Give Me Tonight

formally declared, but there was no other way to describe the state of affairs between the Warners and the Johnsons.

'I hope it's over,' Addie said grimly as Caro made her way down the last two or three steps.

'You hope what's over?'

'The gunfire. Right now they're heading straight for it, Daddy and the rest of them. Men are so foolhardy with guns in their hands. I just hope no one's been hurt. I can't stand the thought of… ' She bit her lip and gripped Caro's hand tightly.

'You're thinkin' about Ben, aren't you?'

Addie was too distracted to hide her feelings. 'They always depend on him to do everything,' she burst out. 'Even Daddy-whenever there's any trouble or danger, 'have Ben do it, have Ben take care of it.' Ben has to watch out for everyone else, but who watches out for him? He's only human, he's not indestructible, and I… ' She sighed with frustration. 'Oh, I don't know-'

'He can take care of himself. Don't worry 'bout him. '

'He'll be the first one to arrive on the scene, riding straight into whatever hornet's nest has been stirred up. Oh, Daddy likes to think of himself as the one in charge, but we all know Ben'll be the one who has to pick up the pieces or make the next move. '

'That's the kind of man he is. Cade and Peter are the kind who have to be guided and prompted. But Ben is someone that others just naturally follow. You wouldn't want him to be any different, would you?'

No. But I don't want to lose him. And there was a fear in Addie's heart that she couldn't explain to anyone. A fear that she had a large price to pay for her past mistakes. Time had given her a chance to atone for the kind of person she had once been. But what if more was going to be demanded of her? What if she was denied the life with Ben she wanted so desperately?

They went to the kitchen and sat at the table with May, who looked calm but fatigued, while outside the house came the sounds of abrupt, sleepy-voiced conversations. The bunkhouse had awakened. Minutes ticked away, then an hour had passed, and as Addie paced around the silent kitchen, tension clawed at her nerves.

'How long do you think they'll be?' she asked curtly, knowing neither of them could answer the question any better titan she could. Still, she had to talk about something or go crazy.

'There's no way of tellin',' May replied, methodically stirring her tea. 'Why don't you sit and have somethin' to drink, sugar?'

'It's the Double Bar,' Addie muttered, circling the table once again. 'Daddy's been expecting them to make a move. Oh, why does he insist on fencing in all the water? It's pure contrariness on his part-'

'Your daddy has the right to do whatever he wants with his own land.'

'But he's leaving them with no choice, and I think-'

'It's not up to us to think anything about it, just support your daddy's decisions.'

Addie grumbled underneath her breath and darted a glance at Caroline, wondering if she agreed with May. Caro was concentrating intently on her coffee, clearly wanting no part of the debate. There was no way of knowing what her opinion was. Sighing, Addie decided to keep quiet and leave well enough alone. She only hoped that whatever had happened, Russell would control his temper long enough to listen to Ben. Ben didn't like the idea of the fencing any more than she did, and there was no doubt he'd try to soften Russell's reaction to the damage that had been done tonight.

Another half-hour crawled by, and then Addie heard the thud-thud of a horse's hooves. Without a word she darted to the back door of the kitchen and threw it open. Cade had been sent back to tell them what had happened.

'Shootin',' he said, bursting into the kitchen, his eyes brilliant with excitement. 'It was the fence all right.' He paused and gulped in a few deep breaths. 'Hacked to pieces. And our line riders were shot at. '

'By whom?' Addie demanded.

'No one they could recognize.'

'The Double Bar. It had to be.'

'Yeah, we think they were behind it. But they didn't use their own men. Hired 'em, most likely. We pegged one of 'em, too. Only it was in the back, which don't make us look too good-'

'What do you mean? Someone was shot?'

'It was before Ben and Daddy and us got there. Our line riders had already chased the attackers off, and shot one of 'em in the back. Ben and Peter are takin' the body over to the sheriff.'

Addie felt herself tum pale. 'But that's dangerous. The men could be hiding near the road somewhere. They might try to shoot Ben for revenge… or…' She glanced at Caroline. 'Or Peter…'

'Ben'll keep a sharp eye out,' Cade said.

'But it's dark. He… ' She bit her lip and kept in words of panic, aware of May's reproving eyes on her. May was far from pleased over her daughter's untoward concern for the foreman.

'Daddy's assigning more of our hands to watch over our property,' Cade continued glibly. 'Tomorrow they'll start puttin' the fence back up again. 'Course, it'll take away from the other chores that need t' be done around here, 'specially gettin' ready for roundup.' He nearly did a dance of glee right in the center of the kitchen. 'Daddy says I gotta take off school for a few weeks and help around here. He says there's too much t' be done on the ranch to fool around with books-'

'That's fine,' May said evenly. 'You'll help your daddy in the daytime and study your books in the evenin'. Adeline and I will help you do your lessons so you won't fall behind.'

Cade's grin collapsed. 'Aw, Ma-'

'It'll be a long day tomorrow. Go upstairs now and get some sleep.'

'Sleep?' he repeated, as if the concept was foreign to him. 'After what happened tonight?'

May nodded implacably, and the boy trudged out of the room, his exuberance deflating fast. 'You can do the same, Adeline,' she said, turning her eyes to her younger daughter. 'You won't help anyone by stayin' up.'

'I… I can't go to bed.' Addie sat down slowly, gripping the sides of her chair as if expecting to be pried forcibly from it. 'I'll wait for them to get back.' Her anxiousness wore down into numbness as time dragged by. The cup of steaming coffee in front of her gradually turned stone-cold, and she took no notice as Caroline replaced it with a new cup. Then that was cold too, and they still hadn't returned.

There was a sickening plunge in her stomach every time she heard a noise outside, each time she heard a man's voice and knew it wasn't Ben's. Her head dropped to her folded arms on the table and she closed her eyes, waiting, waiting for the footsteps that were different from anyone else's, for the voice that could ease her tension and calm her fears. She felt Caroline's hand on her shoulder.

'I'm going to pour more coffee. I think they're back.'

Addie's head jerked up, her eyes fastening on the doorway in a blank stare. Wearily Peter walked into the kitchen and settled his large frame in a chair, accepting the mug Caro handed to him. Russell burst into the kitchen in much the same way Cade had, breathing fire as he started to tell May his version of what had happened. And then Ben closed the door behind him, quiet and calm, his green eyes clear despite the lateness of the hour.

He met Addie's hungry stare with a faint nod, understanding all that she wanted to say but could not. It was the hardest thing she had ever done to sit at the table when all she wanted to do was throw herself at him and snuggle into his arms. Her throat loosened in relief. It seemed as if she had been holding her breath for hours. Her eyes moved over him as she tried to assure herself that he was all right, and she focused on the bloodstains on his shirt. She was shaken by sudden panic.

'Ben, there's blood-'

'One of the fence-cutters was killed,' he interrupted, downing half a mug of coffee in one swallow. 'Pete and I took the body to town. The sheriff seems to have taken our side in all of this, but the rest of the county is going to be hopping mad-'