Montana Sky

me.”
    “That’s not what I said. You should take yourself a nice long ride, Will. It’s always what worked best for you.”
    “Maybe.” She thought about it, a nice long gallop with the wind slapping her face and clearing her mind. “Maybe later.” For another moment she watched the three riders and envied them the easy camaraderie. “Maybe later,” she repeated, and climbed back in her rig.
     
    W ILLA WASN ’ T SURPRISED TO FIND BOTH NATE AND BEN in the kitchen, enjoying Bess’s barbecued beef. To keep Bess from scolding her for not eating, she took a plate herself, pulled up a chair.
    “About time you got back.” A bit disappointed that she hadn’t been able to order the girl to eat, Bess fell onto the next best thing. “Past dinnertime.”
    “Food’s still warm,” Willa commented, and made herself take the first bite. “Since you’re busy feeding half the county, you shouldn’t have missed me.”
    “Got worse manners than a field hand.” Bess plopped a mug of coffee at Willa’s elbow, sniffed. “I’ve got too much work to do to stand around here trying to teach you better.” She flounced out, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
    “She’s been watching for you for the past half hour.” Nate pushed his empty plate away, picked up his own coffee. “She worries.”
    “She doesn’t need to.”
    “She will as long as you keep riding out alone.”
    Willa spared Ben a look. “Then she’ll have to get over it. Pass the salt.”
    He did so, slapping it in front of her. On the opposite end of the table, Nate rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m glad you got back, Will. I’ve got some papers for you.”
    “Fine. I’ll look at them later.” She drizzled salt over her beef. “That explains why you’re here.” She looked pointedly at Ben.
    “I had business with Adam. Horse business. And I stuckaround in my supervisory capacity. And for the free meal.”
    “I asked Ben to stay,” Nate put in before Willa could snarl. “I talked to the police this morning. They’ll be releasing the body tomorrow.” He waited a moment for Willa to nod, to accept. “Some of the papers I have for you deal with the funeral arrangements. There’s also some financial business. Pickles had a small passbook savings account and a standard checking. Combined, we’re only talking about maybe thirty-five hundred. He owed nearly that on his rig.”
    “I’m not worried about the money.” She couldn’t have eaten now if there’d been a gun to her head. “I’d appreciate it if you’d just handle the details and bill the ranch. Please, Nate.”
    “All right.” He took a legal pad out of the briefcase at his feet, scribbled some notes. “As to his personal effects. There’s no family, no heirs, and he never had a will made.”
    “There wouldn’t be much anyway.” Misery settled over her, heavy and thick. “His clothes, his saddle, tools. I’ll leave that to the men, if that’s all right.”
    “I think that’s the way it should be. I’ll handle the legal points.” He touched a hand to hers, let it linger briefly. “If you think of anything, or you have any questions, just give me a call.”
    “I’m obliged.”
    “No need to be.” He unfolded himself and stood. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to borrow a horse, ride out after Adam to ah . . .”
    “You’re going to have to think faster than that,” Ben told him, “if you’re going to lie about sniffing after a woman.”
    Nate only grinned and took his hat from the hook by the back door. “Thank Bess for the meal. I’ll be around.”
    Willa frowned at the door Nate closed behind him. “Sniffing after what woman?”
    “Your big sister wears some mighty pretty perfume.”
    She snorted, picked up her plate, and took it to the counter beside the sink. “Hollywood? Nate’s got more sense than that.”
    “The right perfume can kick the sense right out of a man. You didn’t eat your dinner.”
    “Lost my appetite.” Curious, she turned back, leaned on the counter. “Is that what yanks your chain, Ben? Fancy perfume?”
    “It doesn’t hurt.” He leaned back in his chair. “Of course, soap and leather on the right kind of skin can do the same damn thing. Being female’s a powerful and mysterious thing.” He picked up his coffee, watching her over the rim of the cup. “But I guess you’d know that.”
    “Doesn’t matter around a ranch which way your skin stretches.”
    “Like hell. Every time you go within five