Black Hills

went down.
    “Jesus, Lil!”
    “Sorry, sorry.” Had she been braced like that all day? she wondered. “You startled me.”
    “Well, you scared five years off my life, so we’re more than even. I want to set up to examine the female tiger.”
    “Right. Eric wants to assist.”
    “That’s fine.” Matt gave her just the lightest pat on the shoulder. For Matt, Lil knew, it equaled a hug from anyone else.
    “There’s a lot of inside work. You could be doing that.”
    “He should see me. If he’s watching, if he’s out there, he should see me. See that I’m doing what I always do. It’s about power.” She remembered what Coop had said. “The more I hide, the more power I give him. And hell, Matt,” she added when she saw Farley and Tansy exchange a kiss by his truck. “It’s a really good day.”
    “Is it?”
    “Wait and see.”
    She stuck her hands in her back pockets and strolled toward Tansy as Farley drove away.
    Tansy turned, and her shoulders went up and down with a bracing breath as she walked toward Lil.
    “You knew.”
    “Let me see how it looks on you.” She grabbed Tansy’s hand. “Fabulous. Perfect. I am good. Though he actually picked it himself, unless my mental shove actually worked.”
    “It’s why you were babbling this morning. You thought I was talking about Farley asking me to marry him. Not the e-mail.”
    “There was momentary confusion,” Lil allowed, “but no babbling.”
    “He told me, just now, how he’d planned to ask me last night. He had a bottle of champagne and candles. He was going to set the stage in my apartment.”
    “And instead he went to take care of family.”
    “Yes, he did.” Tansy’s eyes went damp. “That’s who he is, and that’s one of the reasons this ring’s on my finger. I figured it out. So he’s younger and paler than I am. He’s a good, good man. He’s my man. Lil? I’m going to marry Farley.”
    With a laughing hoot Lil grabbed Tansy to dance in a circle.
    “What the hell is this?” Matt demanded.
    “I told you it was a really good day.”
    “So the two of you are yelling and jumping?”
    “Yes.” Tansy ran to him, leaped, and nearly knocked him over with a hug. “I’m engaged. Look, look, look at my ring!”
    “Very nice.” He eased her back, out of his personal space, and smiled. “Congratulations.”
    “Oh! I’ve got to go show Mary. And Lucius. Well, mostly Mary.”
    When she ran off, Lil just grinned. “See? A really good day.”
     
     
     
    FAMILY CAME FIRST, Lil reminded herself and tried not to worry as she sat at her parents’ dining room table. Her mother wanted—insisted on—a celebrational family dinner, so she was where she should be. With them, and Farley and Tansy, with Lucy and Sam, who’d stood as Farley’s unofficial grandparents. And, of course, with Coop.
    But her mind kept turning back to the refuge. Security system up and running, she reminded herself. Matt and Lucius and two of the interns on-site.
    Everything was fine. They were fine, her animals were fine. But if something happened when she wasn’t there . . .
    As conversation buzzed around them, Coop leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Stop worrying.”
    “I’m trying.”
    “Try harder.”
    She lifted her wineglass and made sure she had a smile on her face.
    Late summer wedding. She tuned in. And here it was already April, so much to be done. Debates ran on the venue. The farm, the refuge. On the time. Afternoon or evening.
    Did he know she wasn’t there? Lil wondered. Would he try to hurt someone just to prove he could?
    Under the table, Coop took her hand and squeezed. Not supportive and lover-like, but cut it out.
    She kicked him, but pulled herself back. “If I get a vote, it’s for here at the farm, afternoon. That way we can party right through the evening. We’ll close the refuge for the day. There’s more room here, and if we have any sort of bad luck with the weather—”
    “Bite your tongue,” Jenna ordered.
    “Well, the house is more accommodating than the cabins.”
    “Close for the day?” Tansy pushed that single point. “Really?”
    “Come on, Tans. It’s not every day my best friend gets married.”
    “Oh, boy, we have to shop!” Jenna winked at Lucy. “Dresses, flowers, food, cake.”
    “We were thinking to keep it kind of simple,” Farley put in.
    To which Joe muttered, “Good luck, son.”
    “Simple’s no problem. But simple still has to be pretty and perfect.” Jenna emphasized