Wildest Dreams

chapter 12

Katie MacBride looked up from her plate of beef and potatoes to study the son-in-law she had not seen in nine years. His reunion with Lettie and the children when he'd arrived home this evening had been warm, full of excitement and questions. It was obvious he was a good husband and father, but she had seen the fear and concern in Lettie's eyes at the sight of him. How many nights did her daughter lie awake wondering if her husband would come home at night alive and uninjured? He had bathed and shaved before sitting down to supper, which Lettie served on a big pine table Luke had built himself; but cleaning up could not hide the scratches and bruises about his eyes, nor could he cover up the limp awakened by the scuffle with the buffalo hunters. She noticed that between bites he rubbed at his ribs.

Yes, there was a lot about Luke Fontaine that was different from the Luke she had known. Thank God he was the same loving man toward his family she remembered, but she suspected that beyond their sight and hearing, he had learned to be ruthless. He had been very evasive about what had happened. A little problem with some buffalo hunters who decided to dine on Fontaine beef, was all he had told Lettie. She had asked no further questions, had sought no details. A little problem? He and his men had come back with the beef the hunters had been roasting, as well as several long rifles they had taken from them. How had they managed that?

She decided it was useless to worry about it, as long as he was good to Lettie and the children, who all seemed to adore their father. It was obvious Luke was a man who could take care of himself, and from the looks of some of the men who worked for him, he had plenty of help enforcing whatever laws he set for his land. In her visit of several weeks, she had concluded that out here men set their own laws, and they enforced them however they had to. There were no sheriffs, no judges. If a man wanted to survive, he simply had to be more skilled with fists and guns, a better scout and hunter than the next man, and yes... ruthless when necessary. This was indeed a very different world her daughter lived in, and she surmised that by now, Luke and even Lettie would not be happy in a place like Denver. This was their little empire, and even Lettie had the land in her blood; but she at least had not lost the softness and genteel manners she'd been taught as a child.

"Did the buffalo hunters shoot at you, Pa?" Tyler asked Luke.

Katie noticed Lettie look at her husband, the same question in her eyes. Luke turned to Tyler. "No, Ty," he answered. "We just chased them off, that's all."

Tyler grinned. "I bet they ran scared. You must have been real mad seeing them eating our beef."

Katie suspected Luke was lying about no shooting going on.

"Yeah, I was pretty mad," he answered. Luke could feel Louise and her husband Kenneth watching him. All evening Kenneth had gawked at him as though he were the most unusual creature he'd ever seen.

Lettie looked down at her plate, no longer hungry. She knew without asking that there had been a shoot-out. Over the years Luke had had to kill more than once in defence of his property and family. Had he killed again today? She hated to see him have to resort to such measures, worried what it would do to him; and she hated knowing that every time he rode away he could himself be killed.

"I'm glad you came, Katie," Luke was telling her mother, obviously trying to change the subject. "At least Lettie had some good company while she was waiting for me to get back. I'm just sorry to hear about Henry's death."

"Well, it has certainly been an adventure up here," Kenneth spoke up.

Luke glanced at the man, thinking how easy it would be to pick him up and throw him several feet. He had not seen such clean hands on a man in a long time, nor met anyone who wore a suit every day. He was friendly, and Luke supposed smart as hell, being a banker and all, but he probably wouldn't last long out here on his own.

"Life tends to get pretty exciting around here at times," he answered. He finished his last piece of meat and leaned back in his chair, looking from Louise to Katie. "I know you both worry about Lettie. I want you to know I take damn good care of her. I have plenty of men working for me now. There's no danger to her as long as she's on this ranch, and I take her into town as often as I can. Within another couple of years I'm going to build her as wonderful a house as she could have in Denver or anyplace else, and I'm going to have a piano shipped out here. She'll have fine furniture, all the trimmings. She's forming a ladies' circle, and between that and the kids, she doesn't suffer the kind of loneliness she did when we first got here. I promised you I'd make a good life for her, and I'm doing everything I can to make that happen. The ranch is getting bigger all the time. This last trip I made good money on the beef I took to Cheyenne. The buyer already told me he wants five hundred more steers next year. We're doing okay."

Katie smiled. "I don't doubt that, Luke. We didn't come here to question how you take care of Lettie. I just wanted to see my daughter and my grandchildren." She reached out and put a hand over his. "Just don't let the things you have to do to defend this place and your family make you too hard. Don't lose sight of compassion and fairness, Luke."

