"It must have been frightening."
"More lonely than anything else. The worst thing was never seeing any women. I ran a couple of long drives, and after several months of celibacy, those cattle towns were a taste of heaven. Whiskey that burned your guts out-they call it Kansas Sheep Dip-and women everywhere. God Almighty, those women… big, gaudy women with names like Hambone Kate and Dancing Annie. When the boys and I got to town, our eyes nearly dropped out of our heads at the sight of all those feathers and red dresses. The first night I spent in Dodge City, I went from saloon to saloon, and-“
"I hope you spent all your money and went back to Texas with a hangover."
Ben laughed. "I did:'
"Feathers and red dresses…" Addie mused, wondering what Ben would say if he saw her in a skirt that barely covered her knees.
"Maybe I'll buy you a red dress someday," Ben said, his eyes twinkling. "Something different from all that pink you like to wear. And you can wear it for me in private, with your feet bare and your hair falling down your back. "
"Buy me feathers too.”
He grinned and rolled over, pulling her on top of him. "Lord, Addie, I'm never gonna get tired of you.”
"Oh, I guarantee you won't:' she replied, bracing her forearm across his chest. "I'll make sure of it.”
He pulled her wrists out from underneath her, causing her to collapse on him, her breasts pressing into his chest. Before she could make a sound, his hands cupped the back of her head and exerted pressure to bring her mouth against his. Addie kissed him ardently, angling her head to the side. Her eyes slitted open as she felt a gentle light on her face. The moon was shining into the room, its beams reaching in through the window and touching everything with a silvery glow. Ben's face was thrown into relief, a study in light and darkness, and he was so starkly handsome that her heart missed a beat.
"I adore you, Ben Hunter," she said, touching his cheekbones with her fingertips. He drew her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. Smiling with pure happiness, she laid her cheek on his chest and stared at the window with half-open eyes. A filament of light had fallen across the comer of the room, striking off the scuffed surface of the propped-up guitar. The sight of it caught her gaze for a reason she didn't understand, and she continued to stare, her smile disappearing.
There was a gap in the row of strings, like one tooth missing from a row of teeth. Addie blinked, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. The gap remained. One of the strings was gone. The breath stopped in her throat. Panic stabbed her heart in a cold thrust.
"No, " she gasped, suddenly springing into action, fighting to be free of Ben's arms. Stunned by the explosion of movement, he took hold of her flailing arms and tried to hold her still.
"Addie," he snapped. "What in the hell is wrong with you?"
"Let me go," she cried, turning white. "Please…Ben… go to the house. Russell… Oh, God, Daddy-"
"Nothing's happened to him. He's safe and sound. Addie, for God's sake, calm down."
"Please," she said, bursting into tears, feeling as if her heart would burst out of her chest. "We have to help him."
Reading the terror in her eyes, he swore and released her, reaching for his jeans and yanking them up to his waist. She scrambled for her dress, her hands shaking. Before she could pull on her clothes, Ben was already out the door.
A cloud drifted over the moon, dimming its light, but not before Ben saw the crumpled shape of a man near the steps of the porch. Suddenly he was gripped by the same fear that had taken hold of Addie, and he tore over to the house, sliding to his knees beside the body. Robbie Keir, the boy who was supposed to be watching over the area. He was unconscious. Someone had hit him on the side of the head with a blunt object.
Ben rose to his feet, the blood draining from his face. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, and took the stairs in two leaps, running across the porch and flinging open the front door. As soon as he stepped inside, pain burst inside his head like a brilliant light. He collapsed to the floor without a sound.
Buttoning her dress haphazardly, Addie left Ben's cabin and ran barefoot to the house, her hair flying out behind her. It seemed as if she had to run miles. Don't let anything have happened, she begged feverishly. She should have stayed in her room that night. She shouldn't have gone to be with Ben, not when there was still a chance Russell was in danger. But it couldn't have really happened… no, she was having a nightmare, just as she had so many times before. She felt small and terrified, like a child who faced a fear too great to comprehend, and now nothing would soothe her but the sight of Russell, safe and carefree and laughing at her worry.
Addie's steps slowed as she saw the boy on the ground, one arm outflung, the other curled limply around his head. Dread weighted her down like a heavy cloak. Without even pausing to look at the still figure, she went to the front door, which was ajar. She found Ben just inside, his dark-skinned torso blending with the somber color of the carpet. Sinking down beside him, she choked back tears and searched until she felt warm wetness at the base of his skull. He stirred and moaned as she touched the swelling wound, his eyelashes flickering.
There was a sound of clattering metal, seeming to come from the kitchen. Someone was leaving the house. Addie looked in the direction of the sound and stood up, hardly aware of what she was doing. Gasping for breath, she ran to the upstairs bedrooms, ignoring the sounds of the family waking and stirring in their rooms. Cade's door opened, and Caroline's, and sleepy voices were asking her what was the matter, what had happened, but she didn't speak or stop to look at them. She went to Russell's room and went inside, leaving the door half-open. Although the room was dark, she could see the gleam of his eyes as he lay on his side.
"Daddy?"
He didn't answer. The threat of tears passed as everything inside went cold. Moving to the dresser, Addie tried to light the lamp, but she was trembling too badly. Biting her lower lip until it hurt, she tried again, and the soft glow of a flame filled the room. As she turned back to the bed, she saw Russell's body frozen in a convulsion, his face tinted blue-white even in the golden light of the lamp. It was obvious without going any closer that it was too late to revive him. Something deeper than grief spread through her, more hurtful than any kind of pain she'd ever felt. She'd let it happen to him. Stumbling against the wall, she buried her face in her arms and clenched her fists.
"Adeline?" She heard Cade's voice near the door.
The sound caused her to move quickly, blocking him before he got close enough to the doorway to see what had happened.
"Where's Mama?" she asked, her eyes as dark as coal.
"Seeing to Ben downstairs," he replied, bewildered. "He's just coming to. Someone knocked him out. What's happening, Adeline? Why do you look so funny? Why isn't Daddy-"
"Hush!" Thoughts swooped in and out of her mind, faster than she could catch hold of them. She had to force herself to concentrate. "Go to the bunkhouse and find someone to help you get the sheriff."
"I can go alone-"
"I don't want you going alone. Now, leave, and be quick. And tell Peter to keep Mama and Caro away from this room. And Robbie Keir is outside. He's been hurt. Tell Mama to see to him after she's through with Ben. "
Cade nodded in a businesslike manner, but the tremble of his lower lip spoiled the effect. "Why isn't Daddy up? What's wrong? Something's happened to him, hasn't it?"
"Yes." She couldn't give him sympathy or tell him gently, or they would both fall apart. "He's dead."
His soft brown eyes went blank, then brimmed close to overflowing. "No. He can't be. Oh, Ad-"
"Don't," she said sharply, knowing that if he broke down, she'd fall into pieces. "Not now. Act like a man, Cade. I need you to help me." He shuddered and pressed his fists into his eye sockets, getting control of himself. "Hurry," Addie said, and went back into the room, closing the door. Drawing near the bed, she looked into Russell's staring eyes, reached out and closed them with her fingertips. Her face twisted as she saw the thin steel cord embedded in his neck. It was from Ben's guitar. She had to get it off him before May saw, before anyone saw. As she extended a hand to the bloodied string, she felt a shudder go through her insides, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, staring at Russell's body. I can't…I can't touch him again.