This is a short chapter, I know, and I promise that the next one will be longer to make up for it. kate and TAMMI, thank you both so much for your reviews!

---------------------

Let's Talk—Chapter 4

"Talk to me, Whitney."

Whitney only continued to scribble something down in her notebook.

"Whitney, I want to know who Aaron is. I want to know what you know about that note; you reacted too horrified to it to not know anything about it or what it meant. And thirdly, I want to know why you never told me that your teenage brother lives here and not with your dad."

"Seth—"

"Tell me."

She put her pen down and picked up her coffee mug, reared back in her chair and stared at him. "Aaron is an old boyfriend; I told you that already."

"Why does he need help?"

She lost her determined look and blinked, looking away. "Because he does. His sickness doesn't have anything to do with the stalker."

"How would you know?" Seth bit back as the realization hit him. She knew what they were dealing with; she knew who the stalker was. He'd taken this assignment with no clue of who the stalker was, but she knew.

"Because he's not the..." And she had caught on a second too late.

All other matters aside, Seth shoved a chair from the table and sat next to her. "Tell me who he is, Whitney. Please, tell me. Is he the one who left the note, or was that Aaron?"

"I told you; it's not Aaron."

"Then it's someone you know. Someone you know well; someone who knows the ranch well."

She was silent.

He leaned so close to her so that she could feel his breath on her face. "What is Aaron to you? Why are you protecting him?"

"I don't like you prying into my personal life like this, Seth."

She was acting differently. When he'd first come here, she'd been happy and almost annoyingly optimistic. She'd even be so bold as to kiss him. He suppressed an urge to touch his lips at the memory; it was special to him. But now, she acted closed-up in herself. Whatever this was, it was becoming serious. She couldn't not look it in the face anymore.

That note was probably what had triggered it.

She stood abruptly and walked to the door. Seth caught her arm and she turned back to face him, but only slightly.

"I'm trying to help, Whitt. Don't make this any harder then it has to be, please."

After a second, she lifted her head and gave him a slow nod, a sad smile touching her lips. Then she walked out and Seth watched her go. It was going to get dark soon.

"What did you say to her?"

Seth turned. Jesse was standing in the doorway from the hall. He'd been in the shower and he was only wearing a pair of shorts, his hair still wet but not dripping.

"I asked some... difficult questions."

"You need to leave her alone; she's been through a lot."

"Is that so?"

Much as Seth hated it, he might just have to use Jesse to get the answers he needed.

----------

Whitney continued to brush Fire down. She was tired and the sun had started to set. "He doesn't know what he's asking, right, boy?" she mumbled to the horse. Fire snorted as the answer. "I wish he'd go away sometimes. But he makes me feel so...different. I'm almost afraid to feel different again."

She laid her head on the horse's neck. "Let's go riding," she mumbled.

Seth hadn't said she could; his little men wouldn't know to watch her closely. Good. She brought Fire from his stall, and climbed up. She didn't ride bareback often, but she wanted to now.

Giving Fire his head, she let the horse gallop out into the woods, out along the path. She let her hair, which had been pulled back in a loose knot, come undone.

An Hour Later...

Seth was waiting for her when she came back. She could see him as she rode back into the ranch. He was standing with his hands on his hips, radio in hand. He raised it to his mouth and mumbled something she didn't hear and started to walk toward her. She turned to head for the stable, to Seth's left. He turned and met her as she was dismounting. He held Fire's reins and spread his arms, blocking her from walking away from him and nearly pinning her to the horse.

His face was so grim, so... emotionless that she looked away.

He wasn't happy at all. He'd been in the middle of a background check on Aaron when John had told him that Whitney had vanished into the woods with Fire, without an escort, and without telling anyone.

"So?"

Her small voice dragged him from his anger. "'So' what?"

"So, aren't you going to yell at me? Tell me that I can't go anywhere?"

"I've never yelled at you, Whitney. And, no, you're not allowed to leave the house without an escort."

Her hand came down on his and she tried to gently pry the reins from his hands. He wouldn't let go. Her face turned back up to his.

He kissed her.

It was a long, not-so-gentle kiss that made her want to cry.

He pulled away. "I was worried sick about you." he whispered in a low, fierce voice.

She looked at him for a few seconds, then mumbled a tear-jerking, "I'm sorry,"

Taking a deep breath, he reached up and rubbed her cheek. "It's okay,"

Whitney realized then that for some bizarre reason, Seth had become attached to her. She didn't know why, couldn't have guessed if her life depended on it. Had he felt the same strange surge of feeling when they'd first met, too? She wasn't sure, but it seemed more likely now then not.

He handed her the reins. "Don't stay out too long; it's cold." He let his hand slid from hers and turned to walk back to the house. She waited until he was inside before she moved her feet to stable Fire.