take what little remained. On the other hand, he had no intentions of letting the Amish follow the herd. They were grown folk; they could do for themselves. He straightened and pulled a kerchief up over his nose. In spite of the rains, dust was kicking up. All he needed was a nice, blinding dust storm.
But Luke knew there was a reason why his eyes strayed to the back of the herd more than usual. He had no doubt he would see Jonas in Hays on Wednesday, money in hand to repay him.
Jonas. Not Emma.
When that wagon drops out of sight, I won’t ever see her again.
He turned back in the saddle, the sudden knowledge burning in his mind. Jesse’s accusation was true. His attraction for Emma really was at the root of the day’s slow pace. Part of him wanted to make sure she was safe, but the biggest part of him wanted to keep her in sight. Stupid, because after tomorrow they would return to their very different lifestyles—hers as an Amish woman and his as a cowboy. Those two were about as compatible as cougars and kittens. Throw them together, and somebody was going to get hurt.
My responsibility is to get this herd to the railhead in Hays on time. Early is better.
They could safely pick up the pace with no danger to the cattle. And putting some distance between him and Emma suddenly seemed like a good idea.
He shifted his weight in the saddle, ready to urge Bo to a faster pace. Hooves pounding the ground beside him drew his attention to Kirk, who drew up to his side.
“You see that?” He pointed to something in the distance.
Luke looked. The ground up ahead was littered with debris, as though someone had broken camp and left some of their belongings scattered on the ground. The sunlight reflected off a white surface. Had they found more of the Switzers’ belongings?
“I’ll check it out.”
He urged Bo into a gallop. As he neared the area, the white object took shape. His pulse surged when he identified it.
A quilt.
He dismounted and picked up the thick blanket. Pieces of brightly colored fabric had been assembled into an intricate pattern and stitched in place with small, even stitches. On the ground around the quilt lay a few pieces of clothing and some pottery containers. Some were empty and one was smashed, but several were still sealed with canvas and secured with twine.
Jesse galloped up beside him as he was scooping up the pieces and piling them in the center of the quilt.
“What’s going on?”
Luke continued his work. “I have a hunch this is part of the Switzers’ personal things. They’re going to get trampled when we bring the herd through.”
“Hmm.” Jesse dismounted and bent over to snatch up a garment. “You’re going to put these things off to the side in plain sight, so that wagon will come across them, right?” He held up the garment. “Or are you planning on wearing these?”
Luke turned and saw that he held up a pair of ladies’ bloomers, a smirk touching the corners of his mouth. Heat crept up the back of Luke’s neck. He snatched the garment out of Jesse’s hands and tossed it on the accumulating pile.
“The herd’s running wide,” he said. “There’s no place to put this stuff where it’ll be safe. Somebody will have to take it back to them.”
The last of it landed on the quilt, and he grabbed the corners to gather them up into a bundle. Though Jesse didn’t say anything, Luke felt his stare.
“Look, I’ve been thinking about what you said.” He wrapped a piece of rope around the bundle to close it, his gaze fixed on his hands. “We’re picking up the pace. We can cover at least another five miles before we have to stop for the night.”
He looked Jesse in the eye and let him see the apology there. Then he held out the bundle. “You want to run this back to them for me?”
Jesse held his gaze, and then his lips curved into a smile. Luke returned it, and an uncomfortable knot unraveled in his gut. Friendship was restored with few words, the same as when he was a boy growing up with his brothers.
Jesse held up his hands to refuse the bundle. “I wouldn’t go near that wagon if you paid me extra. The old woman doesn’t like me, and that younger girl bugs me. You take it. I think Bo needs to