“I’m going to take Jimbo to the gun range with a couple of the old black powder rifles. I’ve never met a fighting man who could resist the smell... of gunpowder,” Tripp said.Jim sniffed the air catching that familiar scent again. Unable to keep his curiosity in check any longer, he asked, “What is that perfume you are wearing?”“Do you like it?” Tripp asked with a grin.“I’m not saying,” Jim answered.Tripp said, “It is Hoppe’s No. 9.”“I love the smell of that stuff,” Jim said thinking that she was. “You’re not the first to say that. I can scratch myself and there have been occasions where I’ve used some foul language.”“Jason says you’re okay. I have to believe Jason.”We’d just sat down at a table when she saw Haley waving at us. The Simons have arrived, and there’s no reason in the world that I wouldn’t want to have them join us for dinner. I actually enjoy all three of them. Bill’s a good boss, a leader, an example. The girls, one wife, one daughter, both in college despite them both. She got in the serving line and collected her food. Not one to pass up a few more minutes with this 5'4" ~125# beauty, I approached her. Since she was alone, I invited her to sit with me. She was slightly apprehensive, but accepted nonetheless. We had a great meal together (not the food, but the company and conversation).When it was time to leave, I told her I'd love to stay in touch with her. Again, slight reluctance, but she said, "I never do this, but you have such kind eyes." She handed me. I gave her the short version. I tried to explain it to her, but I knew my words wouldn’t do justice to my thoughts. I basically told her that I didn’t understand my feelings for her yet, but that I did feel like I loved her. I told her that I felt like our relationship had the potential to continue to grow. That I wanted to see where it would go and was willing to put in the effort to make it work so I could find out. She couldn’t contain her smile this time. ?You really are a wonderful pet.?,.