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Ben always walked with a loose-hipped sway, as if he did not get in a hurry to do anything. She could not help but stare as he walked toward her now. His pants hung low on his hips and his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing tanned skin almost as dark as her own and sweat-slicked muscles she was not even aware he had pulled tight with his every step.
She raised her eyes to his face. His chin was still dusted with whiskers, his hair disheveled, and the sight of him made her think things she should not. He was Betsey’s brother. Family. Not to mention, people hated her on sight. There could be nothing between them.
“She didn’t give you any trouble riding her?”
Morning Dove blinked and focused on what he was saying. “No.”
“Good.” He ran a hand over the mare’s neck. “Picked out a name for her yet?”
“I have not said I am keeping her.”
Ben grinned. “Well, you are.”
Everything in Morning Dove told her to argue. To give the mare back and tell him to return her to the Avery’s. She did not deserve such a gift, especially from someone she had a hard time not thinking about most days. Him gifting her a horse for no reason? The implications messed with her head and made her think things that were more than likely untrue.
The mare headed to a water trough that sat beside the barn. Morning Dove watched her drink before turning back to Ben. He was watching her.
“You should not have done that.”
“Done what?”
She tried not to smile when he grinned at her again.
“If I hadn’t bought her, some saddle bum would have, and they’d not deserve her half as much as you do.”
Morning Dove watched the mare drink, everything in her saying she could not accept her. But she wanted to. More than she had wanted anything in more years than she could count.
“Going to name her Star Dancer?”
Morning Dove smiled and shook her head. “No, the way she likes to run, Wind Chaser would suit her more.”
“It’s a good name.”
Ben was watching her in that way he did sometimes. The look on his face made her think foolish things from time to time, like now. That look said he was interested in her as more than just friends. As awful as Walter was to her, she still dreamed of things most women hoped for. A home and family and—someone who loved her.
She felt her face heat and turned away.
“It’s getting late,” he said.
She looked toward the mountain at his words. The sun was sinking behind it, the sky turning dark purple and red. “You are right. I should go. Betsey and Aaron will wonder where I am.”
“Let me saddle Cash and I’ll see you home.”
“You do not have to do that.”
“I know I don’t but it’ll be dark soon. You shouldn’t be out on the prairie after the sun goes down, especially with what happened in town.”
She did not argue with him about it. The look of determination on his face told her he would not take no for an answer, so she took the mare’s reins—Wind Chaser, she decided—and waited for him to saddle Cash.
They spoke little on the way to Aaron and Betsey’s homestead. She never knew what to say to him, so stayed lost in her own thoughts, most of which were about him. About the implications of him buying her a horse. Did it mean anything? Or was he being nice and bought her a gift because that is what decent people do?
It is an expensive gift to give someone.
There were only a few lights on in the house. She had missed supper, more than likely. Ben entered the barn behind her when she walked Wind Chaser to her stall and he helped get her settled for the night.
She shut and latched the stall door and stood staring in at the mare. Ben leaned against the gate, his arms propped on top of it watching her as well.
It was dark inside the barn, only faint moonlight making its way into the building. It was hard to make out Ben’s features, but she could see him well enough to know he was still watching the mare. Morning Dove looked at her too. She was a magnificent gift, one she did not deserve.
