Wildest Dreams

chapter 21

Lettie studied herself in the mirror. She wore a plain pink cotton dress today, and her hair was pulled back at the sides with combs. She supposed that for thirty-two years old, she was still attractive. Everyone else was always telling her so, and she knew women her age who looked sixty. Luke had always insisted she keep creams on her skin and wear wide-brimmed hats to keep the sun off her face—Luke, who was himself becoming tanned and leathered from that same sun; but on him it looked good.

Lately the thought of him made her heart flutter again. She had been in better spirits since her visit with Henny, and her talk with Annie Gates. She wasn't sure what she was going to do or say to Luke when he got back. She only knew that she missed her husband.

Seeing Ty again had awakened an ache for her husband she had not felt in a long time. Ty had come home with Oatmeal and a couple of other men, and she could swear her son had grown even taller over the summer. Her first glance at him when he came through the door, still dusty from the trail, had stirred memories of Luke coming home that way.

She walked over to straighten the bed, remembering what she and Luke had once shared in it. What if something happened to him before they could work out their problems? What if she never got the chance to hold him again, tell him again that she loved him? She walked to the window, looking out at familiar sights, the ranch Luke loved so much, even more barns and outbuildings, a lovely lawn and gardens around the house now, new men being hired every year, cabins scattered throughout the valley to house them.

Her pleasant thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a buggy coming up the drive. She recognized it as Nial Bentley's, and this time his appearance stirred the old irritation she had once felt for the man. She hurried downstairs, realizing she did not look her best today and not caring. Her thinking had not been this clear and sure since Nathan ran off, and she knew what she had to do. She had to set things straight with Nial before she saw Luke again.

She opened the double front doors just as Nial was tying the horse that pulled his buggy, and she thought how unlike a true rancher he was. There he stood, in a dapper suit, all neat and manicured. His men did all his work for him, while he sat directing things from his stone mansion, or went visiting another man's wife. Why hadn't she noticed all these things before? She was glad Ty was out helping with the hay harvest, and the other three children were upstairs taking lessons from Elsie, who had her six-week-old daughter with her. The birth of Elsie and Peter's baby had been one of the few bright moments at the Double L since Luke had left on the cattle drive.

Nial's eyes lit up at seeing she was already at the door, as though he supposed she was eager to see him.

Lettie did not smile. "Come in, Nial. I want to talk to you."

He frowned then, coming inside. Lettie closed the door and whisked him into the parlor, sliding closed the parlor doors.

"What is it, Lettie, dear?"

Lettie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. "Don't call me dear, Nial. It isn't right." He laughed lightly. "Well, we've grown so close—"

"That was my mistake, Nial. I think it would be best if you stopped coming here. You always pick a time when you know Luke is gone."

Nial stiffened, alarmed. What had happened? She was changed. He had been so sure his plan for winning her over was working. "Well, that—that isn't so. I thought he would be back from the cattle drive by now."

"No, you didn't. You know a posse has gone out after cattle rustlers. You know they hoped to intercept Luke so he could go with them. You knew it the day you visited me before I went into town to visit Henny. Some of your own men went with them. Why didn't you tell me, Nial?"

The man reddened slightly. "Well, I—I didn't want you to worry. You have had so much worry and sorrow over these past months—"

"You didn't want me to start fretting over Luke. You didn't want me to think about him at all." She shook her head and walked past him. "I've been a fool, Nial. I don't blame you for what you've been trying to do. I blame myself for letting it happen."

"Lettie, I—"

"Nial, I love Luke." She turned to face him. "Can you possibly understand what we share? Did you really think you could take his place?"

