Something thrashed to their right.
She jumped.
Ben threw his arm out of his blanket. “Get away.”
Heart pounding, she sprang to her feet, but there was nothing there.
A deep groan resonated from Ben’s throat. He rolled over murmuring. Asleep. Dreaming?
Gathering her shawl, she crept over.
His face contorted. In pain? Fear?
Palms clammy, she knelt at his side, clutching her shawl around her.
Strands of brown hair clung to his brow. A faint shadow of stubble darkened his strong jaw. His shirt, loose at his collar, crumpled across his chest. Should she wake him? Touch the shoulder of this man who had become her protector?
“Ummm.” He twitched. His brow crinkled. More murmurs. He licked his lips. “Lau…nenum.”
A silent scream ripped through her. No. She jerked back. Her knee hit the rifle, bumping it against Ben’s shoulder.
Quicker than a breath, he shot up, eyes wild. He lunged for her. She squealed, falling onto her backside from a squat. He grabbed her arms and pinned her to the hard, pebbled ground. His hands clamped like vise grips. Bristles jabbed her side. His shins pressed against her thighs.
“Ben.” She gasped.
He jerked. Squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. “C…ora.” He panted as if he’d been running. “What?” His hands fell away from her. He rocked back on his heels. He gaped at his surroundings as if he’d never seen them. “I’m so sorry.”
Grinding her heels into the pebbles, she scooted out of his reach. A sharp edge of a rock dug into her palm.
Charlie sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What happened?”
Ben scrubbed his hand over his face. His chest heaved. “You can’t sneak up on me, Cora. What were you even doing over here?” He dropped to his knees. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Hereached out, then dropped his hand back to his thigh. His face sagged.
Trembling, she rubbed her arms. “No…I’m all right. Just shaken.”
“You can’t sneak up on me, especially not when I’m sleeping.” His brow furrowed. “At the camp…at Andersonville, men would steal things from other prisoners in the middle of the night. If you didn’t protect yourself, you wouldn’t have a scrap of food to live on. You wouldn’t survive.”
Charlie stared at him. “You attacked Cora because you dreamed she was one of the bad guys?”
Ben winced. “It was similar to a dream.” He fumbled. “I would never intentionally harm a hair on your sister’s head.”
What if he’d grabbed the Spencer or the revolver? Her throat tightened. She fought to steady her words. “I’m fine, Charlie.” She touched the boy’s shoulder, nudging him down into his covers. “I accidentally woke Ben up in the middle of a nightmare. Sometimes a person doesn’t wake up all the way. He was still dreaming.” She kissed the boy’s forehead. “Go back to sleep.”
He nodded and rolled over, snuggling deep in the blankets.
A breath shuddered out of Ben. He stood, ran his fingers through his hair.
Her gaze to the ground, she edged her way back to her bedroll. Ben was dangerous in more ways than one. But the scariest part of it all was the one word.Laudanum. Even after all of these weeks, he wasn’t free of its siren’s call. Would he ever be? She couldn’t take the risk.
Quiet-footed, Ben moved to her side and knelt.
She stiffened and yanked her blanket up to her throat.
His brow furrowed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Not even going to touch you.” A well of pain echoed in his whisper. “I just need to know why you came over to me.”
Did the man think she’d been making overtures or something? Heat blazed across her cheeks. She glanced at Charlie and kept her voice low. “I heard a coyote.”
Ben exhaled. “I see.” He scanned the tree line. “I’ll keep watch the rest of the night.”