He squeezed her hand in return. "That won't happen. You just have to understand that out here, with some men, you have to make the first move or you won't be alive to make the second. If a man wants to protect his own, he has to shut off his feelings and do what must be done. That's just the way it is, Katie."

Kenneth smiled nervously. "You're quite something, Luke." He studied the faint scars left on Luke's face by the grizzly attack. "Listen, if you ever need a loan to expand, you let me know. I'll gladly lend you the money from my own bank. Just wire me in Denver. I think you're going to be quite a wealthy man someday. You've done a heck of a job, considering what little you had to start with."

"Thanks, Kenneth. I'll remember the offer." Luke glanced at Lettie, knew she was as anxious as he was to get this meal over with and be alone. He was grateful for her family's visit, overjoyed to see them himself. He knew how much it meant to Lettie. Still, he and Lettie had been away from each other for nearly three months. He longed to be alone with her.

"How about dessert?" Lettie asked. "I have apple pie that's still warm."

Luke watched her lovingly. It felt so good to be home, to be surrounded by softness and love again. What a contrast this was to a trail drive and buffalo hunters. Kenneth peppered him with more questions about ranching as they ate their dessert, and after supper the women cleaned up while Luke and Kenneth sat smoking and talking. All five Fontaine children clamored to sit in their father's lap, giving him hugs and kisses, asking a thousand questions. It seemed forever before Lettie's family finally returned to their own quarters and the children were all tucked into bed. Because of the extra visiting, it was nearly midnight before the house was finally quiet and Luke and Lettie were alone in their bedroom.

"My God, it's been a long day," Luke muttered, yawning and removing his shirt.

Lettie's heart tightened at the sight of bruises on his ribs. "You killed someone today, didn't you, Luke?"

He hesitated as he unbuttoned his pants, then sighed deeply. "He pulled a gun on me. They were a bad bunch, Lettie. One of them threatened to get back at me through my family. Nobody threatens me that way, especially when they're standing there roasting a hindquarter of my own beef over their fire and squatting on my land."

She walked closer to him. "I wonder if the day will ever come when I can stop worrying about you every time you ride out of here." She ran her hand over the scars on his chest.

"That day will come," he promised. He pulled her into his arms, then took the combs from her lustrous hair and let the deep auburn locks fall down her back. "I'm sorry, Lettie, about the things I've had to do. The Luke you know and love is right here with his arms around you, and right now all he cares about is being home with his woman. I miss you more every time I leave."

Luke Fontaine had changed, she thought. No longer did he agonize over killing another man, as he had over the outlaws. She could not blame him for it. This land did that to a man, the sheer struggle to survive. She knew that behind those still-provocative blue eyes and that still-handsome, sun-tanned face the feelings were there, buried deep. He didn't dare dig them up. It hurt too much, just as it hurt too much to talk about Nathan.

"I love you, Luke," she whispered.

He met her mouth in a savage, hungry kiss. She knew what this first time would be like... just like all the other first times when they had been apart for a long time. She didn't mind. It was exciting to be so wanted by a man like Luke, to know that after six children, she could still please him. The new lines on his face from years of outdoor life did little to affect his handsome features, and knowing he could have been killed himself today only made her want him more.

The bedroom door was closed, but she feared that would not be enough to hide the sounds of their lovemaking from the children. They both tried to be quiet about it, but it was difficult when a man and woman needed each other so desperately. It was so good to feel his strong arms around her, to feel his hard body against her as he laid her back on the fine brass bed he had bought her two years ago. His kisses left her breathless while his big hands felt at her breasts. He touched and tasted as he removed her clothes, and she was hardly aware of him removing his own. She grasped his hair as he moved over her, and she loved him for not caring that she was a little fuller, a little rounder, a little softer than the eighteen-year-old woman he had brought here. She still pleased him, and Luke Fontaine most certainly still pleased her. This first time had to be quick, no preliminaries necessary. He surged inside of her, filling her hard and deep, groaning with the intense want of her. She dug her fingers into his broad shoulders and arched up to him in naked glory, and it was only moments before she felt the delicious climax that made her insides pull at him in spastic desire. Luke raised up on his knees and grasped her hips, pushing hard and deep, his dark skin already bathed in perspiration. His own release was quick and pounding, making him shudder.

He breathed deeply, came down on top of her, and took her in his arms, kissing and licking at her face, her neck. "I love you, Lettie." He relaxed beside her then. "I'm glad your mother came, but I hope it didn't make you want to go to Denver. I'm sure they're full of stories about how nice life is there." He sank his head into the pillow they shared.

