Lisa Kleypas - Give Me Tonight

"Again? What are you talking about?" Ben asked, perplexed. "Russ?"

"The Johnsons were behind it. You know that." His face changed, and he looked cold and thin lipped-whether from anger or pain, she couldn't tell. "There's no proof yet. But I'll find it."

"They wanted you both gone, you and Daddy. But I saved you this time. They didn't count on that-"

"What do you mean, 'this time'?"

She ignored his question, her eyes fixed blankly on the window. "They'll still be after you. Jeff hates you, and Big George wants the ranch as well as the water rights. You're the only thing standing in the way."

Ben's gaze was sharp. "What did Jeff say to you in town that day? You've been suspecting something like this would happen. How did you know what had happened tonight before anyone else did?"

Her lashes lowered as she sought to conceal her sudden leaping guilt "I didn't know for certain. I've been worried about Daddy for so long, and I… just felt like something was wrong when we were in the cabin. I can't explain why. But it doesn't matter… I was too late." She didn't move a muscle as she leaned against him, some part of her mind waiting to feel him go tense with suspicion, waiting for him to hold himself away from her the smallest fraction of an inch. But he didn't move or betray his thoughts in any way. His fingers drifted through her hair, lightly stroking her scalp. She was lulled by the soothing touch. Her eyelids drooped heavily, eyelashes almost brushing her cheeks.

Feeling Addie's body begin to slacken, Ben sighed and brushed a tear off her cheek with his knuckle. "I'll walk you upstairs. You need to rest."

"I can't sleep-"

"Doc Haskin can give you a sedative. You're entitled to it."

"I don't want to go upstairs," she said, her voice cracking. "I don't want to go near that room where… Don't try to make me."

"I won't, I won't" he murmured, hunting for a handkerchief as she began to cry again. He located a crumpled wad of cotton in the back pocket of his jeans.

"I'll sleep on the parlor sofa with the light on-"

"Whatever you want, darlin'."

"I'm sorry." She gulped, taking the handkerchief and wiping her nose. "I'll be strong tomorrow. I'll help you. Oh, God, there's so much to do."

"We'll get through it."

Her mind was jumping from one thought to another in a random pattern. "Ben, it was one of our own men who-"

"Yes. Most likely. But if I ever hear you say it again, I'll skin you alive. Rumors and accusations are going to fly fast enough as it is. We'll know more tomorrow, after the boys have been questioned. "

"By the sheriff?"

"And me."

"What about the will?" she whispered. "Daddy never drew up the new one. That lawyer from the East didn't arrive in time. What's going to happen to the ranch and the family?"

"Russ did write a new one as soon as the fence cutting trouble started, just in case something happened before the lawyer got here. He didn't want anyone to know. Pete and I were witnesses. "

"He left… everything… in your hands?" Ben nodded silently, his eyes locking with hers. "Will it hold up?" she asked.

"It's not sewn up as neatly as the lawyer would have done it… but yes, I think it'll hold up."

A terrible sense of irony struck her. Then the old Adeline would never have won. The money would never have been hers anyway. It would still have been put in trust. And the Johnsons wouldn't win either, because Addie would stand fast by the alibi she'd provided for Ben. True, there were suspicions about Ben in the sheriff's mind, but suspicions wouldn't prove he had killed Russell. The only evidence that existed was circumstantial. The question was, would the Johnsons go to extra lengths to get Ben out of the way now?

"I'm afraid for you," she said in a low voice, and Ben gave her a humorless smile.

"Don't be. There's no need." But his confidence frightened her, as if he were thumbing his nose at the designs of fate.

Russell's funeral was short and efficient, the way he would have wanted it. He was buried on Warner land, in the family plot. The simple white marker would be replaced later by an elaborately carved marble one. Although only family members and ranch hands were allowed at the graveside service there was an endless river of callers for days afterward, people pouring in from distant counties to pay their respects. Everyone had a story to tell about some favor Russell had done for him. It seemed he was owned thousands of favors.

Since Caro was bedridden and May grief-stricken, Addie was the only family member able to take visitors out to the grave site. Back and forth she trudged with the callers, wishing she could tell them how much easier everything would be for her if they'd just stayed at home and sent letters of condolence. It was a surprise when Ruthie and Harlan Johnson showed up as representatives of the Johnson clan, their faces strained with anxiety as Addie opened the door to let them in. They half-expected to be turned away. Big George or Jeff wouldn't have been let on the ranch at all.

Addie received the couple with as much graciousness as she could muster. Only one tense moment occurred, when Ben, who'd been informed of the callers, strode into the house, his manner deceptively relaxed. Harlan had asked diffidently about trying again to negotiate an agreement about the water rights, causing Ben's eyes to turn cold. "You tell Big George," he said softly, "that Russell's death won't make any difference in the way this ranch is run."

Finally the number of visitors slowed to a trickle, and Addie had more time to take care of the housework. May spent most of her time sleeping in her room or taking care of Caroline, leaving the running of the house to Addie, who had never suspected how difficult it was to oversee the cleaning and cooking, the washing and ironing, the hundreds of details that had to be taken care of. She also found time to help Ben with the overload of business correspondence. She wanted to know as much as possible about their circumstances now. Ben had been appointed executor of the will and would manage all the financial concerns of the Warners and the Sunrise Cattle Company. Upon his marriage to Addie, he would jointly own Sunrise with the rest of Russell's children.

It was the opinion of everyone in the country that the marriage couldn't take place quickly enough. Addie was annoyed by the prudish streak in the townspeople, who had such earthy ways it was difficult to believe her affair with Ben was causing such a commotion. "You'd think we were the first couple ever to sleep together before their wedding night," she had complained to Ben, adding that their engagement should have been enough to satisfy others' sense of propriety. "For heaven's sake, after all Mama's been through, people won't let her alone for asking about when we're going to get married, and whether or not she thinks we sneak off when no one's looking."

Ben was amused by Addie's self-righteous airs. Nevertheless, he too insisted on having the wedding a short time from now, in two weeks. That was nothing even close to a decent interval of mourning for Russell, but Addie would be branded a scarlet woman if they waited longer. As things were now, most people preferred to think of her as an innocent girl who'd been taken advantage of, which suited Ben just fine. He'd rather be regarded as a debaucher of virtue by all of Texas than have a single thing said against Addie. As for sneaking off together, there was no question of that. They each wrestled with private demons. Making love was a pleasure neither of them felt entitled to, and even if they'd had the inclination, there were eyes upon the two of them at all times.

The routines around the ranch were the same as they'd always been. Work on the fence continued, including repairs made to the new places that had been cut. Cade and Leah went to school every day. Addie found some comfort in the amount of work she had to do. She liked the feeling of being useful and needed, and was glad that May seemed to have little interest in assuming her old responsibilities. To the rest of the family, life seemed curiously similar to what it had been before, and though they felt Russell's absence keenly, their world had not fallen apart with his death. Ben had taken the reins in hand, managing the ranch with apparent ease. His authority was well-established, and the support of the ranch hands was unfaltering, as it always was in times of trouble.