Black Hills

and a lot of thinking, locked in her room through the night. Clearheaded work, she decided. Clearheaded thinking.
    She smelled the coffee before she reached the kitchen, and could—clearheadedly—consider that a benefit of having him stay overnight. There were benefits, and she’d weighed them against the difficulties.
    Her kitchen was clean. The man was no slob. And the coffee was hot and strong, just as she liked it. Alone in the quiet, she zapped a bowl of instant oatmeal, shoveled it in. Dawn lifted the light when she’d finished, and interns and staff began to arrive for the day’s work.
    Enclosures and stalls needed to be mucked out, and the enclosures disinfected. Interns would collect samples of scat from each animal, which would be tested for parasites.
    Always, Lil mused as she manned a hose, a fun job.
    According to her daily chart, it was time for Xena’s leg to be examined, which meant immobilizing the old wolf and transporting her to Medical. While she was out, they’d give her a full exam and take blood samples.
    The little zoo animals required feeding and tending, and fresh hay laid. Horses needed feed and water, exercise, and grooming. The sheer physical labor of a routine morning at the refuge sweated out any lingering tension.
    By mid-morning she had assigned some interns to inventory the fencing, the poles, and other materials needed to create a viable temporary habitat for the jaguar before Lil went into the office to contact Butte.
    When she’d done all the plans and preparations she could, she went out to find Tansy.
    “Elementary school field trip,” Tansy told her, gesturing to the kids being herded down the path. “I put Eric and Jolie on them. They work well together. The fact is, Lil, Eric’s one of the best interns we’ve had in the program.”
    “I agree. He’s smart, willing to work, and he’s not afraid to ask questions.”
    “He wants to stay another term. He’s already contacted his professors to ask if they’d clear it.”
    “We’ve never had a second-term intern. Could be useful.” Lil considered. “He could help with training the newbies, and we could put his own training up a notch or two. If he can make it work with the university, I’ll clear it.”
    “Good. We’ll be switching over very soon. Lose this group, start over with the next.” Tansy tipped her head. “You don’t look like you got much sleep.”
    “I didn’t. Because I was working, fiddling and finagling, plotting and planning. I’ve got to head into town shortly, and deposit this.”
    She pulled the check out of her pocket, held it by the corners, tipped it back and forth as if it danced.
    “What—is that—Holy shit!”
    Tansy threw her arms around Lil, and the two of them bounced in a circle. “Lil, this is amazing and wonderful and out of the blue. Coop? How many sexual favors did you have to offer and/or provide? Does he have that kind of money?”
    “I didn’t offer and/or provide any sexual favors. But for this kind of dough, I would have. And yes, apparently he does have this kind of money. Who knew?”
    “Does he have more? We can both offer and/or provide. I’m in.”
    “We’ll keep that in reserve.” Because it still dazzled her, Lil studied all the zeros again. “I’ve spent this about ten times in my head overnight. I’ve got prices on security systems, security lights, cameras. New gates. We’ll see how far it goes. And to add to it, Montana is donating ten grand, with the stipulation we use at least part of it to build Cleo a spiffy new home in the spring.”
    “When it rains, it freaking monsoons.”
    “My mother always says life’s made up of cycles, of checks and balances. I like to think this is to balance out the horrible. Matt spoke with the vet in Butte, and we’re good there. I’m dealing with the permits, documentation, the paperwork, the logistics.”
    “Jesus, Lil, we’re getting a jag. We’re actually getting a black jaguar.”
    “And I need you to go to Montana and bring Cleo to her new home.”
    “Sure, but you always go to check out the animals.”
    “I can’t leave now, Tans, not even for the two or three days this’ll take.” She scanned the compound, the humans and animals. “I can’t take the chance that something could happen while I was gone. And since this is moving so quickly, I want to be here to help with the temporary habitat, and finalize plans for the permanent one. I’ve arranged for the crate and the box