"Not bad." Harm took a slug from his beer and relaxed in a chair near the outdoor grill where Danny nurtured sizzling steaks as though they were cubs and he was a mama grizzly.

"Is there going to be a strike?" Margie, Danny’s wife, asked. She’d walked out of the house with a bowl and plate. "Here," she told Danny, placing both on a table next to the grill, "these are for the corn and potatoes." She took a beer from the cooler and sat next to Harm. "I mean, we’re right up against the end of the contract after Hughes screwed everything up. Are you going to pull our hockey pucks out of the fire?"

"I’m always happy to pull your hockey pucks out of the fire, Darlin’."

"Watch it, Bud, she’s taken," Danny said conversationally.

"Maybe I’m ready to trade in the old model," Margie said. "You know, try out a younger engine, a new hose..." She winked at Harm.

"He’s only a few months younger, Sweet Thing, and my hose is just fine, thank you very fucking much."

"Yes it is," Margie said soothingly. "I think I’ll keep you."

"You bet you will," Danny said. "But back to the topic, did you make progress with the Ice Queen?"

"You know I can’t tell you anything. But I think things went well. We’re meeting again tomorrow morning."

"Honey, this guy is our hero. He’s going up against a ball-bustin’ broad if ever there was one."

Harm squirmed and took another slug. "How did she ever get that reputation?" All he could think about was her smile and how it lit the room. And how it lit something inside him, too.

"A friend of Beau’s knew someone she worked with down in Tidewater," Margie said. Beau was Margie’s brother. "She took out one of the city council guys and shook up the city government with all kinds of cuts."

Danny joined them. "According to Beau, when it comes to money she’s tight as a virgin."

"So no raise," Margie said with a frown.

"No new radios," Danny added with vehemence.

"Hey, give me a chance," Harm said. "I thought she was a nice woman, and reasonable." And her skin feels like satin, and her eyes light up when she laughs. And damn, she’d made his cock come to life again and his blood pound for the first time since Sally died. "I liked her."

"You did?" Danny looked at him with incredulity. "Watch it, Harm. Maybe she’s setting a trap. Suckin’ you in and then eatin’ you up."

Oh, shit. Danny had to mention Beth Edwards and sucking and eating in the same sentence. The image had Harm hard as a rock. If he didn’t change the subject and damn fast, he’d be in pain all night.