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tug the blond woman away from the “cute” gun that had caught her fancy. “Maybe a Glock 17,” he suggested, not for the first time.
    She pulled the same face she’d made when he’d first pointed it out to her. “It’s so plain and…masculine looking. I want something with a little more flair.”
    â€œThere’s nothing with flair here,” Rory said flatly, ignoring Phil’s pleading look. After a sleepless night and dealing with Billy, Zup, and Rave that morning, Rory was quickly reaching the end of her rope.
    â€œDo you have a restroom?” the woman asked, and Rory wordlessly pointed to the door clearly marked “restroom” in the corner.
    Phil’s girlfriend giggled. “Oh! There it is!” She headed toward it, taking small steps in her four-inch heels. Rory wasn’t sure how she’d made it across the gravel parking lot in those shoes. Maybe Phil carried her.
    As soon as the door to the bathroom closed behind her, Rory turned her glare on Phil.
    â€œI know! I know!” he said in a hushed voice, his hands raised defensively. “She’s really sweet, though.”
    â€œPhil,” Rory said between gritted teeth, “I don’t care who you date. I don’t care that she’s the fiftieth blond clone you’ve dragged in here. If that’s who you want to be with, more power to you. But you need to quit arming these women!”
    â€œShe needs to know how to protect herself,” he protested, his voice still quiet as he kept one eye on the closed restroom door.
    Rory took a calming breath. “Phil. I’m all for everyone understanding how to handle and shoot guns. If I thought for one second she would take that cute, blinged-out pistol to the range, treat it responsibly, and become a competent shot, that’s one thing. But it’s a whole ’nother ball of wax if she walks around with a loaded gun in her purse and has no clue how to use it. She thinks it’s a fashion accessory!”
    â€œI’ll teach her.” Phil was so earnest it was almost painful to look at him. “She can use that shooting range down the road from the station, and I’ll give her tips and…” He trailed off, hope fading from his expression. “She’ll never do that, will she?”
    Shaking her head, Rory reached over the counter to give his slumped shoulder a quick pat. “You need to either appreciate these women for who they are, or date someone who enjoys the same things you do. Quit trying to change them into NRA Barbies, for God’s sake.”
    Although he nodded, she fully expected he’d return in a couple of months with a new trophy woman looking for a bedazzled handgun.
    The front door flew open just as Phil’s girlfriend emerged from the bathroom. As soon as Rory saw the blond’s predatory expression, she knew who’d arrived, even before Ian started bellowing.
    â€œWhat the fuck, Ror?” He charged behind the counter and caught her shoulders, eyeing her up and down as if checking for damage. “Billy said someone broke in here last night?”
    â€œIan. Customers.”
    When Ian glanced at the couple watching their interplay with keen interest, Phil’s girlfriend gave him a flirty wave. Without responding or reacting in any way, he turned back to Rory. “It’s not customers. It’s just Phil. Tell me what happened.”
    â€œAnd I thought I was supposed to be the rude one,” Rory muttered, glancing at Phil. He, thankfully, looked more amused than anything, although his girlfriend appeared miffed at Ian’s blow-off.
    â€œRory.” He gave her a small shake. “Details. Now.”
    â€œIan.” Grabbing his wrists, she pried them off her shoulders and brought them back to his sides. “Stop trying to bruise my brain. It’s none of your business.”
    He actually growled.
    â€œWe’ll just be going, then,”