Key of Knowledge

Chapter Three

THE odds of finding a magic key tucked in one of the thousands of books at the Pleasant Valley Library were long and daunting. But that didnt mean she couldnt look.

In any case, she liked being in the stacks, surrounded by books. She could, if she let her mind open to it, hear the words murmuring from them. All those voices from people who lived in worlds both fantastic and ordinary. She could, simply by slipping a book off the shelf, slide right into one of those worlds and become anyone who lived inside it.

Magic keys and soul-sucking sorcerers, Dana thought. Incredible as they might be, they paled for her against the power of words on a page.

But she wasnt here to play, she reminded herself as she began dutifully tidying the stacks while keeping an eye on the resource desk a few feet away. This was an experiment. Maybe she would put her fingers on a book and feel something—a tingle, a hint of heat.

Who knew? But she worked her way through the mythology stacks without experiencing any tingles.

Undaunted, she wandered to the section of books on ancient civilizations. The past, she told herself. The Daughters of Glass had sprung from the ancients. Well, who hadnt?

She worked diligently for a time, reordering books that had been misplaced. She knew better, really she did, than to actually open the volume on ancient Britain, but it was suddenly in her hand, and there was this section on stone circles that swept her onto windy moors at moonrise.

Druids and chanting, balefires and the hum that was the breath of gods.

“Oh, gee, Dana. I didnt know you were off today.” With her teeth going to auto-grind, Dana shifted her gaze from the book in her hand to Sandis overly cheerful face. “Im not off. Im working the stacks.”

“Really?” The big blue eyes widened. Long golden lashes fluttered. “It looked Like you were reading. I thought maybe you were on your own time, doing more research. Youve been doing a lot of research lately, havent you? Finally starting on your doctorate?”

With a bad-tempered little shove, Dana put the book back in place. Wouldnt it be fun? she thought, to get the big silver scissors out of the drawer in her desk and whack off that detestable bouncing ponytail?

Shed just bet that would wipe that bright, toothy grin off Sandis face.

“You got the promotion, the pay raise, so whats your problem, Sandi?”

“Problem? I dont have a problem. We all know the policy about reading on the clock. So Im sure it just looked like you were reading instead of manning the desk.”

“The desk is covered.” And when enough was enough, Dana thought, you finished it. “You spend a lot of your time worrying about what Im doing, slinking around in the stacks behind me, eavesdropping when Im speaking with a patron.”

Sandis perky smile turned into a perky sneer. “I certainly do not eavesdrop.”

“Bullshit,” Dana said in a quiet, pleasant tone that had Sandisdollbaby eyes going bright with shock. “Youve been stepping on my heels for weeks. You got the promotion, I got the cut. But youre not my supervisor, youre not my boss. So you can kiss my ass.”

Though it wasnt quite as rewarding as hacking off the ponytail might have been, it felt fabulous to just walk away, leaving Sandi sputtering.

She settled back at the desk and assisted two patrons with such good cheer and good fellowship that both left beaming. When she answered the phone, she all but sang out, “Pleasant Valley Library. Reference Desk. May I help you? Hey, Mr. Foy. Youre up, huh. Ah, uh-huh. Good one.” She chuckled as she scribbled down todays trivia question. “Itll take me a minute. Ill call you back.”

She danced off to find the right book, flipped through it briefly in the stacks, then carried it back to the desk to make the return call.

“Got it.” She trailed down the page with her finger. “The Arctic tern migrates the farthest annually. Up to twenty thousand miles—wow—between the Arctic and Antarctic. Makes you wonder whats in itsbirdy brain, doesnt it?”

She shifted the phone as she caught sight of Sandi marching, like a damn drum majorette, toward the desk. “Nope, sorry, Mr. Foy, no complete set of AmericanTourister luggage for you today. The Arctic tern nips out the long-tailedjaeger by a couple thousand miles annually. Better luck next time. Talk to you tomorrow.”

She hung up, folded her hands, then lifted her eyebrows at Sandi. “Something I can do for you?”

“Joan wants to see you upstairs.” Thrusting her chin in the air, Sandi looked down her tiny, perfect nose. “Immediately.”

“Sure.” Dana tucked her hair behind her ear as she studied Sandi. “I bet you only had one friend in elementary school, and she was just as obnoxious as you are.” She slid off the stool.

