out of her mouth before she could check them. “We can help. Papa and Rebecca and I brought those cows here. We can help you find the others.”
Rebecca leaped to her feet, a delighted smile on her face, while Maummi drew in an audible shocked breath. Papa’s normally impassive face held a myriad of emotions, disapproval primary among them.
Luke turned an indulgent smile her way. “You did me a great service. But you’re not equipped to scout strays and ride herd over a long trail. You can’t do that on foot, Emma.”
A rod of steel seemed to slide through her spine. “Give me a horse, then. I know about horses. We have Big Ed to pull our buggy at home. I care for him every day.”
Beside her, Charlie hid a snicker behind his hand, while Griff snorted out loud.
“Emma.” Luke’s soft voice reached inside her with a warm touch. “Driving a horse is different than riding. I appreciate your offer to help, though.”
Rebecca stepped forward. “It’s not so different.” She cast a glance toward Papa and then continued in defiance of his stare. “Emma and I can both ride. We’ve ridden Big Ed before. Many times.”
Emma swallowed a groan. Leave it to Rebecca to confess their sins in front of Englischers. The Amish respected their horses for the important role they played in the household, but they rarely rode, and the one time she and Rebecca had asked, Papa had forbidden them to ride Big Ed. Maummi looked scandalized, while Papa’s expression settled into resignation.
She locked eyes with her father and loaded an unspoken plea into her gaze. Later she would suffer any penance he deemed appropriate, but for now these men needed their help. At first his lips tightened, but she didn’t blink, didn’t look away. Finally, his chest expanded in a sigh.
“We will help, my girls and I.”
At his words, Luke’s head lifted higher. Hope lightened the darkness in his eyes. He took a step forward, his hand outstretched toward Papa.
“Thank you, Jonas. You are an answer to prayer.”
As he clasped Luke’s hand, Papa’s reluctant smile broke free. “As you have been for us, my Englisch friend.”
Emma exchanged a triumphant glance with Rebecca. Finally, they would be able to assist Luke as he had assisted them. And yet…
She glanced toward the west, where two of the bad men who robbed her family and killed Luke’s friends had escaped. The man with the black teeth was out there somewhere.
This horse was taller than Big Ed back home. Emma stood beside the black mare and tried to still her trembling limbs as she looked at what seemed an immense height from the ground to the saddle.
Luke stood next to her, ready to give her, Rebecca, and Papa their first cowboy lesson.
“All right. Put your left foot in my hands and grab hold of Sugarfoot’s mane. When I lift you up, swing your right leg over the saddle.” He cupped his hands and extended them, ready to receive her foot.
What? He wanted her to straddle the horse? Emma’s mouth dropped open. “I can’t do that!”
Confusion crossed Luke’s features. “Why not?”
How could he even ask? She spread her feet apart and planted her hands on her hips. “Because I’m a girl.”
“I know that.” A faint pink tint colored his cheeks. “But you said you’d ridden before.”
“Yes, but we didn’t…” She stumbled to a stop. How could she say this in a delicate way? Her glance slid to Papa and then to Rebecca. She avoided Maummi’s gaze completely, though her grandmother’s disapproving glare from a few feet away weighed her down like a full sack of wheat across her shoulders. “We climbed up onto Big Ed from the fence rail and sat sideways.”
Luke stared at her a moment, and then he raked fingers through his hair. “We don’t have a sidesaddle, Emma.”
“Neither did we,” Rebecca volunteered. “We held on to Ed’s mane.”
Behind her, Maummi looked ready to explode. Papa’s lips drew into a tight line, as though he was guarding his tongue with a monumental effort.
“You can’t do that on a trail horse,” Luke explained in a patient voice. “They’re not used to bareback riders, and especially not women riding sidesaddle. You’re going to have to straddle the horse like a man.”
“Impossible!” Maummi’s outraged shout echoed back to them from a distant hillside. A few cattle grazing nearby lifted their heads and glanced in her direction. She stepped up and grabbed Papa’s arm. “Jonas, it is unseemly for girls to ride like men.”