When There is Love: A Christian Romance (The McKinleys Book 3) Read online

  “It’s a good skill to have,” Justin said as he crossed his arms over his chest, his feet braced apart. “Even if you’re just learning for self-defense.”

  “And my size won’t affect my ability to learn?” Victoria asked.

  Justin shook his head. “We will need to adapt a few things, but once you find the right gun and get some practice under your belt, it won’t matter what size you are when a bad guy crosses your path.”

  Victoria looked at Trent. Had he brought her there so she could learn how to defend herself? “Well, I know absolutely nothing about guns.”

  Another smile made a quick appearance on Justin’s face. “Contrary to popular opinion, I didn’t come from my mother’s womb knowing how to shoot a gun either. We all had to learn at one time or another.” He slapped Trent on the back. “Four years ago, this guy’s main experience with a gun was in those video games he played. He’s come a long way since then.”

  “And I have to say that shooting the real thing is much more fun than virtual guns.”

  “Well, let’s see what you brought, Trent,” Justin said as he gestured to one of the tables.

  Over the next fifteen minutes, Justin and Trent had her handle a bunch of different guns to see which one would work best for her. She found it interesting that when Justin wrapped his large hands around hers to show her how to grip a gun, she felt absolutely nothing. However, when Trent moved close to show her how to hold her arm to see how the weight was, her heartbeat kicked up several notches and her cheeks warmed.

  Once they settled on the gun they felt would be best for her, Justin explained the different parts of it and how it worked. Victoria really hoped they didn’t give her a test because with Trent sitting so close to her, she was only picking up every other word or so.

  “Let’s go see how this works for you,” Justin said as he pushed back from the table. He went behind a long counter and pulled out three ear protectors as well as three pairs of glasses. “And take a gander at the rules of the range before we go out.”

  “Safety first,” Trent said as he gestured to a big sign on the wall. “Go ahead and put your ear muffs on. You’ll still be able to hear us.”

  As she read them, she slipped the ear muffs over her head. Surprisingly enough, she heard Trent loud and clear when he said, “And these are to protect your eyes. Don’t take them off while we’re in the gun range.”

  “How are these supposed to protect my ears if I can hear you?” Victoria asked, tapping the ear covering.

  Trent adjusted his own set and put on the glasses. “These are specially made to amplify ambient noises but will automatically shut off when it detects a noise above a certain decibel.”

  Feeling a little nervous, Victoria followed Justin with Trent behind her. She hoped that she didn’t do anything stupid like shoot one of the guys or her own foot. As they walked into the area beyond the glass windows, the lighting changed. There were several divided areas, each of which had enough room for a person to stand in to shoot at a target downrange. Each one they passed was filled with a very large man until closer to the end where she noticed there were two females. No one paid them any attention as they walked.

  “Here we go,” Justin said as they reached the last partition.

  It had a little bit more space than the others and there was no shelf like she’d seen in the pictures of gun ranges when she’d searched the night before.

  Victoria sucked in a deep breath as she took the gun Justin handed her. It was all loaded and ready to go, but she wasn’t sure she was. She had thought that Trent would be the one showing her how to shoot, but it was Justin who dropped to one knee beside her.

  “Okay, sugar, grip it like we showed you. Firmly. You need to show the gun who’s boss. Firm stance. Firm grip. And a firm pull of the trigger. Don’t be afraid of it.” He helped her line up her arm and her stance and then stood up and moved a step away. “Pull that trigger.”

  Keeping in mind what Justin had said, she gripped the gun tight in her hands, did a mental count to three and pulled the trigger. What she had been expecting—the noise—wasn’t there, but the shock of the recoil vibrated up her arm. Thankfully, she’d been expecting it and since Justin had positioned her correctly, she hadn’t ended up on her butt.

  “Good job!” Trent said as he approached her from the right. “How did that feel?”