Speaking of elementary school, Dana thought as she crossed the main floor, started up the stairs to administration, she herself felt as if shed just gotten hauled into the principals office. A lowering sensation for a grown woman. And one, she decided, she was sick of experiencing.

Outside Joans door, Dana took a deep breath, squared her shoulders. She might feel like a guilty six-year-old, but she wasnt going to look like one.

She knocked, briskly, then opened the door without waiting for a response. “You wanted to see me?”

At her desk, Joan leaned back. Her salt-and-pepper ban-was pulled into in a no-nonsense bun that, oddly enough, flattered her.

She wore a dark vest over a white blouse that was primly buttoned to her throat. The material hung flat, with barely a ripple to indicate there were breasts beneath it.

Rimless half-glasses dangled from a gold chain around her neck. Dana knew her shoes would be low-heeled and sturdy and as no-nonsense as the hairstyle.

She looked, Dana decided, scrawny and dull—and the very image of the clichй that kept children out of libraries in droves.

Since Joans mouth was already set in disapproval, Dana didnt expect the meeting to be a cheerful one.

“Shut the door, please. It appears, Dana, that you continue to have difficulty adjusting to the new policies and protocol Ive implemented here.”

“So, Sandi raced right up to tattle that I was actually reading a book. Of all the horrors to commit in a public library.”

“Your combative attitude is only one of the problems we have to deal with.”

“Im not going to stand here and defend myself for skimming a couple pages of a book while I was working in the stacks. Part of my function is to be informed about books, not just to point the patrons toward an area and wish them Godspeed. I do my job, Joan, and my evaluations from the previous director were never less than exemplary.”

“Im not the previous director.”

“Damn straight. Less than six weeks after you took over, you cut my, and two other long-term employees, hours and paychecks nearly in half. And your niece gets a promotion and a raise.”

“I was hired to pull this institution out of financial decline, and thats what Im doing. Im not required to explain my administrative decisions to you.”

“No, you dont have to. I get it. You dont like me, I dont like you. But I dont have to like everyone I work with or for. I can still do my job.”

“Its your job to follow the rules.” Joan flipped open a file. “Not to make and receive personal phone calls. Not to use library equipment for personal business. Not to spend twenty minutes gossiping with a patron while your duties are neglected.”

“Hold it.” Baffled rage spewed into her throat like a geyser. “Just hold it one minute. Whats she doing, making daily reports on me?”

Joan flipped the file shut. “You think too much of yourself.”

“Oh, I see. Not just on me. Shes your personal mole, burrowing around the place digging up infractions.”

Oh, yes, Dana thought, when enough was enough you definitely finished it. “Maybe the budget here has had its ups and downs, but this was always a friendly place, familial. Now its just a drag run by thegestapo commandant and her personal weasel. So Ill do us both a favor. I quit.

Ive got a weeks sick leave and a weeks vacation coming. Well just consider that my two weeks notice.“

“Very well. You can have your resignation on my desk by the end of your shift.”

“Screw that. This is my resignation.” She took a deep breath. “Im smarter than you are, and Im younger, stronger, and better-looking. The regular patrons know and like me— most of them dont know you, and the ones whove gotten to know you dont like you. Those are some of the reasons youve been on my ass since you took over. Im out of here, Joan, but Im walking out of my own accord. I lay odds that youll be on your way out before much longer, too—only youll be booted out by the board.”

“If you expect any sort of reference or referral—”

Dana stopped at the door. “Joan, Joan, do you want to end our relationship with me telling you what you can do with your reference?”

Her anger carried her straight down to the employee lounge, where she gathered her jacket and a handful of personal belongings. She didnt stop to speak to any of her coworkers. If she didnt get out, and get out fast, she feared she would either burst into hysterical sobs or punch her fist through the wall.

Either option would give Joan too much power.

So she walked out without a backward glance. And kept walking. She refused to let herself think that this was the last time she would make this trip from work to home. ,It wasnt the end of her life; it was just a corner turned.

When she felt the angry tears stinging her eyes, she dug out her sunglasses. She wasnt about to humiliate herself by crying on the damn sidewalk.

But her breath was hitching by the time she reached her apartment door. She fumbled out her keys, stumbled inside, then simply sank down on the floor.

“Oh, God, oh, God, what have I done?”

