She aimed at the lake.
“Why don’t you want to shoot there?” he asked.
She considered this. “Because the bullets could bounce off the water?”
“Ricochet. Down, a safe place.”
Hannah targeted where he’d indicated.
“Double action first.”
She frowned in concentration, aimed and tugged the trigger.
Click.
She smiled.
He didn’t. “Too fast. You jerked. You would’ve missed. Squeeze. Slow.”
“But what if somebody’s attacking you?”
“Even slower then.”
She focused on the earthly target. This time, even double action, the muzzle was steadier.
Again.
“Good.”
“I want to try single action.”
“Go ahead.”
She cocked the gun with her thumb, mimicking Shaw. Aiming, then slowly pulling the trigger. The muzzle was solid on target. Andthe gun itself didn’t waver. She was strong. It’s not easy to hold a gun that size motionless for very long.
He asked, “You have a sport?”
“Volleyball.”
So, arm strength.
Keeping the muzzle down, she looked up into Shaw’s eyes and whispered, “I want to shoot a bullet.”
His momentary debate ended with a harsh voice behind them. “Absolutely not.”
Allison Parker was walking up fast. “Give that back to him.”
“Mom...”
“Now.”
A defiant sigh. Hannah handed the weapon to Shaw, keeping the muzzle pointed down. He reloaded the Colt and slipped it into his waistband. He told Hannah, “Get a box for the pans and lids. Put it on the top of that.” He pointed to a gardening shed on the side of the house near where the camper was parked. “Tie the line to it. Make sure it’s taut.”
“All right.” The girl was moody. She walked into the cabin.
“Basic safety instruction,” Shaw said. “There’re a lot of guns in this country—”
“Too damn many.”