A deep sorrow came into his eyes. "Lettie, I admit that I love you. I can give you so much more—"

"No. You could never give me more in life than Luke can. It's something more than money and title and education, Nial; something you and I could never share." She stepped closer to him. "I never had any romantic intentions about this friendship. You were here when I needed someone to talk to, and you helped the children when they needed it; but I wanted to think it was all out of the goodness of your heart. Now I know everyone in town is talking about us, and I intend to put a stop to the gossip, because it isn't true. And someone... someone who knows men well told me everything you've done has just been a ploy to try to win my heart. Is that true, Nial? Is that the only reason you've been coming here, bringing books about medicine to Robbie, and music for Pearl? Did you truly care that my son had died, or were you just using my sorrow to get closer to me?"

Nial shook his head. "Who has told you all of this?"

"It doesn't matter. I only know it all makes sense, considering your behavior the first time you came to Montana." She sighed deeply, rubbing at her eyes. "My God," she muttered.

Nial grasped her arms. "Lettie, listen to me. Please don't hate me. I love you. I've never loved anyone as I love you, not even my first wife. You're everything a man could ever want. I've wanted to say all of this from the moment I laid eyes on you again when I came back from England. Yes, I did try to use your sorrow, but I truly cared that you had lost a son, because I can't stand to see you hurting. Luke is hurting you, too. Why do you let him do it?"

Lettie jerked away. "I've done a lot of hurting myself, and this is part of it. I don't want you to come back here alone anymore, or come when you know I'm alone. Do you understand? In fact, you would be wise to stay away altogether when Luke gets back, because by then he'll probably know you've been coming here all summer, and I don't think he'll be too happy about it. Your friendship and your interest in the children has not been genuine, Nial, and that hurts as much as anything Luke or anyone else has done. I couldn't see it, but a good talk with Henny and with Reverend Gooding, and knowing the rumors spreading about us, has opened my eyes to the truth."

"Henny put all these ideas in your head?"

"Some. It was Annie Gates who opened my eyes the rest of the way."

"Annie Gates! My God, you went and talked to that whore? She's sleeping with your husband, for God's sake! How can you overlook that? How can you forgive such a thing?"

Lettie blinked back tears. "It isn't what you think, and I could never explain in a million years how I could forgive it. One thing I do remember is that you were the first one to tell me about Annie and Luke. Now I know why you did it.

You were hoping to plant doubt in my heart, trying to confuse me even more about how I felt about Luke. That's why you came that first time, isn't it? You had heard about Luke and Annie, and you had heard I was in a sorry state because of Paul's death. It's just like Henny said. You're like a vulture, circling around, waiting for something to die."

Nial seemed to wither at the words. "Please don't put it that horribly, Lettie. Can you blame a man for trying to capture the woman he loves?"

"Yes, I can, when he uses devious ways to do it; when he plays on that woman's grief; and most certainly when that woman is married to someone else. I'm sorry, Nial, that I cannot return your love; but you always knew that I could not. I'm sorry if my accepting your friendship led you to believe there could be more; but that is partly your fault. You instigated all of this, and you are the one who kept coming back. I never went to you."

He moved closer to her, his eyes moving over her. "No. You never came to me. Every morning I prayed you would come. I'd wait until I couldn't stand it any longer, and then I'd come here because I had to see you again." Without warning he grabbed her close, pinning her tight against himself. "Oh, Lettie, just one kiss, just one more chance to make you see you belong with me." He captured her mouth so quickly that at first she could not react. He forced her lips apart, but she managed to turn her face away. He continued kissing her cheek, her neck.

"Stop it, Nial! Stop it, and please just go! Go away from here and never come back!" She pushed at him, but he kept pleading with her, kept his tight hold on her. Suddenly one of the parlor doors was shoved open with a loud thud, and there came the sound of a rifle being cocked.

"Get away from my mother, or I'll kill you!"

Nial stiffened, and Lettie gasped at the sight of Tyler standing at the parlor doors, holding a rifle on Nial. Except for his size, it could have been Luke standing there, blue eyes on fire, a sureness to his stance. "I haven't killed a man yet, but Pa taught me how to shoot real good," the boy told Nial. "My mother asked you to leave this house and not come back. You better do it. There's not one man on this ranch or any in town who would blame me if I shot you. I'm Luke Fontaine's son, and I caught you forcing yourself on my mother."