  Victoria looked down at the gun in her hand and then over at him. She grinned. “It felt good. Really good.”

  He went down on one knee beside her, an eyebrow raised. “Have I created a monster bringing you here?”

  “You very well may have.” She glanced down the range. “Can I try again? And maybe see if I can actually aim at and hit the target?”

  “Sure thing.” This time it was Trent who guided her stance—a gentle touch to her hip, to her shoulder, to her arm—and instructed her on how to aim for the target.

  And once again she reacted to his presence in a way she hadn’t to Justin’s. Trying to focus, she closed her eyes for a moment then opened them and looked for her target. She counted to three and squeezed the trigger, relishing the sense of power it gave her. While she hit the paper this time, it was nowhere near the center that she had been aiming for.

  “Justin?”

  Victoria looked over to see a woman approaching them. As she neared, Victoria realized that it was Melanie. She’d only met her once at the wedding, but she recognized her right away.

  “Hey, Melanie. What’s up?” Justin moved away from where they were standing.

  Victoria glanced at Trent and saw that his gaze was on them as Justin bent his head to listen to what Melanie was saying. Feeling that spurt of jealousy again, Victoria turned her attention back to the range. Remembering what Justin and Trent had shown her, she took up her stance, raised the gun tightly in both hands and aimed.

  One. Two. Three. She pulled the trigger and stared with delight when she realized that she’d actually made it onto the black part of the target that was shaped like a man.

  “Excellent!” Trent said next to her ear.

  She glanced over to find him still on his knee beside her, bringing them almost eye to eye. Grinning, she prepared to shoot again. Something told her that this could become very addictive.

  For the next thirty minutes, Trent stayed at her side helping her reload her weapon, giving tips and encouragement. Unfortunately, the muscles in her shoulder and upper arm were beginning to protest the unusual activity, not to mention the throbbing in her hip from all the standing. The pills she’d taken earlier had taken the edge off but pain still lingered in her hip.

  “I’m gonna have to call it a day,” Victoria said as she lowered her weapon.

  “Muscles bothering you a bit?” Trent asked as he took the weapon from her. “You did a super job. Better than I actually thought you would.”

  His praise brought a flush of warmth to her cheeks. “And I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. You didn’t get to shoot though.”

  “That’s fine. This was for you.” He showed her how to clean up her brass and then walked by her side back into the main room.

  Justin reappeared as she pulled off the protective gear and set it on the counter.

  “You picked up on that very quickly,” he said as he put the gear into the cupboard. “Will we be seeing you around more frequently now?”

  Victoria looked at Trent then back to Justin. “I was thinking of looking into a gun range in the city.”

  “There’s no need if you want to shoot here,” Justin said. “As long as you come with Trent or Eric, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “We can talk about it later,” Trent said.

  Justin looked at him. “You sparring today?”

  “I hadn’t planned to since I brought Victoria with me.”

  “Maybe she’d like to hang around and see you get your butt kicked,” Justin said with a wink at Victoria.

  “I don’t mind waiting if you want to spar, Trent,” Victoria said
as she wondered about the look Trent shot the other man. “It’s only fair since you gave up your shooting time to help me.”

  “Okay, but no comments on how much stronger than me Justin is or I’ll never take you shooting again.”

  Victoria grinned. “No comments. I promise.”

  Justin led the way through another hallway and up some stairs to the second floor. “This really isn’t set up for spectators, but there is a bench you can sit on to watch.”

  The sound of physical combat reached Victoria as soon as Justin opened the door at the top of the stairs. Trent motioned for her to go ahead, and she stepped into a large open room with a high ceiling. The upper half of the walls on three sides were glass with lots of natural light flooding the room. There were weight machines, treadmills and other equipment she couldn’t even begin to recognize set up along one wall as well as a couple of large areas made up of mats.

  Victoria felt a little out of place with these people whose bodies moved like well-oiled machines. Her gaze went to where two guys were engaged in some kind of hand-to-hand combat. She winced at some of the blows that they landed on each other, but not a flinch showed on the faces of the men involved.

