Give Me Tonight(88)

"I'd die if I married a man who wouldn't let me argue with him. We're both strong-willed, but we're learning how to accommodate each other. And he lis­tens to me, Mama, really listens, and respects what I have to say."

"I know. I've heard the two of you. He talks to you as if you're a man. You might enjoy the novelty of that at first, but it's not right for him to treat you as if—"

"Why not? Why not talk to me as if I have a head on my shoulders?"

"He should treat you more gently, instead of tellin' you about men's business and worryin' you with things that don't concern you. You're a woman, Adeline, with your own place and your own concems-"

"And I tell him about those too."

"Oh, good Lord." May leaned her forehead on her palm.

"I know it sounds a little radical, but why do there have to be lines between a husband and wife they aren't allowed to cross? Why the separation and the distance between them? There are things you and Caro and all our women friends tell each other but wouldn't dream of mentioning to your husbands. But a man has a right to know his wife's personal feelings, and—"

"A decent man wouldn't be interested in such things!" May snapped, and Addie quieted, under­standing it would distress her mother to hear any more. There was silence between them, and then May spoke wearily. "I guess you plan to marry him."

"Yes."

"I suppose you've taken time to figure out he's after the ranch as much as anything else."

"He'd end up with Sunrise anyway. Daddy's plan­ning to make him trustee in the new will."

"I know. That would put him in charge of the ranch. But by marryin' you, he'll own the biggest piece of it. "

"He would marry me if I were a pauper."

"Are you certain of that?"

"I've never been more certain of anything."

May looked at her daughter's serious eyes and stub­bornly set jaw, and her own face wrinkled with un­happiness. It was difficult for her to accept defeat in this, of all things. "You've never looked so much like your father," she said, and left the room.

Addie sat alone, massaging her temples. An abnor­mal quiet reigned over the house and the ranch, the silence after the storm. She waited until she heard Russell's office door opening and the sound of subdued voices. Warily she crept out of the kitchen and stood in a shadow, watching as Russell went up the stairs to catch an hour of sleep before the beginning of a diffi­cult day. Ben stood at the bottom step, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned to leave. He saw her but made no move as she walked toward him.

"Did he listen?" she asked softly.

"Some." He sighed with a mixture of weariness and worry. "I don't know how much."

She reached up to him and smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. "He always re­spects what you have to say."

As he felt her drawing closer to him and saw the tenderness in her face, Ben froze. He'd never turned to anyone for comfort before. He'd been raised to bear his burdens alone, and he'd always managed to get along just fine without anyone's help. The last thing he needed was a woman's solace. And yet . . . he had an irresistible urge to pull Addie close and pour out his frustrations to her. Here she was, confronting him, forcing him to include her in his private feelings.

Addie saw the indecision in his face and understood it more than he could have imagined. Until she'd met him, she'd fought to keep the same distance between herself and everything that threatened to come too close. But whether he admitted it or not, he needed her. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips grazing his unshaven jaw.

"Try to keep me at a distance," she said huskily. "I won't let you."

He was still for a moment, and then he bent his head and kissed her, his hand fitting behind her neck and tilting it back. Addie sighed and gripped his shoulders tightly. Weariness and doubt scattered like leaves be­fore the wind. When he buried his mouth in the curve between her neck and shoulder, she slid her arms around his back and felt the tenseness of his muscles.

"Me the first part of the night, then the fence­ cutters," she whispered. "You haven't had any rest at all."

"You tired me out a hell of a lot more than the fence-cutters," he muttered, his hands wandering over her slim body.

"Will you be able to get a little sleep?"

"It's only an hour until dawn. Pretty soon I'll have to get the men started, make sure they know what they're supposed to be doing for the day. I might as well stay awake." Taking it for granted that she would stay with him, Ben picked her up and carried her into the dimly lit parlor. As he settled into a slick horsehair sofa, he pulled her into his lap and they shared another smoldering kiss.

"I was worried about you," Addie confessed, push­ing past his shirt to lay her cheek against the bare skin of his chest.

"Me?" He strained his fingers through her hair and coiled a lock of it around his hand. "No reason to be, darlin'. The shooting was over long before I arrived on the scene. "

"When I heard you were taking the body to town, I was afraid someone would take a shot at you."

Ben half-smiled for the first time, turning his face down until their noses touched. "I think I like having someone worry over me."