Her hand clenched in her lap. “How dare you?”
“Because I care about you. Because I want to court you.”Because I love you. He spread his hands wide, then let them drop to his sides.
She gaped at him.
His stomach knotted again. He needed air.
Pivoting, he strode into the hallway, slipped the front door key from the doorjamb, and inserted it in the lock.
Coming up from behind him, she grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
“Getting some air.”
“You can’t. It’s not safe.”
“They’re gone. No one’s out in the storm.” The lock clicked, and he opened the door to a bluster of wind. Rain smacked him in the face and pelted his shirt. The branches of the oak waved like a madman. Lightning struck the ground beyond the palisade.
Cora tugged him from the threshold and shut the door. “I don’t want you going.”
“I was only looking out. Not leaving.”
Strands of damp hair clung to her face. Droplets dripped from her chin to her chemise and shawl. Beautiful, wounded doe eyes stared up at him. “You’re the most stubborn, hard-headed man I know.” She shivered.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper.” His voice dipped. “It’s been a rough night. Not a time for confrontation.”
Rubbing her hands over her arms, she stepped closer, her toes within inches of his. “Jeb meant the world to me. He and I were close. Best friends.”
Was that loss another layer further encasing her heart? “I know his leaving hurt you a lot,” he whispered across his swollen lip. “He regretted?—”
She held up her hand. “Jeb gave me many things and did so much for me over the years.” She swallowed. “But you…are the best thing Jeb ever did for me.”
His eyebrows shot up.
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t want you to go.”
The long, drawn-out last word resonated down to his knees and made his legs wobble. He touched a fingertip to the fringe on her shawl, then nudged a strand of hair from her eyes with his knuckle.
He wrapped his arms around her and nestled her to his chest. Soft curves pressed against him. It was all he could do to keep hishands still and his lips to himself. “There’s no other place on this earth I want to be. No other girl I want to court.”
He could not fail her. He would not fail her.
CHAPTER 24
Cora kicked a hickory limb out of her path as she led her bay sorrel to the corral. Mud oozed around her hard leather shoes. Robins warbled from the nearby hickory trees.
Wolf Heart had left their horses alone, thankfully. And the man Ben shot was nowhere in sight. Was he dead or wounded? Thankfully, the Comanche had taken him with them when they left, and the rain had washed away all traces, except for a red tint coloring the sparse grass around the spot where he had fallen.
How did Ben feel about the possibility of potentially having killed someone? No doubt he’d killed many during the war.
The way he’d held her last night in the foyer had set her whole body atremble. She’d turned into a pool of warmth, incapable of speech. She’d nestled her head against his breast and clung to the back of his undershirt, unable to let go. They’d stood like that for immeasurable heartbeats. Until her legs felt as if they’d give out, and reason at last reigned.
Love. How had it crept in past the wall of her heart? If she had any sense, she’d shove it right back out again.
Sandy nickered, and Cora rubbed the mare’s neck. “Morning, girl.” Horse hooves sank into the moist earth as they walked.
Cora unlatched the corral gate. An oak limb lay across the top rail of a section on the far side. But other than a teetering post, the corral had survived the storm intact. She’d tiptoed out of the parlor, stepping over Charlie, careful not to wake him or Ben. She needed time to think, not be bombarded by the boy’s questions. Plus, Ben needed to rest. His poor right eye had swollen shut, and the right side of his mouth wasn’t much better. The way that warrior had pummeled him, Ben might very well have a cracked rib or two, as well.
He’d kissed her hair as she slipped from his arms in the foyer last night. A sweet, gentle kiss that almost buckled her knees. She’d scurried away, almost tripping over Charlie, and dropped into the sweetest sleep she could recall, dreaming of being in his arms.