Nial swallowed. "Well, I do believe you mean it."

"I sure do. Now get going!"

Nial smoothed back his hair and picked up his hat from where he had thrown it on a chair. He looked back at Lettie, who was shaking and rubbing at her lips. "You'll never know how much I love you, Lettie. I'll never forgive myself for this moment. I hope that you can. The last thing I want is for you to hate me. I'm sorry." His voice broke on the last words, and he turned and left.

Lettie stood frozen, listening to the door close, listening through an open window to the clatter of the buggy as Nial drove it away. She wilted into a chair then and wept, not for Nial, but for the fact that Tyler had seen the man trying to kiss her. "None of it is what you think, Ty. I love your father."

Tyler set the rifle aside and came closer, kneeling beside her. "I know that, Ma. Pa loves you, too. He talked about you all the time out on the trail, how he wanted to patch things up, hoped maybe you could talk when he got back. I knew Nial was just taking advantage. I've never liked that man. When I saw him come up the drive, I came into the house, scared I'd hear you telling him you love him. But I heard you say how you feel about Pa, and that all you ever cared about was being friends. When I saw through the crack in the doors—him trying to kiss you—I got mad and went to get the rifle out of Pa's study."

Lettie smiled through tears, reaching out and hugging her son. "Oh, Ty, I've neglected all of you so since Paul died. I'm so very sorry! It's all going to be different once Luke gets back. I promise!"

Ty pulled away, old enough to be embarrassed at the embrace. "We miss Paul, too, Ma. You always acted like you were the only one hurting because he died, but it hurt Pa real deep; we all were hurt, especially Robbie."

"I know, Ty."

The boy rose when he heard a horse gallop up to the front of the house. "Maybe that's Pa now." He hurried out, and Lettie got up, quickly taking a handkerchief from her dress pocket and wiping at her tears. The outer door opened and closed, and to her surprise, Ty led Reverend Gooding into the parlor. Her first thought was that he had heard something had happened to Luke. "Reverend! What's wrong!"

The reverend's face showed his sorrow. "I'm afraid it's Henny Doolan," he told her gently. "I know she was your best friend, Mrs. Fontaine. I'm afraid... she passed away this morning. I thought you should know right away."

Henrietta! Her faithful friend! Lettie's whole body suddenly ached with sorrow.

"She died in her sleep, as far as we can tell. I don't think she suffered. I thought, with her husband off with that posse, well, maybe you'd like to handle the funeral arrangements."

Lettie forced herself to stay calm. "Yes. Thank you for thinking of me."

"Poor Will," Ty muttered.

"Yes. Poor Will," Lettie repeated softly. "This will just about kill him." She closed her eyes and prayed for strength. "Hitch the buggy, Ty. We're going into town."



People stared and followed as Luke and the rest of the posse rode into town, heading for the new hall the ranchers had built for local cattlemen's meetings. They were peppered with questions, most of them from Herbert Grass, a new reporter for the Billings Extra. Someone sent for the sheriff, and Luke announced that no questions would be answered until he and the others had a private meeting with Sheriff Tracy. Grass was welcome to come inside, but no one from outside the vigilante group would be allowed. They could read about what happened in the paper tomorrow.

Luke was anxious to get the meeting over with and find Lettie, who he knew would be at Will and Henny's place. On his way back with the rest of the posse, he had stopped at home first, only to discover Henny Doolan had died. Ty told him he and Bob Franks had taken Lettie and Robbie and the girls into town for the funeral, but that they had all come back home afterward without Lettie because she wanted to stay behind and get the house in order for Will.

Poor Lettie didn't even know yet that Will was dead, too. He ached at the thought that Lettie had had to bury her best friend alone. How ironic that he in turn had buried Will alone, yet how fitting that Will and Henny had each died without knowing what had happened to the other. Now they were surely together again, and Henny was free of pain. But what about Lettie's pain? What had her best friend's death done to her? He feared she would slip even farther away from him now.

