Chapter Nine - Scott

Scott followed the group out across the field. He’d thought that might be where they’d play, but Jimmy kept walking up a small hill just beyond. Jules was walking near the front, her pace brisk, like she was purposely keeping distance between them.

He hadn’t meant to say what he had, that he enjoyed looking at Jules more than Jimmy (which should have been a no-brainer), but Scott doubted that Jules would be comforted by that fact. In his experience, girls tended to like being flirted with on purpose.

Scott hadn’t been able to help it, though. Jules had looked adorable in those coveralls that all but drowned her, with the paintball mask sitting on top of her head. That, coupled with her holding her paintball gun like she was Rambo, was enough for anyone to stop and stare. Not in a you-look-ridiculous kind of way. But in an I-don’t-know-why-I-find-this-attractive-but-I-kind-of-want-to-kiss-you kind of way.

And maybe Jules had seen all that in the way he’d looked at her. And maybe she had every right to be keeping her distance.

Except, walking at the back of the group, alone—Scott missed her. Ever since coming to the ranch, he was used to falling behind, wanting the least confrontation possible. But he had gotten used to Jules being back there with him—staying behind so he wouldn’t have to be alone.

Scott needed a friend, not a date. And he had confused those two things for a brief moment. But he wouldn’t make that mistake again. Jules was someone he needed for more than just a good night on the town, and he needed to make things right with her.

Scott was so lost in his thoughts, he made it to the top of the hill before he realized he’d even been climbing one. And he knew immediately that they’d arrived. A clearing stretched before them, but it wasn’t empty. It was littered with old tires, a broken-down car, a smattering of trees, and remnants of old paint from previous wars. To the right of them sat a wooden structure that looked like it had once been a shed. Except the back had been cut off, so it was half a shed with a window facing the field and a ledge that extended from the open side of the building out over the dirt and sagebrush.

“This is where I will be watching the game,” Jimmy said, patting the side of the shed. “When you hear the whistle, the game is over. No more shots. Got it?”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.

“I’m handing out strips of fabric. Tie it around one arm over your bicep so we know which team you’re on. Blue, you’re starting behind the tree line on the right. Red, you’re starting behind the tree line on the left.”

Scott tried to get a look at which color Jules had received, but she turned to the side as another girl helped her tie the strip of fabric. It wasn’t until after Jimmy had given Scott a red strip that he saw Jules had blue. He tried to trade with the kid next to him, but the boy just raised an eyebrow and then tied his strip around his own arm.

It wasn’t that being on the opposite team from Jules made Scott nervous. He had gone paintballing with his friends dozens of times and knew she had never been. But he’d gotten used to Jules being on his team—having his back. And it felt wrong for it to be any other way. Not to mention that she seemed to have grown an affinity for guns over the past week.

“Looks like we’re on the same team, rock star,” someone said.

Scott turned and found himself facing Blair. The guy that Jules talked nonstop about, while at the same time getting mad at Scott if he ever brought the guy up in conversation. The guy that Jules was in love with.

Scott shoved down the feelings of annoyance at Blair for hurting Jules. He knew more than anyone that you couldn’t help who you fell for, and who fell for you. Scott couldn’t date every girl who ever showed interest, including those who claimed they wanted to marry him. Especially those ones.

But Blair didn’t know what was standing right in front of him—what an amazing girl he could have. And how she had just been waiting for him to notice her. Jealousy reared up, and Scott attempted to shove that down too.

“Yeah, looks like it,” Scott said, offering Blair a friendly smile. He hoped it didn’t look too forced.

“You any good with this thing?” Blair held up his own gun.

Scott puffed out his chest a little, not that it did much in those big coveralls. He’d be lucky to get through a whole game without tripping over the fabric that nearly covered his toes. “I’ve been known to win.” He lifted a shoulder, like winning paintball games was a daily occurrence.

Blair grinned. “Good. Because see that guy over there?” He pointed to a tall guy with blonde hair and thick arms. “That’s my best friend, Cameron. And we have to take him out first. Once he’s gone, the rest will be easy.”

This was it. Scott’s chance to get in good with one of the guys. Even if it meant teaming up with Blair, he’d take whatever chance he could get.

Blair had been kind of standoffish from the beginning, along with his friend that they apparently needed to add to the top of their hit list. Scott had heard that their girlfriends had freaked out when they’d discovered that Scott was working at the ranch. It had been the normal type of fangirl freak-out, but it still hadn’t settled well with the guys.

If Blair saw what a good guy Scott was, if he warmed up, then maybe the rest of the guys would thaw out a bit too.

“Sure, no problem. You thinking of flanking him, or more of a distraction kind of situation?” Scott asked, flashing another smile Blair’s way. He realized that might be a bit much and dialed it back, so it was more a look of amusement.

It seemed to work because Blair studied him for a moment, seeming surprised. “Guess you’re not just a pretty face behind a microphone, huh?”

