Black Hills

buried around here. And just where to bury you where no one will ever find the body if you’re not careful.”
    “A woman who can threaten your life before you’ve finished breakfast is the only kind of woman worth having,” Joe told Farley.
    “I’ve got one of those. I’m a lucky man.”
    “The two of you lucky men better finish up and get out of here if you expect to get your work done, then help Sam.”
    “We’ll be the best part of the day. We’ll have the radio if you need anything.”
    “I’ve got my own full day. Lucy’s packing you two lunch so you won’t starve, or have need to come back in before you’re done. I’ll be heading into town later on, then swinging by Lucy’s. She’s started her spring cleaning, so I’m picking up what she needs at the market.”
    “Can you go by the hardware? I need a couple things.”
    “Put it on the list.”
    Joe wrote down what he needed while he finished his coffee. “We can call the dogs in if you want them around today.”
    “I’ll be leaving in a couple hours anyway. Let them have a good run with you. Are you home for supper, Farley?”
    “Well, Tansy’s mom’s going back today, so I was thinking . . .”
    “I know what you’re thinking. I’ll see you in the morning, then.” She added to her list while Farley cleared the table.
    “I’ll load up the tools,” he said. “Thanks for breakfast, Jenna.”
    When they were alone, Joe winked at his wife. “We’ll have the house to ourselves tonight, so I was thinking . . .”
    She laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, too.” She leaned over for the kiss. “Get going so you can get back. And don’t work so hard you’ve got nothing left for what you’re thinking.”
    “I’ve always got something left for that.”
    She smiled as she finished her lists in the quiet kitchen, because that was the pure truth.
     
     
     
    LIL HELPED CLEAN and hose down the enclosures before going into the offices. It was dental hygiene day at the refuge, so Matt and several of the interns would be busy drugging animals and cleaning teeth. And a shipment of chicken was due to arrive that morning. More interns busy unloading and storing. The winch on the door of the lion’s habitat had made unfortunate noises that morning as she’d lowered it to keep Sheba out of the enclosure while they’d cleaned and disinfected it. Maintenance on the list, she thought, and some prayers that it didn’t need replacement.
    Maybe one day she’d be able to afford hydraulics, but that was not today.
    “Don’t you look bright and happy this morning,” Mary commented.
    “Do I?”
    “Yes, you do.” Mary tipped down her cheaters. “Good news?”
    “No news, so I suppose that’s good. It’s going to hit seventy today, a veritable heat wave. Forecasters claim it’ll hang around through tomorrow before we drop about twenty degrees. We do need more feed for the petting zoo.”
    “I ordered it yesterday.”
    “I’ve got news.” Lucius waved the whip of red licorice in his hand. “I just checked the website. We’re up to five thousand dollars in donations attached to Delilah. People are all excited about her, and her and Boris. It’s the love story that’s done it, I think.”
    “If it is, we’re going to generate a romance for every animal in here.”
    “They’ve gotten more hits than any of the others on the webcam this week, and more comments. I was thinking we could update the bios on all the animals, juice them up a little. And replace some of the photos, maybe do a couple of short videos.”
    “That’s good. And you know what, Lucius, maybe you could get some videos of Matt and his interns working on the dental. It’s not sexy, but it shows what kind of care we give them, how much work’s involved. It’s educational, plus it may stir up donations from people who don’t realize what goes into tending them.”
    “Sure, but it would work better if you wrote up a little piece on it. Something fun that talks about how people hate to go to the dentist and stuff like that.”
    “I’ll play with something.”
    She went into her office to work on a piece she hoped to pitch for pay on Delilah’s rescue. She’d beef it up with the romance angle with Boris, she decided. Good nutrition, proper care, and housing all mattered, she mused, but the connection to another living thing made life rich.
    Nodding, she sat down to work on it, and thought romance was certainly in the air.
     
     
     
    HEWAS READY,