Wildest Dreams Page 23

  "Next thing we know, you'll be on a horse joinin' spring roundup," Will was saying. He slapped Luke on the shoulder, and Lettie felt uneasy at the words. She worried Luke was too anxious now to get back to work. It was important to be sure the leg was completely healed.

  "That's exactly what I intend to do," Luke answered. "It's time to get back to business. My poor wife has been handling things too long. The kids hardly know their mother."

  "Well, she's done a hell of a job," James Woodward put in.

  Lettie did feel rather proud of her accomplishments over the winter. She'd had to make some important decisions herself, had talked with Luke about familiar landmarks she should learn, valleys, ridges, mountains, the best range-land, where there was water all year round and where there was water only in winter and spring. Luke had drawn a crude map for her to study, and they had long talks about cattle breeding, and other matters pertinent to running a ranch. She had kept the books for Luke, staying up late at night after the children were asleep to balance the budget. She knew about the cost of feed, what Luke paid the men, how to judge what they might make this year after the summer drive to Cheyenne. Bradley Mills had visited the ranch, and Luke had signed a contract with the man in which Patterson's Meat Supply agreed to take all the beef Luke could send for the next five years at fair market value, with a stipulation that no beef would be expected this summer if Luke's original buyer, Shelby Preston, who represented a rival packinghouse, came through with his promise to take twenty-five hundred head.

  Things looked very good for the Double L, in spite of Luke's being laid up most of the winter. Jeremy Shane had come calling last fall, and Luke had agreed to allow the man to send geologists to the ranch this summer to test for any valuable minerals that might lie under the rich grassland.

  This was the happiest Lettie had been since the awful day the buffalo hunters shot Luke down. She would never forget the sound of their thundering guns, or the chilling crack of Luke's leg being broken by the powerful slug that had smashed all the way through it and into his horse. She was still haunted by the memory of how it had felt when she was sure he would die. Now here he stood, getting back his old strength, as handsome as ever at the age of thirty-eight. If only he would get a letter or a visit from his father. That was a heartbreak she knew still ate at his soul.

  The Fontaine children filed in behind their parents, Katie, almost nine, carrying Paul, who had just turned three. Tyler was nearly eight, and Lettie watched him stretch himself as tall as he could. She smiled, suspecting he wanted everyone to notice how much he looked like his father. Nearly every day he said he wanted to be just like Luke when he grew up, and he was already excited about when he would be big enough to start riding with his father on roundups. The boy puffed out his chest as he shook hands with a few of the men, who laughed about him being a "chip off the old block," something Lettie knew made him proud.

  The town hall was packed so full there was little room left for dancing, but that did not deter the happy throng, all ready to celebrate the end of another hard, cold Montana winter. Lettie noticed several couples were already stomping about on the wooden floor planks. Will had come up with the idea of a spring celebration two years ago, a chance to "shake out the cobwebs and get the blood runnin'," as he put it, before men got to work with spring roundup and then left on cattle drives. A makeshift orchestra that consisted of two men on fiddles, one on a banjo, and another pounding the keys of a beat-up piano borrowed from the Lonesome Tree, played a snappy tune that made skirts whirl and men yelp in celebration.

  Lettie noticed a few men from town had women of questionable character on their arms. She had seen those same women hanging around in front of the Lonesome Tree, some lounging in front of the many other saloons in Billings, but she supposed they deserved to celebrate spring as much as anyone else. She often wondered which ones might have flirted with Luke on his many trips to Billings. She had no doubt he enjoyed a few drinks at the taverns when he came to town. There wasn't a man here who didn't, and considering Luke's handsome physique, and his growing wealth and importance, any woman would be attracted to him. She was surprised at a sudden fit of jealousy, and she knew the reason. Luke was better, but still not free enough of pain to make love. She needed him that way, and she knew it was the same for him.

  Men offered Luke glasses of whiskey, and Lettie carried a pie to the food table, followed by all the children, who began loading their plates. Anne Sacks also came along, carrying her newborn son. "Billy and Luke are already drinking," she said with a laugh.

