Free Daughter of Texas by Terri Reed Page B

soft fur.
    â€œCorinna, if this is too painful, we can talk more about it later,” Ben said.
    Lifting her head, she said, “I just can’t believe he’s really gone.”
    Ben moved to sit beside her. He slid an arm around her and pulled her to his chest. “You’ll get through this. We’ll all get through this.”
    She wanted to believe Ben. But she feared her world was cracking into a million jagged pieces and if she weren’t careful, she’d shatter too.

SIX
    â€œI s he always so…” Corinna looked for the right word. She wasn’t sure how to describe Ben. “Protective? Compulsively neat? Efficient?”
    Gisella laughed. “You’ve known him longer than I have, don’t you know?”
    â€œNot really.” Corinna reached for the popcorn bowl. They were sitting on the couch in Gisella’s living room watching a chick flick, but Corinna’s mind wasn’t on the movie. She was thinking about Ben. About how solicitous he’d been from the beginning of this nightmare. About how protective and accommodating he was. She knew he was hurting just as badly as she was but he didn’t show it.
    She supposed the axiom that men compartmentalize their emotions had to be true. At least in Ben’s case.
    â€œWhat do you mean, not really?” Gisella asked, her dark eyes alight with curiosity.
    Corinna picked at the popcorn, crumbling the fluffy kernels between her fingers and letting the crumbs fall to the napkin in her lap. “I’ve known him a long time but I don’t really know him. What’s he like at work?”
    â€œProtective, compulsively neat, efficient,” Gisella replied with a grin.
    Corinna threw a piece of popcorn at her. “That’s helpful.”
    Gisella sobered and paused the movie. “Really, Ben’s a good guy. Your father thought highly of him. All the Rangers do.”
    Corinna knew just how highly her father had thought of Ben. He’d been the golden boy. The one whom her father preferred. Bitter anger churned in her gut. She tried to ignore it. Ben had been so solicitous and caring the past few days as they all coped with the loss of her father. “It must be hard on the company to be without a captain.”
    Gisella gave her a funny look. “Ben was promoted to captain. Didn’t he tell you?”
    â€œNo.” But why would he? They weren’t friends. Not really. She wasn’t sure what their relationship was. Or why he’d been so caring toward her. She knew she hadn’t been the kindest and most thoughtful person when he was around. She wondered if he knew that she resented his intrusion into her and her father’s life.
    It didn’t matter now. Her father was gone.
    She set the popcorn aside. “Do you mind if I bail on you? I’m suddenly really tired.”
    â€œNot at all,” Gisella said, her eyebrows drawing together. “Let me know if I can do anything for you.”
    â€œThanks.” Corinna rose and headed toward the spare room Gisella had loaned her. She hoped she’d find some sleep because she knew tomorrow she’d need her strength. Tomorrow she and Ben would beworking together to put the final touches on the funeral arrangements. Not a task she was looking forward to.
    A part of her longed to reach out to God for solace. To ask for help, strength, comfort. But she couldn’t. Her heart felt hard within her chest. A cold stone where warmth once had surged.
    Maybe turning to stone was what it was going to take to survive this.
    Â 
    A scratching noise brought Corinna out of a deep sleep. She lay immobile on the bed. Her mind mentally cataloged her surroundings. She was at Gisella’s, in the spare bedroom. Dresser to the left, door to the right. A window sat opposite from the bed. The blinds were drawn closed and artificial light from the street lamp outside shone through the side cracks. For a moment, she wondered