silently, while she retrieved the rest of the supplies, paid for them and requested assistance to bring everything to the horses. Both men took a few things while Ben grabbed the rest. The sun bathed her in a golden glow while she packed their saddlebags. She handed a tattered, raccoon-eaten shirt to the shopkeeper.
“Perhaps your wife can use this for a rag rug.” Grace kept her expression neutral while they completed packing away their purchases.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said primly as she threw herself up onto the horse.
Both the shopkeeper and the lawman watched her with obvious appreciation. Ben’s anger scratched at him, howling to find a release. Just because she’d diffused the situation didn’t mean his fury had abated.
As they rode away, Ben nearly ground his teeth to powder. Helpless. Furious.
*
Grace watched Ben as they continued on their journey. He held himself straight as an arrow in the saddle. She could see the tension in his shoulders and his hands clenched around the reins hard enough that his knuckles were white. Something had snapped in him during the scene in the store. While she had talked their way out of trouble, he had stewed in anger.
That anger hadn’t dissipated three hours later. He was holding onto it and she didn’t know why. After this morning when she’d confessed that being with him kept her going, and he’d dismissed her, she’d not wanted to speak to him. Now she didn’t know how to break that silence. It grew bigger and heavier with each passing moment.
When they stopped for the noon meal, her stomach had tightened to the point she didn’t know if she could eat the food they’d purchased. She didn’t want to fight with Ben, but she didn’t know what she wanted from him. She expected he felt the same.
The beautiful weather seemed to contradict the mood between them as they did such mundane tasks as opening a can of peas and a tin of crackers. She ate without tasting, washing it down with water.
It wasn’t until she had finished eating and started to clean up that she realized Ben had disappeared. She noted his dinner had gone uneaten. Concern raced through her. How had she sat there while he’d walked away? His horse was still there nibbling on the nearby sweet grass, but her worry about his mood grew stronger.
She got to her feet and checked to be sure the horses were tethered securely, then she walked into the small patch of trees nearby. There was nowhere else he could be unless he simply walked off. She didn’t want to believe he would leave her and his gelding, as well as all his belongings. Then again, she hadn’t known him long, although she’d searched for him for four months and had painted a picture of him in her mind. It had been partially correct.
Otherwise she’d been completely wrong in who she thought Benjamin Graham was. He was so much more than what she thought. Deeper, more wounded, angrier. He was the saddest person she’d ever met besides herself.
A small sound greeted her from within the trees. She stopped and tried to identify it yet all was silent. She picked her way carefully forward, trying to be as quiet as possible. The noise echoed again. She cocked her head to listen. A grunt of a stag or perhaps an animal caught in a trap?
Grace crept forward until she saw movement. Horrified, she could only watch as Ben punched a tree with one fist than the other. Blood ran down his skin, onto the ground. The sound of flesh slamming into the hard bark echoed through her as though it was her flesh being ravaged.
She ran forward and slammed into him with one shoulder, putting the full force of her strength and weight behind it. It was like slamming into the tree, but this one moved. He toppled over and their bones crunched as their bodies rolled together. She had a snarling bear in her arms and she was in a fight for her life.
He growled and tried to throw her off but she held on tight.
“Ben, stop!” Her voice sounded
“Perhaps your wife can use this for a rag rug.” Grace kept her expression neutral while they completed packing away their purchases.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said primly as she threw herself up onto the horse.
Both the shopkeeper and the lawman watched her with obvious appreciation. Ben’s anger scratched at him, howling to find a release. Just because she’d diffused the situation didn’t mean his fury had abated.
As they rode away, Ben nearly ground his teeth to powder. Helpless. Furious.
*
Grace watched Ben as they continued on their journey. He held himself straight as an arrow in the saddle. She could see the tension in his shoulders and his hands clenched around the reins hard enough that his knuckles were white. Something had snapped in him during the scene in the store. While she had talked their way out of trouble, he had stewed in anger.
That anger hadn’t dissipated three hours later. He was holding onto it and she didn’t know why. After this morning when she’d confessed that being with him kept her going, and he’d dismissed her, she’d not wanted to speak to him. Now she didn’t know how to break that silence. It grew bigger and heavier with each passing moment.
When they stopped for the noon meal, her stomach had tightened to the point she didn’t know if she could eat the food they’d purchased. She didn’t want to fight with Ben, but she didn’t know what she wanted from him. She expected he felt the same.
The beautiful weather seemed to contradict the mood between them as they did such mundane tasks as opening a can of peas and a tin of crackers. She ate without tasting, washing it down with water.
It wasn’t until she had finished eating and started to clean up that she realized Ben had disappeared. She noted his dinner had gone uneaten. Concern raced through her. How had she sat there while he’d walked away? His horse was still there nibbling on the nearby sweet grass, but her worry about his mood grew stronger.
She got to her feet and checked to be sure the horses were tethered securely, then she walked into the small patch of trees nearby. There was nowhere else he could be unless he simply walked off. She didn’t want to believe he would leave her and his gelding, as well as all his belongings. Then again, she hadn’t known him long, although she’d searched for him for four months and had painted a picture of him in her mind. It had been partially correct.
Otherwise she’d been completely wrong in who she thought Benjamin Graham was. He was so much more than what she thought. Deeper, more wounded, angrier. He was the saddest person she’d ever met besides herself.
A small sound greeted her from within the trees. She stopped and tried to identify it yet all was silent. She picked her way carefully forward, trying to be as quiet as possible. The noise echoed again. She cocked her head to listen. A grunt of a stag or perhaps an animal caught in a trap?
Grace crept forward until she saw movement. Horrified, she could only watch as Ben punched a tree with one fist than the other. Blood ran down his skin, onto the ground. The sound of flesh slamming into the hard bark echoed through her as though it was her flesh being ravaged.
She ran forward and slammed into him with one shoulder, putting the full force of her strength and weight behind it. It was like slamming into the tree, but this one moved. He toppled over and their bones crunched as their bodies rolled together. She had a snarling bear in her arms and she was in a fight for her life.
He growled and tried to throw her off but she held on tight.
“Ben, stop!” Her voice sounded
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