{"id":14342,"date":"2017-05-26T14:41:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T18:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14342"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:11","slug":"other-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14342","title":{"rendered":"Other Plans (by Home Alone)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ben has met a woman in town with a tragic past.\u00a0 Drawn together by a common thread of lost love, their friendship grows until one night one of them makes a proposal for a closer relationship.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 <\/strong>MA\/R \u00a0 \u00a0Word Count:\u00a0 <\/strong>1,755<\/p>\n

Thanks again to Cheaux for her kind mentoring.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other Plans<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf ever you want to share my bed, you know where I am\u201d, she said.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo expectations.\u00a0 Just one night,\u201d she said.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright didn\u2019t like to lie to his sons.\u00a0 He never failed to divulge the entire truth of any situation that came into question, and raised his sons to do the same.\u00a0 That’s why today when he told them he would be spending the night in town in order to attend an early meeting at the bank tomorrow, he felt a little guilty.\u00a0 The facts were not entirely true – but true enough.<\/p>\n

It had been some time since he ventured into town alone.\u00a0 Adam offered to go with him, but Ben declined his offer.\u00a0 He always seemed to be with one or more of his sons, and, not that he didn\u2019t appreciate their company, it\u2019s just that sometimes a man wants to be alone – to cut loose a little and act like any other man.\u00a0 Play some cards, drink some whiskey \u2013 without his sons as an audience.<\/p>\n

Tonight, however, he had other plans for his evening. \u00a0Plans that didn\u2019t include being alone.<\/p>\n

Three times a widower, Ben had been without a wife for the past sixteen years.\u00a0 The circumstances of his wives\u2019 deaths had inflicted pronounced damage to his heart, to the point he felt unable to give what was left of it to another woman. Although there were many ladies in town who would be thrilled to be the next Mrs. Cartwright, none of them had sufficiently caught his eye.\u00a0 Daring not to tempt fate and become entwined in another marriage, he decided to be grateful for the loves he had known, and not look again for a partner.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t mean he was a man without needs.<\/p>\n

There were many places in Virginia City where a man could find certain comforts without commitment.\u00a0 Ranch hands and miners regularly took advantage of the opportunities to find a working gal ready to share a drink, enjoy an evening, or spend the night with any man having the funds in his pocket to equal her fee.<\/p>\n

Ben might have enjoyed the offerings of brothels in other towns where he could enjoy anonymity, but not here in Virginia City.\u00a0 He was a pillar of the community and an important member of many organizations in town, including the church council.\u00a0 Citizens of Virginia City held him to a higher standard than the average man.\u00a0 Had he been seen in the company of a professional woman, word of his immorality would most certainly sully the Cartwright name and all it stood for.\u00a0 And what would he tell his sons?<\/p>\n

But being alone could cause even a moral man like Ben Cartwright to risk almost anything to know the comforts of a woman<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0 He had not forgotten the feeling of a bare woman lying in bed behind him, pressed against his back with her arms around his chest and her legs entwined in his . . . the anticipation of unfastening a woman\u2019s blouse, revealing her breasts . . . \u00a0the excitement of running his hands up a woman\u2019s legs and slowly pulling down her drawers.\u00a0\u00a0 A pledge of marriage would certainly provide all these things, but sometimes a solitary man just wanted to, well, let go without the obligation of love.<\/p>\n

Adam knew the feeling well, but, unlike his father, he was able to enjoy the company of such women now and then without retribution from the citizens of Virginia City.\u00a0 After all, an unmarried man his age certainly couldn\u2019t be expected to live a priestly life.\u00a0 But a man like Ben Cartwright had a reputation to protect.<\/p>\n

Ben met Mary quite by chance.\u00a0 Late one night, on his way down the darkened street that led out of town, he heard a woman\u2019s terrified screams coming from the caf\u00e9.\u00a0 Alarmed, he stopped his horse and quickly jumped down.\u00a0 Upon hearing another blood-curdling scream, he burst through the caf\u00e9 doors with his gun drawn, ready to save a fair maiden from certain danger.\u00a0 Expecting to find an intruder, a thief, or worse, he instead found the caf\u00e9 owner, Mary Gallagher, in her bare feet, standing on a chair, nervously pointing to the place in the kitchen where a mouse had run over her feet.\u00a0 She was terrified but laughing at herself at the same time.\u00a0 Soon she had Ben laughing, too.<\/p>\n

Since that day, Ben could not stop thinking about her.\u00a0 He started to frequent her caf\u00e9 every time he was in town.\u00a0 When he dined at her restaurant, she always prepared his food personally, and occasionally joined him at his table. \u00a0She was fun to talk to and always ready to debate the latest political news or discuss articles from the local newspaper.\u00a0 He had almost forgotten how wonderful it was to engage in some innocent flirting with a beautiful woman.\u00a0 He began to feel a faintly familiar feeling, one he thought had left him long ago \u2013 desire.<\/p>\n

