Montana Sky

vanilla and cinnamon and lord knew what else.
    But it was pleasant. It was, Willa decided, homey.
    And anyone with eyes could see that Adam was in love with her. A little afraid of that vulnerability Lily carried around, Willa mused, but quietly in love. It could work, she supposed, with time and care. She doubted that Lily realized just how deep Adam’s feelings went. As far as Willa could see, Lily thought he was being kind.
    Dismounting, she began to repair more broken wire.
    Then there was Tess. Willa couldn’t claim to be in love with Miss Hollywood, but she might have become slightly less resentful. For the most part, Tess stayed out of her way, closeting herself for several hours a day with her writing or phone calls to her agent. She did the chores assigned to her. Not cheerfully, and not often well, but she did them.
    Willa was fully aware of what was going on between Tess and Nate. She just didn’t choose to dwell on it. That, sheconcluded, would never work. The minute the time was up, Tess would be on a flight back to LA and would never give Nate another thought.
    She only hoped he was prepared for it.
    And what about you, Will? she wondered. Leaning on a fence post, she looked up into the mountains, wished for a moment that she could mount Moon and ride off, up and up until she lost herself in snow and trees and sky. The quiet that was there. The utter peace of it, the music of water thawing and forcing its way through ice, over rocks, the sweep of wind through pine, and that glorious scent that was the land just breathing.
    No responsibilities, just for a day. No men to order, no fence to ride, no cattle to feed. Just a day to do nothing but stare at the sky and dream.
    Of what? she asked herself, and shook her head. With all the love and longing, the sex and snapping air around her, would she dream of that? Would she indulge herself in a little fantasy about what it would be like to let Ben show her what a man could do to a woman? And for her?
    Or would she dream of blood and death, of failure and guilt? Would she ride into those hills and find something, or someone else, slaughtered because she’d let down her guard?
    She couldn’t take the chance.
    Turning back to Moon, she laid a hand over her rifle, sighed once, then mounted.
    She saw the rider and hoped it was Ben galloping toward her, with Charlie running by his side. And it shamed her that she was disappointed, even for an instant, that it was Adam.
    How beautiful he is, she thought. And how sturdy.
    “Don’t see you riding alone much these days,” she called out.
    He grinned, reining in. “God, what a day!” He drew a deep breath of it, lifting his face to the sky. “Lily’s party planning, and she’s rooked Tess into it.”
    “So you settled for me.” She watched his face, laughed at his stunned and guilty expression. “I’m only teasing,Adam. And even though I know it’s no hardship on you, I’m grateful you’re keeping an eye on them.”
    “Lily’s put it out of her mind. All of it.” He turned his mount to ride alongside Willa. “I imagine it’s how she dealt with her marriage. I don’t know if it’s healthy, but it seems to give her peace of mind.”
    “She’s happy here. You make her happy.”
    He understood that Willa would know his deepest feelings. She always did. “She needs time yet, to feel safe. To trust that I can want her and not hurt her because of it.”
    “Has she told you anything about her ex-husband?”
    “Bits and pieces.” Adam shrugged his shoulders restlessly. He wanted more, he wanted all of it. And it was difficult to wait. “She was teaching when she met him, and they got married very quickly. It was a mistake. She says little more than that. But inside, she’s still afraid. If I move too quickly, turn abruptly, she jumps. It breaks my heart.”
    It would, she thought. The wounded always broke his heart. “I’ve seen her change in the short time she’s been here. Been with you. She smiles more. Talks more.”
    He angled his head. “You’ve grown fond of her.”
    “Some.”
    He smiled. “And the other one. Tess?”
    “ ‘Fond’ isn’t the word I’d use,” she said dryly. “I’m working on ‘tolerate.’ ”
    “She’s a strong woman, smart, focused. More like you than Lily.”
    “Please, don’t insult me.”
    “She is. She confronts things, makes them work for her. She hasn’t your sense of duty, and perhaps her heart isn’t as soft, but she has both duty and