But you are missed by both Charlie and me. The house, the yard, they are filled with you. And my heart cinches every time the wind creaks the swing you made for me. I haven’t sat in it since you left. It was our swing.
Ben lay back against the pillow and rubbed his thumb over the words. She missed him. Could it be possible she ached for him as he did for her? What he wouldn’t give to be sitting with her on the porch swing, losing himself in those lake-blue eyes, then pulling her close, lavishing her with his love…
Within three days of when you left, I realized I was wrong. I don’t need to see the bottle. You are a man of integrity. You have my respect and my trust.
Hope surged through him. Did she truly mean it?
I also want you to know that I finished your journal. I deeply appreciate you sharing this part of yourself with me. You’re not to blame for Jeb’s death. As your close friend, he would have willingly done everything in his power to help you survive and protect you. Just as you did for him. Any debt you owe him is paid. You’re free of any obligation to me and Charlie.
The last thing in this world he wanted was to be free of his connection to her and Charlie. A crooked smile spread across his face. She didn’t blame him. Her words soaked in like a balm.
Finally, I should let you know that we’ve seen Wolf Heart on several occasions. He has shown concern for Charlie and me. Yesterday, in his own warrior way, he proposed to me. I have until spring to give my answer.
Ben’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. She couldn’t be serious. He leaped to his feet. Wolf Heart had proposed? Had there been a courtship? And what did she mean bywarrior way? How did a Comanche court or propose? Did he sit in theparlor? Or maybe he’d invite her to go riding or hunting? Or maybe he’d give her a buffalo skin to clean?
Wolf Heart was just as liable to throw her on the back of his saddle and haul her off to Indian Territory as wait for an answer. The warrior had asked her? And she hadn’t said no immediately? Maybe she was afraid of his reaction.
But she didn’t sound frightened. Cora didn’t scare easily. She wouldn’t actually consider the offer, would she? What if she thought it was the only way to keep Charlie from being taken?
Ben tromped back and forth across the carpet. The letter fluttered from his grasp. He snapped it up from the floor. November tenth. Eighteen days ago. A lot could happen in eighteen days.
He needed to get back there, but even if he could somehow bolt out of here tomorrow, drop everything at the paper and break his commitment to his father, it’d take two-and-a-half weeks for him to get to Weatherford. Not quick enough.
He headed downstairs, taking two steps at a time, and grabbed his coat from the coat tree. He had a telegram to send. No guarantee Cora would listen to a few lines scribbled from him. He needed someone who could talk to Cora in person, get her away from the ranch if needed.
Three evenings later, Ben stood in front of his father’s desk in the library. His tongue felt like sandpaper. Father looked up from reading thePhiladelphia Inquirer. A stack of competitors’ papers lay next to his inkwell.
“Have a seat.” Father motioned to the padded chair in front of the mahogany desk. “We need to talk strategy now that everyone has stopped coddling me and hiding the news fromme.” His face remained pale, but not as colorless as when he’d been at his worst. His paunch no longer protruded over his trouser waist, and his waistcoat wasn’t snug, but he was dressed and at his desk for a few hours every day.
Ben glanced at the seat but remained standing. “Father, I know you’re not going to understand this. I want to reassure you that I’m not abandoning the paper, but I need to travel to Texas for a few weeks.”
His father expelled a swoosh of air. “Are you out of your head? You just returned from there.”
“Almost four months ago. And this would only be a brief trip.” So he said, but was that realistic? He couldn’t ask Cora to come here, and he couldn’t stay in Texas. Did he really intend to propose under such conditions?
“Out of the question. I saw how brief the last trip was. If I hadn’t fallen ill, you’d still be there.” Father snatched his reading spectacles from the bridge of his nose. “You have a responsibility to your family. And to the paper. You gave your word. ThePhiladelphia Sentinelisn’t a hobby to pick up and leave off when something else gains your interest.”
Ben straightened to his full height. “I worked hard at the paper before and after the war. And when I received the telegram informing me of your illness, I caught the first stagecoach east. But Miss Scott is in great need of immediate assistance.”
“You’ve done enough to help that family.”
“If it hadn’t been for Jeb Scott, I wouldn’t be standing before you today. I owe him my life, and I’m paying that debt to his sister and little brother.”
His father jabbed his finger against the newsprint. “Your first responsibility is to your family. Do you think I slaved at the paper, starting it from the ground up, to have it die with me? I wanted a legacy, not just for me, but for you, your sons, andtheir sons. TheSentinelis a paper to be proud of, and it’s in a fight for its place in the Philadelphia market. We need you at the helm. I’m sorry about your friend Jeb.” A cough wracked through him. “He has our eternal gratitude. But you’ve paid your debt to him. You threw everything aside and traveled to Texas. Not to mention, you spent every penny of your early inheritance from your grandfather.” His face reddened as the cough erupted again.
Ben winced. Maybe he should postpone this discussion to another day after his father had more fully recovered. But time was of the essence. Garret would ride to Cora’s and invite her and Charlie to his ranch as Ben had asked. But who could guarantee her response? And Wolf Heart was anything but predictable. He gathered his nerve. “I’m in love with Miss Scott.”
His father cocked his eyebrows. “You were in love with Miss Edmondson eight months ago.”
Ben narrowed his eyes. “I was in love with Olivia three years ago. When I returned from the war and Andersonville, I merely did what was expected of me.”
His father wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. Puffy bags underscored his eyes. “Then why don’t you keep on doing that? A man carries on. Keeps his commitments. Masters his emotions.”
Ben glared at him. “I’m a man of my word. I’ll find a way to help the paper thrive. But that may or may not be with me at the helm.”
His father sputtered. “I might have known this was coming. You cause an uproar with the board by forsaking Miss Edmondson, and now you want to run off to Texas again to marry a farmer’s daughter. I thought you were the son I could count on. The son who knew how to keep his promises.”
Gravel filled his throat. “I’m the son who has worked since childhood to be the person you could count on. But I’m also theson who has made too many promises, and I’m caught in the tug of war between them.”