  "I'm not surprised," Lettie answered. "We'd better give them some food, or they'll be falling down before ten o'clock. A drunken man and crutches just don't go together."

  They both turned to watch the dancing. As Lettie started back through the crowd toward Luke someone grasped her arm. She turned to see it was Nial Bentley, who was dressed in a dark suit, his black hair slicked back, his white shirt collar starched stiff and proper.

  "Lettie! How good to see you again after a long, lonely winter!" His eyes moved over her almost hungrily. "You look wonderful! Such lovely taste you have in clothes. Perhaps you would allow me a dance later?"

  Lettie gently pulled her arm away. "I don't think a dance would be proper, Nial, but thank you anyway. I am sure there must be some single young women or widows here who would be thrilled to dance with a wealthy Englishman." She smiled, hoping to turn him away without insulting him. She watched his smile fade a little.

  "Yes, perhaps. What a pity that none of them is as beautiful as Lettie Fontaine. How wonderful it must be to have such a lovely wife and family to get one through the dead of winter. I was just on my way to greet your husband. I see he is up on his feet at last."

  As always, Lettie wasn't sure how to take the man's compliments. "Yes, Luke is almost back to normal."

  Almost? Nial followed her to where Luke stood. Was the man well enough to make love to his wife again? Oh, how he would love to have that pleasure himself. He greeted Luke with a smile and a handshake. "You'll have your cattle by July, Luke," he told the man. "I just received correspondence from my Wisconsin ranch two days ago. They'll be shipped out by rail in May, then herded to Billings, where your men can take over. It's costing me a fortune for the twenty rail cars it will take to carry them all, and I'll make no profit, but it's worth it to get someone to try the breed. If it's a success, I'm sure I'll get the other ranchers to buy in."

  Luke glanced at Lettie, then set one crutch against a table and used his free arm to put around her shoulders. "Maybe we can let the other ranchers know when they'll arrive so they can be there to see the stock."

  Nial noticed Luke's possessive gesture. "Yes, I'll see about that. There are others interested, but the heavy snows this winter kept them from coming to my ranch to see for themselves. The men you sent last fall to have a look seemed very impressed. I'm sure you were relieved when you heard their opinion."

  "I take it your Herefords made it through the winter with no problems?" Luke was asking.

  Nial kept his smile. He liked Luke Fontaine, yet part of him hated the man for being married to the only woman he had truly wanted since his own wife died six years ago. "No problems," he answered. "I do hope you and your wife will come visiting this summer. I have a building crew there that I hired back in Wisconsin, who started constructing my new home last fall. It will be made completely of stone, which they are bringing in from the mountains by the wagonful. It is quite a project. You really must see it. I am fashioning it after my family home in England—bringing a bit of my country to Montana, you might say, although this lonely man certainly does not need such a big home. Still, it helps relieve my homesickness." He realized perhaps he could impress Lettie Fontaine with his money and the castle of a home he was building. Her husband was rich enough in his own right, but not a man who could dip into the almost endless old money that he could. What did he have left to impress her with besides his wealth? "Fifteen rooms and a ballroom," he added. "Whe
n it is finished, I intend to hold some sort of gala event there every summer, perhaps a big cookout and a dance for everyone for miles around who wishes to come."

  His eyes rested on Lettie on the last words.

  "Do you miss England, Nial?" Lettie asked.

  "Oh, yes, but as I told you last fall, this country is as beautiful as anything I have ever seen, and so big! I could never be completely happy in England again after this. I have decided to make this my permanent home, which is why I'm building my 'stone castle,' as some of the men call it."

  The little band struck up a waltz, and the wife of one of Billings's new arrivals, Sidney Greene, a lawyer, came up and grabbed Nial's arm. Mrs. Greene introduced him to her sixteen-year-old daughter, Chloris, a modestly pretty girl who looked very embarrassed when her mother insisted that she dance with Nial, who kindly obliged.

  Luke pulled Lettie closer then. "Every mother with a marriageable daughter within two hundred miles of here will be trying to hitch them up with the wealthy Lord Bentley," he said with a hint of sarcasm.

