“To Olivia?”
“Yes.”
He was going to follow through on his decision to break his betrothal. Because she was the girl he wanted to court, or because he felt she needed his protection? “You don’t have to. You’re under no obligation to me.” She grimaced. Why couldn’t she just shut her mouth and accept his attentions?
“I don’t have to?” He took her by the elbow and turned her toward him. “It’d take a bullet or an arrow to stop me frommailing that letter.” His gaze dove into hers, penetrating layers deep.
Her pulse drummed at the base of her neck. “You sound pretty determined.”
“In case I haven’t made myself clear here…” His voice dipped. “I’m in love with you.”
Goosebumps spread across her limbs. Her gaze fell to his scuffed boots. If she had any sense, she’d crawl back behind the shield of indifference. Wasn’t that why she’d allowed LeBeau to come calling, to bolster her resistance to Ben’s charms? She should ride into town herself tomorrow and propose to the doctor. A safe marriage. Without heart. Sealing herself into an ill-fitting life that protected her against the potential of repeating her mother’s mistakes.
No. Her fingers curled inward. She was done with hovering inside her walls. She was finished with not living. Words trembled on her lips. “Be gentle with my heart,” she whispered. “It is yours.”
His breath caught. He trailed his fingers from her elbow to her hand, snagging her pinky with his, gently swinging her hand. “Your heart will be my most precious treasure, Cora.”
CHAPTER 25
Dawn. Traces of pink lined the eastern horizon. Patches of hickory, mesquite, and oak dotted the prairie between the ranch and Spring Creek. But Ben’s direction lay south across the Brazos River and into Palo Pinto County. He scraped his sandpaper tongue over his lips as he tugged on the cinch strap. He should be staying here to protect Charlie and Cora, not riding off.
Penny snorted and tossed her midnight-hued mane.
Cora stood at his side, wrapped in her red shawl. The comb he’d given her rested snug in her flowing hair. Her eyes were still puffy from sleep.
He laid the reins across the saddle horn and turned to her.Lord, watch over her and Charlie. “Mr. Franklin should be here around suppertime every evening. He understands he’ll take his meals in the loft.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want another cowhand to get the idea he can run the ranch because he gets invited to the supper table a few times.”
He blinked at her.
The corners of her mouth quirked upward.
He chuckled. “For your information, Cora-girl, I’m more of a partner than cowhand.”
“See what a few dinners did for you?” She edged the toe of her unlaced shoe against his boot. Dew and bits of grass dampened the leather. “But you’re more of a knight.”
He took her cool hand in his. “Only for my princess.”
She blushed and fidgeted as if not quite accustomed to the endearment. When he returned, he’d shower her with attention and court her proper.
But when was he going to tell her about his obligation to his father? One that a letter wouldn’t get him out of, not if he wanted to maintain his family’s respect. Until their embrace in the foyer five nights ago, Cora knowing or not knowing hadn’t mattered, but now he was creating heart-deep expectations. He’d told himself he’d tell her before he left for Palo Pinto County and the widow’s, but how could he do that minutes before riding off for weeks?
Cora fingered the tooled leather of the saddle’s pommel. She’d insisted upon loaning— more like giving—him the finest of her family’s three remaining saddles. “You should take Mr. Franklin with you instead of leaving him with us. You need all the help you can get with the cattle. Charlie and I will make out fine. We promise to stay locked in the house from sunset to sunrise, and you know the double cabin is impenetrable. Plus, no one’s getting the gate open with that chain on there, without a key.”
Ben stretched his forearm over the saddle seat, just shy of Cora’s hand. “It’s not open for discussion. If anything happened to you or Charlie, I’d never forgive myself. Franklin will just be here for the nights. Getting paid to sleep. Can’t ask for any easier position than that. He may be past his prime, but I have it on good account from Miller that Franklin is a very able shot and one who can be trusted.”
She jutted her chin. “Franklin is an experienced cowhand, and he knows his way around the frontier and cattle?—”
“If I need more hired hands in addition to Goodnight’s two men, I’ll stop by Major Ramsey’s place in Palo Pinto, hire a couple of his men on commission.”
“Working with cattle on the range can be dangerous, Ben.”
He cupped his hands around her upper arms, massaging her tense shoulders with his thumbs. “You and Charlie can pray for me while I’m away.”
Air swooshed from her lungs. “I suppose you don’t know how time works on this ranch. For every day you spend out on the range or in some far-off county, three days pass here…” She fingered a button on his red cotton shirt just below his collarbone.
“I know I’m going to miss my girl.” His swallow worked its way down his throat. “And we’d best express our private goodbyes before Charlie finishes tending the horses and hurries over here.” His voice dipped.
