Irene found that she enjoyed having someone...Sam take care of her.  When he moved to her arms and he kissed her armpit, and the lick, she opened her eyes and stared at his face so close to her.<br/><br/>She breathed deeply, almost moving her free hand to touch him when he began to speak.  “....met anyone before...”  Before me? She wondered.  So, she was slow to respond to his theory about the reason for killing Tim.  “Sam...  they wanted his land.  And, they wanted me out of the way...  And, there’s another reason people kill each other---no reason at all, just the heat of the moment.  Passion isn’t all like us, it’s anger and fear and hate, too.”<br/><br/>She watched him rise, regarding her.  He held out his hands and she automatically placed hers in his, rising at his slight tug.<br/><br/>His next words were enough to make Irene doubt her hearing.  She stared at Sam, waiting for a smile, an explanation...  None came.<br/><br/>“Me?  Sam?  You want me more than tonight or tomorrow...?”  She searched his face, prodding the idea, not quite believing he could possibly mean what it sounded like he meant.  When the unexpected happened, it generally wasn’t a good thing; she had difficulty fathoming that a man like Sam would want her.<br/><br/>But, then, it surely would be nice...  Irene’s mind turned to the vow she’d made to bring Timothy’s killer to justice.  And, she still felt the same.  She blinked as Sam’s words struck a new note.<br/><br/>“Sam?  You knew who I was when you got here?  You heard about me, about the suspicions about me, about Tim?”  She backed away from him abruptly, needing distance to think clearly.  “Was this some sort of information gathering...mission?  Sam?”  She stared at the man before her, wanting his explanation to be something less than that he’d been hunting for information.  She wanted what she’d felt to be the truth, and for his words to be real.  Irene didn’t know how to feel or what to think, now.  She ran her hand through her hair, one arm wrapped around her middle in a defensive pose, waiting to hear if she’d been a fool or not.<br/>