Lisa Kleypas - Give Me Tonight

"So you're going to become a new kind of rancher?"

"Yes, ma'am, And I'll be one of the best."

"To think of what you could do if you only had some confidence."

He grinned at her before heading out the door. Addie smiled wryly and shook her head, standing in the doorway as she watched him leave.

Fall roundup had begun. To everyone on the ranch it was a roundup like any other. Calves born since last spring were weaned from their mothers, branded, and marked as the property of the Sunrise Ranch. Bulls were gathered in so they could be fed and tended during winter, while the older, unproductive cows were destined for slaughter. Plans were made to drive a huge herd of cattle to market.

Those things came to everyone's mind when the word "roundup" was mentioned. But to Addie it meant Russell was in danger, and if anyone would try to kill him, it would be now. She lay awake at night listening for the slightest sound, occasionally getting up and looking out the window until she saw the cowboy whose duty it was to watch the house that evening. After discovering the nightly patrol outside the ranch house each night, Russell had demanded to know the reason for it. Ben had treated the matter casually, giving little explanation except to say he felt it was necessary.

Still fussing about it after dinner-"Whose damn ranch is this anyway?"-Russell went to his office and soothed his own temper with two fingers of whiskey. Addie crept in surreptitiously to see him. His back was to the door, but it was obvious he was pouring himself a drink. She grinned as he tossed a guilty look over his shoulder.

"It's just me," she said, and he relaxed with a grunt.

"Honey, don't tell your mama 'bout this. I promised her I'd cut down on this stuff."

"Are you going to?"

"Yeah. Sometime. " He gestured her over and sighed with pleasure as the fire of the whiskey slid down his throat. "Whatcha in here for?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask you about what you and Ben were arguing over-"

"Ben and his damn foolish notions," Russell said in disgust. "Havin' someone watch over the house at night… 'to protect the family,' he says, as if I can't protect my own family! And y' got Pete and Cade upstairs too! What does he think's gonna happen?"

"It might not be a bad idea. Everyone knows the Warners aren't too popular with the rest of the county:' Addie hesitated before adding, "I wouldn't put it past the Johnsons to murder a man in his own bed. Daddy, don't laugh-I'm serious."

"The Johnsons can't touch me." Russell smiled shrewdly. "My fence is goin' back up, an' there's nothin' they can do to stop it. And if they ever did get me outta the way, they still couldn't get their paws on my ranch, 'cause Ben's gonna be a part of the Warner family soon, and he'd tear it apart himself before lettin' Big George get hold of it."

But what if they made it look as if Ben is guilty of your murder? Addie wanted to cry out. That was what they'd done before. "All the same, there's reason to be extra careful," she said sharply. "And by the way, whenever you mention Ben marrying into the family, it sounds as if he's going to be Ben Warner. But I have a suspicion he likes his own last name and plans to keep it."

Russell laughed heartily. "The name don't matter to me, 's long as he marries my Adeline-"

"-and takes care of your ranch."

Russell chuckled and waved her out of the room before pouring himself another drink.

As several nights passed and nothing happened, Addie became less fearful. She started to let herself believe nothing would happen. There were many ways to rationalize things. Maybe Jeff had believed her warning and her threats. Maybe the Johnsons had decided it was too risky to send someone after Russell. Maybe the man they'd hired had already come and was frightened off by the sight of the cowboy watching over the house.

With roundup going on and May and Caroline making plans for her wedding, the ranch was overrun with activity. Addie missed Ben acutely, especially at night, but they had enough stolen moments together to take the edge off her hunger. Hardest of all were the hours when she lay in bed and knew that he was only a short distance away, alone in his small cabin near the main house.

Then finally the waiting became too much to bear and caution lost to desire. Addie had planned to be patient and content herself with the odds and ends of time they had together until the wedding. But she needed him now. She wondered how she could find a way to be with him, when May's watchful eye was on them both. She would think of something, in spite of the risk of someone catching wind of it afterward. By now propriety meant little to her.

As she schemed on how to find time alone with Ben, Addie realized the answer was ridiculously simple. Why not just walk out of the house and go to his cabin? No complicated tiptoeing around the halls at midnight, no whispered plans of how or when they could meet. Just sneak out after dinner. As the family ate heartily, she picked at her food, unable to chew and swallow when her mind was preoccupied with the night to come. She could feel Ben's eyes on her often, and she knew he'd noticed the hint of tension in her face. She could feel the warm blood in her cheeks and wondered if her color was high. Before the meal was finished, she pushed back from the table.

"I'm a little tired," she said in response to May's questioning glance. "I believe I'll retire early tonight." Ben's gaze sought and found hers, and she saw the concern in his eyes. It was unusual behavior for her, and he suspected something was wrong.

"Addie-" he started, and she interrupted him gently.

"I'll see all of you tomorrow morning. Good night." As she left the room, she could feel Ben's eyes boring into her back. Pausing at the foot of the stairs, she waited until the sound of conversation resumed. Then she slipped out the front door. It was still too early for Robbie Keir, the boy who had been assigned to patrol around the house, to begin his watch.

Addie looked right and left before sneaking across the shoit distance to Ben's cabin, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Triumphantly she reached the door and slipped inside, her heart thumping with excitement. She had no idea how she'd get back to her own room before morning without being discovered. Ben would have to figure it out.

Leisurely she moved around the cabin, finding it immaculate and sparsely furnished. The bed was narrow, with a hard, thin mattress, but it was covered with an intricately woven Indian blanket, and the sheets and pillowcase were snowy white. Since Ben did most of his paperwork in Russell's office, the small desk in here was bare except for a few books. She looked through them and discovered a thin volume of Shakespeare, a biography of Thomas Jefferson, a book on stock raising, and a report from a livestock journal about cattle transportation. How very boring, she thought, and smiled, reflecting that he probably didn't have that much time to read anyway. His guitar was propped up in one shadowy comer, a bootjack tucked into another. Wandering over to the bed, Addie settled down on the mattress and keeled over, burying her face in the pillow. It was scented of him, and she rubbed her cheek into it luxuriously, closing her eyes.

In spite of her anticipation, Addie fell into a shallow sleep until she was alerted by the sound of footsteps. The door was opened and she sat up, blinking as Ben entered the room.

To see Addie curled up kittenishly on his bed, sleepy-eyed and tousle-haired, was the last thing he expected. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at her, his green eyes widening as they moved from her tumbling honey-brown hair to her disheveled dress. Stunned, he could do nothing but stand there and stare.

"I don't believe you're here," he said, sounding bemused.