He rode up to the cattlemen's hall and dismounted, then noticed Nial Bentley had been running with the rest of the crowd and had hurried inside the building. Good! So Nial was in town. He probably thought he was safe as long as he was in a crowd or in the meeting with all the other cattlemen. He'd find out differently! Once this meeting was over, he was going to have more than a talk with the Englishman! He was still hurting over Will's death, and seeing Nial only added to his wrath. Before he left the ranch to ride into town, Ty had told him about the incident in the parlor with Nial and Lettie. The bastard had no right trying to sneak into Lettie's life, no right coming around every time Luke was away. He was proud of what Ty had done, but there was still unfinished business between himself and Nial Bentley.

He tied his horse, and he and the rest of the vigilantes filed into the building along with Sheriff Tracy and the reporter. Joe Parker closed and latched the door behind them to keep out the general public. They all sat down, facing the sheriff, and Herbert Grass hastily turned to a clean sheet on his tablet and began scribbling as Tracy asked for a full report.

Luke rose, glancing over at Nial Bentley with an icy glare. He reveled in the way Bentley looked away from him, his face reddening. The bastard! He'd probably try to hurry out with the others once the meeting was over, but he wasn't going to get away with it! He turned to face the sheriff and spoke up. "We found them, shot it out with them." He removed his hat and wiped sweat from his brow. He hadn't even stopped to clean up at the ranch before coming on into town. When he'd heard about Henny, he'd just wanted to get there quickly and get this over with so he could go to Lettie.

"No prisoners?" Tracy asked, eyebrows arched warily.

"They're all dead," Luke answered, "except one that got away. There were three left alive." They had all agreed not to tell about the fourth man that Tex had shot in the head. "We hanged two of them."

The reporter looked up, mouth open, then began scribbling again, obviously excited that he could write about a vigilante lynching.

"We let one man go," Luke continued. "Name of Clyde Baker. He said he didn't have anything to do with Duncan's death or Mrs. Duncan's rape. Said he'd just joined up with the rest of them. I believed him and we let him go. I think the whole matter scared him bad enough that he'll stay out of Montana. The other two were the Walker boys, who we know were in on the Duncan killing. We hanged them on the spot. Most of the cattlemen got back a good share of the horses and cattle that have been stolen over the summer, but we'll probably never get back anything that was stolen before that. It's probably all in Canada."

"Who got away?" Tracy asked.

"Zack Walker, maybe one other man. We're not sure," Luke answered.

"And it was his sons you hanged?" Luke nodded.

"Didn't you already have some trouble with them squatting on the Double L?"

"I chased them off last year," Luke answered. "I thought I'd seen the last of them."

Tracy shifted and cleared his throat. "You'd better watch yourself, Luke. All of you should. You've hanged the man's sons. From what I know about Walker, he's from the deep South, one of those clanny types of men who believes in an eye for an eye. There has been enough bloodshed. Let's hope there isn't any more. No casualties on your side?"

Luke felt the pain pierce at his heart again. "Will Doolan. He's dead."

Tracy closed his eyes. "Damn," he muttered. "This town will sorely miss him." He shook his head. "Now at least the man doesn't have to come home to find his wife dead."

"We heard about that," Luke answered. "My son told us when we stopped at the Double L." He glanced at Nial again. "He filled me in on everything," he added, hinting that he knew about Nial's visit.

"What about your face?" Tracy asked. "What happened?"

"I just got pelted with pieces of broken rock," he answered. "It looks worse than it is."

"Someone should thank Annie Gates for the tip-off," Joe Parker spoke up.

They all laughed lightly, wanting to erase the hurt of Will's death.

"Maybe Luke should do the honors," Nial said snidely. "He seems to be close to her."

