bandages, and her shoulders lifted in a shrug.
“Well, obviously you don’t need to worry about riding the herd anymore. You can take the wagon beside your grandmother. Griff can handle the left flank by himself.”
With a jerk, her head rose and her gaze snapped to his. “But I want to ride.”
His eyes squinted as he took in her scratches and her patched dress. “You’ve had quite a ride already today, Emma. By nightfall you’re going to be sore and bruised all over. You ought to take it easy.”
“On a wagon?” She scoffed. “The wheels going over bumps and ditches jar me straight through to my bones. A saddle will be far more comfortable.”
Mrs. Switzer wrung the cloth she’d used to bathe Emma’s wounds and remarked casually, “A folded quilt will cushion the hard bench.”
Emma’s forehead creased as she watched her grandmother snap the cloth straight and fold it into a neat square. Then she turned to look directly into Luke’s eyes. Her chin rose.
“I want to ride the horse.” Her tone left no room for argument.
For some reason, Luke couldn’t stop a slow-spreading grin. There was something extra appealing about a woman who knew what she wanted and insisted on getting it.
After another hour of rest, Luke gave the orders for the outfit to get the cattle moving. The herd had spread out as they grazed, so the riders urged them into a tighter pack and set out on another long march. Shallow streams snaked throughout this part of the Chisholm Trail, so the cattle stayed well watered even though they were not given time to graze.
A few hours into the afternoon, Luke spotted a couple of long land swells in the distance. Between them lay a fairly narrow pass. They could easily navigate around the low hills, but he decided to take the opportunity for a head count. They would arrive in Hays tomorrow evening with their expanded herd, and he wanted to have a good number to report.
Signaling to McCann to follow, he applied his spurs and his horse leaped forward. The chuck wagon surged after him, the cook applying his whip to the team. The others would know exactly what he intended and lead the herd appropriately.
When they approached the pass, McCann pulled the wagon to a halt on the left and climbed down from the bench.
Luke pointed to the hill and said, “You take that side.”
McCann climbed to the top while Luke directed his horse toward a position across from the cook. They were in place before the front edge of the herd arrived. Then the count began. With part of his mind, he wished that they could have hauled that rocking chair up here and set Jesse to counting so he could be down there in the lead. But that thought was quickly forgotten as he concentrated on keeping track of the number of cattle that surged past him down below.
Griff and Morris had galloped ahead to take the point positions. Between the two of them they kept the herd moving through. Jonas’s oxen blended in obediently and marched through. When Jesse passed below, he folded his hands behind his head and stretched out long, a leisurely, teasing grin on his face. Luke took a moment to grimace at him and then kept counting. He heard Griff calling instructions to Emma and Rebecca, and the girls moved through the pass in the midst of the cattle without incident.
When the last steer was north of the pass, Luke called across the gap. “How many do you make it out to be?”
The reply was instant. “Two thousand five hundred and twenty-four.”
“Twenty-one,” he corrected with a shout.
McCann shook his head. “You must have blinked.”
Laughing, Luke swung up into the saddle. They had started out back in El Paso with two thousand and fifteen head of Triple Bar beef. It wasn’t unusual at all to add or lose a few head along the way, as less hearty cattle succumbed and range cattle joined the herd unnoticed. But they had increased their count by twenty-five percent. Some had been rustled, of course, but because their brands had been sliced off, the proper owners couldn’t be identified. And he had custody of the rustlers to prove his outfit innocent.
He kneed his horse down the hill and followed the chuck wagon through the pass. On the other side, a horse and rider waited. Jonas urged his mount forward to fall in step with Luke’s.
His mood light, Luke awarded the man a smile.