Give Me Tonight(31)

Addie fumed inwardly. Oh, how he loved to give just the right amount of disrespectful emphasis to her name! How could Russell just sit there without real­izing Ben was subtly insulting her?

"It's a relief to know decent women are safe from your attentions, Mr. Hunter."

He grinned lazily, looking her up and down. "I should warn you, I make an exception every now and then."

Russell chuckled richly. "The key to my Adeline's heart is to give her compliments, Ben, lots of 'em. They do a lot to sweeten her disposition. "

"Only if they're sincere," Addie corrected. She glanced meaningfully at Ben. "And I see through most people who are wearing false fronts."

"I never knew you put much store by sincerity, Miss Adeline. "

"Then you don't know as much about me as you suppose, Mr. Hunter."

"Enough to have formed an accurate opinion."

"That's just fine. Form all the opinions about me you want, as long as I don't have to hear them. Your opinions bore me."

Ben's eyes narrowed.

Russell laughed in the silence that followed. "Don't you two ever quit?"

"I've got to get back to work," Ben said, looking at Addie and touching the brim of his hat in a gesture that contained only a modicum of politeness.

"He's het up, all right," Russell said with enjoy­ment, as Addie watched the foreman stride back to the boghole. "

"Why do you seem so pleased about it?" she asked, tight-lipped. "And why do you let him say such things to your daughter?"

"For one thing, when it comes to Ben Hunter, you take up for yourself better than I could. For another, you'd turn on me like a tornado if I broke in. You like to trade words with him. Hell, I like to trade words with him too. Difference is, you can get him mad and I can't. I like to see him mad every once in a while. Good for a man to have a flare-up every now and again. Not easy to get a rise outta him. Fact is, you're the only one who can do it right. He's as short as a pie crust around you."

"I don't do it on purpose," she muttered. God knew there was no reason for her to provoke Ben. It didn't help her cause any. If only she could swallow the sharp words that came to the tip of her tongue when Ben spoke to her. How much of an advantage she would have if she could stay cool and calm while he was angry! But she couldn't keep silent or cool, not when his mere presence filled her with such tension. She couldn't control her feelings when Ben was near. She found herself saying things she couldn't hold in. He brought out the worst in her, and it seemed she brought out the worst in him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an urgent shout from Russell, who had leaned forward in his saddle "Hey! That steer's turned on em—someone dump him!"

Addie's eyes widened with alarm as she saw what had happened. As soon as the steer had struggled out of the boghole, it angrily turned its horns against its rescuers, enraged and ready to do battle. The huge horns shook threateningly at the man closest by. Quickly the steer lunged, powerful muscles bunching under the mud-encrusted hide, and all Addie could see was a flurry of motion. There was a short scream from the cowboy as he was wounded. Ropes were swung to catch the steer and hold him fast, but in the dust and frenzy the lassos missed their mark. Addie cried out as she saw the red gleam of blood and the rag-doll limpness of the boy as he fell.

Maddened by the snap of whirling ropes, the steer twisted sideways. Ben dived at the crumpled figure on the ground, catching at the leg of his chaps and pulling him away from the animal. The steer followed the movement quickly, his head bent to plunge forward in pursuit of the body sliding through the dust.

"Dump him!" Ben shouted hoarsely, but another rope failed to catch one of the longhorn's legs. His voice pierced the air. "Oh, shit. " Someone threw Ben a rifle, which smacked heavily in to his palms. Hold­ing it by the barrel, he raised it in the air. Addie's heart stopped as she understood what he intended.

"Daddy," she whispered, wondering why no one was going to shoot the steer. She heard no sound from Russell.

Ben's body arched as he raised the makeshift club higher, and with a sharp, vicious movement he brought it down on the longhorn's forehead. The animal dropped without a sound, crashing to the ground, mo­mentum causing it to slide forward until Ben was forced to scuttle backward. The point of a horn came to rest near his booted foot. Then Ben was motionless, staring at the twitching longhorn. There was silence in the pasture. "Couldn't anyone around here manage a head catch?" Ben finally asked of no one in partic­ular, sighing as he went to the boy on the ground.

"Did you kill him?" Russ asked, dismounting from General Cotton.

"No. Just stunned him a little. He won't be giving anyone trouble for a while."

"How's the boy?"

Addie was having trouble calming Jessie's attack of nerves. As soon as the horse's skittishness was under control, she dismounted and left the reins hanging.

"Not good," Ben said grimly. "A couple of punc­tures in his side, and a head wound that's going to need some stitches. Watts, get me a needle and thread. The rest of you get back to work. There's a considerable number of animals out there needing to be doctored. "

"Daddy," Addie asked Russell quietly, "do you have any liquor on you?"