The Dinosaur Hunter by Homer Hickam

did. A flick of her hand, just trailing for an instant across his shoulder. Now, what the hell did that mean? I might have walked after her to ask but my balls hurt too much.
    Ray came by. “Need anything?”
    â€œIbuprofen and two weeks off.”
    â€œI can get the pills,” Ray said, “but you’ll have to ask mom about the time.”
    A couple of hours later, when all the cows and calves were happily reunited and released to pasture, I lounged at the picnic table, gone to beer and ibuprofen with the prospect of a g&t later on. Jeanette was touring Pick, Laura, and Tanya through the barn. Edith had left in her pickup, and Aaron and Flora had finished their catering chores, cleaned up, and likewise departed. Amelia had also left with her dad, leaving Ray so depressed he was changing the oil on his mother’s tractor even though it didn’t need it. Cade Morgan was still around, for no good reason that I could discern, although he was entertaining Jeanette’s bum calf, reaching in its stall and allowing it to chew on his fingers. This surprised me. I would have thought him more squeamish than that. He gave the calf a pat on its head, then nonchalantly strolled in my direction, got a beer out of the cooler, and sat down at the table across from me. He took off his fancy straw hat, wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve, and said, “I learned a lot today. Maybe I’ll get me some cattle yet.”
    â€œAround here, Cade, we say cows, not cattle,” I instructed, adding, “Red angus. They’re small, they’re docile, and they market well.”
    â€œI’ll try to remember that,” he said. “Or maybe I could just hire you to buy them for me.”
    â€œSorry. I already have a job.”
    â€œWorking for peanuts for Jeanette and living in a rented trailer without a telephone?”
    â€œOr a computer or the Internet,” I added. “But I do have a refrigerator and a microwave.”
    â€œAnd probably a lot of good books,” he said.
    â€œYes. A lot of good books. It’s all a man really needs.”
    â€œSome men.” He took a long swig of beer. “Me, I need my comforts.”
    This comment from the Californian kind of interested me. “Then what the hell are you doing at the end of Ranchers Road?”
    He smiled. “I have a nice place.”
    â€œYeah, but it’s not the Ponderosa.”
    â€œClose enough.”
    There was a burr under my saddle that I didn’t even know was there until it came out. “What’s between you and the mayor?”
    Cade smiled. “What do you mean?”
    â€œShe’s not as strong as she makes out to be, Cade.”
    â€œI don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œYes, you do. I was there, where you are now.”
    This made Cade think and I could tell he didn’t like what he was thinking. Finally, he said, “What I like about Montana, Mike, is we all mind our own business.”
    He had me there. I guess we had run out of things to say because for the next few minutes, we both just sat there, drinking our beers. Then Jeanette, Pick, Laura, and Tanya, finished with their tour of the barn, trooped up to the table. Jeanette threw open the cooler and handed out more beer. “When do you think you’ll start digging up your dinosaur?” Cade asked Pick after they’d all settled down at the picnic table beside us.
    Laura said, “We’ve already begun.
    â€œMind if I come watch?” Cade asked.
    â€œI don’t think that’s a good idea,” Pick replied. “It’s best to minimize the number of people around a dig. You could contaminate it.”
    â€œToo bad,” Cade said.
    â€œWell,” Tanya said, “it’s just a lot of dirt, anyway.”
    Cade nodded, retrieved the keys of his Mercedes from his hip pocket, and stood up. Even though there was a trash can only a few feet away, he left the