silhouette of a lone man on horseback. A moment later he rode into view, and her muscles tensed again.
Luke.
Papa’s posture relaxed when he identified their visitor. Rebecca jumped to her feet, smiling broadly, but Maummi stopped her from running toward the horse with a hand on her arm. Emma remained where she was beside the fire, her legs drawn up beneath her dress, arms wrapped around them. Had he come back to chastise her for her foolish behavior? If she could slink off into the darkness and hide, she would. Instead, she hugged her legs closer and rested her chin on her knees.
“Evening, folks.” Luke dismounted, looped his horse’s reins around a nearby tree branch, and strode into the circle of firelight cradling a bundle in one hand. “I’m on guard duty soon, but I thought I’d check to see if everything’s going okay here first.”
“You are welcome to share our fire.” Papa gestured for him to be seated.
“Thank you.”
Instead of sitting on the opposite side, near Papa, he came around the campfire and dropped to the ground between Emma and Maummi. Surprised, Emma drew her feet up closer to her body and hugged her legs even more tightly.
He set his bundle between them and unwrapped the thick cloth covering two large cans and a smaller cloth-wrapped package. A savory odor arose from the open cans. “My cook thought you might be able to make use of these beans for your supper, ma’am, or maybe your breakfast.” He offered them to Maummi.
Maummi regarded the cans with obvious suspicion. “You have given us much already, Mr. Carson. We would not like to be a burden and take your food as well.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that.” Luke turned an endearing smile up at her. “We ate well, and these were the leavings. If you don’t want them, the cook will throw them out.”
Her eyebrows arched and her lips pursed. Emma knew her grandmother well, so she had no difficulty following her thoughts. Hadn’t she heard the lesson often enough? Waste is ungratefulness for God’s bounty. Maummi rose from her chair and took the cans from his hands, and then she inclined her head. “Danki to your cook.” She headed toward the wagon, a can in each hand.
“I snagged these too.” He picked up the smaller bundle and folded back the cloth to reveal a pile of flat little cakes.
He reached around the empty rocking chair and handed two to Rebecca, indicating with a nod for her to pass one to Papa. Then he turned and extended one toward Emma. Turmoil churned her insides. Why was he being so nice? By all rights he should have ridden off and counted himself lucky to be rid of her. That’s what she thought he’d done a few hours ago.
When she reached for the cake, his fingers curled around it to prevent her from taking it. Startled, she raised her gaze to his.
“I wanted to apologize for being short with you earlier.” A softness crept into his voice. “You had no way of knowing that these cattle were prone to run after their stampede the other night. I shouldn’t have taken my temper out on you. Will you forgive me?”
A note of tenderness softened the gaze that held hers. She could push no words past the lump that wedged in her throat. When she nodded, he opened his fingers to release the cake.
“Ahem.”
Emma tore her gaze away and fixed it on her grandmother, who was standing at the back of the wagon with a fork in one hand and a can of beans in the other. Her direct stare and crooked eyebrows spoke her disapproval louder than words could. Emma returned the stare without blinking. Would Maummi have her be rude and ignore his apology? Or did she worry that Luke intended more by his words and gesture than mere regret for a hasty reaction? The thought sent a happy thrill through her. On the other side of the empty rocking chair, Rebecca chewed a mouthful of cake, her round eyes fixed on Emma. Papa’s calm countenance had not changed as he relished his treat with obvious enjoyment.
Luke spoke to Maummi in an easy tone. “How do those beans taste, ma’am?”
After a moment, and a weighty glance at Emma, her glower faded. She made a show of dipping the fork in the can and extracting a small sample. Her gaze became distant as she chewed, and then she gave an approving nod.
“Good.” She tested another sample.