Unlikely Angel

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Once chores were done for the day, Johnny took Susan’s hand and led her behind one of the outbuildings and began setting cans onto a bit of fence there.

“What are you doing, Daddy?”

He smiled. He loved when she called him that and more everyday he felt like he deserved it.

“Well Princess,” he said as he went on about what he was doing. “You asked me to teach you something and I know you ain’t forgot so I figured to just do it before you starting asking again.”

Susan thought for a minute and then remembered the only thing she had asked of him recently. She had been horribly upset but asking for this was less a part of her upset than her curiosity. Johnny hadn’t ever really said for sure if he would teach her or not. She knew he came out here to practice nearly every day. She would sometimes be allowed to sit and watch and in time the sounds reminded her more and more of time spent with her favorite person and less and less of the day her other family was taken from her.

“You will teach me how to shoot.”

“That’s the aim.”

At last he was finished setting cans up and stepped back to where he had left Susan. Her eyes followed him intently as he brought one of the pistols from its housing.

“First, you got to be real careful with these and don’t ever use ‘em when I’m not around…least not ‘til you’re grown.”

She nodded at him somberly, or at least he thought it was a somber expression. It was so hard to tell with her.

“First you take aim and pull back on the hammer, like this,” he demonstrated, “All the way back. You gotta hear that second click sound and then you squeeze steady on the trigger.”

A shot rang out and a can went flying from the fence. Susan jumped at the noise but her eyes never wavered from Johnny. He looked at her with an ounce of hope left that she would no longer want to use the gun. That hope was dashed quickly when he saw the fascination she held with the firearm. And he couldn’t even blame her. He’d felt the same about guns since he’d been even younger than she was now.

“You want to try?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He motioned for her to come over to him and knelt behind her, knowing that she might have trouble firing it on her own. Even if she managed a shot, she’d likely end up on her backside from the recoil if he wasn’t there. He placed the weapon in her hand gently and saw her briefly adjust to its weight in her small hand.

“Might need to use both hands,” he said softly.

She clasped the gun with both hands and was able to steady it and then moved her thumbs to bring the hammer back. Johnny raised a hand to help her but she shook her head and managed the task herself.

“Good,” he encouraged. “Now settle on your target and squeeze slowly. Don’t pull the trigger so much as just tighten your fist around it.”

She did as told and missed everything and fell back against Johnny for her trouble.

“You okay?” he asked and saw her nod, “Should have probably told you there’s a kick from these. You get used to it after a while. You want to try again?”

He hadn’t intended to encourage her curiosity so but he spent so much time with these guns. Sharing them with her seemed much the same as a blacksmith teaching his son to make horseshoes.

“Yes.”

“Well, alright then. See if you can hit that big one in the middle there.”

She had an easier time chambering the round this try.