of her dress bunched around her thighs, and the black trousers that she had tied in place with bits of twine at the ankles. And her ever-present white kapp, which prairie dust had turned into a dingy brown.
The moment their gazes met, she looked away. Luke couldn’t tell if the faint touch of color in her cheeks was from the heat or from shyness. They had not spoken privately since her startling revelation that she’d snuck away from camp in the night to talk to him. Here they were in plain sight of everyone, but so removed that no one could hear their conversation.
He nudged Bo with his knees to fall in step beside Sugarfoot. “Everything going okay here?”
His question received a hesitant nod but no comment. She looked straight ahead, giving him a view of a very pretty profile. A man could get used to enjoying this sight every day.
“You look like you’re sitting easy in the saddle. Is it feeling more natural now?”
She nodded.
The horses walked along a few yards. Whatever it was she wanted to talk to him so badly about last night sure didn’t seem to be so pressing today.
“Emma? You mentioned that you wanted to talk to me about something. This would be a good time.”
“It wasn’t important.” The blush was definitely a darker shade of pink now. “I…wanted to thank you again for helping us.”
She was clearly avoiding the truth, and he didn’t know how to answer. He studied her as he considered a response. A steer not far in front of them started to veer to the west, toward the inviting green prairie grass that waved in the breeze. Like an experienced cowboy she dug in her heels to urge her horse into a trot and cut the wandering animal neatly off. He obediently resumed his former position, and Emma slowed slightly to allow Luke and Bo to catch up.
“You know, you’ve taken to this easier than most greenhorns I’ve worked with. If you decide you want a job, I’ll hire you for my next cattle drive.”
Emma, a cowhand? He caught back a chuckle. The awkward silence was starting to get to him and made him want to fill the void with talk.
At least the ridiculous statement elicited a reaction. She turned to look at him full-on, her expression full of surprise at his ludicrous suggestion.
“No, really,” he insisted. He’d look like a fool if he backed down now. “There are women on the trail. Not many, but I’ve met one or two.”
Words failed him as he recalled a female cattle wrangler he met a couple years back. He’d waded into a saloon to fish Jesse out and found a woman matching him drink for drink. It came out later that she’d cleaned him out at the poker table too. Definitely a different class of female than Emma.
“Thank you for the compliment, but I don’t think I’d make a very good cowboy.” The humor twitching around her lips heartened him. She didn’t take offense easily.
“On second thought, the job is a bit rugged for most women.”
“You’d probably take to the Amish way sooner than I would to the life of a trail rider.” The words were delivered in a comfortable, light tone. So why did he feel like she was waiting for his response so closely?
His shrugged. “Oh, I doubt that.”
She fixed her gaze on the herd, her posture slumping. What did he say? Women. He’d never had trouble connecting to one before. Hadn’t he saved her life a few hours ago? Why, then, was he stumbling over a simple conversation?
The answer came to him the instant he posed the question. He’d never felt an attraction this strong for any woman. An invisible rope stretched between them as they rode along side by side. Even when he was up at the front of the herd and she back here, he felt the connection. Is that where the term “getting hitched” came from? Did it start with this invisible bond?
“Listen, the other day you mentioned learning how to handle a lasso. If you’re still interested I could show you a trick or two when we stop to rest the herd.”
A smile curved her lips. He found himself watching her mouth, remembering the almost magnetic pull he’d felt just before he lifted her onto her father’s horse in the predawn darkness.
“I would like to learn.”
“Good. All right. Until this afternoon, then.”
He spurred Bo’s sides, and the horse leaped into a gallop toward the front of