Montana Sky

That, too, she supposed, was love. If she felt a stir herself, she blocked it off, reminded herself of palm trees and busy streets.
    She had, Tess thought with a sigh, survived her first—and she hoped last—Montana winter.
    “There you are.” Tess started forward, but Willa rode straight past her toward the near pasture. “Damn it.” Refusing to give up, Tess broke into a trot and followed. She was only slightly out of breath by the time she caught up. “Listen, we’ve got to get into town tomorrow. Lily’s fitting our attendant dresses.”
    “Can’t.” Willa uncinched Moon, hauled off the saddle. “Busy.”
    “You can’t keep avoiding this.” She winced as Willa thoughtlessly tramped on the infant wildflowers perking up around the fence posts.
    “I’m not avoiding it.” After dropping the saddle over the fence, Willa removed the saddle blanket and bit. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m going to be wearing some lame dress, probably have posies in my hair. I just can’t take off for the day right now.”
    Pulling a pick out of her pocket, she leaned into Moon, lifted the mare’s near hind leg, and went to work on her hoof.
    “If you don’t go, Lily and I will have to choose the dress for you.”
    Willa snorted, skirted Moon’s tail, and lifted the nexthoof. “You’re going to pick it out anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I’m there or not.”
    True enough, Tess thought, and with an ease she wouldn’t have believed possible even a few months before, she stroked and patted Moon. “It would mean a lot to Lily.”
    This time Willa sighed and moved to the foreleg. “I’d like to oblige her. Really. I’m swamped right now. There’s a lot to get done while the weather holds.”
    “Holds what?”
    “Holds off.”
    “What do you mean holds off?” Tess frowned up at the clear, perfect blue of the sky. “It’s the middle of April.”
    “Hollywood, we can get snow here in June. We ain’t done with it yet.” Willa studied the western sky, the pretty, puffy clouds that clung to the peaks. She didn’t trust them. “A spring snow’s a fine thing, gives us moisture when we need it and melts off quick enough. But a spring blizzard.” She shrugged, pocketed the pick. “You never know.”
    “Blizzard, my butt. The flowers are blooming.” Tess looked down at the trampled blooms. “Or were.”
    “We grow them hardy here—those that we grow. I wouldn’t put that long underwear away just yet. Hold, Moon.” With that order, she hefted the saddle again and carried it toward the stable.
    “There’s other things.” Determined to finish, Tess dogged her heels. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you alone in days.”
    “I’ve been busy.” In the dim stable, Willa stored her tack and took up a grooming brush.
    “With this and that.”
    “Which means?”
    “Look, so you’re making up for lost time with Ben. That’s fine, glad you’re happy. And you’re busy impregnating unsuspecting cows all day, or ruining your hands with barbed wire, but I need to know what’s going on.”
    “About?”
    “You know very well.” Cursing under her breath, Tess walked back outside, where Willa began brushing Moon. “It’s been quiet, Will. I like it quiet. But it’s also makingme edgy. You’re the one who talks to the cops, to the men, and you haven’t been passing things along.”
    “I figured you were too busy playing with one of your stories and talking to your agent all day to worry about it.”
    “Of course I’m worried about it. All Nate says is there’s nothing new. But you still have guards on.”
    Willa blew out a breath. “I can’t take any chances.”
    “And I don’t want you to.” To soothe herself, Tess stroked Moon’s cheek. “Though I admit I’ve had a few bad moments waking up at night hearing people walking around outside. Or you pacing around in.”
    Willa kept her eyes on Moon’s smooth coat. “I have nightmares.”
    More surprised by the admission than the fact, Tess moved closer. “I’m sorry.”
    She hadn’t been able to talk about it, and wondered now if that was a mistake. So she would see. “They’ve gotten worse since going up to the cabin. Realizing that girl was killed there. No doubt of that now that they’ve matched her blood to the towels and rags I found under the sink.”
    “Why the hell didn’t the cops find them?”
    Willa shrugged her shoulders and continued to groom her horse. “It’s not the only cabin, the only