the herd. Luke refused to look behind him, but he felt Emma’s gaze pinned to his back. His mood was curiously light, as if she’d agreed to step out with him for a romantic evening stroll after supper.
It’s only a rope handling lesson.
Regardless, he found himself looking forward to the afternoon as eagerly as a kid waiting for a hot cookie.
By the time Luke called a halt for the planned midday rest, Emma had worked herself around a wagon wheel of emotions. His quick denial of her comment about the Amish lifestyle had delivered a crushing blow. Did his answer mean he’d thought about the idea and rejected it? If not, did his offhand manner mean he would never consider becoming Amish?
A relationship between us is doomed. Why do I torture myself?
And what was behind his offer to teach her to handle a rope? Was that a less than subtle hint that she should consider adopting his lifestyle? The idea of her going with him on a trail drive was so far beyond reason that she couldn’t believe he’d even joke about it.
It was a joke, wasn’t it?
The cattle welcomed the stop and immediately spread themselves across the open range, feasting on the prairie grass that grew amid the bristly sagebrush, and quenching their thirst in a watering hole fed by a shallow stream. A few trees stretched sun-bleached branches toward one another to form a sparse shade along the banks of the stream, and soon a cluster of cattle crowded beneath them in search of relief from the blistering July sun.
“We’ll give them a couple of hours,” Luke told the outfit. “You men might want to get some rest yourselves.” He tossed a grin toward Maummi, still seated high on the wagon’s bench. “And you ladies too.”
Emma drew Sugarfoot alongside the wagon and swung her leg over the horse’s back. She still hadn’t managed to climb into the saddle on her own successfully, but gravity worked with her on the dismount. She landed on her feet, a little unsteadily, and then hurried to help Maummi down from the wagon. As she did, she spared a quick glance at the captive rustlers. Lester straightened upright as much as his bonds would let him, scanning the activity nearby.
His gaze rested on McCann, and he raised his voice. “You, Cook! You got room in the chuck wagon? Let me ride with you. Tie me up, gag me, I don’t care. I give you my word I won’t try nothing.” He tossed an anxious glance toward Maummi. “Just get me away from this woman.”
“Quiet, you.” From his perch in Maummi’s rocking chair, Jesse growled his warning at the kidnapper. “Your word is worth less than your spit.”
Maummi paused in the act of stepping to the ground, her hand on Emma’s shoulder. She spoke calmly to Lester. “Die Ruchlosen verachten Weisheit und Zucht.”
“Did you hear that?” Lester’s shout toward McCann held a touch of desperation. “She never dries up! I don’t even know what that means.”
Rebecca arrived, reining her horse to a stop and swinging to the ground with ease. “I can tell you. I hear it all the time. It means only fools hate wisdom and instruction. It’s from Die Bibel.”
“She’s calling me a fool?”
Jesse growled. “You are a fool. Now have some respect and shut your piehole before I shut it for you.”
Vic rode up then and took charge of Emma’s and Rebecca’s horses. He would switch their saddles to fresh mounts before the afternoon march began. McCann put out the fresh water barrel, and the girls quenched their parched throats with a lukewarm drink. At least it was wet.
When Emma finished wiping her hot face with a dampened edge of her apron—which was in a shocking state but better than nothing—Luke approached from the direction of the remuda, Papa by his side. He walked up to Emma, his smile as refreshing as a cooling rain.
“Ready?”
Rebecca lowered her cup from wet lips. “Ready for what?”
The answer fluttered in Emma’s throat, and she found she couldn’t look Luke in the face without giving in to a flush that hovered in the vicinity of her collarbone. “Luke has agreed to teach me how to throw a rope.” She glanced at Papa. “If it’s okay.”
Rebecca rose up on her toes and bounced. “I want to learn too. Papa, can I?”
The scrutiny of Papa’s gaze made Emma want to look away. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and stared calmly back at him, careful to keep her