Shed cut her ties. She had no job. And it would be weeks before she could reasonably open the bookstore. And why did she think she could run a bookstore? Knowing and loving books didnt make her a merchant. Shed never worked in retail in her life, and suddenly she was going to run a retail business?

Shed thought she was prepared for the step. Now, faced with stark reality, Dana realized she wasnt even close to prepared.

Panicked, she leaped up, all but fell onto the phone. “Zoe?Zoe … I just—Ive got to… Christ. Can you meet me at the place, the house?”

“Okay. Dana, whats wrong? Whats the matter?” “I just—I quit my job. I think Im having an anxiety attack. I need… Can you get the keys? Can you get Malory and meet me there?”

“All right, honey. Take a deep breath. Come on, suck one in. Breathe easy. Thats it. Twenty minutes. Well be there in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks. Okay, thanks.Zoe —”

“You just keep breathing. Want me to swing by and get you?”

“No.” She rubbed the temper tears away. “No, Ill meet you.”

“Twenty minutes,”Zoe repeated and rang off.

* * *

SHE was calmer, at least on the surface, when she pulled into the double drive in front of the pretty frame house shed bought with her friends. In a matter of weeks, theyd be signing papers at settlement. Then they would begin, well, whatever it was that they were going to begin.

It wasZoe and Malory who had the big ideas as far as ambience, color schemes, paints, and posies. Theyd already had their heads together over paint chips for the color of the porch, the entrance hall. And she knewZoe had been scouring flea markets and yard sales for the trash that she miraculously turned into treasure.

It wasnt that she didnt have ideas herself. She did.

She could envision in general how her section of the main floor would look when it had been transformed into a little bookstore/cafe. Comfortable and cozy. Maybe some good sink-into-me chairs, a few tables.

But she couldnt see the details. What should the chairs look like? What kind of tables should she use?

And there were dozens of other things she hadnt considered when shed jumped into that dream of having her own bookstore. Just as, she was forced to admit, there were things she hadnt considered when shed, basically, told Joan to stuff it.

Impulse, pride, and temper, she thought with a sigh. A dangerous combination. Now she was going to have to live with the results of surrendering to it.

She stepped but of the car. Her stomach was still jumpy, so she rubbed a hand over it as she studied the house.

It was a good place. It was important to remember that. Shed liked it the minute shed stepped inside the door withZoe . Even the downright terrifying experience theyd had inside it— courtesy of their nemesis, Kane—barely a week before, when Malory had found her key, didnt spoil the feel of the place.

Shed never owned a house, or any other property. She should concentrate on the very adult sensation of owning a third of an actual building, and the land it stood on. She wasnt afraid of the responsibility—it was good to know that. She wasnt afraid of work, mental or physical.

But she was, she realized, very afraid of failing.

She walked to the porch, sat on the step, and indulged in a good wallow.

She was too mired in it to do more than sit there when Malory pulled up withZoe in the passenger seat. Malory angled her head as she climbed out.

“Crappy day, huh?”

“Dont come much crappier. Thanks for coming. Really.”

“We did better than that.” She gestured towardZoe , and the white bakery boxZoe carried.

Overcome, Dana sniffed. “Is it chocolate?”

“Were girls, arent we?” Sitting beside her,Zoe gave her a hard, one-armed hug, then opened the box. “Chocolate . A big fat one for each of us.”

This time, it was sentimental tears threatening to fall. “You guys are the best.”

“Take a few bites, wait for the kick, then tell us about it.“ Malory sat on the other side, handed out napkins.

Dana soothed herself with chocolate, pastry, and cream, and-the story tumbled out between bites.

“She wanted me to quit.” Scowling, she flicked her tongue at the corner of her mouth and licked off a bit of Bavarian cream. “It was some visceral animosity going on between us the minute we laid eyes on each other. Like, Idunno , maybe we were mortal enemies in a past life. Or, Jesus, married or something. Its not just that she ran the library like it was boot camp—thats bad enough—but she had it in for me, personally. And so did her little yappy dog, Sandi.”

“I know its tough, Dana. Boy, do I.” Malory rubbed a sympathetic hand over Danas shoulder. “But you were planning to resign in a few weeks anyway.”

“I know, I know. But I wanted to sort of ease out. Cop the little going-away party with the staff, so it all ended on a high note. And the fact is, even with the pay cut, the salary did come in handy. More than. I couldve used the extra paychecks before I walked.”

