Black Hills (53 page)

“Waiting’s what you have to do.”

“I don’t have to like it.”

She wore one of their new Chance Wildlife Refuge hoodies under her oldest jacket, and couldn’t seem to stop playing with the strings.

“It’s not like sitting in a jeep half the night waiting for a pride of lions to come to the watering hole, or even sitting at a computer tracking a collared cougar for a report. That’s
doing
something.”

“Maybe we were wrong. Maybe he did head west.”

“You know he didn’t.”

Coop shrugged. “Willy’s doing the best he can, but he’s got limited resources. There’s a lot of ground up there, and a lot of hikers, trail riders, and campers making tracks.”

“Willy’s not going to find him. I think we both know that.”

“Luck plays, Lil, and you have a better chance at getting lucky with persistence. Willy’s damn persistent.”

“And you have a better chance of getting lucky if you
take
a chance. I feel like I’m locked in here, Coop, and worse, just running in place. I need to move, need to act. I need to go up there.”

“No.”

“I’m not asking for your permission. If I decide to do this, you can’t stop me.”

“Yes, I can.” He glanced at her. “And I will.”

“I’m not looking to argue, not looking to fight. You’ve gone up. I know you’ve guided tours on the trail the last couple days. And we both know he’d be happy to hurt you if only to get to me.”

“Calculated risk. Hold it,” he ordered before she could debate. “If he tried to take me out, he’d bring back the full force of the search. He took the time and effort to point the arrow west and the FBI’s followed it. Why bring them back? Second, if he was stupid or impulsive enough to try, I carry a radio, which I show every member of the tour how to use, in case of accident. So he’d have to take me out, and the entire group I’m guiding. Calculated risk,” he repeated.

“And you get to sit your ass on a horse, ride. Breathe.”

He skimmed a hand over her hair, a subtle show of sympathy. “That’s true enough.”

“I know you’re going up hoping to find some signs, pick up a trail. You won’t. You’ve got some skills, but they’re rusty. And you were never as good as I was.”

“Circles back to luck and persistence.”

“I could go up with you, take a group up with you.”

“Then, if he happened to catch sight of us, or you, he might take me out. Then he could force you off at gunpoint, so by the time anyone still alive radioed for help, you’d be gone. Well gone if he used the horses. Waiting means he moves first. He exposes himself first.”

She stalked down the path and back. In his enclosure, Baby mirrored her move. The reflected motion had Coop’s lips curving. “That cougar’s a slave to his love for you.”

She glanced over, nearly smiled herself. “No ball tonight, Baby. We’ll play in the morning.”

He let out a call that Coop would have called a whine if cougars were capable of it.

Lil ducked under the barricade, relenting enough to rub him through the cage, let him butt her head, lick her hand.

“Is he going to be pissed if I come over there?”

“No. He’s seen you with me enough. He’s smelled you on me, and me on you. A cougar’s sense of smell isn’t his strongest asset, but Baby knows my scent. Come over.”

When he’d joined her, Lil put her hand over his, and laid it on Baby’s fur. “He’ll associate you with me. He knows I’m not afraid of you, or threatened. And he really likes to be rubbed. Bump foreheads with me. Just lean down, touch your forehead to mine.”

“He smells your hair,” Coop murmured as he rested his brow against hers. “The way I do. It smells like the hills. Clean, and just a little wild.”

“Now rest your forehead on the bars. It’s an offer of affection. Trust.”

“Trust.” Coop tried not to imagine what those sharp teeth could do. “Are you sure he’s not the jealous type?”

“He won’t hurt what I care about.”

Coop laid his forehead on the fencing. Baby studied him for a moment. Then he rose to his hind legs, bumped his head against Coop’s.

“Did we just shake hands or exchange a sloppy kiss?” Coop wondered.

“Somewhere in between. Three times I tried to release him to the wild. The first, when I took him and his littermates up into the hills, he tracked me back—to my parents. I’d ridden there to visit. You can imagine the surprise we got when we heard him, then opened the back door and saw him sitting on the porch.”

“He followed your scent.”

“For miles, and he shouldn’t have been able to, he shouldn’t have wanted to.”

“Love adds to ability, I’d say, and desire.”

