Chapter 107: Agreement with Little Chris

"Carte... Carter, brother, I... I really didn't mean it."

After Wayne's stern lecture to his son, no one felt like continuing the hunt. As they left the hunting ground and walked to the parking area, young Chris clung to Carter with one hand and rubbed his sore bottom with the other, his nose twitching and his face full of tears as he tried to explain his earlier mistake.

"Alright, I know, it's not your fault. Stop crying!"

Carter was still shocked from witnessing Wayne's harsh scolding, where he had hit Chris so hard that his bottom was almost bruised. It was as if the boy wasn't his own son.

If Carter hadn't intervened, Chris might not have been able to walk on his own. Perhaps Carter's intervention made Chris feel some warmth, as the boy, snotty-nosed and freshly disciplined, clung to Carter.

Of course, Chris had ulterior motives for sticking to Carter.

"Could you please talk to my dad and ask him not to ban me from shooting? I promise I won't aim at anyone! I've never pointed a gun at a person before, it was just an accident. I will double-check before firing from now on. I don't want to be banned from shooting."

"Carter, don't go soft on him! This kid is tough and just acting pitiful. Don't let him fool you."

Wayne, walking ahead, glared back at Chris, scaring the boy into hiding behind Carter.

"Haha, I understand. Mr. Kyle, if it's at a safe shooting range, there's no harm in him using a Ruger. But for hunting, a .22 Ruger isn't enough. Let's wait until he's older to bring him back."

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, Carter noticed the Ruger 10/22 strapped to Wayne's back. This small-caliber rifle was fine for ducks but useless against wild boars.

Unless it hit a vital spot, it wasn't lethal. Clearly, Wayne didn't intend for Chris to actually hunt anything; he probably brought him to let him see how difficult it was.

Carter guessed that Chris, bored with shooting at targets, had begged his father to take him hunting. Wayne, unable to resist, brought him to shoot wild boars to dissuade him.

"No way, I'm not letting him touch these things anymore. I'll buy trigger locks for all the guns. When I realized someone might have been shot, my heart almost stopped."

Wayne shook his head vigorously. Letting Chris shoot again? Not a chance. The financial loss was one thing, but if someone got hurt and he ended up in jail, what would happen to his family?

"Thank God nothing happened. If there had been a problem and I ended up in jail, what would my family do? For the sake of my family, I can't let him touch a gun again, at least not until he's older."

"Waaah, Carter, brother!"

As Wayne finished speaking, Chris burst into tears again. Carter, understanding Wayne's concerns, also sympathized with the boy. Victor and the others patted Wayne's shoulder in approval.

"Alright, stop crying! How about this, Chris? Let's make a deal. Study hard and exercise. When you turn ten and have a strong body, I'll buy you the gun you want. Any gun, no matter the cost!"

Understanding Wayne's concerns, Carter didn't want to stifle Chris's talent. In the movie, Chris became a legendary sniper partly due to his early hunting experiences.

Carter felt a sense of historical guilt, fearing the incident might alter Chris's life path. He also had his own reasons for nurturing Chris's potential.

Carter figured that even though he might not need a bodyguard, it wouldn't hurt to have one. If he ever needed to recruit this legendary sniper for his security team, it would greatly increase his survival chances in a gunfight. Having a top sniper would help identify and eliminate potential threats.

Even if he never needed security, there was no harm. A high-end rifle wasn't too expensive, and it wasn't like he was arming an army.

"Really?!"

Money couldn't solve everything, but it could solve 99% of problems. Chris's tears dried up instantly at Carter's promise, his eyes shining.

"Really!"

Carter nodded, ruffling Chris's blond hair with a smile.

"Yay! Awesome! Thank you, Carter, brother!"

Chris, now grinning, bounced around Carter. Wayne didn't take Carter's promise seriously, seeing no reason to object.

Seeing his father remain silent, Chris jumped even more, as if his soreness had vanished.

"He has so much energy! He'll grow up to be a strong young man!"

Victor, the oldest, smiled kindly at the bouncing boy, praising him.

"Dad, when you say that, it feels like you're hinting at something. Don't worry, when I go to Douglas, I'll bring back a girlfriend next year!"

"Focus on your work first! Don't let Carter down. Get a girlfriend after you're settled. Don't end up like Levant, dating for years only to lose her when he joined the army!"

Victor patted Levant's shoulder with a sinister smile. Though joking, Levant shivered, remembering how his brother's girlfriend had cheated on him before leaving.

"Are you heading to Douglas? That's quite far. If you don't mind, come rest at my place in Odessa. It's about an hour away. Rest up, and I'll treat you to lunch before you head back."

Listening to the warm conversation, Wayne didn't realize they were talking about Douglas in Georgia. He thought it was a town in central Texas and invited them to rest at his home, concerned about their fatigue.

Seeing his uncles' interest, Carter smiled and nodded.

"We're heading back to Grapevine. If it's convenient, resting in Odessa would be great. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Kyle."

"Of course, it's the least I can do. We should thank you for not holding me accountable. No, we should thank God that bullet just missed you! For that, we must toast to God's mercy at lunch!"