“Telling her to cram it should be worth the paychecks. Shes a bitch and we hate her,”Zoe said loyally. “And when Indulgence is up and running, and the bookstores the talk of the Valley, shell stew in her own envious juices.”

Considering, Dana pursed her lips. “Thats a good one. I just panicked, I guess. Ive always worked in a library. High school library, college library, then this one. And it suddenly hit me that thats done, and Im going to be the owner of a retail business.”

She rubbed her damp hands on her knees. “I dont even know how to work a cash register.”

“Ill teach you,”Zoe promised. “Were in this together.”

“I dont want to mess it up. I dont want to mess up the key deal either. Its just that all this hit me at once.”

Malory offered Dana the last third of her 6clair. “Have a little more sugar. Then well go in and start making some serious plans.”

“Ive got two hours before I have to be home,”Zoe told her. “When we picked up the keys, I asked the real estate agent. She said we could start on some of the basic cosmetic work if we want to risk the time and money. We could paint the porch, say, unless were worried the deal wont go through.”

Dana polished off the . “Okay. Okay,” she said with more enthusiasm. “Lets go in and look at paint chips.”

* * *

AFTER some debate, they settled on a deep ocean blue. The color, they agreed, would make the house stand out among its neighbors and would add a touch of class.

Since they were in the mode, they headed back to the kitchen to talk about decor and space.

“Nothing too country,”Zoe decided as she tapped her fingers on her hips. “We want it comfortable and homey, but, well, indulgent, right? So it shouldnt be sleek or anything, but it shouldnt be homespun either.”

“Your upscale country kitchen.” Nodding, Malory turned in a circle, trying to envision it. “Maybe thatminty green for the walls. Nice, friendly color. A creamy white for the cabinets. Dana, youll be using this space the most.”

“Thats okay, keep going.” She waved them on. “You guys are better at this than I am.”

“Well, what if we had the counters done in rose? Not pink, but stronger, then we punch things up with art. That would flow in from the gallery section. Then wed set up some of the sidelinesZoes talked about having up in the salon. The aromatherapy products, candles. And we do something like Danas got in the kitchen in her apartment.”

“We fill it with junk food?”

Malory glanced at Dana and laughed. “No. Books. We do like a bakers rack or kitchen over there, and we put out books and some of the craft pieces from my gallery, some of the products from the salon. Fancy hand creams and soaps. It unifies this communal space.”

“Thats good.” Dana let out a breath. “Its starting to feel good again.”

“Its going to be great.”Zoe slid an arm around Danas waist. “You could have those tins and stuff of fancy teas and coffees on the counter.”

“Maybe we could put in a table,” Dana considered. “One of those little round ones, with a couple of chairs. Okay. Lets write down the paints weve got so far, see if we can decide on any others. Ill head out toHomeMakers and pick it all up.”

“I think paints going on sale next week,”Zoe put in.

“Oh, yeah?” Danas dimples flashed. “Well, I happen to have an in atHomeMakers . Ill call Brad and get us a discount today.”

* * *

IT helped to have a focus, a goal. Even if it was only several gallons of paint.

If, Dana thought, the library and her life there were now her past, werent Indulgence and the building of it her present? As far as the future went, how the hell was she sup-posed to know? But she intended to think about it and try to find a connection to the location of the key.

It hadnt been difficult to wheedle a thirty percent discount out of Brad. As Dana wandered the wide aisles of the cavernousHomeMakers , she considered what else she might be able to pick up while she had her old friends go-ahead.

Paintbrushes, of course, and rollers. Or maybe they should try out one of those paint sprayers. She studied one, crouching down to ponder the workings of it.

How hard could it be? And it would certainly be faster and less labor-intensive than slopping it on the old-fashioned way.

“Unless youre thinking about becoming a house painter, that ones a little much for you.”

Jordan Hawke, she thought as a muscle in her jaw twitched. And shed thought the day couldnt get any crap-pier. “So, Brad took pity on you and gave you a job?” she said without looking up. “Are you going to get to wear one of the blue denim shirts with the little house on the breast pocket?”

“I was in his office when you called kissing up to him for a price break. He asked me to come down and give you a hand because he got caught by a phone call before he could come himself.”

Her hackles rose. “I dont need help to buy paint.”

“You do if youre seriously considering buying that sprayer.”

“I was just looking.” Her mouth moved into a pout as she poked a finger at the machine. “Besides, what do you know about it?”