The laughter died, none of them appreciating the remark about a man they all respected. The reporter was still writing, and Luke glanced his way. "You write anything about that remark, and you'll never do another story for the Extra again," he warned.

Grass reddened. "Oh, no, Mr. Fontaine. I don't report rumors. Only facts."

"What I said is a fact," Nial spoke up, now looking braver. "Everybody knows it."

Luke turned to glare at Nial, realizing he was just trying to come up with something he thought he could threaten him with so that Luke wouldn't harm him over what had happened between Lettie and him. "You just opened your mouth one too many times," he told the Englishman, his voice calm but cold.

"Uh, I have a list of names," Calvin Briggs interrupted, trying to change the subject. "We took identification off those that had any before we buried them. There were three men we couldn't identify at all, but we wrote down what they looked like in case anybody ever inquires."

Tracy asked the reporter to write down all the information, and the rest of the men broke into conversation. Bentley rose, walking over to converse with those standing farthest away from Luke, but Luke followed him, planting a powerful grip on the man's arm. "I want to see you, out behind the building."

Nial paled. "Yes, well, can't we talk right here? I mean, if it's about my own missing cattle, I'll send some of my men over to pick them up. Are they at the Double L?"

"What's wrong, Bentley?" Luke sneered. "You don't want to come get them yourself, now that I'm home?" Luke kept his voice low, but those standing near could hear.

Nial smiled nervously, casting a desperate look to the others, but he knew by their eyes where their loyalty lay. Luke Fontaine had a score to settle, and they were not about to stop him. There wasn't a man there who didn't respect Luke and Lettie both, and Nial realized that whatever gossip had been circulating, not one of them was going to blame Lettie Fontaine. Suddenly he wished he had not been in town when the posse returned, wished curiosity had not compelled him to come to the meeting; but, after all, he belonged to this group. He had as much right to be here as any of them. "There really is nothing to talk about, Luke," he said, facing the man squarely.

Luke gripped his arm so tightly that the man winced. "Get your ass outside, or I'll make a scene right here and give the reporter something to write about our resident Englishman who likes to move in on other men's wives," he said in a near whisper. "Is that how you want it, Bentley? You want this whole town to ostracize you? And do you want to do that to Lettie?"

Nial swallowed, jerking his arm away and straightening his jacket. He picked up his hat and headed for the back door.

"Keep the rest of the men inside," Luke asked Joe Parker, "especially that reporter."

"Sure, Luke."

Luke hurried after Nial, suspecting the man might try to run off the minute he got outside. He reached the door just as Nial was going through it, and before Nial could turn around, Luke wrapped a strong arm around his throat and dragged him a few feet, then slammed him against the outside wall. "It's time to get something straight, Bentley! I gave you fair warning a long time ago, but you apparently decided not to heed it!" He pressed the man against the wall and clamped a strong hand around his throat so that his eyes began to bulge. "If I ever hear you've come anywhere near my wife again when I'm gone, you're a dead man! I don't care if I hang for it! You got that straight?"

Nial managed a nod, and Luke released his grip slightly. "Did you plant ideas in Lettie's head about Annie Gates?"

Nial began to tremble. "I... I only told her what anyone might have. Everyone in town knows you were sleeping with the woman! How could you do that to your wife? She's a wonderful woman who deserves better."

"You don't know anything about my private thoughts and the reasons for anything I do." Luke sneered. "I don't need the likes of you telling me what a good woman Lettie is. She's the mother of my children, for God's sake! I'm not going to dignify any of this with explanations about Annie or my marriage or anything else. Lettie and I will straighten out our problems, and you will stay out of it from here on. Lettie Fontaine is my woman, and don't you ever forget it!"

He released his hold. Nial swallowed, rubbing at his throat and taking deep breaths. He faced Luke, panting. "If you think anything went on between me and Lettie, it didn't. I was simply there to help her, because I happen to love her, and I don't care that you know it. She needed friendship, someone to talk to. God knows you weren't around."

