Give Me Tonight

killed.'

Addie was flooded with sympathy. 'Caro… I'm sorry…'

'That was ten years ago. Enough time has passed by to make it tolerable. I couldn't bear it at first. But I had Peter, and I've always loved him in a certain way. That gave me enough strength to live through the grief. I'm married to a special man.'

'I think you're special,' Addie said softly, and meant it.

'Me? Why?'

'Because of the way you've survived.'

'Oh, there's no trick in that. You might be surprised by the things a person's able to survive through. There's always somethin' to hold on to. There's always someone that needs you, somethin' that needs your attention. It takes your mind off feelin' sorry for yourself. '

'But it makes me afraid of loving someone, the thought that I'might lose him.'

'You can't let yourself worry 'bout that. It's better to have love for a little while than not at all, isn't it?'

Addie laughed huskily. 'I guess. I'm not sure.' Caroline regarded her for a long moment. 'Right now I like you more than I ever have, Adeline. For a little while I thought Daddy had finally done itspoiled you rotten to the core. But he hasn't. You're a sweet girl. '

'Thank you, ' Addie said, her eyes suddenly bright. For the first time she felt as if the two of them were family. She realized that she did care about Caroline. She felt a bond between them, of trust and affection, so strong that it seemed it had always been there. She felt as if they were sisters. It had happened all at once, like the flip of a coin. How short a distance it was from indifference to love.

Caroline leaned closer. 'I'll tell you somethin' only Mama and Peter know,' she whispered.

'You don't have to tell me any of your secrets.'

'I want to. I want you to remember what I've told you. Don't ever be afraid of lovin' someone, or you'll make the mistake I did. I don't let myself think of the might've-beens. It would hurt too much. But I have something very special to remember Raif by. More than memories. The greatest treasure he could've given me.'

Addie went very still. 'Leah?' she asked inaudibly, her mouth barely framing the name.

Caroline nodded and smiled tremulously. 'You've been so sweet to her lately, spendin' time with her. You have a special feelin' for her, don't you?'

'Yes. Oh, yes, I do.' Addie leaned over and hugged her tightly.

'Before I was married to Peter, Raif and I had a few days together,' Caroline whispered. 'He never knew it was his baby. I promised Peter I wouldn't tell him. But just lookin' at her reminds me how much Raif loved me. Every woman should be loved like that, Adeline, at least once. '

'Sometimes I wish for that,' Addie said humbly, while she burned inside with longing and hope, and relentless doubt. Involuntarily she thought of Ben, his sensual smile and threatening charm. 'And sometimes I want to be unattached forever.' Like Leah had been. Leah had had a fulfilling life in spite of being unmarried… she'd been happy… hadn't she?

Not always, a small voice whispered inside. Leah had worried that Addie would turn out to be a spinster too. And she had been so wistful sometimes. There had been many lonely, quiet hours for her. Yes, there had been a part of Leah that must have wished for a husband and a real family.

'Unattached forever?' Caroline repeated. 'I wouldn't want that for you, Adeline. Think of all you'd miss out on.'

'But what if I fell in love with the wrong man?'

'Wrong by whose reckonin'? Mama's? You'd most likely be best off with the kind of man she doesn't want for you. Someone like… well, like Ben.'

'Why do you mention him?' Addie asked, suddenly irritated. 'What do you see in him that I don't? If you're hoping that something will develop between Ben and me, you're going to be disappointed. I just plain don't trust him. How do you and everyone else know that he won't go bad? How do we know he won't turn mean, or turn on Daddy, or something else just as awful? He's attractive on the surface, but inside… why, there's no telling what he's really like.'

'Is that what you think about him?' Caroline looked surprised. 'Well, I s'pose he might be different on the inside than he seems. I just always took him at face value. But I'll tell you somethin'. The only way to find out what he's really like is to get closer to him.' She peered at Addie quizzically. 'There a chance you might be interested in him?'

'Maybe,' Addie admitted reluctantly. She thought of Russell, and her mouth tightened. 'For certain reasons.'

'Then take a chance on him! Spend some time with him! You might be surprised how much you and Ben have in common. He'd be so nice to you, if you'd just let him. I'm sure of it. '

As Addie thought over the idea, she began to see the sense of it. Spend some time with Ben, get to know him, try to gain his friendship. If she could make him like her, that would make him a little vulnerable to her, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it be easier to outsmart him if he trusted her? It made no sense to make him think of her as an enemy. Then he would always be on his guard when she was near. And she was the only thing that was going to stand between him and his plan to kill Russell. But how plausible was her attempt to befriend him going to seem?

'He wouldn't be nice to me,' she said doubtfully.

'He'd only laugh at me if he thought I was interested.'

Caroline smiled with satisfaction. 'Now, that's one thing you'll never get me to believe.'

Addie received her first opportunity to be nice to Ben much sooner than she'd expected. Late in the afternoon he and two line riders were entangled in the first serious confrontation between Double Bar and Sunrise men. Ben came to the main house with a battered face and a tersely worded report for Russell. Russell's roar could be heard across three counties. The fight between the cowboys had been about his 'bob-wahhr' fence, and he was livid at the suggestion that he didn't have the right to fence in his own land. Why, how was he going to keep control over his cattle and stop them from drifting where they shouldn't? How could he protect his property from thieves and rustlers?

'Now, Russ, hold on,' came Ben's voice from behind the door as he and Russell talked in the office. The rest of the family stood in the hallway and eavesdropped unabashedly. 'I know how you feel, but you can't blame them for being angry when one of their horses was killed by that damn fence. The animal was cut to pieces. It was the worst godawful mess I've seen in a long time.'

Russell was not disposed to see their side of it. 'I don't care what made ' em mad. They attacked three of my men, including my foreman, and cut up my fence! Well, it's goin' back up, with five strands instead of four. If Big George wants a war with me, he'll find out quick that he's bitten off too much this time!'

There was a short silence. Then Ben spoke, and although he sounded casual, there was an undertone in his voice that commanded attention. 'We fenced in some public land along with our own, Russ, not to mention a considerable amount of water. That makes us unpopular with just about everyone. There's a lot of sympathy out there for Big George. They all need water and grass for their cattle, and some figure we've got more than our share.'

'Is that what you think, boy?' Russel demanded furiously. 'You think we've got more than our share?'

'I think you know when it's time to be diplomatic. I've seen you slick down a lot of ruffled feathers when too many tempers were high. We're the biggest outfit around here, and that makes us an easy target. It's going to get worse, Russ. Fence-cutting is just the beginning. '

'We're not some greasy-sack outfit they can push around. We can take whatever they're fixin' to dish out!'

'Possibly. But do we want to? We've got enough on our hands just taking care of our own business.' Ben's voice softened as he spoke persuasively. 'The system's always worked without fences. We all depend on each other. You can't turn us into an island. We can't survive alone. I say we start putting that money