“Enough to know if I say too much more about it, youll buy it just to spite me.”

“Thats tempting, but Ill resist,” she shot back.

He reached down, cupped a hand under her elbow to lift her to her feet. “Seems like youve had enough to deal with for one day. Heard you quit your job.”

There was sympathy in his eyes. Not the smug and sticky kind, but a quiet understanding that soothed. “What, does Sandi report to you too?”

“Sorry, that names not on my list.” He gave her arm a careless little rub, an old gesture that both of them remembered as soon as he did it. And both of them took a half-step back. “Word travels, Stretch. You know how it is in the Valley.”

“Yeah, I know how it is. Im surprised you remember.”

“I remember a lot of things. One of them is how much you loved working there.”

“I dont want you to be nice to me.” She turned away to stare hard at the paint sprayer. “Its screwing up my mood.”

Because he knew she would work through it better if she was angry or occupied, he nodded. “Okay. Why dont I help you take advantage of your friend-of-the-owner discount? Its always fun to scalp Brad. Then you can verbally abuse me. That always cheers you up.”

“Yeah, it does.” She frowned a little, bumped the sprayer with the toe of her shoe. “This thing doesnt look so tough.”

“Let me show you some of your other options.”

“Why arent you back at Flynns hacking out a stale plot with cardboard characters?”

“There, see, youre feeling better already.“

“Have to admit.” “What we have here is an automatic paint roller system,” he began, steering her toward the machine Brad had recommended to him. “Its small, user-friendly, and efficient.”

“How do you know?”

“Because when Brad told me to show you this one he used those specific adjectives. Personally, Ive only painted a room the old-fashioned way, and thats been…” He trailed off. “A long time ago.”

She remembered. Hed painted his mothers bedroom when she was in the hospital the first time. Dana had helped him, cutting around the trim, keeping his spirits up.

Theyd painted the walls a soft, warm blue so that the room would be fresh and peaceful.

And less than three months later she was dead.

“She loved it,” Dana said gently. “She loved that you did that for her.”

“Yeah.” As the memory was painful on too many levels, he flipped the topic back. “Well, Brads got a list here of handy products and tools to make your home improvement project more enjoyable.”

“Okay, lets clean him out.”

She had to admit that it added to the fun and interest of the expedition to have him along. And it was easy, a little too easy, to remember why theyd once been friends, once been lovers.

They had a way of slipping into a rhythm, of understanding short-speak and expressions that came from a lifetime of knowing each other every bit as much as from the two years of physical intimacy theyd shared.

“This is the color?” Jordan rubbed his chin as he studied her list. “Island? What kind of color is Island?”

“Greenyblue. Sort of.” She handed over the paint chip. “See? Whats wrong with it?”

“I didnt say anything was wrong with it. Its just not something that makes me think bookstore.”

“Its not just a bookstore, its… Damn it.” She held the sample up, she held it down. She crossed her eyes and still couldnt envision it on the walls of her space. “Malory picked it out. I was going to go with this off-white, and she andZoe jumped all over me.”

“White always works.” She hissed out a breath. “See, they said I was thinking like a man. Men wont pick color. Theyre scared of color.”

“We are not.”

“What colors your living room in New York?”

He shot her a bland look. “Thats entirely beside the point.”

“I dont think so. I dont know why, but I dont think so. Im going with this sort ofgreeny blue. Its just paint. Its not a lifetime commitment. And she said I should think Bryce Canyon and Spaghetti for accents.”

“Brown and yellow? Honey, thats gottol )e ugly.”

“No, the canyon deals sort of deep rose. A kind of pinky,browny red—”

“Pinky,browny red,” he repeated, grinning. “Very descriptive.”

“Shut up. And the others sort of cream.” She fanned out the samplesZoe and Malory had marked. “Hell, I dont know. I think Im a little scared of color myself.”

“Youre sure as hell not a man.”

“Thank God for that.Mals going with this deal called Honeycomb.Zoes is called Begonia, which I dont get because begonias are pink or white, and this is more like purple.”

She pressed her fingers just over her right eye. “I think all this colors making my head hurt. Anyway,Zoes already figured the square footage and the gallons per. Wheres my list?”

He handed it back to her. “Brad was wondering whyZoe didnt come with you.”

