lost in my own thoughts. We stopped at a meadow covered in pristine snow.
"OK. Now, it's your turn," Chance said after we'd walked around stretching our legs a bit. "Remember, if you're driving, it's because there's an emergency, but that doesn't mean you have to go fast. It'll be more important that you keep going safely. After letting me get used to driving in the meadow, Chance climbed on behind me, and we headed back to the A-frame.
After shedding our outdoor gear, I started packing up my bag. "Got somewhere to be?" Chance asked.
"Not really, but I thought we were done here."
"We're definitely not done," Chance said.
"You're not making this easy."
"Didn't intend to. Stay for dinner."
I should have left. I knew that. I tried to convince myself to leave, but I didn't. We cooked dinner together and snuggled up on the sofa to watch a movie.
"Are you going to tell Tom about this?" I asked.
"Wasn't planning on it. You?"
"I'll probably mention the shooting and snowmobile stuff."
"Works for me."
I couldn't concentrate on the movie. Instead, I sat there with my head on Chance's chest and his arms around me and thought about Tom. Tom was a really great guy so what was I doing here. I realized that for all the talking Chance and I had done earlier, I still wasn't sure about his feeling for me. Chance was great, but I couldn't imagine him being happy living anything that I would call a normal life. It had happened again. I'd let Chance distract me from reality. "Fudge."
"Somethin' wrong, City Girl?"
"I need to go." I moved Chance's arms and stood up.
"What's going on? Did you just remember a date?"
"No. I just remembered who you are." I slipped into my coat and zipped it.
"What are you talking about? You know me pretty damn well at this point."
"And yet, I still let you convince me you wanted a real relationship."
"I thought I made my feelings pretty clear earlier."
"I thought so too." I picked up my laptop bag and purse.
"You're not making any sense, Everly. Tell me what's going on."
"I need to go, Chance."
"Everly, stop," Chance said, catching hold of my arm as I opened the door. "Do you want to talk more?"
"No. I just need to go."
"I'm not letting you get behind the wheel when you're upset."
"I'm angry. I'm not drunk."
"What did I do to make you angry?"
"You said all the right things. Bless your heart." I ran my hand down his jaw. "Now let me go."