Montana Sky

blade. And the eyes of the man who held it. “God Almighty, you? Why’d you do it?”
    “Because I can.” He watched knowledge come into the man’s eyes and saw them dart quickly toward the rig. “Because I like it,” he said softly. With some regret, he jerked the knife up and plunged it into Pickles’s soft belly. “Never killed a man before,” he said, and yanked the knife upward with a steady, nerveless hand. “It’s interesting.”
    Interesting, he thought again, studying the way Pickles’s eyes went from shocked, to pained, to dull. He kept the knife moving up, toward the heart, leaning with the body as it fell, then straddling it.
    All his fascination with the steer was forgotten. This, he realized, was far bigger game. A man had brains, he mused, pulling his knife free with a wet, sucking sound. A cow was just stupid. And a cat, while clever, was just a small thing.
    Considering, he leaned back, wondering how to make this moment, this new step, something special. Something people would talk about everywhere, and for a long, long time.
    Then he smiled, giggled until he had to press his bloody hand to his mouth. He knew just how to make his mark.
    He turned the knife in his hand and went cheerfully to work.
     
    W HEN WILLA SAW THE RIDER GALLOPING OVER HER pasture, she stopped the rig. She recognized the big black that Ben rode, and the dog Charlie, who was bounding along beside Spook like a shadow. Relief was the first reaction, and one she didn’t welcome. But there was something eerie in the air, and she’d have been grateful to see the devil himself riding up.
    Though it was an impressive sight, she sniffed, the way he and the black gelding sailed over the fence with a careless bunch and flow of muscle.
    “You make a wrong turn, McKinnon?”
    “Nope.” He reined in his horse beside the rig. Charlie, in happy welcome, lifted a leg and peed on Willa’s front tire. “You get that fence fixed?” He smiled when she stared at him. “Zack saw you had one down when he went up this morning. The elk have been a real pain in the ass this year.”
    “They always are. I expect Ham’s dealt with it by now. I was going to ride by and check.”
    He swung off the horse, then leaned in the window. “Is that a sandwich over there?”
    She glanced at the second half of her dinner. “Yeah. So?”
    “You going to eat it?”
    With a sigh, she picked it up and handed it to him. “Did you hunt me down for a free meal?”
    “That’s just a side benefit. I’m going to be shipping some cattle down to the feedlot in Colorado, but I thought you might want to take a couple hundred head off my hands to finish.” Companionably, he broke off a corner of the sandwich, tossed it to the hopeful dog.
    She watched the dog gulp down bread and beef, then grin. The grin, she mused, wasn’t so far off from his master’s arrogant, self-satisfied smirk. “You want to dicker over price here?”
    “I thought we could do it friendlier. Over a drink later.” He reached a hand through the window to toy with the hair that had come loose from her braid. “I still haven’t met your oldest sister.”
    Will shoved the jeep in gear. “She’s not your type, Slick, but you come ahead by if you want.” She watched him mow through the last bite of sandwich. “ After supper.”
    “Want me to bring my own bottle too?”
    She only smiled and eased on the gas. After a moment’s thought, Ben remounted and trotted after her. They both knew she was keeping her speed slow enough so that he could.
    “Adam going to be around?” Ben raised his voice so she could hear it clearly over the engine. “I’m interested in a couple new saddle ponies.”
    “Ask him. I’m too busy to socialize, Ben.” To irritate him, she accelerated, spewing dust in his face. Still, she was disappointed when she took the left fork and he turned and rode off in the opposite direction.
    She wished she could have fought with him about something, made him mad enough to grab hold of her again.She’d been thinking quite a bit about the way he’d grabbed hold of her.
    She didn’t do a lot of thinking about men—not that way. But it was certainly diverting to think—that way—about Ben. Even if she didn’t intend to do anything about it.
    Unless she changed her mind.
    She grinned to herself. She might just change her mind, too, just to see what it was all about. She had a feeling that Ben could show her more clearly and more thoroughly than most just