"Luke, you don't really think I could ever leave here now, do you? Or that I would even consider it?" She touched his face, kissed him lightly. "This is home. If we can't go to civilization, we'll bring civilization to Montana. You and men like you will set the laws, and I'll gather with other women to bring in education and the gentleness this land needs. Besides, I could never take the children from here. This is all they've ever known. Ty already shows signs of following in your footsteps, and Katie is a strong girl, so helpful already with chores and things. She already talks about someday marrying a rancher and being just like me." She smiled. "Not that I expect all of them to stay right here and do what we do. Little Pearl has such a talent for music, and Robbie—who knows? Ever since that horse kicked him last year, he's been deathly afraid of them. I don't know how a son is going to help on his father's ranch if he won't get on a horse."

Luke laughed lightly. "He'll get over it." His smile faded and he sighed deeply. "Do you think I'll go to hell, Lettie, for taking the law into my own hands?"

She kissed his muscular chest. "I think God knows exactly what a good man you are." She moved her face to be close to his, kissing his lips again. "And so do I."

Their lips met in a more tender kiss, and this time they moved more slowly. Lettie relaxed to deep, suggestive kisses, allowing him to explore her mouth while he massaged at her breasts, her belly, her bottom, and that secret place that belonged only to Luke Fontaine now. She had long ago learned to bury the horror of her rape. In this man's hands sex had never been anything but beautiful and necessary and achingly satisfying. She returned his kisses with increased vigor, feeling on fire for him. It had been so long since she'd had her man in her bed.

"Make love to me all night, Luke," she whispered.

"That's asking a lot for a man who's been in the saddle most of the day," he teased.

She ran her hands over his muscular arms. "It's a lot of man I'm asking it from."

He moved between her legs again. "I missed the hell out of you, just as I always do."

"I missed you, too," she whispered.

He moved inside of her again, deep, rhythmic thrusts that made her groan with pleasure. There would be no more talk about God or outlaws or the children or anything else. There would only be this for the rest of the night... Luke lying naked beside her, claiming her, taking his pleasure while he gave her so much pleasure in return.

Yes, her mother had suggested she'd be safer and probably happier in Denver, but she could not imagine leaving the Double L, leaving this land Luke loved so much. It had become a part of him, and Luke was a part of the land. She was married to Montana just as surely as she was married to Luke Fontaine.



On a high mesa that overlooked Fontaine land, Lettie guided her horse beside Luke's.

"I know how much you miss your mother since she went back," Luke told her.

"It would almost have been easier if she'd never come at all," Lettie answered. "I'll probably never see Mama again." She patted the neck of her gray-and-white Appaloosa mare, glad Luke had suggested that they do something alone after her mother and sister left for Denver. She missed her family dearly, but it felt good to have this time alone with her husband, away from the children. At home he was always busy with chores, often gone from before dawn until suppertime; and for at least ten days out of every month he was gone on a trip around the Double L, riding the fence line to check on men posted as guards at various line shacks, watching for Indians, squatters, and rustlers. Each man also had the duty of mending fences and watching for stray cattle and horses.

Luke watched the few head of cattle that had wandered to this area to graze. "I'm sorry you can't see your mother more often."

Lettie adjusted her sunbonnet. "There is nothing to be sorry for. I wouldn't change anything now. I could never be happy anyplace else."

Luke's shiny black gelding shuddered and tossed his mane as he shifted restlessly. "Take it easy, boy," Luke said softly, pulling on the reins. He grinned. "This one likes to run. I ought to race him."

Lettie smiled, watching the beautiful animal. Ever since losing Red to the Indians and recently losing Paint to death, Luke had given up allowing himself to get attached to one particular horse. Among his herd, there were four horses he kept for himself and Lettie, refusing to sell any of them. One was the Appaloosa she rode, a gentle mare he trusted with

the children and her; the black gelding he rode now strictly for pleasure; a huge roan-colored gelding sturdy enough for all ranch work; and a buckskin-colored gelding with black tail and mane that was his best cutting horse, used on cattle drives and at spring roundup. "He's so beautiful," she said to him about the horse he rode now, "but a little too nervous and fidgety for me."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Luke commanded then, as his horse turned in a circle. "You're right about that," he answered with a grin, finally calming the animal again. "Tex had more trouble breaking this one than any he's worked with yet." He took a thin cigar from his pocket, looking several yards back to make sure Ben Garvey was still with them. He had asked the man to come along in case of trouble, wanting an extra guard on Lettie. Ben stayed far behind them so he and Lettie could have some privacy. The man gave him a signal that everything was all right, and Luke turned back to Lettie. He lit the cigar.