  Lettie smiled, turning to face him. "He never said he was a lord."

  Luke scowled, setting his other crutch aside and leaning on her for support, putting both arms on her shoulders and bending closer. "Whatever he is, he's still infatuated with you. You sure you wouldn't like to go and live in that fancy castle and be the wife of an Englishman?"

  Lettie laughed, grasping hold of his powerful forearms. "If I did, I would be a terribly unfaithful wife." She studied his blue eyes, a surge of desire rushing through her with such intensity that she had to draw in her breath. Her smile faded. "I'd be constantly running off to sleep with another man, a big, strong, handsome man with blue eyes, who doesn't have to build me a stone castle to keep me in his bed. If being with the man meant I had to go back to living in that shack we use to store feed now, I'd do it."

  Luke studied her lovingly. "I believe you would." He kissed her forehead. "How about if I ask Will and Henny to keep the kids tonight and we go back alone to that room I rented at the hotel?"

  Lettie blushed. "Will and Henny would know why we asked, and I would be embarrassed to death."

  He grinned. "They'd understand. They'd tease us unmercifully, but we're used to them." His smile faded. "It's been a long time, Lettie. I've never seen you look more beautiful than you do this evening."

  "What about your leg? Maybe you still aren't well enough—"

  "Oh, I'm well enough," he said with a wink. "Watching that damn Englishman put his hand on you gave me a little boost."

  "Hear! Hear!" Will's voice interrupted their conversation, as he handed Luke another glass of whiskey. "Henny says to tell you you're needed over at the food table," he told Lettie. "Sorry to interrupt!"

  Luke kept his eyes on Lettie for a moment. "No more whiskey for me," he told Will. "Just bring me some punch or whatever they've got over there."

  "No whiskey? Why, Luke, you—" He hesitated, then burst into laughter. "I get it! There's times when a man's better off not takin' down too much alcohol!" He gulped the whiskey himself. "I've got a feelin' me and Henny should watch the little ones tonight."

  Lettie blushed even more, handing Luke his crutches. "I'm going to join Henny." She left him standing there, shivering with desire as she headed back to the food table. She could hardly concentrate on watching the children and serving food after that, and every time she glanced at Luke, he was watching her, which only brought more color to her cheeks. People danced and ate and celebrated until dark, and to Lettie's delight, Chloris Greene kept Nial Bentley occupied most of that time. Whenever he was alone, a couple of women of questionable reputation insisted on dancing and conversation, flirting outrageously with the rich Englishman. Still, neither diversion could keep him from coming to her after several hours of imbibing and asking her again to dance, this time grabbing her hands and half pulling her onto the dance floor to join him in a square dance. Lettie obliged only to keep from making a scene. Nial's face was flushed with too much liquor and too much desire, and whenever the man who called the dance asked the men to put a hand to their partner's waist, he pulled her much closer than necessary.

  "How sad that you are taken, Lettie," he told her. "I would be so proud to present you to my family in England as my wife and tell them what a magnificent, brave woman you are. They would be fascinated by your beauty and the adventures you have known out here!"

  Lettie pulled away. She noticed Luke was up on his crutches again and talking to the two prostitutes who had been flirting with Nial earlier. A rage of jealousy moved through her when they laughed and flirted with him, but when the dance ended, she realized why he had been talking to them. They both came over and grabbed Nial, giggling and flirting and both insisting on having the next dance. "You are ours for the rest of the night," one of them told him seductively.

  Lettie sighed with relief, saw Luke watching her. She knew he had deliberately sent the two women to get Nial away from her. For the first time since hours earlier, he held another glass of whiskey in his hand. She quickly and gladly left the dance floor, walking close to Luke. "I thought you weren't going to drink any more tonight."

  Luke glanced over at Bentley, who was prancing around the floor again with both prostitutes. "It helps the pain in my leg," he answered. "Besides, some things call for a little whiskey, like when one man tries to move in on another man's property." He met her eyes.

