CHAPTER 7 – Full of Surprises 1

　　The next morning, as the bustle of breakfast took place, I could barely look Dawson in the eye. Of course, Tess and Elijah found it utterly hilarious, and as her duty as best friend, had taken the mick out of me about it as and when possible.

　　“Have we got a surprise for you girls!” Elijah announced, sitting down at the table with me and Tess, as I tried to eat my cereal in peace.

　　“Ooh, a surprise?” Tess squealed in her usual, excitable manner.

　　“Well, it’s Dawson who is the absolute legend,” Elijah beamed.

　　“I’d hardly call myself a legend, but I know a guy who knows a guy,” he explained, sitting down with us all.

　　“Sounds ominous,” I mumbled, taking the last mouthful of cereal off my spoon and not really looking forward to hearing what was next.

　　“It’s hardly that, but I know a guy who runs the clay pigeon shooting range, and I’ve managed to book us in,” Dawson continued.

　　“I’m definitely up for trying that,” Tess pitched in.

　　“We can go this morning, but that’s not the best of it. I’ve also managed to get us access to the spa at a local hotel,” Dawson finished, sitting back and looking pleased with himself.

　　“The local spa?!” Tess smiled.

　　“How did you manage that, so close to Christmas?” I wondered.

　　“The guy I know, knows who owns the hotel. There was some last-minute availability, so I got us in,” he explained.

　　“I’m up for that!” Tess beamed. “Come on, Ems, you love stuff like that!”

　　It was true – I did love the odd session at a spa, but not with the likes of Dawson around. The whole idea was to relax and unwind in spa conditions, and I could never do either of those things with him around. I remembered when we were younger – he was always unpredictable – and I didn’t feel like being randomly hosed down with my orange juice as I sat with a face mask on, as some sort of joke.

　　“No time like the present to get there,” Dawson prompted, snapping me out of my trance.

　　Soon, we were all whipped up from the table, and placing our outside attire on, ready for the day ahead. Putting my pink gilet, hat, and fluffy boots on, I needed something that was going to keep me warm.

　　“Clay pigeon shooting in the snow?” I thought out loud, as we started our walk to the range.

　　“They’ve cleared the snow, so it’s not like we’re going to be trudging through snow and ice on the shooting range.” Dawson chuckled, as if I was the biggest idiot on the planet.

　　Smug toad.

　　“I never knew that you could do that in the winter months,” I clarified, already wound up by him.

　　“Yeah, depending on the clay pigeon shooting range, you can go at any time of year. I just thought it would be something different to do.” He eyed my footing, as I made sure not to stand in an icy puddle.

　　Tess interrupted with her excited jabber, as we continued our path to wherever it was that Dawson was leading us to, in the middle of nowhere. I’d never been clay pigeon shooting before, and to be honest, I’d never even fired a gun. It was something that really didn’t interest me at all, and I was hoping that we could get this over and done with, and then I could get to the spa and be in my own little safe haven of aromatherapy oils and peace and quiet.

　　Getting to the shooting range, it didn’t disappoint. The stereotype of tweed and country bumpkins did ring true, and I had to stifle a snigger. Heading up to a man that Dawson seemed to know, who was dressed from head to toe in leather and tweed, they loudly greeted each other and shook hands.

　　Standing at the back of the group like some sort of outcast, my fingers were already numb from the cold, and I wished I would’ve worn my gloves.

　　“Guys, this is Simon,” Dawson introduced, as the man dressed in a tweed coat and wellies turned to us.

　　Giving a brief, cold-riddled wave, we said hello to him, and he in turn greeted us. He seemed like a nice man, but this whole outdoorsy vibe wasn’t really my style, and I was trying not to be rude about it in front of him.

　　First up was Tess, and I watched her haphazardly faff around with the gun, as she was instructed on what to do. It’d never crossed my mind that I may be shot by her, as she was haphazard at the best of times.

　　“So, what do I do again?” she called out, swinging around to us stood further back from her, with the gun aimed in our direction.

　　“Put the gun down!” Dawson shouted, with Simon waving his arms at her.

　　“What…?” she called out, unable to hear properly through the ear defenders.

　　“Stop pointing the gun at us!” Simon called out, darting over to her whilst trying not to be fatally wounded.

　　Realising her error, she flushed a shade of crimson, and dropping the gun down, Elijah went over to her.

　　“It’s okay,” he soothed, resting his arm around her shoulders, while cautiously eyeing the gun.

　　“I could’ve killed someone,” she whimpered.

　　“It’s okay, Tess. We’re still live and kicking!” I called out, trying to aid her situation while not going too close to her.

　　“Right, let’s get you shooting in the right direction,” Simon soothed, turning her around to face the direction that she should be facing.