"Luke." Lettie spoke his name softly.

He puffed on the cigar a moment. "What is it?"

"Don't let yourself change completely. I wouldn't want you to become as coarse and unfeeling as Tex."

Luke shrugged. "Tex isn't all bad. He told me he grew up an orphan in the streets of Chicago, learned to steal at the tender age of five just to stay alive, killed his first man at eleven. He never has told me who it was or why he killed him, has never said what his real name is or any other details about his life, but I know there's a side to him that knows right from wrong, appreciates honesty in a man. He as much as saved my life the day we faced off those buffalo hunters. The same time I shot one of them, another had his gun out. Tex got that one. Otherwise I might have taken a bullet."

He met her gaze, and Lettie thought how very handsome he looked today. Was it just because his being home was still new and such a sweet pleasure, or was it that the weathered, rugged look about him had only added to the masculine features she already loved? His eyes were bluer today than the vivid blue sky above them.

"Don't worry," he was saying. "Men like Tex are necessary out here, and part of me has to be just like him. That doesn't mean I'm not the same man you married." He looked away again. "I do have to say that part of that man died when Nathan was taken. I'll never quite forgive myself for not being able to get him back for you, Lettie."

Lettie gazed at a sea of green grass spread out before them as far as she could see. It had been a good summer, just enough rain to keep the plains green with good feed for the cattle. She worried what would happen if they ever had a drought and had to buy feed for so much stock. Surely it would ruin them financially. "You did all that you could. There is no sense going back over it again."

They both sat there quietly for several minutes, a gentle breeze blowing the smoke from Luke's cigar off into nothingness. "You see that fence line way out there?" he finally asked.

Lettie strained to see the dim, dark line of fence made of logs notched into fence posts. "I see it."

"I'm going to claim another hundred thousand acres beyond it. That will give us a total of close to a million acres, all Fontaine land. I'm buying more beef out of Oregon and California. The market is growing every day, and I intend to be ready to meet the demand. That's all good grassland out there. With the buffalo being killed off the way they are, there's just that much more of it for my cattle."

Lettie tried to fathom so much land. She had never even ridden the full perimeter of the land they owned. She'd been too busy with raising the children to get fully involved in everything Luke was doing with the ranch, and sometimes she worried about what she would do if something happened to him. "Isn't that government land?"

Luke shrugged. "Some of it, but they'll never do anything with it. Lots of other ranchers use government land to graze their beef. It's mine for as long as it sits there not being used, and I intend to fence it in so others understand that. Some of it I'll try to buy from other homesteaders, and some of it I can claim legally."

Lettie sighed with worry. "Through David Taylor?"

Luke turned to look at her again. "Everybody does it, Lettie. The government doesn't understand how much land it takes to graze one steer."

"And the richest man out here is David Taylor. Henny said on her last visit he's building a huge house north of Billings."

Luke chuckled. "Who cares? A little bribery money up front means a lot more money down the road through the sale of prime beef. It's all legal, once it's on paper, with deeds, titles, all of that. Don't worry about it, Lettie. We've formed our own cattlemen's association to help protect ourselves, sent out invitations to the next meeting, which will be in a couple of weeks. We even invited that Englishman who bought all that land from the homesteaders southwest of Billings who lit out because of so much Indian trouble. I've never met him yet. Sounds like quite an interesting fellow."

He squinted to watch an eagle flying low over a distant butte. It suddenly dived and came up with something small dangling in its talons. "I'm not too crazy about foreigners coming here to buy land," he continued, "but what the hell? Civilization is civilization. We need people who will stay put, and he can afford to hire men to guard his land. He won't run like some of the smaller farmers have done, and if he intends to get into raising cattle, he might as well belong to our group. There's strength in numbers. We figure if we all join together, set some laws on how to deal with Indians, rustlers, and the like, figure how we'll deal with the government if they ever come knocking on our door, we'll be protected. No sense in all of us fighting against each other and trying to outdo each other. We'll all be better off if we get organized. We're even going to register our brands, have lists printed of ranch names, locations, and brands so everybody knows whose land is where, knows who stray cattle belong to by the brand they see on them. Keeps us from mixing someone else's cattle into our own herds."

"Sounds as if it could turn into quite a powerful organization."

