duty was to lend aid to the one who had aided them. Would they be disciplined, perhaps even rejected, by their Amish neighbors? She couldn’t bear being responsible for that.
Jesse’s voice interrupted the gloomy silence from the other side of the hutch. “Sounds like somebody slipped a burr under his saddle. Don’t any of you Aim-ish people have a sense of humor?”
His observation acted like a tonic. Papa’s stiff posture relaxed. Emma raised her head in time to see him spare a small smile toward the wagon.
“We opt, instead, to teach our children manners.” Maummi addressed her scold toward the wagon. “Respecting one’s privacy is the first lesson they learn.”
“Hard not to overhear with all that shouting going on a few feet away.”
Because it was impossible to imagine Bishop Miller shouting at anyone, Emma couldn’t help smiling.
“Can somebody give me a hand down from this wagon? I’d kind of like to head into town.”
“Not until we find the doctor.” Maummi’s tone brooked no argument as she marched toward the back of the wagon. “Jonas, will you see to it? Find one who has not spent the day in a saloon, if such a thing is possible in this rowdy Englisch town.”
“I will send the doctor to you and then find a place to spend the night,” Papa said. “Perhaps in the morning we will travel back to Apple Grove in the company of the bishop. We can pass the hours on the road in prayer and conversation.”
As she watched him head for the town center, Emma’s spirits plummeted even further. No doubt Papa would insist on riding in the bishop’s buggy so they could converse privately. The time would be spent in defending their actions and convincing Bishop Miller of the Switzer family’s devotion to their district and the Ordnung. She had no doubt that Papa would succeed in the end. But of course that meant the entire journey would be spent with Amos on the wagon bench beside her.
And Luke would stay behind in Hays.
A sudden fierce desire arose in her. When Papa returned, he would shepherd them into town and hover over them with the vigilance of a sheriff guarding a prisoner. He would linger near and purposefully thwart her attempt to speak privately with Luke. Her gaze sought him and found him easily, riding in the saddle above the moving mass of cattle. This might be her last opportunity.
Though Sugarfoot waited nearby, saddled and ready, she didn’t dare mount the horse. Forgiveness might be granted for her riding thus far, but if she expressly disobeyed the bishop mere minutes after his reprimand, she would be disciplined for sure. Her gaze scanned the stockyard. A wide aisle lay between each long row of pens. As the cattle streamed down the aisle to fill each row, Luke moved his sentinel position forward, a guiding figure that served as the end point for the cattle’s journey. If she skirted around the edge of the herd in Papa’s footsteps, she could cross the street and approach Luke from the already filled pens behind him.
When Papa’s hat disappeared in the crowd of townspeople, she started after him.
Rebecca’s voice stopped her. “Where are you going?”
With a quick glance toward the hutch, which blocked Maummi and Jesse from view, she placed a finger to her lips. “I’m going to speak with Luke. I’ll be back shortly.”
Her sister’s head turned toward the cowboy, and when she looked back at Emma, she wore a wide grin. “I wondered when you would finally get around to talking with him. Are you going to ask him to marry you?”
Shocked, Emma reared back. The idea! “Of course not!” She lowered her voice. “But if he happens to bring the subject up…” She returned the grin.
Rebecca giggled and threw her arms around Emma for a quick hug. “I’ll distract Maummi.”
Heartened by her sister’s enthusiasm, Emma followed in Papa’s footsteps.
The stocks were only a third full, and the end of the herd had nearly arrived. Cattle pressed close inside each pen, head-to-rump, their sides touching. Cows voiced their confusion, the combined sound so loud they nearly drowned out the shouts of the stockmen. Hugging close to the plank fence on one side, she approached Luke’s position. His attention was focused on his herd and on the cowhands directing cattle through the half-filled aisle in front of him. She came to a halt beside him, her back against the rails, and waited for him to notice her.
When he did, he started visibly.