Give Me Tonight

open the door and fled down the back steps. It was dark outside, and the shadows offered refuge.

Ben looked at Russell, his green eyes expressionless.

'What are you gonna say?' Russell demanded hotly. 'She's my daughter, damn you. You think I wasn't fair to her?'

'You already know,' Ben said, turning to leave.

'You stay away from her. Let her lick her wounds in private. I won't have you two commiseratin' behind my back. And I just might be tempted to fire you if you take her side against me!'

Ben arched an eyebrow, turning his head slowly and staring at him. They both knew he was completely indifferent to Russell's blustering. 'I'll leave whenever you give the word, Russ.'

Russell cursed under his breath as the other man went to follow Addie.

She stopped in the shelter of a storage shed, leaning against the rough wooden planks and crying wretchedly. She had never felt so lonely or helpless. If only there was some sanctuary she could find, even a temporary one! If only she could go to sleep, and wake up to hear Leah calling to her… her Leah, not that little girl!

It was an intolerable idea to be sentenced to stay here forever. But it was intolerable, also, to think of going back to a place where she had no one at all. What am I going to do? she thought, and pressed her wet cheek against the shed as she began to cry even harder.

She heard a voice right behind her ear, a voice laced with sympathy. 'It's not that bad, darlin'.'

Turning around, she looked at Ben while the moonlight silvered the watery trails down her cheeks. You don't know how bad it is, she wanted to say, but she couldn't. He was so close they were almost touching, his powerful body casting a large shadow. The earth seemed to shake under her feet as she reached out for him blindly, and then he pulled her close into the protection of his body. Her head fell against his shoulder, and she wept at the infinite relief of it. Senseless, to feel safe and warm in his arms, but the sweetness of it flowed through her veins like strong wine. Illusion or not, every moment of it was something to treasure-the heat of his body, the smell of him, the abrasion of his unshaven jaw against her temple. After a while she tried to explain herself, feeling somehow that he would understand.

'I can't stand being t-told what to do all the time. I want to run… but th-there's nowhere…'

'I know. I know.' He stroked her hair, his fingers trailing through the warmth of it.

A wild impulse came to Addie, to tell him some of the secrets that swelled so painfully in her heart. If only she could. She wanted to be close to him, but that couldn't be reconciled with what she knew about him. She should be terrified of him. Why was the wanting becoming so much stronger than the fear? How tired she was of questions that had no answers. Wearily she pushed all of it out of her mind and let herself be held a little bit longer.

'For a few minutes I hated him,' she said after a minute, her voice catching.

'You and the rest of the county,' Ben said quietly.

'He's not making himself too popular these days.'

'He wants me to be like Caro and Mama.'

'No. He doesn't want you to change, no matter what he said back there. He's so damned proud of you, Addie. You're the only one around here who won't let him bully you.'

'Except you.'

'That's because I don't like the alternative.'

She sighed shortly. 'I felt about a foot tall in that kitchen. Especially when he-'

'He's just on a rampage. You know better than to wave a red flag at him when he's in a contrary mood.'

'I shouldn't have cried in front of him,' Addie whispered, and her eyes smarted at the memory. 'I hate myself more than him for that.'

'Don't.'

'I proved him right, acting like a child-'

'Addie…' He pried her face from his neck and looked into her reddened eyes. 'Stop it. It didn't prove anything. No one likes to have his pride stomped on like that, especially not in front of someone else. Some men would have cried too.'

He paused for a long moment, his thumb moving in a caress from her cheek to her temple. 'I did the last time I saw my father.'

'You?' she asked, bewildered. 'Why? An argument, or-'

'Always. I never had a civil conversation with him. We always used to argue. It was our way of showing we gave a damn about each other. But the last year at the university I didn't see him even once. I was told to stay away from him. I was bad for his health. I went to visit him after I graduated, to set things right between us and tell him I was going to Texas. And I realized after I told him that he didn't care. Indifference… well, that hurts worse than hatred. That was why I cried. In front of him. And I hate myself for it. '

'Do you still?'

'No. But God knows I'll never forget. And neither will he.' He smiled down at her, his teeth gleaming white in the darkness. He looked so invulnerable, it was impossible to imagine him caring about what anyone said or did to him. She couldn't imagine him crying. Why had he entrusted her with such a revelation? Merely to bolster her up? To help ease her own shame?

'Ben,' she said tentatively, her heart beating a little faster, 'sometimes you're very nice.'

'Never without a reason, honey.' All at once he changed, his tenderness melting away to reveal a mocking smile. His eyes seemed to bum right through her clothing.

'I didn't think so,' she said, suddenly nervous.

They were going to pick up what they had started before Russell had interrupted them in the kitchen. The taste of anticipation was sweet on her lips. 'What was your reason for being so nice tonight?'

'Maybe I want something from you.'

'Too bad you won't get it.'

'Oh, I will eventually.'

'Not if! can help it,' she parried, wondering why he wasn't trying to take advantage of her.

His smile widened as he saw that her lips had parted.

'Liar. You're dying for me to kiss you.'

She tore herself away from him and gave him a shove. 'If you ever try to kiss me, the only thing you'll get is a swift kick, you self-important jackass-'

'What a temper,' he said, and laughed, catching her loosely in the circle of his arms. 'Don't flyaway just yet, Addie. I'm still planning to finish what we started back there.'

'You leave me alone!' She wedged her arms between them, preventing him from drawing her closer. 'If you feel the urge to be with someone, go visit your woman in Blue Ridge.'

There was ruthless amusement in Ben's smile. Addie could have bitten her tongue off as she realized she had sounded jealous.

'What makes you think I have a woman in Blue Ridge?'

'Caroline said you did.'

'How would she know?'

'She listens to gossip-'

'Seems to be a family habit.'

'Do you visit a woman in Blue Ridge?'

His voice was silky. 'Now, why would I want to do that, when I've got you here?'

Addie twisted away from him with an infuriated sound. Ben laughed and blew her a kiss as she stomped off to the house, his eyes following her alertly until she disappeared from sight.