"Oh?"
"Keep a close eye on your sister. She's mighty hard to keep track of in town. She'll disappear before you can blink twice."
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't," Addie said. "It depends on the people I'm with."
Ben smiled sardonically while his eyes made a thorough study of her. He noticed the hat perched on top of her piled-up hair, a frilly little hat decorated with artificial strawberries and pale pink netting. Slowly his gaze wandered from the little white collar of her dusty rose princess dress to the rows of tiny folds that demurely emphasized the fullness of her breasts.
There was a spark of challenge in her eyes and disdain in her expression. Did she know when she looked at a man like that, it made him want to tame her? If the two of them had been alone together that very minute, he might have shown her a remedy for her haughtiness.
Knowing herself to be the object of such an overt inspection made Addie indignant and strangely warm. She forced herself to stare right back at him, her eyes dark and velvety above her pinkening cheeks. A lock of hair, the glistening color of brown sugar, blew across her face, and slowly she reached up to pull it aside. It was a purely feminine gesture, unconsciously alluring. And Ben was aware of that, as he was aware of everything about her. Every move she made set something alight in him, like flame and dry tinder. It filled him with powerful consternation.
Women had never been a mystery to him. He was the kind of man who instinctively understood a woman's needs, and he'd always made good use of that knowledge. An impudent girl just out of her teens shouldn't be able to have this effect on him. But Adeline was a mystery, and he was drawn to her even as he resented her hold on him.
"I'll see you later," he said abruptly. "Behave yourselves."
"We'll try," Addie replied, her voice withering, and she and Ben exchanged an unsmiling glance before he touched his hat and rode off.
"He's quite a man," Caroline murmured, watching Ben's departure with admiring eyes. "If I weren't married, I just might have given the women of Falls County a run for their money."
"I don't think he'd want a respectable woman."
"I've heard he visits a woman in Blue Ridge pretty regular."
“ A lonesome widow?" Addie asked sarcastically.
"I don't know. That's a good question. Do you suppose-"
"I don't care to suppose anything about him. We've got better things to talk about. "
They changed the subject and began to discuss other things, and their animated conversation lasted throughout the day. They had a pleasant time in town, shopping and talking to people they passed on the sidewalk. After her initial shyness, Addie discovered she and Caroline had a similar sense of humor, as well as a similar way of looking at things. It became much easier to think of Caroline as her sister.
They could talk comfortably about almost anything, even the most private matters. With each minute they spent together, Addie felt herself confiding more and more. When they arrived back at the ranch, they were still deep in conversation, and they decided to sit in the front-porch swing, unwilling to go inside just yet.
"I don't see Ben anywhere around here," Caroline said, her eyes twinkling. "Guess it's safe to stay around you a little longer."
"What do you mean?" Addie rested her feet on the porch while the swing rocked and creaked gently.
"Only that my nerves are frazzled whenever you're near each other."
"Why?"
"Why? Because I'm always ready for an explosion between you and Ben. You were terribly rude to him this momin', Adeline. And the way he looked at you why, I'm surprised your hat didn't catch on fire!"
Addie laughed. "He was just trying to intimidate me by glaring."
"No, that wasn't glaring." Cautiously Caroline glanced around and lowered her voice. "That was looking. Peter used to look at me like that before we were married. Believe me, there's no doubt about it. Ben's taken with you."
"Don't be silly. I'll admit he likes to argue with me, but-"
"He'd like to do more than argue with you. I tell you, Adeline, if you tried bein' nice to him once in a while, you'd have him eatin' out of your hand."
"I don't want him eating out of my hand. I don't want him anywhere near me. "
"This isn't the first time I've noticed him lookin' at you like that, either. I've seen it before today."
Addie's nonchalance dissolved rapidly. "You have?"
"Mmmn-hmmn."
Suddenly Addie was intensely curious. Underneath his sarcasm and coolness, did Ben really harbor some kind of romantic interest in her? The thought should have appalled her, but somehow she was foolishly pleased by it. She was embarrassed to hear her own sheepish snicker.
"When?"
"I can't believe you haven't noticed! During dinner the other night, I asked him to pass the salt, and he was so busy watchin' you I got the pepper instead. I didn't say anything, of course-just took it like it was what I asked for-"
"Watching me? What was I doing?"
"Just talkin'. He pays attention whenever you start talkin'. And he listens to everything you say. Peter was trying to ask him some questions, and Ben just kept turnin' his head to listen to you, and finally Peter gave up. If you sweet-talked Ben a little, Adeline, you'd have him on the hook, and you could reel him in just as easy as-"
"Why would I want to reel him in? I've got Jeff Johnson. I thought you all wanted me to marry him."
"Wellll… you and Jeff make a good pair," Caroline conceded. "I've always thought so. But between the two of 'em, I'd choose Ben Hunter in a minute."
"Choose him for what? To be my beau? That's a ridiculous idea. And even if I didn't think so, Ben would laugh his head off at the notion. You heard Mama the other morning. Ben's a loner. He wouldn't want a relationship with a respectable woman."
"I don't know 'bout that. Mama likes to exaggerate sometimes. She's just tryin' to steer you clear of Ben because she doesn't want you to wind up married to that kind of man. She thinks he's too much like Daddy."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Mama told me once that even though she loved Daddy, it would've been easier if she'd married one of the beaus she'd had back east and stayed there. She's never really liked livin' out here, y'know. She won't ever feel like she really belongs. She comes from different stock. "
"Daddy said something like that to me the other day," Addie said absently.
"Daddy's a strong-willed man. I guess Mama never realized how much, until it was too late. She always thought she could kind of bend him to her way of thinkin'. But she never could. So she wanted it to be easier for us than it was for her, which is why she encouraged me to marry Peter. And for the same reason, Mama's tryin' to marry you off to Jeff. They're both nice men, but kind of… soft. Do you know what I mean?"
"Soft? But Caro… you love Peter, don't you?" Caroline hesitated almost imperceptibly. "Of course I do. He's a good man, a good husband and father. He's steady and loyal, and sweet-natured. But there's no vinegar between us."
Despite the serious nature of the conversation, Addie couldn't help smiling. "Vinegar?"
"You know that trick Mama taught us, about putting a little vinegar in when you're making pecan pie, to keep it from bein' too candy-sweet? That's what I'm talkin' about. Adeline, this is private talk, just between two sisters. I just don't want you to make a mistake. The kind of mistake that I… " She stopped and shrugged helplessly.
"I'm listening," Addie said, afraid Caroline wouldn't finish what she was trying to say. And she wanted very much to know what it was. She and Leah had never had this kind of talk. Leah had never known much about marriage, and Addie hadn't been especially interested in the subject until now.
"Well, I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I'm very happy, Adeline. Very happy. I'm just sayin' you need to be careful when you choose the man you're going to be with for the rest of your life. Don't pick someone you can manage too easy. You especially you-need a little vinegar in your marriage. "