Death on the Range: Target Practice Mysteries 1 Read Free Page B

she had to come to a class to learn how to teach archery.” Mary broke into a falsetto voice. “I can represent my country at the biggest archery event in the world, but I have to take a class to teach archery. What a bunch of horse… um, crap.”
    “Horse crap? Such harsh language! What did everyone else say?” I couldn’t help teasing Mary about her obviously edited version of the story. Mary’s sweet nature, all gossiping aside, had become evident over the past week.
    Mary put her fists on her side and huffed at me. “You know what I meant. Owley just shrugged, but she doesn’t say much ever. Honey said she was happy to attend the first course on the new coaching curriculum—or was it that she would be glad to be one of the first coaches of the new system? I can’t remember what she said. It was all about Honey, Honey, Honey. I think she even used the phrase ‘Master Plan.’ Can you believe it?”
    I giggled. “Master plan? What is she, an evil villain?”
    Mary looked at me with big, round eyes and got up. “Yes, she is.”
    I turned to Moo, who was lying on his back with his dog bed on top of him. He was chewing on a corner while scratching at it with his front paws. “Hey Moo, do you wanna go with me?” I got no further than “wanna” before he leaped up and pranced, his front paws dancing back and forth. He reacts that way to every question that starts with “Do you wanna,” but still it made me feel like we were a team when he bounded into action.
    I had placed a whole set of human emotions on his actions, but after losing my entire social group last year, it was a joy to have a creature that wanted to be with me. Looking at Mary waiting at the door, I had to admit that I had another friend in her.
    I grabbed the driest corner I could find and held the dog bed out to my side to avoid getting even more dog hair on my pants, then the three of us headed into the hallway. There was only one more question left to answer.
    “What did Tiger say?” I spoke in a whisper so my voice wouldn’t carry.
    “He said he was happy to be anywhere when he was surrounded by such pretty ladies, then he winked at me in the rearview mirror. He’s so hot.” Mary let out a deep sigh.
    I turned to look at her, and Moo barreled into the back of my knees. I pitched forward, wind-milling my arms, and almost smacked Mary with the dog bed before catching my balance. “Good grief, have you got a crush on him? He sounds cheesy.”
    Mary’s head snapped around to look at me. “No, I don’t have a crush on him, but if I did, it would be totally justifiable. He’s passionate, sweet, and one of the top-ranked archers in the world. Very talented. You will understand once you meet him.” A big, goofy smile broke across her face. “Plus, he’s so cute.”
    Mary had a crush on Tiger. I smiled to myself. “Who else is taking the class?”
    I figured Mary had snuck a look at the participant list, and I was not disappointed.
    “Jess is teaching, but you know that. Then the three of us are taking the class—you, me, and Bruce, who runs the community archery program here. The Summer Athletes I picked up. The rest are various archery coaches from Wyoming and Colorado. The housing isn’t finished yet, so only the Summer Athletes are staying here. Minx, Honey, and Owley all had a fit about who was going to stay where since someone would get their own place and the other two would share a room. In the end, they each got their own suite just to shut them up. It was 1:00 a.m., and I thought Robbie was going to bust a vein. He left early this morning with most of the center staff for Oregon.”
    We entered the room laughing, and I peeled off toward the back to reserve two seats and secure a spot for Moo’s bed. Behind me, I heard a man approach Mary and ask about her mother. Mary must know everyone in the archery community.
    I found a table at the far back with two chairs and two matching piles of paperwork. I threw down the dog bed