Give Me Tonight

There was dead silence around the table as Russell stared at him bug-eyed. Ben met his gaze without flinching, that same smile still lingering on his lips. Addie was amazed at his daring. Suddenly Russell laughed deeply, and relieved chuckles erupted from the rest of the group. 'Don't know why some say you're dishonest,' Russell remarked, still chortling. 'You're so honest it offends me. All right. What does that son-of-a- bitch George want in the way of… of… '

'Remuneration?”

'If that means slickin' his ruffled feathers down, yes.'

'He wants half of that watering hole on the border of the property. And he wants to be paid for that maverick calf we… adopted.'

'Adopted,' Addie repeated, unable to resist breaking in. 'First we stole it, now we adopted it. It sounds better every time I hear it told. You sound positively paternal, Ben, talking about that poor little lonesome critter who needed to be taken in.'

He grinned at her. 'I have a soft spot in my heart for neglected animals.'

Their eyes met in challenge. 'How altruistic.'

'No, just enterprising.'

May decided to interrupt their exchange. 'I wish the two of you would quit tradin' words no one else understands.' The statement was heartily seconded by the rest of the gathering, and Addie laughed as she stood up from the table.

'I'll leave while you discuss the details, then. I'm going to take a short walk outside, now that the air is cool. '

'Don't go too far,' May cautioned.

'I won't, Mama.' It startled Addie, to hear that word come so easily to her own lips, and her smile faded as she left the room.

The night air was cool and fresh. She inhaled the scent of it and knew there was something missing. There was a difference between this Sunrise and the one she had left. Here there was no seasoned, mellow fragrances of corn growing and fruit ripening. The farmers would not plow this ground and coax their harvest from it for another twenty or thirty years.

Sunrise was still the ranchers' domain. They liked the land raw and uncultivated, they liked the town frayed and comfortable, worn down and full of saloons. This was more of a man's world than the Sunrise she had come from. Moodily she kicked at a dry clod of earth and went to lean against the wooden fence by the house. There were lights on at the bunkhouse, and the muted sound of cowboys' laughter. Scattered across the ground were flashes of light. Fireflies winking at each other.

What am I doing here? she wondered as she braced her forearms on the fence. Loneliness smote her all at once. She wanted Leah desperately, not the little-girl Leah but the woman who had been her only parent, the woman she had known all her life. She wanted someone who understood her, someone who knew her, not as the spoiled Adeline Warner but as the person she really was. Her throat was tight as she fought to control her longing. It wouldn't do to think about it, not when she had to turn all of her concentration to learning everything she could about her situation.

Sighing and closing her eyes, she leaned her head on her hands and tried to remember what Leah had told her about Adeline Warner's disappearance. It was all enshrouded in a haze of grief. Frowning deeply, she focused on the faint recollection of a name. She said she'd wanted to talk to someone. Diaz, I've got to find him. I've got to ask him-.

Addie heard the sound of booted feet behind her, felt the touch of someone's fingertips on her arm.

' Adeline-'

'Don't!' She spun around, her heart leaping. 'Don't touch me!'

Ben held his hands up as if she were wielding a revolver. 'Okay. Okay. No one's touching you.'

She put her hand up to her chest, taking an unsteady breath. 'Don't walk up behind me like that again.'

'From the way you were leaning, I thought you were sick.

'Well, I wasn't. But you nearly frightened me to death.'

She could see the white flash of his smile in the darkness. 'Sorry.'

'An apology from you,' she said, exhaustion robbing her voice of its intended tartness. 'It's been one surprise after another today.'

'Your mother asked me to bring you back in.'

'I have a question or two to ask you first.'

He inclined his head slightly. 'About?'

'For starters, where did you get your education?'

He braced an arm on the fence and leaned against it comfortably, sliding a hand into his pocket. 'Is it so obvious that I have one? I'm flattered.'

'I'd like to know. Please.'

''Please' from you. Now, that is a surprise. I'm almost tempted to tell you. But you wouldn't believe me.'

'Did you go to college?'

'Harvard.'

'You're lying.'

'I said you wouldn't believe me. But it's true. I even graduated. After that, my father offered to pay me to stay away for good.'

'Why?'

'Why? Obviously he didn't like my company,' he murmured with a half-smile, and stood up from the fence. 'Time to go in.'

'Is your family from the Nor-'

'No more questions. I've bared my soul enough for one night.' He reached to take her arm and stopped in mid-motion as she edged away from him. 'Oh, yes. No touching. Come on, Adeline.'

Everything he said and did was carefully cataloged in her mind. She would have to remember it all. Maybe that was why she had found herself here. Maybe she was intended to expose the other side of him, to interrupt the events that would lead up to Russell's death. The fact that I'm here must change a lot of things. The fact that I'm here instead of Adeline Warner is just the beginning of it all. Everything will be different now. I'll make it different. I'll stop Russell's murder. I'll ruin Ben Hunter before it ever gets that far.

After she retired for the night, she turned fitfully as questions burned through her mind. There were things she had to know. Things she had to find out tomorrow. Addie threw off the light sheet that covered her and rolled over onto her stomach, hot and frustrated… frightened.

Her thoughts stilled as the clear, lovely notes of a guitar floated through the windows from a distance. Haunting, sweet music. Was that Ben? She didn't know the melody, but it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, soothing and faultlessly played. She could sense the entire ranch settling down to listen. Soon Addie ceased to wonder at the source of the music and relaxed. How could someone like Ben play something so beautiful? she thought drowsily, and then she thought of Leah, sleeping only a few rooms away. She wondered if Leah was listening.

3

ADDIE WAS UP AT DAWN WITH THE OTHERS, UNABLE to stay in bed while the smell of breakfast crept stealthily through the air and the sound of quiet morning conversation floated up to her from the dining room. She washed and dressed quickly, feeling strangely at peace in spite of a long and restless night.

Was there any way to get back to the Sunrise she belonged in? She didn't know how to go