which lacked for customers. As he walked past Tommy Drum’s Saloon, a roar of cheers went up inside, probably a winning poker hand that had caught the rowdy crowd’s approval. Snatches of conversation reached him, more than a few in German, thanks to the German-Russians who had settled in the area at the urging of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Down at the end of the street, past Krueger’s Dry Goods and Groceries, a group of cowboys stumbled out of Kate Coffey’s Saloon and headed toward the Sporting Palace, one of several brothels that also served as a crib for soiled doves.
As he rounded the corner heading for the stockyard agent, he resolved to keep the Switzers away from this part of Hays.
At the reminder of Emma, Luke’s step slowed. All day long she had plagued his thoughts. One of the hardest things he’d ever done was not turn around to see how she was faring during the longest haul of the journey. But he knew that Jonas, bringing up the rear, was sure to be watching, so he had to trust that Griff would keep an eye on her and give her a hand if she needed it.
Hours in the saddle had given him plenty of time to consider Jonas’s words. The conclusion burned like acid in Luke’s gut, but he couldn’t deny the truth. Jonas was right. Emma was raised in a world he could never understand, nor could he ask her to give it up. He had nothing to offer her. No home and not much money. The only family he had left was his pa and a couple of brothers who were spread out between here and New York, surely no substitute for the father and sister and grandmother she would have to leave behind.
Emma deserved a better life than the one he could give her.
“Hey, look who finally showed up!”
The shout jarred him out of his gloomy thoughts. He raised his head and saw a familiar figure. He grinned. “Pa!”
He quickened his pace and exchanged an enthusiastic handshake with his father. “What are you doing here? Last I heard you were taking a herd of Longhorns to Abilene.”
“Delivered them a week ago and decided I’d ride on over here to see how my son came out on his first job as trail boss.” His eyebrows slanted askew. “You cut it close, boy.”
“Train’s still here, isn’t it?” Luke jerked his head down the street. “Like you always said, as long as you make it before the train leaves, you’re on time.”
“No, I always said better early than late.” His grin became a smirk. “So, you still have life all figured out, do you? Got it lassoed and hog-tied into a tidy bundle?”
Luke couldn’t meet his pa’s eye. “Well, I might have learned a thing or two.”
Pa’s laugh rang down the street. “But you made it, and that’s what counts. C’mon. Let your old man buy you a drink to celebrate.”
Luke laughed off the offer, as he’d grown accustomed to doing whenever Pa wanted a drinking partner. “Thanks, but I just rode into town to make the arrangements. My outfit’s grazing the herd a few miles south of here, and they are eager to be free of them.” He grew grim. “It’s been a rough ride the past week.”
Pa’s expressive eyebrows arched. “Rustlers?”
“Yeah. I lost two good men and picked up a pair of prisoners to turn over to the sheriff.” He brightened. “I also gained an extra five hundred head of beef.”
“That is something to celebrate.” A firm hand thumped him on the back. “You go on and take care of business. I’ll be hereabouts later on, so we can meet up then.”
“I’ll find you.”
Luke watched his father saunter down the street, his gait as cocky as ever. When he reached the entrance of a saloon, he turned.
“Luke?”
Luke stopped in the act of entering the railroad agent’s office.
“I’m proud of you, son. You did a good job.”
That was one of the few words of praise Luke had ever heard his father utter. He flashed another grin. “Thanks, Pa.”
Luke returned to the herd accompanied by two of Sheriff Charles Howard’s deputies. A mouthwatering aroma rising from various pans on a large fire greeted them before they had dismounted.
Ramsey, the older of the two men, raised his nose in the air and drew in a long, appreciative sniff. “I don’t know what that is, but I sure hope I’m invited to stay to supper.”
The other man, Hamilton, agreed. “Who’s