  "Luke, the man dragged me out there. I didn't want to make a scene." She stood close so that others could not hear their conversation. "And please don't you make a scene. The man is drunk."

  Luke finished his own whiskey. "Nothing like alcohol to force a man to reveal his true feelings."

  Lettie could see the burning anger in his eyes. He nodded to Will and Billy, who walked over to Nial and started a conversation with him, suggesting they go outside for some fresh air and talk about Herefords. When they got him to the door, she saw that Tex stood quietly at the entrance. He followed the other three men out.

  "Luke, what is going on?"

  Luke braced himself on his crutches. "I'm just going to have a little conversation with Lord Bentley."

  "You aren't going to hurt him, are you? Don't get in a scuffle, Luke. Your leg!"

  "Don't worry. Everything will be just fine."

  "Don't let the men gang up on him. That would be so unfair."

  He scowled. "Jesus, woman, don't you know me better than that? Nobody is going to hurt him, and nobody fights Luke Fontaine's battles for him. I'll take care of this in my own way. I intend to set Bentley straight very calmly, that's all." More people had joined the celebrating over the course of the evening and in all the commotion no one noticed what was going on. "You get the kids together. Will and Henny are going to take them home with them in a few minutes. I'll be right back."

  Lettie knew there was no use arguing. She left to gather up the children, and Luke headed outside, taking a moment to adjust to the darkness. There were others outside smoking and drinking, and Luke made his way through the small groups of men, stopping to talk casually to a few of them. He searched for his own men, heard a woman laughing somewhere in nearby bushes. Some young girl had apparently come out here to have some fun out of sight of her parents. Luke moved around to the side of the barn where Tex, Will, and Billy had lured Nial Bentley per his instructions. He did not want this confrontation witnessed by someone who might take it wrong and spread dirty rumors about Lettie. She bore no fault here, and he would not have her talked about. His men had Nial completely at ease, Will handing the man a bottle of whiskey. Nial took a swallow, then noticed Luke approaching.

  "Well, Luke!" he greeted. "Join us!" He raised the bottle, then sobered at the look in Luke's eyes.

  "Did you enjoy the dance with my wife?" Luke asked.

  Nial moved his gaze from Luke to the other three men, smiling nervously. "I was just being friendly." He looked back at Luke. "I thought that since you were on crutches and couldn't dance, maybe she'd like to da
nce at least once."

  Luke raised one of his crutches, and Nial grunted when the end of it was poked against his chest and shoved hard, slamming Nial against the outside wall of the town hall. Nial dropped the bottle. "Maybe you should have asked her husband first if he minded, or asked her if she minded!" Luke growled.

  Nial held up his hands and looked down at the crutch, barely able to breathe from it being pressed so tightly against his breastbone. "I, uh, I apparently took a little too much for granted, probably because of too much whiskey," he answered. "My apologies, Luke."

  Luke released the pressure on the crutch but kept it against the man's chest. "Don't think that a bad leg would keep me from stepping in when I see it's necessary, Bentley! You stop bothering Lettie, you hear? It upsets and embarrasses her when you make it obvious to everyone around you that you've got an eye for her." He lowered the crutch and stepped closer. "I didn't ask my men to come out here to fight my battle for me. I fight my own battles. I just wanted you lured out here so we could settle this without others seeing. For reasons you wouldn't even know about, I don't ever want my Lettie gossipped about, you understand? It would devastate her! From here on you won't give her more than a first look when you're in public. You'll stop ogling her and stop drooling your compliments in front of others; and you'll keep your goddamn lily-white hands to yourself! God knows I appreciate her beauty and her worth, and I'm not stupid enough to think other men don't notice; but they know better than to show it in front of me or to try moving in on Luke Fontaine's wife! That's a lesson you'd better learn, Lord Bentley! There's a lot more substance to Lettie than you'll ever know, and your fancy suits and your stone castle don't impress a woman like that! Just leave her alone! Understood?"

  Nial swallowed. "Understood."

  "Good. We're still in business as far as those cattle are concerned, but you remember that your land borders mine, and out here a man can get away with a lot of things in the name of honor and vengeance."