Mary was drawn to Ben, too.\u00a0 She had, of course, heard of the Cartwright family, and found Ben to be everything people said he was – strong, successful, and strikingly handsome.\u00a0 Like her, he was no young buck, but even at his age he possessed a simmering appeal \u2013 his silver hair, his dark eyes, his mellow voice.\u00a0 Sometimes while working in the kitchen of her caf\u00e9, she found her thoughts wandering to him, imagining what it would feel like to be in his arms, feel his breath on her neck, have his hands on her body.<\/p>\n

At Ben\u2019s invitation, they started to meet socially but not seriously \u2013 a dinner here, a dance there.\u00a0\u00a0 They sometimes picnicked on the Ponderosa, and soon Ben was regularly escorting her to church on Sundays. Together, they engaged in many deep conversations about wounded hearts, loss of loved ones, and loneliness.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She had seen the pictures of his son\u2019s mothers and heard the heartbreaking stories of their deaths.\u00a0 She shared with him a picture of her husband and son, murdered by Indians in retribution for a raid on their village by the army. It was rumored around town that she was a widow with a tragic history, but the details of her past she kept to herself.\u00a0 The pain of losing a loved one could only be truly appreciated by someone who also suffered such a loss.\u00a0 The common thread of past tragedies bound them closer together.\u00a0 He understood her inability to give her heart to another, as he did, while at the same time longing for the physical comfort a partner can give.<\/p>\n

Both feeling a strong attraction to the other, neither was brave enough to act upon it.\u00a0 The slightest touch they encountered while together would send Mary\u2019s heart racing \u2013 walking beside Ben with her arm entwined in his, or his hands around her waist while lifting her out of the buggy, or fingers touching while passing a brandy glass.\u00a0 Mary most certainly felt it, but did he feel it, too?<\/p>\n

Last evening, when Ben escorted Mary home from the Spring dance, she could no longer suppress the feelings she had for him.\u00a0 Knowing he was too much of a gentleman to propose anything inappropriate, she decided to state the obvious while hoping she wouldn\u2019t scare him away.\u00a0 When they reached the front door of the cafe, Ben leaned forward, his fingertips on her chin, and gently kissed Mary on her cheek.\u00a0 Gathering all her courage, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulled him in close, and whispered her desires in his ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy darling Ben, if you ever want to share my bed, you know where I am.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary was unsure of whether the proposal pleased or repulsed him.\u00a0 His mouth slightly ajar and a look of shock in his eyes, Ben was rendered speechless.\u00a0 Mary was horrified.\u00a0 What had she done?\u00a0 What must he think of her?\u00a0 He stood silent for a moment, still holding her face in his gentle hands. \u00a0Tripping over his words, he weakly tried to argue all the reasons why they shouldn\u2019t, none of which made any sense to either of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one night.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary asked Ben not to answer immediately, but to consider it a standing offer.\u00a0 If he were ever to desire her company, he need only come to the caf\u00e9 at closing time.<\/p>\n

Now, only 24 hours later, Ben was riding into town alone, filled with conflict.\u00a0 Many times during the ride from the Ponderosa he stopped Buck, intending to turn around and forget the whole thing.\u00a0 He felt like a schoolboy working up the courage for his first kiss – excited and terrified at the same time.\u00a0 It had been a while since he had enjoyed a woman\u2019s company in bed.\u00a0 Would he even remember what to do?\u00a0 Would he please her, and she him?<\/p>\n

Procrastinating all the way down the road, he suddenly found himself at the edge of town. Too late to turn back now, he stabled his horse and walked hesitantly towards Mary\u2019s.\u00a0 The other businesses on Virginia Street were already dark and shuttered.\u00a0 Perhaps she closed the caf\u00e9 early and wasn\u2019t even there.\u00a0 He would gladly accept that as a sign it was not meant to be.<\/p>\n

He made his way towards the end of the street to the Virginia Caf\u00e9, his heart pounding.\u00a0 He could see lamp light coming from inside.\u00a0 He quietly approached the window and peeked in.\u00a0 There was Mary, busy watering the plants and dusting off the tables.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo expectations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He mustered all his courage and gently rapped on the glass.<\/p>\n

Mary looked over her shoulder and saw dark eyes peering at her, and she beamed.\u00a0 Quickly removing her apron, she crossed to the door and opened it.\u00a0 There stood Ben, hat in hand, the emotions on his face telling her everything his voice was unable to.\u00a0 Without saying a word, she extinguished the lamp and led him through the darkened dining room up the back staircase to her apartment above the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Mary and Ben both knew their friendship was about to change, neither knowing where it would end up.\u00a0 But for this evening, two lonely friends with haunted memories and wounded hearts would comfort each other and dream of lost loves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Ben Cartwright<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 Ben has met a woman in town with a tragic past.\u00a0 Drawn together by a common thread of lost love, their friendship grows until one night one of them makes a proposal for a closer relationship.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 MA\/R \u00a0 \u00a0Word Count:\u00a0 1,755<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10301,"featured_media":377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,690],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-u","category-ma-rated","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-690-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1646,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ben3.jpg?fit=320%2C240&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4820,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4820","url_meta":{"origin":14342,"position":0},"title":"Proud (by Storm)","author":"storm","date":"May 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0\u00a0This is my story for the May challenge. 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