name loomed over the table, an unspoken and unacknowledged presence that she could not stop thinking about. It wasn’t until the meal was almost over and Maummi had served up heaping portions of apple pie that she finally gathered the nerve to ask the question that had pressed on her mind since the moment she laid eyes on the pair.
She scooped a spoonful of her dessert and held it before her mouth. “And what of Luke? Did he take another job as a trail boss, as he intended?”
Jesse and Griff exchanged a loaded glance before they answered.
“No,” Griff finally said. He set his spoon down on the rim of his bowl and speared her with a meaningful stare. “Haven’t you heard? Luke quit the trail. He took a mortgage and bought a farm not ten miles from here, just on the other side of Hays. The old Zurcher place. Mr. Hancock was so grateful for the extra profit from our cattle drive that he gifted Luke with a hundred head of longhorns to seed his own herd.”
A numb realization stole over Emma. Luke lived not ten miles from here? And he’d given up the trail and his plan to buy his family farm in Texas? She set her spoon down, the dessert untasted.
“I wondered if you knew,” Jesse said quietly. “He’s been working hard to establish his herd, but his heart isn’t in it. It’s like…” He glanced at Jonas and then back at Emma. “There’s something missing. Or maybe someone. So Griff and I were talkin’, and we think we know what’s missing. That’s why we’re here—”
She couldn’t take anymore. Emma’s chair scraped across the wooden floor as she pushed back to flee the table. They were all looking at her, and the reason pressed against her like the weight of water against lungs begging for air. Luke had settled a few miles from here...
As she exited the house, she heard Jesse’s pursuit. She ran to the hitching post where his and Griff’s horses were tethered, and then she stopped and turned to face him.
“Why didn’t he send word?” she asked, searching his face for the answer.
Jesse shrugged. “He’s a stubborn, mule-headed cowboy, maybe?” His tone grew soft. “Or maybe he’s afraid of being turned down. All I know is he’s got a big, empty house on that farm, and he’s waiting for someone to help him fill it up.”
A noise behind Jesse caused him to turn. Papa had also exited the house and approached them with a purposeful stride. His eyes remained steadfast on Emma as he spoke to Jesse.
“A moment with my Emma, please.”
With a final look at her, Jesse went back inside.
Emma couldn’t return her father’s gaze. She lifted a hand to stroke the muzzle of Jesse’s horse. The animal tossed his head and whickered softly in response.
Papa’s voice cut through the silence that surrounded them. “You still love him, this Englisch cowboy.”
Painful tears flooded her eyes. It was not a question, but Emma mastered herself enough to nod in response.
He sighed. “On the day of your birth, your mother and I stood gazing down at you in your cradle. We talked. We wished for our daughter a Plain life, a peaceful life. We wanted you to embrace our faith. Our ways. Our beliefs.”
His words sliced deep. “I know, Papa. I have. Really.”
Sadly, Papa shook his head. “You believe. But your heart leads you elsewhere.”
Silence fell between them, broken only by Emma’s quiet sobs. After a few moments, Papa reached out a hand and placed it awkwardly on her arm.
“Peace is not possible without love,” he whispered. “Above all, your mother wanted you to have love. I want you to have love. I want you to have it in a Plain life, but…”
Emma’s heart welled up with hope. Papa would never say the words that approved her rejection of the Plain way of life. But he came as close as he could when he wished her a lifetime of love.
Despite his reticence against displays of emotion, she flung her arms around him and clung to him. Never again would she enjoy this moment with her father, with her heritage and her faith intact. She would not be shunned, because she had not been baptized. But she would be Englisch. An outsider. Whispering a sweet and silent farewell, she leaned back and fixed her gaze on his.
“I love you, Papa.”
His lips twitched with unspoken words. Instead, he lifted an open hand and placed it on her forehead.