“You sound out the words the best you can till we get back.” The firm tone cut off the barrage of objections.
Cora shivered as she stepped onto the porch. An orchestra of cricket chirps filled the air beneath the misty blue dusk. An orange glow hovered on the western horizon. What a beautiful evening. She should relish the chance to escape the stuffy confines of the parlor. Still, she rubbed her arms and scanned the distant bluffs.
“Would you like me to fetch your shawl?” Ben stepped alongside her.
“No, thank you. It’s just me being ridiculous. Seeing shadows where there’s nothing.” The hickory wood plank creaked beneath her footfall.
He hooked his thumb over his gun belt. “You have every right to be concerned. But we’re on a rise here. We can see everything for miles. And they can’t harm us unless they get inside the gate.”
She gnawed her lip. “They got over last night.” The warrior’s sinew-tough hands had dug into her arm and jerked her off this very porch. Charlie, Ben, any of them could have died.
“I’m sorry they got anywhere near you or Charlie.” He flexed his hands at his sides. “One climbed over and unlocked the gate for the rest. I aim to do something about that. They could have killed us or taken us captive if they chose to.”
“As I mentioned last night, I recognized Wolf Heart. He’s the warrior I told you about, the one who spared my life eight years ago when my uncle and I were attacked.” She clasped her hands across her middle. “Saved me. Let my uncle die. Maybe evenkilled him. He spared us all last night, but…” He’d practically told Ben to take her as his wife. As if it was Wolf Heart’s decision to make. “I’m not ready to put my life in his hands.”
“Me neither. That’s why I’m heading into town tomorrow.” He drifted to the end of the porch.
She followed him. “Tomorrow? You need to give your body a chance to heal before you ride off anywhere.”
“I’m delaying my trip to see the Widow Jackson’s herd until the beginning of next week for that very reason.”
“Town could wait too.”
His gaze drifted down the lane. “No, we need an iron chain and lock for the palisade gate, something no one’s going to get undone without a key.”
“The Comanche could still climb over.”
“But they’ll have to leave their horses behind.”
“You don’t think they’ll return anytime soon, do you?”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “I think not. Wolf Heart gave his word. But as you said, I’m not going to let down my guard. I’m not going to leave you and Charlie here alone when I head off to the widow’s for the cattle. I either want to hire a hand, someone respectable, older, who can be trusted, or have you and Charlie stay in town while I’m away.”
“In town? What about the garden?”
“There are things more important than the garden.”
She skirted around the heart-fluttering, personal implications and steered the conversation to the practical. “We can’t afford to hire someone.”
He held up his hand. “Why don’t we hold off on discussing this until after I have a chance to speak to Miller? He might know someone trustworthy, or offer you and Charlie a room. Or if you know of someone else you have a stronger connection with and who you can count on, I could speak with them.”
She and Charlie didn’t need a room, but she pressed her lips shut. All these years in Parker County, and there was no one who hadn’t left the frontier or died in the war whom she’d count as a close friend. “There’s no one else.” Her family had never been one to ask for help, even when they needed it, especially after her father’s behavior became the talk of the town.
“Miller will be fine.” She shuddered. “But after my nerves have a chance to settle down for a couple of days, I’ll be all right here with just me and Charlie.”
“I admire your spunk.” He tilted his head as if to see her from a different angle. “But I plan to hire someone all the same.”
“The day you rode up, I had my shotgun at the end of the garden row. I know how to take care of myself.” Then why was she so uneasy about stepping outside after dark?
He leaned against the post and studied her. “Is that how you want to live?”
“What do you mean? Are we still talking about you hiring someone for a few weeks?”
“No. I mean alone with just you and Charlie.”
Alone. Heart baking as hard as the soil beneath the July sun, parched for love and companionship. Her life before Ben showed up.
Ben tipped his hat. “I have another reason for going to town.” He touched his hand to his pocket. “I have a letter to mail.”
