“I think she’s got some possibles e-mailed to you.”

“Okay. I’ll get on it.”

“Want the door shut?”

“No, open is fine.”

She dug up a soft drink for the hit of caffeine, then dug into work.

It took her through feeding time, and she still wasn’t quite satisfied. She copied the work and photos to a thumb drive, stuck it in her pocket. She’d give it another pass at home, after a solid break. Come to it fresh.

Contributors, she knew, wanted info, but they also wanted a story. A new animal meant new interest, and she intended to exploit that. She cleaned up other paperwork while twilight filled with the sounds of feeding.

She came out, locked up as the last of the interns left for the day. Eventually, she thought, she’d have enough in the budget to build the dorm. Housing for the interns, their own kitchen. Two years down the road, by her estimation, with the hit on the budget with the proposed security system, the expense of building a new enclosure.

She found Tansy in the living room with a bottle of wine and a bag of corn chips. “Alcohol and salt.” Tansy toasted her. “It’s what I need.”

“Food of the gods.” Lil tossed her jacket, her hat aside, poured her own glass. “You look tired.”

“I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Tansy took a long gulp of wine. “Because I was busy having sex with Farley.”

“Oh.” Lil decided that bulletin required sitting down. “Okay. Yes, this is news best served with adult beverages. Wow.”

“Really, really good sex.” Brows knit, Tansy bit into a chip. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

“Ah, have more?”

“Oh, good God, Lil, what have I done? I knew better, but it just happened.” She knocked back a slug of wine. “Four times.”

“Four? Four times in one night. Jeez. Here’s to Farley.”

“It’s not a joke.”

“No, it’s a serious accomplishment.”

“Lil.”

“Tansy. You’re a grown-up, he’s a grown-up.”

“He thinks he’s in love with me.” Tansy crunched on chips. “Do you know what he said to me last night?”

“Before or after sex?”

“After, damn it. And also before. I’m trying, really trying to be sensible and fair and realistic.”

“And naked.”

“Shut up. Then he looks at me. Man, he sure can look at me.”

Tansy told her everything Farley said, nearly word for word.

“Oh.” She couldn’t help it. Lil pressed a hand to her heart. “That’s beautiful. And so Farley, so completely and beautifully Farley.”

“I know it. I know, but Lil, this morning, over breakfast in this diner, I’m fumbling around, trying to… I don’t know slow it down, calm it down. Be sensible. He just keeps smiling at me.”

“Well, four times puts a smile on a guy’s face.”

“Stop it! He says, ‘I’m going to marry you, Tansy, but you can take some time to get used to it first.’”

“Wow.” Lil’s jaw dropped before she managed to close it and take another drink. “Well. I repeat, Wow.”

“It doesn’t matter what I say. He just smiles and nods, and when we go outside, he gets ahold of me again and kisses my brains out. I felt them leak out of my ears. I think I lost half my brain in Montana.”

“Have you set the date?”

“Will you stop it! You’re not helping.”

“Sorry, Tans, but you’re sitting there, stress-eating Fritos and telling me a good man, a really good man, loves you and wants you. A man you had multiple orgasms with-I assume.”

“Yes, multiple was a factor. He’s very… attentive and energetic.”

“Now you’re just bragging.”

“Some. God, Lil, he’s sincere and sweet and just a little scary. I’m messed up over this, over him.”

“Which would be a first. I like that you’re in love with him, and all I can think is good. It’s good. All I can be is happy, and a little bit jealous.”

“I shouldn’t have slept with him,” Tansy continued. “Now I’ve complicated it even more, because before I could think I just had the hots for him, but now I know I have the hots for him, and I’m crazy about him. Why do we do that? Why do we end up sleeping with them?”

“I don’t know. I slept with Coop.”

Tansy ate another chip, washed it down with wine. “I thought you’d hold out longer.”

“So did I,” Lil admitted. “Now we’re mad at each other. I think. Or I snapped and snarled at him this morning. Which I knew, even as I was doing it, was ninety percent defense and ten percent truth.”

“He broke your heart.”

“Into countless pieces. Farley’s incapable of doing that to you.”

Tansy’s deep, dark eyes went soft. “I could break his.”

“Yes, you could. Will you?”

“I don’t know, that’s the problem. I don’t want to. He’s not what I was looking for. When I thought about what I might be looking for, down the road, it sure wasn’t a skinny white cowboy.”

“I don’t think we get to choose as much as we tell ourselves we choose.” Thoughtfully, Lil dug into the bag of chips. “If I could pick, it would be Jean-Paul. He’s a better choice for me. But he wasn’t the one, and I couldn’t make him the one. So I ended up hurting him even though I didn’t want to.”

“Now I’m depressed.”

“Sorry. No more talk of broken hearts.” Deliberately Lil shook herself as if shedding a weight. “Let’s talk about sex with Farley. Spare no details.”

“No.” Amused, Tansy pointed at her. “At least not on one glass of wine. And since I’m driving, no more for me. I’m going home and I’m going to think about something else. Anything else. You’ll be all right here?”

“There’s half a dozen armed men outside.”

“Good. But I meant regarding Cooper.”

Lil blew out a breath. “I’m going to take the late shift, thereby avoiding that problem, as he’ll take first duty. It’s not a solution but it’s a plan. Tansy, just one question. Don’t think first, just answer. Are you in love with Farley? Not just crazy about, but in love with.”