“Hmm? Oh, she had to get home to Simon.” She studied the list, began to calculate, then glanced up. “Why?”

“What?”

“Why was he wondering?”

“Why do you think?” He looked over her shoulder at the list, surprised when she turned it over and he saw that it continued on the back of the sheet.

“Jesus, youre going to need a flatbed. Then Brad took a trip back to high school and asked me to ask you ifZoe had said anything about him.”

“No, she didnt, but Id be happy to pass her a note for him in study hall tomorrow.” “Ill let him know.”

They loaded up the paint, the supplies, the equipment. Dana blessed Brad at checkout when even with the discount the total made her gulp. But it wasnt until she was outside that she realized the real dilemma.

“How the hell am I going to fit all this in my car?”

“Youre not. Were going to fit it into your car and mine.”

“Why didnt you say something about me buying more than I could handle when I was loading up in there?”

“Because you were having fun. Where do you want to store all this stuff?”

“Jeez.” Baffled with herself, she scooped a hand through her hair. “I didnt think about it. I got caught up.”

And, he thought, it had been a pleasure to watch her get caught up—and forget she hated him.

“I cant store all this at my place, and I didnt think to see if we could keep the keys and store it at the building. What the hell am I going to do with it?”

“Flynns got plenty of room at his place.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Yeah, he does. I guess thats the way itll have to be. He cant get pissed, because Malory will just bat her eyelashes and turn him into putty.”

They divvied up, loaded up. The drive back to Flynns gave her time to wonder how theyd managed to be in each others company for the best part of an hour without a fight.

He hadnt been a jerk, which, she decided, was a rare thing.

And, she was forced to admit, she hadnt been one either. Equally rare when Jordan was involved.

Maybe, just maybe, they could manage to coexist, even cooperate, for the short term. If, as everyone else insisted, he was part of the quest, she needed him around.

Added to that, he had a good brain and a fluid imagination. He could be more than an annoyance through this. He could be an actual asset.

When they arrived at Flynns, she had to concede that it helped to have a man around who was willing to play pack mule with a dozen gallons of paint and the supplies that went with it. “Dining room,” she said, straining a little under the load she carried. “He never uses it.”

“Hes going to.” Jordan wound his way through the house, veered off into the dining room. “Malory has major plans.”

“She always does. She makes him happy.“

“No question about that.” He headed back out for the next load. “Lily put some serious holes in his ego,” he added, referring to Flynns ex-fiancee.

“It wasnt just his ego.” She pulled out a bag loaded with extra paint rollers, brushes, shiny metal pans. “She hurt him. When somebody dumps you and runs off, it hurts.”

“Best thing that couldve happened to him.”

“That isnt the issue.” She could feel the resentment, the hurt, the anger starting to brew in her belly. Struggling to ignore it, she hauled out more cans. “The issue is pain, betrayal, and loss.”

He said nothing as they carried the rest of the supplies to the dining room. Nothing until they set them down, and he turned to face her. “I didnt dump you.”

She could actually feel the hair on the back of her neck rise. “Not every statement I make involves you.”

“I had to go,” he continued. “You had to stay. You were still in college, for Christs sake.”

“That didnt stop you from getting me into bed.”

“No, it didnt. Nothing could have. I had a hunger for you, Dana. There were times I felt like Id starve to death if I couldnt get a bite of you.”

She stepped back, gave him an up-and-down study. “Looks like youve been eating well enough the last few years.”

“Doesnt mean I stopped thinking about you. You meant something to me.”

“Oh, go to hell.” It didnt explode out of her, but was said flatly, which gave it more power. “Meant something to you? A goddamn pair of shoes can mean something to you. I loved you.”

If shed delivered a bare-knuckled punch to his face, hed have been no less shocked. “You… you never said that. You never once said the L word to me.”

“Because you were supposed to say it first. The guys supposed to say it first.”

“Hold on just a minute. Is that a rule?” Panic was trickling down the back of his throat like acid. “Wheres it written down?”

“It just is, you stupid jerk. I loved you, and Id have waited, orIdve gone with you. But you just said, Listen, Stretch, Im pulling up stakes and going to New York. Its been fun, see you around.”

“Thats not true, Dana. It wasnt like that.”

“Close enough. Nobodys ever hurt me like that. Youll never get the chance to do it again—and you know what, Hawke?Idve made a man out of you.”

She turned on her heel and walked out.