"Dinosaur Love" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Student Paleontologist Hayley Kent was so absorbed in looking for fossils in the eastern Montana countryside that she ignored fences and no trespassing signs. Sometime in the late afternoon her persistence paid off, and she found what looked like the fossilized skeleton of a Triceratops. 

Hayley then began the laborious task of cataloguing the site. She was taking photos of the outcropping when a rider came up from behind. "Do you know that this is private property? a deep voice said. Hayleigh whirled and was surprised to see a young man about her age, but he did not look happy. "I'm really sorry, I got caught up in looking for fossils" Hayley admitted.  "What kind of fossil?" the man asked coming off his horse. Haley showed him the outline of the skeleton and he seemed impressed. 

"I'll have to talk to my dad about it. He may or may not approve of letting you work out here. by the way, my name is Mark Olson." Haley took the big hand of the rancher and told him her name. Haley also gave Mark her phone number and he led her back to the main road and her jeep.

Haley could hardly contain her excitement waiting for Mark to call about the project. While she was preparing for a chemistry test, her cell rang and she shouted for joy to hear that the Mark's father had given approval. Of course, there were conditions such as a limited number of workers and a daily clean-up of the site.

Since Haley was the discoverer of the fossil, the professor chose her as one of the workers. Removing the skeleton without damaging it was hard work, but Mark and sometimes his father came to the site to measure their progress. One day, Mark brought a lunch and they ate in the shadow of the great beast. Haley didn't know much about ranching, but Mark was happy to explain how the business worked and the future of the ranch.

Lunches at the dig eventually became dinners at nice restaurants in Billings and the excavation was nearly complete when Mark and Haley got engaged. They were married two years later at the museum in front of the proud new Triceratops exhibit.