“Unscientific, but . . . The second time, he tracked me back to the refuge, and the last, I had Tansy and an intern take him. That was guilt on my part. I didn’t want to let him go, but felt I had to try. He beat them back. He came home. His choice. Good night, Baby.”

She moved back to the path. “The other night I dreamed I was being hunted. Running and running, but he kept getting closer. And when I knew I was done, when I had to turn and fight, a cougar leaped out of the grass and went for my throat.”

She leaned into him when he put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve never dreamed of being attacked by a cat. Never. Not even after I’d been bit, or come out of some dicey situation. But this has done that. I can’t keep being afraid. I can’t keep being locked in here.”

“There are other ways to get out.”

“What? Going into the city to shop?”

“It’s out.”

“Now you sound like my mother. It’ll do me good, take my mind off things. That’s when I’m not hearing how Tansy wants her best friend and maid of honor with her when she picks out her wedding dress.”

“So you’re going.”

“Of course I’m going.” But she sighed. “Tansy’s mother flew in today, and tomorrow we’re off on our safari. And I feel guilty about being irritated about it.”

“You could buy new sexy underwear.”

She slanted him a look. “You’ve got a one-track mind.”

“Stay on track, you eventually reach the finish line.”

“I need the hills, Coop.” Her fingers went back, tugging and twisting the strings of the hoodie. “How long can I let him take them from me?”

This time he leaned down, pressed his lips to her hair. “We’ll take the horses down to Custer. We’ll ride the hills all day.”

She wanted to say those weren’t
her
hills, but it would have been petty and pouty.

She looked toward their silhouette, blank and black under the night sky. Soon, she thought. It had to be soon.

 

 

 

LIL REMINDED HERSELF, again, she liked to shop. Geography and circumstances meant she did a lot of that online, so when she had the chance to really dig into the colors, shapes, textures, smells of shopping in three dimensions, she did so with enthusiasm.

And she enjoyed the company of women, particularly these women. Sueanne Spurge had charm and a sense of fun, and got along like a house afire with Jenna and Lucy.

She liked the city, too. Usually. She enjoyed the change of pace, the sights, the stores, the crowds. Since childhood a trip into Rapid City had been a special treat, a day of fun and busy doings.

But now the noise annoyed, the people just got in the way, and she wanted nothing more than to be back at the refuge—which only the night before had begun to feel like a prison.

She sat in the pretty dressing room of the bridal boutique, sipping sparkling water garnished with a thin slice of lemon, and thought about what trails she would take if
she
had the opportunity to hunt Ethan.

She’d start on the flat, where he’d disabled the camera. The search had covered that area, but that didn’t matter. They might have missed something. He’d killed there, at least twice. A human and her cougar. It was part of his hunting ground.

From there, she’d cover the ground to the Crow Peak trail, where he most likely had intercepted James Tyler. From there to the river, where the body had been found. From that point—

“Lil!”

Lil jolted back so fast she nearly tipped the water into her lap. “What?”

“The dress.” Tansy spread her arms to model the off-the-shoulder ivory confection of silk and lace.

“You look gorgeous.”

“All brides look gorgeous.” A hint of impatience edged into Tansy’s tone. “We’re taking opinions on the dress.”

“Um . . .”

“I just love it!” Sueanne clasped her hands together at her heart as her eyes filled. “Baby, you look like a princess.”

“The color’s lovely on you, Tansy,” Jenna put in. “That warm white.”

“And the lines.” Lucy rubbed her hand up and down Sueanne’s back. “It’s very romantic.”

“It’s a spectacular dress,” Lil managed finally.

“And it’s an outdoor country wedding. Doesn’t anyone else think this is, yes, spectacular, but too much for a simple, country wedding?”

“You’re still the showpiece,” Sueanne insisted.

“Mama, I know you’ve got Princess Tansy in mind, and I love you for it. I love the dress, too. But it’s not what I have in my mind for my wedding.”

“Oh. Well.” Obviously deflated, Sueanne managed a wobbly smile. “It has to be
your
dress.”

“Why don’t we go hunt some more?” Lucy suggested. “Lil can help her out of that one, and into one of the others we’ve got in here. But maybe we missed the perfect one.”