  “We’re just going to change,” Trent said as he bent down to her. “You can go sit on that bench. I’m guessing we’ll be on that mat over there.”

  Victoria looked to where Trent pointed and nodded. She watched as he followed Justin through a doorway beside the one they’d just entered. Feeling more than a little self-conscious, Victoria made her way to the bench. She breathed a sigh of relief at finally being able to take the weight off her throbbing hip. She’d just settled onto the bench when someone joined her.

  She looked over to see a tall, dark man seated beside her, sweat running in rivulets down his neck and chest. It took her a second but then she recognized him and smiled. “Than. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I could say that right back atcha. Eric bring you?” He grabbed a towel from a stack on the bench and wiped his face and neck.

  Victoria shook her head. “Trent brought me out to do some shooting and then Justin offered to show me how he kicks his butt on the mat.”

  Than laughed. “Justin kicks everyone’s butt. Maybe I should spar with Trent. Give him a chance at coming out on top.” He winked at her. “Not much of a chance but at least better than what he has with Justin.”

  “So, how did your date with Lindsay go?” Victoria asked, remembering the interaction between the two when they’d been up at Lucas’s cabin.

  Than’s shoulders slumped and the smile that seemed to always be on his face slid away. “Well, I did everything she asked, and I thought it went pretty good, but she won’t give me the time of day anymore.”

  “And that bothers you?” She tried not to grin at the forlorn look on his face. “For some reason I pegged you as happily going through life serial dating.”

  “That has been my preference, yes, but it’s usually because most women are all too happy to talk about themselves on that first date. By the end of the evening, there’s nothing left to learn about them. With Lindsay, it wasn’t that way. I swear I know as much about her now as I did before the date.”

  “Clearly you’ve been dating the wrong type of woman, Than. Many of us aren’t so eager to spill all our secrets on the first date.”

  “Have you had your first date with Trent yet?” Than asked as he quirked an eyebrow, his smile returning.

  “Trent and I aren’t dating.” But as soon as she said the words, Trent and Justin walked into the room, dressed for their sparring session, and her mouth went dry. Though Justin definitely had the muscles and the height, Victoria found Trent’s less defined—but still clearly there—muscles to be more physically attractive.

  Than laughed. “Well, perhaps you should be.”

  Before she could respond, they were joined by Trent and Justin.

  Trent scowled at Than. “What are you doing here, Miller?”

  Than leaned back against the wall, stretching his legs out and crossing his arms over his chest. “Just keeping Victoria company while Justin pummels you.”

  “Nice,” Trent muttered as he kicked Than’s foot. “I’m sure when he’s done with me, he’ll still have plenty of energy to take care of you.”

  Justin thumped Trent on the back. “Let’s go do this.”

  Victoria watched as they walked away from her. They stood close together in the middle of the mat, and though she could see that Justin was talking to Trent, she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

  Over the next thirty minutes, Victoria alternated between wincing and wanting to cheer. Justin would knock Trent down, but he’d immediately jump to his feet and go back for more. She could hear Justin calling out short instructions to him and even Than got in on the action a time or two, shouting out encouragement to Trent.

  Finally, after about thirty minutes, Justin sent Trent sprawling to the mat and this time he stayed there, spread-eagle on his back. He lifted his hand and dropped it onto the mat. It must have been a signal of some kind because Justin walked over to where he lay and held out a hand to help him to his feet. They stood talking again for a minute before Justin slapped him on the shoulder, and they headed back to the changing rooms.

  “I’m surprised he can move after that,” Victoria commented as she watched Trent disappear through the doorway.

  “We’re subjected to it often enough that we get used to the pummeling Justin hands out. In all honesty, Trent does better against Justin than I do.” The corner of Than’s mouth lifted in a wry grin. “Every time Justin knocks me down, I get mad and come up swinging. He just sends me right back to the mat because I’m letting my emotions dictate my moves. Trent is better about keeping that under control.”

