Give Me Tonight(41)

"No, I never think of it as a mournful place," she said thoughtfully. "Or boring. There's always some­thing to do and something happening. I'd rather be in Texas than anywhere. "

"Even after you went to school for two years in Virginia? I don't understand you, Adeline. How could you choose this dusty old ranch over a civilized place to live in, with lots of people around and modem con­veniences . . ."

Addie stopped listening as Caroline continued to talk about the wonders of city living. She could picture Sunrise as it would be fifty years from now, replete with modem conveniences Caroline couldn't even imagine. Had that Sunrise she had known been pref­erable to this? Maybe not. You could be just as lonely with lots of people around. Being happy was more than that, more than having stores and automobiles and movie theaters close by. Being happy was some­thing that had always eluded her, and would continue to, until she found the answers to questions she had only begun to ask herself. I think I'd be happy if I had someone to share things with. Someone who needed me. And then maybe she wouldn't care where or when she was living.

". . . there's no future for Peter here," Caroline was saying. "He's not the kind of man who'll be happy on a ranch. He needs a nice job in an office some­where, where he can earn a living with his mind, not his hands. He's not interested in a bunch of mangy old cows, and there's no point in him trying to be. The only man capable of filling Daddy's shoes is Ben, and everyone knows it."

Confusion again. Always that first clutching sensa­tion of confusion when she thought of Ben and Rus­sell. Why was she cursed with the knowledge of their destinies? She wished she didn't know. Knowing was a terrible responsibility, the responsibility of preserv­ing Russell's life and maintaining her guard against Ben at all times. But how, how could Ben have done it? There must be two men living in his skin.

"Look over there," Caroline said, and Addie saw a rider approaching them at an easy canter. Even before she saw his face, she knew it was Ben by the familiar tilt of his low-crowned felt hat. The front of the brim was angled low over his forehead in a way that meant business. Only a tenderfoot or a dandy wore his hat on the back of his head.

Ben rode his horse parallel to the buggy and slowed to a walk, touching the brim of his hat in a respectful gesture as he nodded to Addie and Caroline. "Well, if it isn't the two prettiest women in Texas."

"Hello," Caroline said, smiling sunnily, while Ad­die pretended interest in the scenery on the other side of the buggy. "What are you up and about this mornin', Ben?"

"Work as usual." He smiled raffishly. "But if I had the time, I'd take you to town myself and buy you the tallest glasses of lemonade you've ever seen. "

A full-blown simper appeared on Caroline's face in less than five seconds. "Oh, you slick-tongued rascal. Isn't he a honey, Adeline?"

Addie turned her head to regard Ben impassively. He looked impossibly virile, clad in the standard uni­form of Levi's, boots, and a worn shirt. The sunlight glowed in his eyes and along the edges of his cheek­bones. He was one of the few men on the ranch who shaved every day, but his beard was so dark there was always a shadow of bristle on the lower half of his face. She wondered how his jaw would feel against her fingertips-smooth in one direction, sandpapery in the other. It was part of what made him so dangerous, his vibrant attractiveness. Why couldn't he have been ugly?

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" she asked curtly.

"Adeline, how rude," Caroline said in protest.

"Well, around this time he's usually roping, de­horning, or debogging something. Are you taking a rest today, Mr. Hunter?"

Ben smiled and reached in his shirt pocket to pull out a white slip of paper. He handed it to the cowboy at the front of the buggy. "Watts, this is a list of sup­plies for you to pick up in town. Just charge them to the General Store account."

" Alrighty." Watts pocketed the list.

"Mrs. Ward," Ben said to Caroline, "it's going to be a hot day. Are you sure you're up to it?" Which was a tactful way of referring to her pregnancy. As he addressed Caroline, his manner was so friendly and concerned that Addie was surprised and perhaps even a little resentful. He never behaves that way with me. He was always mocking her. Just once I'd like him to ask me something in that tone of voice!

"I'm just fine, thank you," Caroline replied, dain­tily twirling the silk-wrapped handle of her sage-green parasol. "Just eager for a change of scenery. Don't worry 'bout me."

"In that case, I'll be getting back to work. But I have to leave you with a warning, Mrs. Ward."

"Oh?"

"Keep a close eye on your sister. She's mighty hard to keep track of in town. She'll disappear before you can blink twice."

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't," Addie said. "It depends on the people I'm with."

Ben smiled sardonically while his eyes made a thor­ough study of her. He noticed the hat perched on top of her piled-up hair, a frilly little hat decorated with artificial strawberries and pale pink netting. Slowly his gaze wandered from the little white collar of her dusty ­rose princess dress to the rows of tiny folds that de­murely emphasized the fullness of her br**sts.

There was a spark of challenge in her eyes and dis­dain in her expression. Did she know when she looked at a man like that, it made him want to tame her? If the two of them had been alone together that very min­ute, he might have shown her a remedy for her haugh­tiness.