“Do you have sufficient funds with you in Texas to make a purchase like that?”
“I can cover it.” But the deepening of trace lines at the corners of his eyes into crevices said differently. It was no light matter.
Her tongue scraped her mouth like sandpaper. “I can’t ask you to invest that much.”
“You’re not.” He cocked his head toward her. “I’m volunteering. I’ll still have enough to purchase a horse. By the way, I decided to buy a quarter horse instead of the mustang. The black is a beauty, but I need a trail-broken animal that is used to cattle since I’m going to hit the range in a couple of days, not one that’s never been ridden before.” He finished off his portion of the pie, pressing the plate against her lap as he scooped up the remnants. “And I’m betting Mr. Miller back in Weatherford will allow me to purchase supplies for the trail on credit. Just until Goodnight returns with our share of the moneyfrom the cattle sale. I’ll put the quarter horse up as collateral. She’s a fine-looking animal.”
His horse as collateral? Buying supplies on credit? He wouldn’t have enough to get home to Philadelphia if this gamble didn’t pay off. The thought throbbed in her head. What then? And she had no idea if this was money he’d saved for years, or the profits from a previous business venture, or his inheritance. What part of his life was he risking for her and Charlie?
“Do you know you get this little furrow…” He touched the tip of his finger above the bridge of her nose. Touched her. Actually dared touch her. “Right there. When you’re worried.”
His hand fell away. But the heat that swept over her didn’t. Her gaze drifted into his, soft, steady hazel irises. Eyes filled with determination. Had she ever witnessed such commitment? Goosebumps spread over her limbs.
She opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. She would honor this man’s sacrifice. This man was not like her father. Not yet. Maybe he never had to be. Maybe she could help him not be. Risky thought. Unquenchable.
Quiet words bubbled forth, uttered with her gaze on the horizon. “There’s more to being a hero than breaking a horse.”
His eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. “What did you say?” His voice a low rumble of disbelief.
“You heard me.” She stood. The corners of her mouth edged upward despite the rock in her throat. “I’m not repeating it.”
She struck out at a fast clip as if she could outpace the compliment.
But the deep tone of his voice reached out to her. “I heard you.” And she would have to be deaf not to sense the smile that followed.
CHAPTER 18
Ben tossed a tiny leg bone into the waning fire and wiped the rabbit grease from his hands onto the patchy grass. They’d put an hour’s distance between them and Mr. Gary’s before picking out a campsite.
A faint hue of pink hovered on the western horizon. The rippling chirp of a tree frog sounded from the nearby cedar trees.
Charlie leaned forward, elbows on knees, gnawing on a hindquarter. “I can’t believe I shot him right through the heart. I got a squirrel before and a couple of groundhogs, but never a rabbit.”
Ben grinned. It’d been worth the gamble of losing the meal and eating dried venison in order to allow Charlie a chance to make the kill.
“You did a mighty fine job, Charlie.” Cora dabbed a little water on the corner of her neckerchief and wiped her mouth. Her straw hat lay on the log beside her. The length of the day and the breeze had taken its toll on her now loosely bound braid. Wisps of chestnut hair fluttered about her face with its traces of auburn.
She’d removed the white undersleeves and rolled the sleeves of her blue-green plaid dress halfway to her elbows. Back East, a man rarely caught sight of so much of a woman’s arms.
Ben tugged his gaze away from her and fished a biscuit from beneath the folded cloth on the ground between them. He leaned back against the rock, grinding a spider into the sand with his boot toe. His taste buds rejoiced as he bit into the buttermilk biscuit. He flickered a glance at Cora.
She jerked her attention to the horizon. Realization hummed through him. She’d been looking at him.
Had he really referred to himself as a knight today? Sometimes he didn’t know what was going to pop out of his mouth.There’s more to being a hero than breaking a horse. That’s what she’d said, with a blush on her cheeks. A complete about-face from her doubt and discouragement a couple hours before. She was gifting him her trust. All he had to do now was make good on the plans he’d laid out before her.
Easier said than done.
He savored another bite.
Rounding up what was left of Cora’s cattle in the next two weeks across several hundred square miles was the least of his problems. Goodnight had given him a list of the water holes to check. The real task would be purchasing the widow’s herd at a rate he could afford and getting them to market. The money sack he had stuffed in an empty spittoon in his room over the stable wasn’t guaranteed to be enough. A wiser plan might be to bring Garret Ramsey in on the deal for a share. Ben would pay Garrett out of his half later. Cora would have her half just as he promised. But who would drive the cattle? He rubbed the back of his neck.
Charlie finished off his rabbit. “Tyler thought we might stay the night at his house.”
Ben swallowed his last bite. “His pa did offer.”
Cora’s eyebrows edged upward. “What’d you tell him?”
Draping his arm over his knee, Ben tipped his face toward Cora. “I thanked him kindly but told him we’d best head toward home as soon as possible.”