  Victoria thought of the run-in they’d had with the pack of teenage boys at the theater and now knew that even in the midst of anger, Trent would have been able to take them on. Even though he often came across as easygoing, she was beginning to sense that he kept a tight control on himself and there were parts of him that ran deeper than she had ever imagined.

  She had to admit, the rather flippant, lighthearted persona she’d seen over the past couple of years had been attractive on one level, but she had needed more. Seeing that he did, in fact, have more depth than she’d realized, Victoria knew that she was in danger of losing her heart more than she’d ever been before. And she wasn’t sure how to protect herself from that happening.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THOUGH normally after a beating like that from Justin, Trent would have lingered under the heat of the water, he spent just enough time to soap away the sweat. Knowing that Victoria was waiting, he dried off and dressed quickly. He downed a couple of pills to help with the pain that was already settling into his muscles. The last thing he wanted to do was limp his way through the rest of the evening with Victoria.

  After making sure his hair wasn’t plastered to his head, Trent grabbed his bag and the bottle of water he’d taken from the fridge and left the changing room. He spotted Justin standing with Than and Victoria. Justin hadn’t taken the time to change so was no doubt planning to inflict pain on someone else before he retired to his apartment in the living quarters.

  Though he did have a home in the city, Justin seemed to spend most of his time at the compound and the apartment he had there. Trent wasn’t sure why. Justin was a man of few words when it came to himself. He didn’t talk a whole lot unless it was related to the training he did. More often than not, he stood or sat in silence with his arms crossed over his chest, his expression totally unreadable. Trent knew he’d never ever play poker against the man. Actually, he wouldn’t play poker against any of the guys at BlackThorpe. They’d all been trained to guard their reactions.

  “Ready to go?” Trent asked Victoria as he joined them.

  She smiled up at him. “Yep. And I hope you’re hungry after all that.”

  “Oh, no worries there. I could eat a horse.”
/>   “Ah. Sorry. No horse on the menu tonight.”

  “She’s feeding you?” Than asked, curiosity on his face. One corner of his mouth lifted as humor sparked in his eyes. “I’m hungry, too.”

  “I have plenty,” Victoria said, a little too eagerly for Trent’s liking. “You’re welcome to join us.”

  “Sounds great. What’s your address?”

  Trent tried not to see red as she rattled it off for Than. This wasn’t how he’d imagined the evening unfolding. Oh, he hadn’t been looking at it as a date, but he’d hoped that as they spent time together she’d perhaps come to see him in a different light. More than just her brother’s goofy friend. Having Than around was definitely going to put a crimp in that plan.

  Trent shot the guy a look that should have warned him off, but all the idiot did was grin at him. With a sigh, he shifted his bag to his other hand. He shook Justin’s hand but ignored Than altogether before following Victoria to the door.

  “I can’t believe you’re still walking after that session with Justin,” she said as he pushed open the door for her. “You were amazing.”

  A bit of the frustration that had taken up residence in his body eased at her words. “Amazing? I got beat up.”

  “Yeah, but you kept getting back on your feet. Admirable is getting knocked down but not giving up.”

  Trent tried not to take too much pleasure in her words. “Well, Justin was holding back. He holds it back for most of us since we’re not on his level or even close to it.”

  “He seems like a pretty intense individual. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.”

  “No worries there. I’m not sure you could get on anyone’s bad side.” Trent smiled as he led the way into the reception area and held the door open to exit the building. The sun warmed him as they walked to where he’d parked the car. He put his bag on the back seat and retrieved the stool for Victoria.

  “So you think you’d be interested in doing more shooting?” Trent asked a few minutes later as he guided the car through the gate and out onto the road. He hadn’t anticipated how much she’d get into it when he’d suggested she come with him to the range.