“I try really hard not to be.” As soon as Scott said it, he wished he could take it back. His words had sounded desperate, like he was trying too hard. Because he was. But he didn’t want Blair knowing it.

It didn’t seem to faze Blair, though. Instead, when he noticed Cameron watching them, smirking, he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and gave Scott instructions.

It seemed a bit primitive, but Scott thought it could work. It took all your basic paintball tactics and rolled them into one. Go around the side, work in pairs, use the trees as cover, move quickly, and then ambush. No sweat.

As Jimmy stood up front and gave the instructions that they’d need to give to the guests, Scott tried not to think about the possibility of having to shoot Jules. And he continued not thinking about it as they marched toward their starting positions.

“You know what to do,” Blair whispered, and then disappeared to the left through the trees.

Okay. Scott could do this. And along the way to taking down Cameron, he would impress his team by taking out all the others too, sniper-style. Jules included. Scott paused. Taking out the other team single-handedly wouldn’t win him any friends. In fact, it would probably have the opposite effect. But hiding out or dying too quickly would do the same.

It was a lose-lose situation, like usual.

Scott frowned, then decided the only thing he should do was help take out Blair’s friend. He’d already been enlisted for that task, and if he managed to succeed, leaving the way open for his team to take out the rest, that might just do it.

And he wouldn’t have to shoot Jules in the process.

Win-win-win.

Scott lowered his mask, tightened his grip on his gun, and moved to the right. No movement through the trees up ahead.

A crack. Leaves rustling.

He slipped behind a bush and saw a member of the other team. Was that his target? He couldn’t tell with the mask on. Everyone looked the same. The person didn’t look tall enough to be Cameron, though, so Scott continued on.

The first shot was fired. Someone walked out, hands above their head, their gun held high in the sky. A member of his team was the first casualty.

No one was daring run into the middle of the clearing yet. The broken-down car looked eerie, just sitting there. Waiting.

Scott saw a flash of blue stripes. Did he dare shoot and give away his position, or should he stay focused on Cameron?

Another shot. Another casualty from his own team.

Where were his other team members? Were they just hiding, waiting for this to all be over?

Scott realized he was doing the exact same thing, hesitating, not doing anything useful. It was after another member of his team was shot that Scott decided he needed to just take these guys out, because it was apparent no one else was going to do it.

Except, everyone seemed to have disappeared. He walked and walked—and saw no one.

That was when a lone figure walked into the middle of the clearing. No paint on them. They were still in the game. But they were just walking out like they didn’t have a care in the world. And it was one of Scott’s teammates. This was getting ridiculous, and Scott was starting to think they were doing it on purpose. Like they wanted him to fail and were willing to sacrifice themselves for it.

“Hey, Cameron. I challenge you to a duel!”

It was Blair. What was he doing? This had not been part of the plan. They were supposed to come from opposite directions so they could trap Cameron in the middle. Of course, that would have relied on Scott actually having some way of knowing where the others were located. He wasn’t used to playing in a field this large.

“Nice distraction, but I’m not falling for it,” Cameron yelled back.

Oh, brilliant. Blair was using one of the oldest tricks in the book. Distraction. And at the same time, he was letting Scott know where Cameron was. Scott moved quickly now, not worrying as much about the noise he was making.

Closing in.

He could see Cameron just ahead, inside the tree line. Except he wasn’t alone. There were four members of the blue team, all standing with their backs to each other, so they formed a sort of diamond.

That was why they’d been able to take everyone out. There would be no sneaking up on them, not to mention that Scott had no idea which one was Cameron. He’d have to try to shoot them all before they got him.

A crack of a branch from Scott’s other side. One of his teammates. Scott gave a quick shake of his head, and they paused.

The blue team’s attention was all on Blair, who was walking slowly toward them, not even using the car for cover. Scott thought the guy should at least use one of the monster truck tires, but Blair didn’t bother.

A member of the blue diamond raised their gun to shoot Blair. “I’m sorry it had to end like this, friend.”

Cameron.

Scott whipped his gun up and fired. Red paint splattered Cameron just under his armpit. The other three whipped toward him, and Scott saw no way out. He’d just have to shoot as many as he could before they realized what was happening. It turned out that Scott only needed to shoot one of them, his teammate managing to take out the other two. Except the diamond had been a distraction of its own.

Four more members of the blue team seemed to materialize from nowhere. One aimed their gun at Blair, whose attention was elsewhere.

“Watch out,” Scott yelled, then jumped in front of the gunman and shot. Blair spun around, but it was too late for him to do anything. Red exploded over the other guy’s heart just as blue exploded over the same spot on Scott’s chest.

Ow.

For a moment, Scott wondered if the other guy had even felt it, his coveralls were so baggy.

Oh, shoot.

Baggy coveralls.

He had just shot Jules.