Emma couldn’t manage to do as well? Her little sister would show her up in front of Luke and everyone else.
After a few tries, Luke said, “You’re trained, Rebecca. All you need is practice. Go on over there and pick out a stump of your own.”
When she ran off with the coiled rope draped over her arm, he raised his eyes to Emma. “Your turn.”
She couldn’t manage to force a sound out of her tight throat, so she nodded. Feet dragging in the dust, she made her way to stand in the place her sister and father had taken. This was supposed to be fun, wasn’t it? Why did her stomach churn as though she might be sick?
Luke’s smile calmed her nerves a bit. She managed to return it as she positioned herself the way the others had.
He examined her stance. “Place your feet a little farther apart, about the width of your shoulders, and one slightly in front of the other.” His hands on her arms as he positioned her sent her nerves dancing again. She ignored them and tried to concentrate on following directions.
“You have your noose, right?”
Swallowing, she nodded and held it up for inspection.
“Hold it right about here.”
He slid her right hand into position. The shock of the skin-on-skin contact almost made her drop the rope, and she found she couldn’t quite look him in the eye. Did he feel that too?
“Good. Now, let out about six feet of rope off the coil. For a reference, that’s about how tall I am.”
Though he no doubt meant to be helpful, her thoughts were momentarily pulled off task as she took in his height. Standing next to him like this, the top of her head came at nose level to him.
Focus, Emma!
“That’s right. You’re ready to start swinging.”
When he’d stepped back, she raised her arm and swung the rope. “Like this?”
“No, swing it the other way. From right to left.”
She dropped her arm too fast. The momentum of the rope continued, and circled once around her neck. The end of the loop caught her in the face.
“Ow!” She couldn’t help gasping at the stinging slap.
“Are you okay?” Luke’s concerned eyes scanned her face. “That’s gonna raise a welt.”
Terrific.
She managed a smile. “I’m fine. Let me try again.”
As he backed away once more, she untangled the rope from her neck and recoiled it around her arm. She checked the size of her loop and grabbed it in the same place he had instructed. This time when she raised her arm, she swung the rope right to left, the way he said. The rope whirled above her head.
“You got it.” Luke’s encouragement heartened her. “Swing a little faster.”
She did as instructed. The loop failed to open, stubbornly remaining shut. She might as well have been swinging a clothesline over her head.
“Your wrist is locked, Emma. Loosen it up.” Luke’s voice, raised enough to cover the distance between them, sounded every bit as patient as it had a moment before. Why, then, did she feel like an unteachable dunce?
Rebecca’s shriek of success pierced the air. “I did it! Look, Luke. I lassoed my stump!”
The watching men responded with applause and whoops of congratulations. Luke turned to award her a big grin. Emma let her rope drop again, but this time she released the other side and covered her face with her hand. One welt was too many already. As the rope lost momentum, it wrapped around her body.
Wonderful. I’ve managed to hog-tie myself.
The expression on Luke’s face when he turned from Rebecca back to her was carefully clear of pity. She flushed hotly. The complete lack of visible emotion said it all. Behind her, the audience fell silent. The fact that they didn’t laugh at her expense was probably meant kindly, but their silence was even more humiliating than their jokes.
“I guess I’m better at cooking and sewing than roping stumps.” Her gaze avoided his face as she unwound the rope from her body.
“It takes practice.” He took a step forward to help her recoil the rope. “Come on. Try it one more time.”
Giving up and slinking off to nurse her embarrassment alone sounded like a much better option, but Emma bit back a sigh and repositioned her feet.
“That’s good. Take hold of the noose here.”
When he positioned her hand this time she was too miserable to feel a single tingle. She did as instructed, gripped the rope in exactly the right place, and when he stepped back she swung the