Luke's face darkened with rage. "So you thought you'd move right in and take over." He looked the man over with contempt. "You fool! Do you think I'd believe Lettie would ever cheat on her husband? There was nothing like that between you because Lettie Fontaine isn't that kind of woman, no matter how lonely or desperate she might get. It's no thanks to you, though, is it? I heard from Ty how you tried to keep things from getting too serious. You tried so hard, you forced a kiss from her! You forced it because you knew it was the only way you would ever get to touch my wife that way!"

"It wasn't that way—"

"My son doesn't lie!" Luke cut in. He slammed a big fist into Nial's gut, and the Englishman grunted and bent over. Luke grasped hold of the man's collar and raised a booted foot to his privates, then slammed his fist into Nial's left jaw, sending the man sprawling into a pile of empty crates. He walked to stand over the man. "That was my last warning, Bentley! Next time I have to light into you, you'll never get up again!"

Luke turned away and headed back inside, rubbing at a sore right hand, and flexing it. He wiped his bloody knuckles on his pants, then took a deep breath and reentered the cattlemen's hall to get his hat.

"Everything all right, Luke?" Joe Parker asked him.

Luke's blue eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Everything is just fine. Just keep that reporter away from the back alley."

Joe grinned. "There ain't nobody dead back there, is there?"

Luke donned his hat. "No. But he's probably wishing he was." He walked outside and mounted his horse, heading for Will and Henny's place.



Lettie bent down to lay some daisies over Henny's grave. A bird sang in a nearby bush, as though to thank her. She remembered how Henny had loved to sit and watch the birds, how she laughed when her cats would chase them. Three of those cats lay about the gravesite now, following their mistress from the familiar log cabin to the graveyard in town, still wanting to crawl into her lap.

Forty-four. The woman had only been forty-four, but had looked like a shriveled little woman of seventy when she was laid out for visitors. In this land you need solid friendships. She remembered Henny telling her those words when they first met. How true they were. And you need a good, strong man who loves you, no matter what... and if you really love your man, you'll let him live his dream and not try to stop him.

She rose, a soft wind blowing her gray dress. Her sadness was not just for the loss of a friend, but the knowledge that years from now, there would be no one left to mourn this woman's passing. Henny had lost track of her family, who had never bothered to come back and try to find her, visit her. There were no children to carry on the name and the memory. How sad that a person could be so treasured one day, and forgotten the next. Someday Montana would be a state, she had no doubt. How many of its future citizens would ever know or care about Henrietta Doolan, one of the true pioneers?

She swallowed against more tears, her throat hurting fiercely. She vowed then and there that she would begin keeping a record of people like Will and Henrietta, that she would form some kind of historical society that would preserve Montana's precious past, in books, perhaps even museums. Little Paul would be part of those records, one of the children who lost his life because of living so remote from help. And there was Ben Garvey, who had lost his life against outlaw buffalo hunters; and Nathan, the "white Indian" who was like a ghost to her now.

She felt older today, the reality of death visiting her again. But the nearby birdsong reminded her that life went on, and the thought of Katie, Tyler, Pearl, and Robbie were examples of that. The incident with Nial had brought Ty and her closer. Now there was one last fence to be mended. Henny's death brought home that she had no one to turn to now but Luke. The woman's last words to her had been that she should be a wife again.

Tears trickled down her face. She brushed gently at the still-fresh earth mounded over the grave. The service two days ago had been touching, the reverend speaking just the right words for a woman like Henny. Half the town had been there, for half the town owed Henny something in one way or another. Lettie had insisted that the woman's pipe be buried with her, and one of Will's buckskin jackets, so she would have something of his to keep her warm, something that carried her husband's scent. It seemed only right. "Lettie?"

The voice startled her. She turned and rose, her heart suddenly pounding, and everything she had planned to say and do when she saw her husband again left her. She just stood there, not sure what was right and what was wrong, until he held out his arms. "Luke!" She ran to him, and in the next moment she was lost in his embrace, relishing the feel of his powerful arms, weeping his name as she rested her head on the shoulder that had always been strong for her. Her feet were off the ground as he held her close, and he whispered her name several times over.

