Black Hills

the heebies, but I feel like he was a little spooky. Like I’m remembering him watching me. A lot. And maybe didn’t think anything of it at the time, as some of the volunteers and interns tend to watch me. They want to see what I’m doing, and how I do it. You know.”
    “Sure.”
    “And now I’m feeling like that wasn’t the feeling I got when he watched me. That maybe I felt something slightly off, but dismissed it.”
    “I don’t remember him that well. I just thought he was a bullshitter, but he helped out around here and seemed focused on charming Carolyn.”
    “Okay.”
    “What else can I do?”
    “Talk to the interns, keep them steady. I’ve told them everything I can, and I’ve contacted the universities for the incomings. I figured full disclosure. I don’t believe any of them are in any danger, and we have to keep the refuge running normally. Still, full disclosure. And that’s bound to make some of them jumpy.”
    “Okay. Most of them are going to be over at the commissary, processing for the evening feeding. I’ll go over, get a gauge.”
    “That’d be good.”
    “We’ll talk later.” Tansy rose. “Do you want me to stay here tonight?”
    Coward, Lil told herself when she nearly agreed. But the agreement wouldn’t be due to fear of some maniac prowling the hills. It would be due to avoidance of Cooper Sullivan.
    “No. We’re covered here. I’d rather stick with routine as much as we can.”
    Lucius tapped on her doorjamb as Tansy went out. “I e-mailed you pictures of Cleo, and a kind of montage we took as we were transferring her. I can get them on the Web page whenever you approve.”
    “I’ll take a look.” Focus, she ordered herself, and she shifted gears into work mode. “I’ll write something up to go with the montage. We’ll want something on her specifically, the jag in general, and some behind-the-scenes stuff. Then put her up on the Adopt page. Did Mary see about getting the black jag toy for that donation, and for the gift shop?”
    “I think she’s got some possibles e-mailed to you.”
    “Okay. I’ll get on it.”
    “Want the door shut?”
    “No, open is fine.”
    She dug up a soft drink for the hit of caffeine, then dug into work.
    It took her through feeding time, and she still wasn’t quite satisfied. She copied the work and photos to a thumb drive, stuck it in her pocket. She’d give it another pass at home, after a solid break. Come to it fresh.
    Contributors, she knew, wanted info, but they also wanted a story. A new animal meant new interest, and she intended to exploit that. She cleaned up other paperwork while twilight filled with the sounds of feeding.
    She came out, locked up as the last of the interns left for the day. Eventually, she thought, she’d have enough in the budget to build the dorm. Housing for the interns, their own kitchen. Two years down the road, by her estimation, with the hit on the budget with the proposed security system, the expense of building a new enclosure.
    She found Tansy in the living room with a bottle of wine and a bag of corn chips. “Alcohol and salt.” Tansy toasted her. “It’s what I need.”
    “Food of the gods.” Lil tossed her jacket, her hat aside, poured her own glass. “You look tired.”
    “I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Tansy took a long gulp of wine. “Because I was busy having sex with Farley.”
    “Oh.” Lil decided that bulletin required sitting down. “Okay. Yes, this is news best served with adult beverages. Wow.”
    “Really, really good sex.” Brows knit, Tansy bit into a chip. “Now what am I supposed to do?”
    “Ah, have more?”
    “Oh, good God, Lil, what have I done? I knew better, but it just happened.” She knocked back a slug of wine. “Four times.”
    “Four? Four times in one night. Jeez. Here’s to Farley.”
    “It’s not a joke.”
    “No, it’s a serious accomplishment.”
    “Lil.”
    “Tansy. You’re a grown-up, he’s a grown-up.”
    “He thinks he’s in love with me.” Tansy crunched on chips. “Do you know what he said to me last night?”
    “Before or after sex?”
    “After, damn it. And also before. I’m trying, really trying to be sensible and fair and realistic.”
    “And naked.”
    “Shut up. Then he looks at me. Man, he sure can look at me.”
    Tansy told her everything Farley said, nearly word for word.
    “Oh.” She couldn’t help it. Lil pressed a hand to her heart. “That’s beautiful. And so Farley, so