scent that clung to him, and the memory of his hands at her waist as he lifted her onto Papa’s horse snatched at her breath.
After an eternity he moved away, leaving the air around her somehow colder.
When he spoke again, his voice projected to everyone in the area. “We’ve expanded our herd by almost a third, and we’re behind schedule. I figure if we push them hard until midday and then stop for a rest, we’ll be able to go on tonight until after sundown. What do you think, Griff?”
Emma glanced toward the old cowhand, who had seated himself against a wagon wheel and was taking his time polishing off his breakfast. “If we call a stop near a good watering hole, they’ll do fine.”
“That ought to put us in Hays tomorrow afternoon. If all goes well we won’t miss the train.”
If all goes well. Buried in those words Emma heard a lot of doubt, a lot of worry. Luke’s reputation as a trail boss rested on their ability to get this herd there on time. In fact, if he showed up with seven hundred more cows than he started with, and a couple of rustlers in the bargain, surely that would look good. He would have no problems getting more jobs as a trail boss. If he misses that train, though... Emma refused to let herself complete the thought, but it danced a tantalizing jig in her mind.
Surely life as an Amish farmer was better than life as an unemployed cowboy.
“All right, then,” Luke said. “Vic will wrangle the remuda. Morris and Rebecca will ride flank on that side”—he pointed east—“with Griff and Emma opposite.” He speared Charlie and Papa with a sympathetic grimace. “That makes you two the drag riders.”
“What about me? A day and a night is plenty of time to rest this leg.” Jesse made as though to get up from the chair, his face a mask of ill-concealed pain. “Bring my horse alongside the wagon so’s I can get on him.”
Maummi stiffened, her eyes throwing darts across the camp. Before she could speak, though, Luke answered.
“You’re not riding anything but that wagon until the doctor in Hays checks you out. But you have an important job making sure those two don’t cause any trouble today.” He jerked his head toward their prisoners. “If they try anything, you don’t need a good leg to fire a gun.”
Appeased, Jesse fixed his charges with a cold smile and patted the pistol in his lap.
Luke took a final look around. “Let’s break camp and get at it.”
His words spurred everyone into action. The men began readying the wagons to leave. Griff, empty plate in hand, swung wide so his path would take him by the fire, where Maummi crouched beside the long iron griddle, scraping it clean.
“Ma’am, that was the best meal I’ve had in years. Maybe ever.”
Maummi inclined her head like a queen accepting her due. “Danki.”
Griff didn’t move on. Instead, he shuffled his weight from one foot to the next and glanced around the area. His gaze settled on Emma for a moment, the only person close enough to hear his words.
He cleared his throat and watched the coals in the cook fire as he spoke. “Ma’am, I’ve spent almost twenty years in the saddle. I figure I’ve got a few good ones left in me, but a man can’t run cattle forever. Someday he has to hang up his spurs.”
Emma couldn’t agree more. She hoped Luke didn’t want to stretch his trail driving days out for twenty years.
Stooping on the ground beside the fire, Maummi turned her head to look up at him sideways, the creases between her eyes clearly urging him to get to the point and let her get on with her work.
Griff cleared his throat again. “And when he does, it sure does help if he has a good woman waiting for him at home. Now, I never had time for a wife, but if I quit the trail, I’d want to find me a woman with some spunk in her. One who speaks her piece.” He toed a good-sized rock into the fire, his gaze fixed on his boot. “One who can cook.”
His meaning stole across Emma, leaving her numb. No, surely she was mistaken. Was Griff asking to court her grandmother? But, Maummi was sixty years old! Of course, Griff was probably close to the same age.
“Anyway, I do have a few good years left in me,” he repeated. “Something for