“That’s a great idea. Come on, Sueanne.” Jenna took the mother of the bride by the arm to steer her out.

“I love it, I really do.” Tansy did a turn in front of the three-way mirror. “What’s not to love? If we were doing something more formal, I’d snatch this in a heartbeat, but . . . Lil!”

“Hmm. Damn it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Setting the water glass aside, she rose to unhook the back of the dress. “I’m a terrible friend. I’m the worst maid of honor in the history of maids of honor. I deserve to wear puce organdy with two dozen flounces and puffy sleeves. Please don’t make me wear puce organdy.”

“I’m holding it in reserve,” Tansy said darkly, “so watch your step. I know you didn’t want to come today.”

“It’s not that. I just haven’t been able to get my head here. But now it is. I’m keeping it here. Solemn swear.”

“Then help me get into the one I hid behind the one with the enormous skirt. I know Mama wants me in a big white dress, and would like it better yet if it had a twenty-foot train and six million sequins. But I saw that one out there and it hit. I think it’s the one.”

It was the color of warm, rich honey, its sweetheart neckline outlined with tiny, delicate pearls. It dipped in at the waist then flowed out in a subtle flair. Ribbons crisscrossed the back down to the elaborate bow that flirted from the waist.

“Oh, Tansy, you look . . . edible. If it weren’t for Farley I’d marry you myself.”

“I glow.” Tansy turned in front of the mirror, her face radiant. “That’s what I want. I want to glow on the outside the same way I am on the inside.”

“You really do. It’s not spectacular. It’s stunning and it’s so absolutely you.”

“It’s my wedding dress. You have to help me convince my mother. I don’t want to disappoint her, but this is my dress.”

“I think—”

Lil stopped short as Sueanne bustled back in, leading the parade. Sueanne stared at Tansy, then pressed her hands to her mouth. Tears spilled out of her eyes. “Oh, baby. Oh, my baby girl.”

“I don’t think she needs convincing,” Lil concluded.

Shopping did take her mind off things when she let it. And there was nothing quite like the fun of an all-girl day in the shops. Pretty dresses and pretty shoes and pretty bags, all guiltlessly purchased thanks to Tansy’s wedding.

Intermission was a fancy lunch, which included, at Sueanne’s insistence, a bottle of champagne. With the mood as bubbly as the wine, they went back to the task at hand, scouring florists and bakeries for ideas and inspiration.

Triumphant, they squeezed back into Jenna’s SUV with their mountain range of shopping bags. By the time they dropped off Tansy and her mother in Deadwood, the streetlights burned.

“I bet we walked twenty miles.” With a little groan, Lucy stretched out her legs. “I’m going to top off the day with a nice long soak in the tub.”

“I’m starving. Shopping makes me hungry. And my feet hurt,” Jenna admitted. “I wonder what I can eat in the tub.”

“That’s because you walked out of the store wearing new shoes.”

“I couldn’t resist.” Jenna curled and uncurled her aching toes. “I can’t believe I bought three pairs of shoes at one time. You’re a bad influence.”

“They were on sale.”

“One pair was on sale.”

“You saved money on the one, so it’s not like buying them.”

“It’s not?”

“No,” Lucy said in reasonable tones. “It’s like saving on them. So look at it that way: you only bought two pairs. And one of them’s for the wedding. Those you were obligated to buy. Really, you only bought one pair.”

“Your logic is wise. And confusing.”

In the backseat Lil listened to the old friends enjoy each other’s company, and smiled.

She hadn’t taken enough time for this, she admitted. Time to just sit and listen to her mother talk, to be with her, with Lucy. She had let that bastard steal that from her too, those little moments of pleasure.

That would stop.

“Let’s have a spa day.”

Jenna flicked a glance in the rearview. “A what?”

“A spa day. I haven’t had a facial or a manicure since before I left for South America. Let’s figure out when we can all take a day off and book a bunch of decadent treatments at the day spa.”

“Lucy, there’s someone in the backseat pretending to be Lil.”

Lil leaned up, poked her mother’s shoulder. “I’m going to have Mary call and book us as soon as I check my schedule and Tansy’s, so you’d better let her know if you’ve got any day next week that doesn’t work. Otherwise, too bad for you.”