“Go,” he said. “And find happiness.”
Joy sparked to life deep inside her and quickly flared to a blaze. Luke waited a few miles from here. She needed to harness the horse to the buggy, and quickly, before her nerve gave out.
When she turned toward the barn, her gaze snagged on four pairs of eyes that stood watching her outside the house.
Jesse strode toward her. “Take my horse,” he said. “He’s fast, and he knows the way.”
She looked down at her bulky black skirts. How could she ride like this? And then it hit her. She could ride astride now. No one would fault her. No one would condemn her if she did.
Rebecca’s grin lit the entire barnyard. That her sister wished her well would never be in doubt. Before Emma turned toward the horse, Maummi lurched forward and grabbed her into a hug.
“May you find what I found,” she whispered, tears glittering in her eyes. “You have my blessing as a gift for your new home. And something else besides.”
Emma laughed at the meaning sparkling in her eyes. Then, with a grin toward Rebecca, she gathered her skirts, climbed into Jesse’s saddle, and pointed his horse toward the old Zurcher farm.
Luke stood out in the pasture, watching a pair of newborn calves frolic in the green grass. The sight of them sent a ripple of satisfaction to his gut. They were his, the first born under the Lazy C brand, and he couldn’t stop staring at them.
His gaze swept upward, over the wide open pasture and the herd that grazed within the fenced borders. To his right, the lush plants of the previous owners’ garden bore more squash and late red tomatoes than he could pick in a month. And behind him, a house loomed empty and lonely, the only furnishing his bedroll on the hard wooden floor in the biggest bedroom.
The silence of the farm, and the occasional call of a mother cow toward her playful calf, occupied his thoughts. In the dim recesses of his mind he heard the sound of a horse’s approach, but he didn’t credit it as real. Instead, his inner eyes were fixed on the image of a sweet face, a softly curving cheek, and a pair of lush lips that quirked at the edges and invited his touch.
A weight dropped around his body. In the next instant, a rope tightened, pinning his arms to his side.
He turned to find a haunting, laughing gaze fixed on him. At first his mind grappled to place the beautiful woman whose long hair swung freely around her shoulders, with no white kapp to hinder its dance in the Kansas breeze. Then somewhere in the depths of his chest, his heart lurched toward the woman who had lassoed his emotions months ago on the Chisholm Trail. His boots followed and took him to her side.
She lifted her end of the rope, her eyes dancing with humor. “I’ve been practicing my technique. How am I doing?”
Did her presence here, without her Amish kapp, mean what he thought? Was she ready to give herself to him, freely and without encumbrance? He’d longed for this moment through the long days and nights of the past two months. With an impatient hand, he freed himself from the confines of the rope and raised his arms to encircle her. Moving with reverence for the precious treasure he held, he pulled her gently to him.
“You’re doing fine,” he whispered.
He lowered his lips to cover hers. The moment they touched, a wave of emotion swept from his head to his feet. He felt her go limp in his arms, and he tightened his hold on her.
“I heard you’d given up the life of a trail boss and settled in Kansas,” she whispered when their kiss ended, her gaze locked onto his. “I could hardly believe it was true.”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s true.” He brought her upright and picked up a silky lock of her unbound hair between his rough fingers. “Does this mean you’ve given up your Plain life for mine?”
Her hand rose to rest upon his cheek. “Why must we choose one or the other? Instead, can’t we make a new life together?”
Overcome, he pulled her toward him again. In the moments before their lips touched for a glorious second time, she whispered, “There is something I need to tell you. Maummi is giving us a wedding present. I hope we’ll have room for it in our house.”
A movement behind her drew his attention. He