“What?” She breathed.
“The western horizon, and waves upon waves of grasses and prairie flowers…” His swallow stuck in his throat.
“How in the world did all of that get in there?” She teased.
“Because it’s part of you. And I cannot take you away from that.” His heart pounded. “I’m asking you to marry me.” He choked back the words ready to burst forth,tomorrow, this week, here in New Orleans, and forced out others. “With the intention that we’ll marry after I’m able to settle my affairs in Philadelphia and move to Texas.”
Cora’s heart pitter-pattered against her rib cage. “I’d love to marry you. But…”
“But?” He leaned back a few inches and straightened as if bracing himself. His chest deflated.
Was she really going to say this? Her voice barely scraped above a whisper. “What good is the horizon if I don’t have you to share it with?”
“Excuse me?” He quirked his eyebrows. His lips twitched.
“Settling your affairs in Philadelphia could take a while. What if I don’t want to be without you that long?”
He eyed her as if she’d just proposed a new Texas Reconstruction plan. “I couldn’t… I can’t ask you to give up your Texas for me. I came to save your ranch, not to see you leave it.”
“But we would come back to Texas, wouldn’t we? The ranch? I mean, eventually?” She squelched the child-like fear that threatened to arise in her chest.
“Yes.” He nodded. “We’d come back.” His voice surged like a wave. “I’d find a way to keep the paper strong even without me at the helm. It would take a while. It probably wouldn’t happen by spring. It might even be longer than the following spring. But I wouldn’t give up, and God willing, you, Charlie, and I would return to reclaim the ranch.” He inhaled deeply and loosened his hold. “I’ll understand if you’d rather wait in Texas for me. The Ramseys would gladly open their home to you. You could merge your starter herd with theirs for now. Grow the herd and have a good-size one ready for me to drive back to your…our ranch when I return.”
His hands slipped away from her, unmooring her from his hold. “I love you enough to wait. I want to do what is best for you and Charlie.” He cleared his throat. “You waiting for me in Texas would be the more reasonable action to take. Then we could marry when we’re ready to start life in the home we treasure. In the meantime, Charlie would have good men around to teach him.”
“But not you.”Charlie needs you. I need you.Was he saying all of this out of pure concern for her and Charlie, or did he want the space and time before taking on a wife and child? “Charlie wrote you.”
“He did?”
She unclasped her reticule and pulled out the envelope.
He took it, stood, and walked down the path to a gaslight. She didn’t need to follow. Charlie had allowed her to read the message before he sealed it.
Ben, I miss you. Wolf Heart has been teaching me about hunting, but he’s not you. I’d be all right coming to your home for a while if you can’t come see us yet. Love, Charlie
Above her, a mockingbird fluttered from one magnolia branch to the other, whistling a tune.
What if they married and Ben couldn’t find a way for them to return to Texas? What if she were giving up her dream?
But the dream had changed. It now included Ben and would never be whole without him. The Lord would work it out in the end. She had to trust and have faith. Ben understood how important the ranch was to her and Charlie. However long it took, waiting would be much better at Ben’s side.
He turned and walked back, open letter in hand. “Did you put him up to this?” His eyes glistened.
“No. It was his idea to write, and the words are his own.” Her heart pounded. She stood. “I’ve reached a decision.”
“What is it?” He clutched the letter.
She bit her lip. “I don’t want to be reasonable.”
A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “You and Charlie would be giving up a lot.”
“Just temporarily.” She touched his sleeve. “Mine and Charlie’s home is with you.”
His grin sparkled all the way to his eyes. He took her in his arms. “I could see us in a cottage just outside of the city.”
“Nowhere near your parents.”
“Agreed. And we’d have a little land. And horses. I need to stay in practice for the frontier.”
