Free A Life Restored by Karen Baney

family—her, her pa, and her three younger sisters.   So each evening after a hard day in the fields, Ben made the trek to her home with a light step and broad smile.   After only three months of knowing her, he proposed.   She accepted and they were married in a quiet little ceremony with only her family in attendance.   His family refused to come.
    Shortly after their second anniversary, Sheila gave birth to his son, Elijah.   He had his mother’s dark hair and nutmeg eyes.   Ben instantly loved him.
    He enjoyed two more years with his blessed family, eagerly anticipating the birth of his second child.
    One evening, after the sun already set, the plantation owner called him up to the big house.   He had something to discuss.   Though Sheila begged him to wait until morning, Ben went.   It was the master after all.   He couldn’t keep the man waiting.
    If only he had listened to her.   Maybe…
    It was no use going down that road again.   He’d traveled it far too often.   He was forty-seven now—their life together a distant memory.   One he needed to bury next to her grave.   One that he could never quite bring himself to let go of.
    He patted his horse, Sheila, on the neck.   If she only knew how deeply he loved her namesake.   Only no one knew.   Not a living soul knew of his secret life before the Star C.   Eddie pried enough information from him to gather that he’d had a family once.   He stayed pretty tight lipped about it with the ever-revolving group of cowboys on the ranch.   Only Eddie knew most of his story, and he was gone, too.
    No matter.   Ben had as much of a family as he could hope for here on Colter Ranch.   Will and Hannah were like children to him and their sweet baby James, born just a few months ago, was like a grandson—though looking at him now at this age brought old memories forward.
    Julia Colter, Will’s younger sister, moved here.   She seemed to finally be settling down, learning to accept the love of her beau, Adam Larson.   Secretly, Ben hoped when those two finally got married, that she’d let him walk her down the aisle, filling in for Eddie.   It would bring him such joy and he could picture Eddie smiling down from heaven.
    Snake started mumbling to himself.   The young man always seemed to have something to say and he sure didn’t seem to care if anyone listened or not.   He was just content to jabber on and on about nothing.
    But, all his jabbering jolted Ben’s mind back to attention—leastwise it did for a moment.   Scanning the tall pine trees lining the road, he searched for any sign of Apaches.   He listened for any unusual sounds, like the eerie silence of all wildlife stilling as they sometimes did when the hostiles entered the forest.   Today, there seemed to be nothing to worry about.   Birds sang their sweet melodies, bringing some lightness back to his heart.
    Then it faded, replaced by the image of a woman who captured his attention over the last year.   Snorting, Ben reminded himself he was too old to fall in love.   Men his age—well, they just didn’t romance a woman or seek out companionship.   He’d been a bachelor for twenty-five years, living in a bunkhouse full of young men.   He didn’t need a woman.   Wouldn’t know what to do with one if he had her.
    Yet, Betty Lancaster’s bright smile entered his mind.   He couldn’t deny that he was looking forward to a visit and one of her delicious meals.   That woman could cook better than his mama.   Her heart was pure gold and she seemed to adopt every young person in town.   That was a lot of people, considering she had a few years on him.
    Still, his heart picked up pace as he thought about her now.   She wasn’t particularly pretty, but she wasn’t homely either.   Her girth was a testament to her cooking skills.   Her buoyant personality made up for her lack of outward beauty, making her far more appealing to him than he really wanted to admit.
    He flirted