"I knew I'd find you here," he said, finally setting her on her feet. "I heard about Henny back at the ranch, came straight to town. I never even stopped to clean up. I'm dirty and—"

"It doesn't matter," she answered, still clinging to him. "Nothing matters but that you're here. I was afraid something would happen to you, and we'd never get the chance to see each other again. Oh, Luke, we have so much to talk about."

Luke held her away from him so that he could look at her face. Something had changed. This was not the Lettie he had left behind. He had figured that telling her the things he needed to tell her might be impossible, that she would still be the silent, withdrawn woman he'd been unable to reach for so long. It was just too bad they had to face this first, the loss of their best friends. He had feared Henny's death would plunge his wife deeper into despair and silence, but the way she touched him, the way she looked at him...

"Luke, what happened? Your face!" She reached up to touch the several red scabs left from being sprayed with rock.

"I'm all right. A bullet broke some rock I was standing behind and the pieces hit me in the face."

A bullet! She could have lost him! Being here in his arms made her feel like a young girl again, the girl who had followed her new husband to Montana. "Did you get the rustlers?"

He closed his eyes. "I'll tell you about it later. It wasn't very pretty." He squeezed her arms. "Lettie, Will is dead, too."

Her eyes widened in dismay. "No!"

Luke nodded. "Shot by one of the rustlers. He's the only one who got hit." He glanced at Henny's grave. "It's almost like God knew he wouldn't want to go on without Henny, and she couldn't have gone on without Will, so He took them both."

Thunder rolled in the distance, and dark clouds loomed on the horizon. "They should be buried beside each other," Lettie said sadly, resting her head against his chest.

"I wanted to bring him back, but we were too far out, and in this heat it would have been impossible. They're together now, though. It doesn't matter where they're buried, Lettie. Neither one of them is in their grave."

She wept quietly. "Thank God you're back. I have so much to tell you, Luke."

He sighed deeply. "I have a lot to tell you also. I want to take you away alone, Lettie, maybe out to the northern line camp. It will be safer this time. I'm taking several men along to repair a windmill at one of the watering holes. They'll camp in the valley below the cabin, so they'll be close by, and we won't have to worry about something happening like the last time we went off alone."

"That was five years ago," she said softly. "We never did go off to be alone after that."

"That's where we went wrong. From now on, once a year, no matter what is happening, we're going to find time for us, just us. I won't let work at the ranch or the children get in the way. I have to take care of some things here in town that I know Will would have wanted me to do for him, and I want to spend some time with Katie and Pearl and Robbie. Then we'll leave."

She looked up at him, the thought of him being with Annie Gates stirring her desire to be a wife to him again. She would never again give him reason to go to a woman like that. "I have so much to tell you."

He closed his eyes and leaned down to kiss her hair. "And I have a lot to tell you. For now just believe that I love you, Lettie, and I'm sorry I allowed us to drift so far apart."

"It was mostly my fault. I never should have blamed—"

He put his fingers to her lips. "Not now." Thunder cracked through the heavens, now overhead. "We'd better get to Will's place. He probably has some papers of some kind that shows what he wants done with his ranch. I'm not sure. I just figured I'd look into it for him, talk to that lawyer, Syd Greene, make sure things are done properly."

"Yes, Will would want that." She studied the blue eyes that were not so cold now. "I love you, Luke." The tears came again. "I never stopped."

He leaned down and met her lips lightly, and she relished the taste of his mouth on hers again, a warm, sweet kiss that told of something much more wonderful to come. "I love you, too," he whispered. He put an arm around her and led her away from the grave, and rain began to sprinkle the fresh earth. The cats at the grave curled up against the stone, seemingly unaffected by the weather. It was warm there, near their mistress.