“You've got good taste,honey." Daffy winked. "In food and in men."As Daffy walked away, Marilee chuckled. "You realize," she said as she lifted the frosty bottle to her lips and drank, "that Daffy was practically drooling when she looked at you.""She drools over every cowboy that walks through the door.Now if you'd drool"-he touched a finger to her jaw-"my ego would definitely be stroked.""I doubt your ego needs stroking. I'm thinking you have a very high opinion of yourself,rebel."He gave an easy laugh. "Does this mean you're not going to buy into my shy-guy routine?""Not likely.”

“And the flames are every colour of the rainbow.""They can't be," observed Daffy."Well, they are," she said cheekily. "Have you been there, that you know so much about it?""No," said Daffy, very calm, "but I'd wager I know more than you about the chemical processes of combustion."Mary rolled her eyes. Did he hope to dazzle her with syllables?”

“And that unfortunate loss? Was that really an accident,or did you lose deliberately so I wouldn't have to pay the bill?"He shrugged. "My lips are sealed.""I should have known."Once on the open highway he turned on the radio,and they both sang along with Garth as he lamented his papa being a rolling stone.When the song ended,Marilee looked over. "I'll consider that a sermon. According to Garth, a woman would be a fool to lose her heart to a man who'd rather drive a truck than be home with her."Wyatt winked,and in his best imitation of Daffy's smoky voice he said, "Honey, a man may love the open road,but any female with half a brain can figure out how to compete with a truck.Just bat those pretty little red-tipped lashes at any male over the age of twelve, and his brain turns to mush.Next thing you know, instead of revving up his engine, he's on his hands and knees, carrying a toddler on his back around a living room full of toys and baby gear."Though the image was a surprisingly pretty one,Marilee had to wipe tears from her eyes,she was laughing so hard. When she caught her breath she managed to say, "You've got Daffy down so perfectly,you could probably answer the phone at the Fortune Saloon and no one would believe it wasn't her.""She's easy." He chuckled. "I think she's the only female with a voice that's deeper than mine."She looked out the window at the full moon above Treasure Chest Mountain in the distance. "It's a shame to waste such a pretty night.Maybe you ought to pull over and park.We can make out like teenagers.""Not a bad idea." At his arched brow she added, "It would give me a chance to see if I could turn your brain to mush.""Believe it.”

“She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that. Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep.”

“She also wasn’t the type of woman who made men drool, besides him, and got the attention of every guy in the room, but that was okay because none of them should be fucking looking at her anyway.”

“And," Amber said, practically drooling as she ogled him, "it's tradition for new arrivals to help with the pep rally."Brooklyn quirked her lips in doubt. "Tradition?""It's a new tradition," Amber shot back."Clearly the deeper meaning of the word has escaped you.”