Black Hills

and know she’d listen.
    “Do you wish you’d taken more? More time?”
    “Me? No, because I ended up right here, sitting on this fence watching my grandson train that pretty filly. But my way’s not yours. I married at eighteen, had my first baby before I was twenty, and barely been east of the Mississippi my whole life. That’s not you, Cooper.”
    “I don’t know what me is. First?” He looked back at her. “You said first baby.”
    “We lost two after your ma. That was hard. Still is. I think it’s why me and Jenna got close so quick. She had a stillbirth and then a miscarriage after Lil.”
    “I didn’t know.”
    “Things happen, and you go on. That’s all there is. If you’re lucky you get something out of it. I got you, didn’t I? And Jenna and Josiah, they got Lil.”
    “Lil sure seems to know what she wants.”
    “The girl does have her eyes forward.”
    “So . . .” He aimed for casual. “Is she seeing anyone? A guy, I mean.”
    “I took your meaning,” Lucy said drily. “Nobody in particular I’ve heard about. The Nodock boy did a lot of sniffing around in that direction, but it didn’t seem Lil was interested overmuch.”
    “Nodock? Gull? But, Jesus, he’s twenty-two or -three. He’s too old to be hanging around Lil.”
    “Not Gull, Jesse. His brother. Younger. He’d be about your age. Would you be sniffing in that direction, Cooper?”
    “Me? Lil? No.” Crap, he thought. Just crap. “We’re friends, that’s all. She’s practically like a sister.”
    Her face bland, Lucy tapped her boot heel on the fence. “Your grandfather and I were friendly when we were coming up. Though I don’t recall him ever thinking of me as a sister. Still, that Lil, she’s got her eyes forward, like I said. Girl’s got plans.”
    “She always did.”
    When work was done for the day, Coop thought about saddling one of the horses for a long, hard ride. He wished it could be Jones, but the yearling he’d once helped train had become one of the stars of his grandparents’ tourist trade.
    He considered his options, had just about settled on the big roan gelding named Tick, when he saw Lil walking toward the corral.
    It was lowering to admit, but his mouth went dry.
    She wore jeans and a bright red shirt, scuffed boots, and a worn-in gray hat with a wide, flat brim, and her long black hair loose under it.
    When she got to the fence, she tapped the saddlebag slung over her shoulder. “I’ve got a picnic in here I’m looking to share. Anybody interested?”
    “Might be.”
    “The thing is, I need to borrow a horse. I’ll barter this cold fried chicken for a ride.”
    “Take your pick.”
    Angling her head, she gestured with her chin. “I like the look of that piebald mare.”
    “I’ll get you a saddle, and let my grandparents know.”
    “I stopped in the house first. They’re fine with it. We’ve got a lot of day left. Might as well take advantage.” She draped the saddlebag over the fence. “I know where the tack is. Go ahead, get your own horse saddled.”
    Friends or not, he didn’t see the harm in watching her walk away, or noticing how her jeans fit as she did.
    They set to work, with a rhythm both of them knew well. When Coop lifted her saddlebag, he winced. “That’s a lot of chicken.”
    “I’ve got my recorder and camera, and . . . stuff. You know I like to make a record when I’m out on a trail. I was thinking we could head for the creek, then take one of the spur trails through the forest. Get a good gallop on the way there, then it’s pretty scenery.”
    He shot her a knowing look. “Cougar territory?”
    “The couple I’ve tracked this year cover that area. But that’s not why.” She smiled as she swung into the saddle. “It’s just a pretty ride, and there’s a stream where the forest opens up. It’s a nice spot for a picnic. It’s a good hour from here though, if you’d rather something closer.”
    “I can work up a good appetite in an hour.” He vaulted onto his horse, settled his hat more securely on his head. “Which way?”
    “Southwest.”
    “Race ya.”
    He gave the gelding a light kick. They galloped across the farmyard and through the fields.
    There’d been a time, Lil thought, when she’d been the better rider, and by a long shot. Now she had to admit they were on level ground. The mare was her advantage, being light and quick, so with the wind in her hair, Lil reached the thin line of trees less than a length in the