"That's the whole idea. The more power, the more freedom we'll have to deal with rustlers and the like in our own way, the more clout we'll have with Congress, and the more strength we'll have in affecting territorial land laws. Someday Montana will be a state, and when it is, we intend to have laws in place that will protect men like me from being taxed out of business, protect my boundaries." He turned his horse. "Come on. We'd better get moving, or we won't reach that line shack by nightfall. You don't want to sleep out in the open tonight, do you?"

Lettie smiled. "Oh, I don't know. That might not be so bad."

Luke rode in front as they made their way along a narrow trail through scraggly rock formations. He drew up his horse when he reached a clearing just big enough for the two of them, then reached over and grasped the back of her neck. "What I have in mind, we wouldn't want to be out in the open where Ben could see and hear us," he told her with a wink. He leaned over and kissed her lips.

Lettie blushed, realizing Ben most certainly had to have seen the kiss. "Luke Fontaine! If that's the case, then you'd better save everything for inside the shack. Don't be kissing me in public!"

He laughed lightly. "Public? All there is to see us are rocks and pine trees, birds, and a few cattle. Ben is back there around the corner someplace."

He studied her with hunger in his blue eyes, and Lettie felt a tingle of desire. It had been years since they had done something like this, where they could be truly alone again. She loved her trips into Billings to visit and shop, and that was what he had suggested this time; but she had decided she wanted to do something different, go someplace where there were no people at all. It seemed strange to want that, after those first lonely years when she longed to see other faces. "What is the line shack like? Is it as bad as that first place we lived when we came here?"

Luke grinned. "Not quite that bad. I chose this one because I haven't had a man up in this area for several weeks, so I can check things out myself, and we can still have the cabin to ourselves when we get there. I might leave Ben there to keep guard for a few days. We've had trouble with wolves in this area."

Lettie shivered, remembering how the wolves had frightened her in the early years. They were still a danger to men out riding alone, and a menace to the cattle. "It's too bad we can't settle this land without disturbing the wild things," she said, gazing at distant mountains then. "Even the Indians."

Luke knew her thoughts had again turned to Nathan. "How about that women's group you told me about?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. "You got that sewing circle started yet?"

She smiled. "Yes. In fact, several of us are meeting in Billings in just two weeks, when you men get together for the cattlemen's meeting, so you'll have to get us a room at that new rooming house in town, or we could stay at Will and Henny's. I'll leave the children here with Anne and Billy, and please warn the men not to cuss in front of the children. We'll have to stay the night in town. By the time you finish with your meeting, it will probably be too late to get home from there before dark." She sighed longingly. "The next thing we need is a church. I do wish a preacher would come to Billings. I miss real church services, the singing, praying together. If there were as many churches in this territory as there are saloons, there wouldn't be such a dire need for organized law."

Luke chuckled, heading his horse even higher on the narrow path. "Why is it women think of churches and men think of guns and ropes?"

"Because women have more common sense and more compassion," Lettie answered teasingly. She breathed deeply of fresh air as they rode on for several minutes, each of them enjoying the peaceful afternoon. One thing she had to admit, Luke had chosen some of the prettiest country in America to call home. Never had she seen bluer skies, greener grass, more colorful rocks. The air smelled of sweet pine and wildflowers, clover and... She frowned, a little warning deep inside telling her something was wrong, but she couldn't quite place it. "I hope the children are all right."

"Why do you say that?"

Lettie looked around. "I don't know. I just have this funny feeling."

Luke led them to a shelflike clearing, then turned his horse, looking back along the pathway. Lettie saw the concern in his eyes then. "You, too?"

Lettie kept a tight hold of the reins of her horse. "What is it, Luke?"

Luke took his rifle from its boot and carefully scanned their surroundings, taking on the look of a suspicious wild animal. He seemed to be literally sniffing the air. "I don't know. I just realized Ben never caught up to us when we stopped that last time. We'd better go back and—"

The sentence was interrupted by a booming shot from somewhere above them, and in the same instant a bloody hole opened in Luke's right thigh, accompanied by a sickening cracking sound. Lettie screamed at the hideous sight and sound. Luke cried out with awful pain, and his horse jerked and whinnied, then fell. Luke rolled off and tumbled down the steep embankment to the left of the path they had been following. His horse lay still. Whatever had hit Luke had gone right through his leg and into the horse. Before Lettie could decide what to do about the horror she had just witnessed, another shot thundered from above, thudding into her horse's neck. Lettie gasped as the animal trembled and fell, whinnying in agony.

"Oh, my God!" Lettie cried, quickly getting her feet out of the stirrups. She ducked down against the rocky wall of the pathway they had been following. "Luke!" she screamed. She couldn't see where he had fallen, and there was no reply. "Luke!"