river toward the rear of the wagon. Water swirled around his waist as he took his place beside the others.
“Willie and Charlie, you two stand there.” He pointed at a place along the wagon’s back panel. “Stay as close to this end as you can. Jesse, you take the corner and hug up close to me.”
Concern drew lines across Jesse’s forehead. “That’s a sandy bottom there, isn’t it?”
“Mostly, but the rock is jagged so I can get a foothold.”
“See that you keep it, boss,” said Charlie.
“Don’t worry. If I sink, Jesse will come after me.”
Jesse aimed a glance at the hutch. “In your dreams.”
Luke sized up the leaning piece of furniture. It towered over him like that big old oak tree in the backyard when he was a boy. He glanced over his shoulder, toward the place where Emma stood. His grandmother said she used to say a prayer for his safety every time he took a mind to climbing that thing. If Mrs. Switzer truly was praying, he hoped she’d send one up for him and not only for her precious possession.
With a hand on the wagon’s side, Luke edged slowly around the corner, feeling his way with his boot. He hated soggy boots, but couldn’t risk a cut that might fester, so he’d have to put up with wet leather till they dried. He located the stone he’d found before and fixed both his feet. Not six inches behind him, the rock’s edge gave way to the riverbed. Not much maneuvering room, but it ought to be enough. Jesse and the boys slid into their places.
“Ready?”
They all bent their knees, grabbed the underside of the wagon bed, and nodded. He slid his fingers below the lower lip until the thick plank rested in his palms.
“Jonas, when I give the word, you back those oxen up one step. Only one. Then when I shout again, take them forward as quickly as you can. Got it?”
“Ja. I got it.”
Luke firmed his grip, nodded at the three by his side, and shouted, “Go!”
On the shore Jonas uttered something to the oxen in his low, calm voice that was almost snatched away by the rush of the water. The wagon started to roll backward. Luke tightened his muscles and tried to lift a tad, enough to keep the wagon relatively steady as the wheel rolled from beneath the ledge. The weight of the thing was staggering. Beside him, Jesse grunted, and Willie’s fair complexion purpled with the shared effort. Luke’s bulging muscles trembled. He hadn’t lifted anything this heavy since…well, ever. His eyes switched to Emma standing on the bank. Was her smile really pretty enough to break his fool back for?
He felt the wheel jerk upward when the axle slid loose from the outcropping. Only an inch or so, but the bed wavered at the sudden release. The strain in his muscles shifted, and Luke’s balance tilted. Though his brain knew better, instinct kicked in. He staggered backward—and found no footing. “Ease up! Ease up!”
His shout rang out as he plunged into the water. The errant foot sank into the sandy muck and jerked his other boot off the rock. A dark object loomed above him. The hutch was tilting his way. He splashed and kicked backward, but the muck held fast.
“Luke!”
Jesse’s yell mingled with a woman’s scream. A tiny, detached part of his brain wondered which one. Probably the old woman, worried about her hutch. Kicking harder, he threw his arms over his head, trying to move backward through the water with a powerful stroke.
Not enough.
Above him Jesse edged around the corner of the wagon and slid into the place he’d vacated. With a shout that was half-grunt, he strained against the weight of the wagon as Jonas coaxed the oxen ahead at a trot.
In the chaotic seconds that followed, everything happened at once.
The wagon rolled forward, out of the water and onto the shore.
The alarming sound of hooves thundered against the grass behind him. A stampede?
He turned his head and caught sight of a black dress and white cap racing across the grass. Emma. Startled cows scattered before her.
The water behind him splashed and churned as cattle plunged into the river, running blind to get away from the unknown black-clad figure racing toward them.
A hard object slammed into his body as Jesse lost his footing on the narrow rock and fell backward. The force of a cowhand’s backside hit him square in the face.
In the second before the river