...talk about old times?"

At first the flush rose in her cheeks, and he could tell that the insinuation had gotten to her. But then, she slipped her hand out from under his, much larger one. Despite her outsized feet, her hands were remarkably dainty and manicured. He wondered about other parts of her.

"Perhaps we should first talk about the matter at hand," she said, and it was all business again. Joe found her mix of procedure and intimacy to be quite heady. "I know that you have just gotten back to town, but I smell a whiff of old grudge and secrets, here."

Joe took a slug of his drink and then eyed her. THen he eyed the corners of the room. He just did not feel safe here, anymore. Maybe he never had, come to think of it. He let his hand brush the firearm at his waist, as if for comfort. She caught the gesture and their eyes locked. There was a jolt of tension between eachother. Was it that they were both armed, or was it something else?

"This is a very difficult town to be a stranger in, Joe," she said. "I have worked long and hard to be let in, and still, I can feel the secrets pulsing under the skin."

He leaned forward. "You have no idea," he breathed.

And in that moment Violet walked in the door.

She stopped in her tracks and