“Are you all right to drive without me talking you home?” He laughed a little. “You know what? I can’t remember doing this before. Talking to a woman for over an hour on the phone.” “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that,” she said. “I know you’ve had a million women!” “Not like you, Jilly. I was always looking for women who would take me to bed. It never occurred to me to look for a woman who would take me to heart.”

“Whew,” he said. “You clean up good. You don’t look like the same girl.”She frowned right before she laughed. “Do women usually thank you for saying things like that?”

“I’ll always be your friend,” he said. “Your best friend, if you let me. But I want to be your lover, too.” He groaned and shifted in his chair. “Soon. I want to be that soon.” Then a look came over him. “Oh Gina…I didn’t even court you! God, I should date you first before I beg you to take off your clothes!”

“As he looked down at her, his eyes were both warm and curious. "You don't look as tough as that.""I don't know how tough I am--look at me, sick as a pup. But I bet I can match you for stubborn."A sound came out of him."Holy shit, Ian--was that a laugh?""A cough," he lied. "You probably got me sick.”

“The door jerked open and he glowered at her. "What do you want?""Hey! Why are you mad at me? I just want to talk to you.""I don't want to talk," he said, pushing the door closed. With inexplicable courage, she put her booted food in it's path. "Then maybe you can listen.""No!" he bellowed."You're not going to scare me!" she shouted at him.Then he roared like a wild animal. He bared his teeth, his eyes lit like there were gold flames in them, and the sound that came out of him was otherworldly. She jumped back, her eyes as wide as hubcaps. "Okay," she said, putting up her hands, palms toward him. "Maybe you do scare me. A little."-Ian and Marcie”

“Did you miss me?’“A little bit,” she said with a shrug.“You have tears running down your cheeks,” he said with a grin. “I think you missed me more than a little.”

“This cook, Preacher? He's unbelievable. I had some of his venison chili when I first got to town and it almost made me pass out, it was so good."Hi slips curved in a smile. "You at venison, Marcie?""I didn't have a relationship with the deer," she explained."You don't have a relationship with my deer either," he pointed out."Yeah, but I have a relationship with you--you've seen me in my underwear. And you have a relationship with the deer. If you fed him to me, it would be like you shot and fed me your friend. Or something."Ian just drained his beer and smiled at her enough to show his teeth. "I wouldn't shoot that particular buck," he admitted. "But if I had a freezer, I'd shoot his brother.""There's something off about that," she said, just as Jack placed her wine in front of her. "Wouldn't it be more logical if hunters didn't get involved with their prey? Or their families? Oh, never mind--I can't think about this before eating my meat loaf. Who knows who's in it?"-Ian and Marcie”