Chapter 24 #2
Ben’s face lit up as he stood, his injured eye half open now in its circle of purplish-blue. “You look mighty fine.”
She flipped a few strands and the end of the black velvet ribbon over her shoulder, where her hair cascaded down her back. “It was too hot to leave my hair up.”
He cocked his eyebrows.
She stuttered to a halt. Had she really just said that? Too hot to leave it up? My goodness. The man would think she was daft. “I meant, it was too hot to go to the trouble of styling it.” The lie didn’t sound any better.
The left side of his mouth curved upward in a crooked smile. “That’s why I think we should step out on the porch a bit and enjoy the cool air.”
She tensed. “Outside?”
“It’s not dark yet. And I’ve got my Colt just in case.” He tapped his fingers to the holster that swung from his gun belt.
“I want to come too.” Charlie hopped off the stool by the hearth, knife and a slender piece of wood in hand. His dark bangs fell across his forehead.
“No, you stay put, young man.” Ben pointed at him. “Your sister and I need to have some grownup time. You can work on whittling your stick.”
Her insides jiggled. What if she wasn’t ready for grownup time, or whatever that entailed?
Charlie puffed out his chest. “It’s an arrow, not a stick.”
“Very good. I’ll inspect it when we get back.”
“You’re not going far, are you? It’s almost dark.”
“We’ll be close by.” Ben snagged his slouch hat from the parlor table. “Just around the porch.”
Charlie nudged a suspender back over his shoulder. “I’ll come find you when I finish my arrow.”
“No, I’ll look at it when I get back in. If you finish early, you can pick a book off the shelf.”
“But I need you or Cora to read it to me.”
“You sound out the words the best you can till we get back.” The firm tone cut off the barrage of objections.
Cora shivered as she stepped onto the porch.
An orchestra of cricket chirps filled the air beneath the misty blue dusk.
An orange glow hovered on the western horizon.
What a beautiful evening. She should relish the chance to escape the stuffy confines of the parlor.
Still, she rubbed her arms and scanned the distant bluffs.
“Would you like me to fetch your shawl?” Ben stepped alongside her.
“No, thank you. It’s just me being ridiculous. Seeing shadows where there’s nothing.” The hickory wood plank creaked beneath her footfall.
He hooked his thumb over his gun belt. “You have every right to be concerned. But we’re on a rise here. We can see everything for miles. And they can’t harm us unless they get inside the gate.”
She gnawed her lip. “They got over last night.” The warrior’s sinew-tough hands had dug into her arm and jerked her off this very porch. Charlie, Ben, any of them could have died.
“I’m sorry they got anywhere near you or Charlie.” He flexed his hands at his sides. “One climbed over and unlocked the gate for the rest. I aim to do something about that. They could have killed us or taken us captive if they chose to.”
“As I mentioned last night, I recognized Wolf Heart. He’s the warrior I told you about, the one who spared my life eight years ago when my uncle and I were attacked.
” She clasped her hands across her middle.
“Saved me. Let my uncle die. Maybe even killed him. He spared us all last night, but…” He’d practically told Ben to take her as his wife.
As if it was Wolf Heart’s decision to make.
“I’m not ready to put my life in his hands. ”
“Me neither. That’s why I’m heading into town tomorrow.” He drifted to the end of the porch.
She followed him. “Tomorrow? You need to give your body a chance to heal before you ride off anywhere.”
“I’m delaying my trip to see the Widow Jackson’s herd until the beginning of next week for that very reason.”
“Town could wait too.”
His gaze drifted down the lane. “No, we need an iron chain and lock for the palisade gate, something no one’s going to get undone without a key.”
“The Comanche could still climb over.”
“But they’ll have to leave their horses behind.”
“You don’t think they’ll return anytime soon, do you?”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “I think not. Wolf Heart gave his word. But as you said, I’m not going to let down my guard.
I’m not going to leave you and Charlie here alone when I head off to the widow’s for the cattle.
I either want to hire a hand, someone respectable, older, who can be trusted, or have you and Charlie stay in town while I’m away. ”
“In town? What about the garden?”
“There are things more important than the garden.”
She skirted around the heart-fluttering, personal implications and steered the conversation to the practical. “We can’t afford to hire someone.”
He held up his hand. “Why don’t we hold off on discussing this until after I have a chance to speak to Miller? He might know someone trustworthy, or offer you and Charlie a room. Or if you know of someone else you have a stronger connection with and who you can count on, I could speak with them.”
She and Charlie didn’t need a room, but she pressed her lips shut.
All these years in Parker County, and there was no one who hadn’t left the frontier or died in the war whom she’d count as a close friend.
“There’s no one else.” Her family had never been one to ask for help, even when they needed it, especially after her father’s behavior became the talk of the town.
“Miller will be fine.” She shuddered. “But after my nerves have a chance to settle down for a couple of days, I’ll be all right here with just me and Charlie.”
“I admire your spunk.” He tilted his head as if to see her from a different angle. “But I plan to hire someone all the same.”
“The day you rode up, I had my shotgun at the end of the garden row. I know how to take care of myself.” Then why was she so uneasy about stepping outside after dark?
He leaned against the post and studied her. “Is that how you want to live?”
“What do you mean? Are we still talking about you hiring someone for a few weeks?”
“No. I mean alone with just you and Charlie.”
Alone. Heart baking as hard as the soil beneath the July sun, parched for love and companionship. Her life before Ben showed up.
Ben tipped his hat. “I have another reason for going to town.” He touched his hand to his pocket. “I have a letter to mail.”
“To Olivia?”
“Yes.”
He was going to follow through on his decision to break his betrothal. Because she was the girl he wanted to court, or because he felt she needed his protection? “You don’t have to. You’re under no obligation to me.” She grimaced. Why couldn’t she just shut her mouth and accept his attentions?
“I don’t have to?” He took her by the elbow and turned her toward him. “It’d take a bullet or an arrow to stop me from mailing that letter.” His gaze dove into hers, penetrating layers deep.
Her pulse drummed at the base of her neck. “You sound pretty determined.”
“In case I haven’t made myself clear here…” His voice dipped. “I’m in love with you.”
Goosebumps spread across her limbs. Her gaze fell to his scuffed boots.
If she had any sense, she’d crawl back behind the shield of indifference.
Wasn’t that why she’d allowed LeBeau to come calling, to bolster her resistance to Ben’s charms?
She should ride into town herself tomorrow and propose to the doctor.
A safe marriage. Without heart. Sealing herself into an ill-fitting life that protected her against the potential of repeating her mother’s mistakes.
No. Her fingers curled inward. She was done with hovering inside her walls. She was finished with not living. Words trembled on her lips. “Be gentle with my heart,” she whispered. “It is yours.”
His breath caught. He trailed his fingers from her elbow to her hand, snagging her pinky with his, gently swinging her hand. “Your heart will be my most precious treasure, Cora.”