Ben rolled up onto his side and reached for his cup. “Because it’s way across the ocean, and buffalo can’t swim. Besides, there probably wouldn’t be enough grass there for them to eat.” He swallowed a long sip. A drop dribbled onto the stubble covering his jaw and glistened in the lamplight. A handsome man, and the four days’ worth of beard made him look even finer. If only the life would come back into his cheeks and eyes.
Charlie rubbed his nose. “Have you ever been across the ocean, Ben?”
“Mr. McKenzie,” Cora corrected.
“But if he’s my brother, can’t I call him Ben?”
“I’ll leave it up to your sister.” Ben eased back down on the bed. “But as for the ocean…I traveled across the Gulf of Mexico in a steamer from New Orleans to Galveston on my way to Texas. And believe me, the way the ship rocked, I felt as though I was in the middle of the ocean.”
“Did you see any whales?” Charlie picked up a crumb of cornbread from his empty plate.
“No, but I saw dolphins.”
“What’s a dolphin?”
“That’s a story for another day. We’ve got to finish listening to your sister read to us about David. I can’t wait until we get to the part about Goliath.” A cough racked through him.
Cora bit her lip.
Ben winced and returned his forearm to his eyes. Was he in pain? He wouldn’t say so if he was. Tomorrow she’d go to town to see the druggist. She couldn’t sit around and do nothing. Ben had said no doctor, but surely, there had to be some remedy that would help.
Charlie frowned. “You need more water?”
“I’m fine for now.” Ben cleared his throat.
“We’ll make sure you have plenty before we go back to the house for the night.” Cora smoothed her finger over the Bible’s cracked cover. “But Mr. McKenzie’s right. I’ve got to finish our reading. We’re at the good part where Samuel asks if there are any more sons, and the Lord reminds him that He looks on the heart of a person.”
In the stables below, a horse whinnied. She glanced out the small window. The sunset glowed pink on the horizon. Twilight. In the distance, a faint whisper of a coyote howl trailed on the breeze. What if it was something other than a coyote? A shiver ran up her spine.
Ridiculous. Her family’s land hadn’t been attacked by Indians in almost five years, had it? But still, she was half tempted to grab hers and Charlie’s bedding along with the rifle and bunk down in the stables tonight. Regardless of his being sick, Ben was a man who knew how to fight.
She moved her finger along the page to find her place. How had she ever thought Charlie and she could make it on their own on this ranch without any help? With Ben, they stood a chance. With Ben? Where had that thought come from? She hardly knew the man, yet he’d rescued them from Mr. Coffin. He’d done it for Jeb, and he’d stay here and help them for Jeb’s sake.
The rope-tight tension in her shoulders and back that had almost solidified into bone in the years since her mother’s death loosened in his presence. It was foolish of her to let anyone matter besides Charlie. Her years on the frontier had taught her that.
Crossing her ankles beneath her skirt, she read through the verses, all the way to where David declared he could defeat the giant who’d defied the armies of the Living God. She paused. The same God who’d enabled David to slay the bear and the lion was with her. If only she could move that knowledge from her head to her heart. She gnawed her lip as she closed the book.
“Thank you.” Ben tugged the covers back up to his chest. The murmur of his voice resonated within her.
Her gaze flittered to the shadowed eyes of the man drinking in her every move. Forget what the frontier had taught her. Her heart wasn’t listening.
Ben’s eyes fluttered open. A sweet, sickly smell filled his nostrils. So familiar… His senses heightened in alert. He rolled away from the wall, blinking in the brilliance of the midafternoon sun that streamed in through the half-open window. He startled.
Cora was back. Dressed in a dark-blue linen dress, she sat on the chair by the bed, her hair loosely drawn back in a black snood. Pretty as an angel.
He pushed up on his elbow. “Charlie said you went to town.”
“I did. I just returned a little while ago. I wanted to come see how you’re feeling.”
The aromatic smell tickled his nose again. His mouth watered. Could one hallucinate odors? He swung his legs over the side of the bunk. Best not do it too fast, or he’d be seeing black spots. “I wish you would have told me you were going. I have some money I wanted to give you for supplies.”
“You’ve done more than enough.” Her voice softened. “I wanted to do something for you.”
“I’m not here to take charity. I’ve been staying here and eating your food. I plan on doing my share.”
Her hand shifted within the fold of her skirt. A spoon. The fingers of her other hand curled around something—a small bottle.
He stiffened. The hairs on his arms jumped to attention. “What…” He pointed. Words failed him.
