Margo groaned and looked to Malcolm for support.
He grinned and shrugged. “Can’t learn without studying. Remember, I already have my Ph.D. and I spend my spare time studying everything I can get my hands on.”
Margo managed a smile that looked a little strained. “All right. What will I be studying?”
”Principles of safety. Types of mechanical actions. Types of ammunition. How to load and unload. How various specific firearms function and differ from one another.”
”Yuck.”
”You could always find another career,” Ann said sweetly.
”So show me!”
To Margo’s horror, her “shooting lesson” began with a three-hour NRA course on basic safety. Granted, her teacher covered several basic types of modern guns, too, but she was required to pay attention while Ann Mulhaney just stood there and talked, showed her photographs and models, and repeated “Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction; keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot; and keep the action open and the gun unloaded until it’s ready for use” so many times Margo thought she’d go mad
”All right, what’s the first safety principle?”
”Keep the damned thing pointed in a safe direction!”
”That being?”
”Away from what I don’t want to shoot. My foot. The neighbor’s window. Not up, if there’s a second floor to the building I’m in, or down if I’m upstairs somewhere.” Margo crossed her arms. “When do I get to shoot?”
”Later. Let me see you de-cock that single-action revolver again.”
Margo fumbled the job three times before she got it right. She grinned in proud relief when she finally managed it correctly.