Further, I needed to learn how to handle it.

According to the Yelp listing, Zip’s Gun Emporium was the place for all your gun and ammo needs, offering admittedly crotchety (and there were a fair few reviews that shared this information), but nevertheless expert gun and ammo advice.

The listing also shared it had a firing range.

And whoever Zip was, he taught classes.

He did it grumpily, but he was reportedly good at it.

But there weren’t any notices up anywhere about these classes. The only things on the walls were shotguns, rifles, and more handguns, as well as the odd mostly-naked-chick poster mingled with mostly-naked-chick calendars.

I needed a gun and to sign up for a class.

So I needed to talk to somebody.

“You takin’ this?” I heard asked.

I looked in the direction this came from, which was toward the old guy, who I saw was not speaking to me, just as I heard, “Yup.”

That was when I turned even further, which was right before I froze.

Snapper was moving toward me.

He was doing it also doing a full body scan, up, down, back up again, down, then back up, gaze lingering on my throat, then on my face, and finally he made it to me, stopped and looked into my eyes.

It was a man-bun day as well as about six days past grooming his beard.

And I knew it was six days because I felt it hit my lower belly that those six days since I was hurt were six days he spent worrying about me and not bothering with what he considered was unnecessary personal grooming.

“Hey,” his baritone came at me.

“Hey,” I said quietly.

“How you doin’?” he asked.

“Good,” I answered.

His teeth came out and hit dead center in his full lower lip in a way I instantly became mesmerized.

They let that lip go to whisper, “Rosie.”

I lifted my gaze to his.

“What you doin’ in a gun shop, honey?” he asked.

I thought that was a stupid question and was surprised by it because Snap was not a stupid guy.

“I think that’s kinda obvious,” I pointed out since he was looking right at me and the swelling might be gone but the rest was still visible.

“How ’bout we go get some coffee,” he suggested.

I shook my head. “I need to buy a gun today so I can get started on the waiting period thingie.”

His mouth moved in a way I’d never seen before and he didn’t respond immediately. I would understand why when he did and it was tentative.

“Colorado doesn’t have a waiting period.”

He didn’t want me to know that.

He didn’t want me owning a gun.

He still told me that.

So Snapper.

“Snapper—” I began.

He got closer.

I shut up because, first, he got closer, and second, because when he did, I could smell him, leather and soap and outdoors and all of that together on Snapper smelled beautiful, and last, once he got closer, he just was closer.

“Come have coffee with me,” he urged.

“I need a gun,” I whispered.

“You don’t need a gun, Rosie.”

“I need a gun, Snapper.”

“You don’t know how to handle a gun,” he pointed out.

“I’m gonna take lessons,” I shared.

He looked in my eyes then said, “Zip,” without breaking my gaze.

The little old man showed across the case at our sides.

“You got the binder?” Snapper asked, again not looking away from me.

“Boy, you’re gonna blow a sale for me,” the little old guy, apparently the Zip of Zip’s Gun Emporium, said by way of answer.

That was when Snapper turned his head, just his head, his body didn’t move from facing me.

“Chaos buy exclusive from Zip’s?” he asked.

“You came by coupla days ago, warned me about her,” Zip said and that was when I looked to him just in time to catch him jerking his bald head my way. “I heard you and agreed to give you the heads up, she showed. Now I see her, and if she wants it, I’m sellin’ this girlie a gun.”

Okay, I couldn’t handle the explanation of why Snapper was there and that was the fact that it was apparent he’d made the rounds of gun shops in order to stop me from doing something he thought might be foolhardy.

And since I couldn’t handle that, I had to focus on something else.

“Thank you,” I said to Zip.

“I can impose my own waiting period and I’m doin’ that,” Zip said to me. “You can’t have a gun until your ass is in my range and I’m feelin’ good you can handle yourself with it.”

“Works for me,” I replied.

“Rosie,” Snapper said low.

I looked to him. “I’m getting a gun, Snap.”

He turned again to Zip.

“You wanna lose Chaos business?” he threatened.

Zip didn’t blink. “What I want is a world where this shit,” he jabbed a finger my way, “doesn’t walk in my doors. That miracle happens, I’ll close those doors. That miracle ain’t gonna happen. So you boys take your business elsewhere,” he shrugged, “that’d suck balls. But this girlie feels safer with a firearm in her purse, I’ll get over it.”