Bittner, Rosanne (29 page)

"Aren't you a little uncomfortable in those clothes?" Lettie heard Luke ask him. She stifled a laugh as she came to the door to bid Nial Bentley good-bye.

"Oh, not at all, I assure you. I do have clothes more fitting to this kind of living. I only dress this way when I am visiting or going to an important meeting."

"Well, you don't need to dress fancy to come visiting here," Luke told him, shaking his hand.

Lettie came out then, carrying Paul, who was always begging to be picked up. "Good-bye, Mr. Bentley."

"Please, both of you call me Nial," the man answered, his eyes quickly moving over her before he bowed again. "It was so pleasant meeting you again, Mrs. Fontaine."

"Lettie," she answered. "Just Luke and Lettie."

Lettie,
Nial thought. My
beautiful Lettie. Such a strong, handsome, loving husband you have. If only I could woo you away from him.
He donned his hat then, nodding to Luke again. "Well, then, Luke, I'll have my men bring over a couple of my best Herefords for you to see, and I'll send word to the overseer of my ranch in Wisconsin that you are willing to try them out. Next summer he'll ship five hundred of our best to the Double L, and you can start building from there. You won't regret it, Luke. Wait until you see how big the steers get after castration."

"Well, I always have my own shorthorns to fall back on if it doesn't work out. I might even try breeding the shorthorns with the Herefords."

Bentley brushed at his suit. "Sir, I guarantee that in a few years you'll be breeding nothing but Herefords." He nodded once more. "I'm off. I do pray that leg will heal much more quickly than the doctor thinks. When you can ride again, do come and pay a visit to Essex Manor. Feel free to bring the missus. She is quite a wonderful woman. You must be very proud to have a wife who is so intelligent and supportive to stand up for the Double L as she did at the cattlemen's meeting." He turned and walked off the porch, mounted up on his fine black horse, and gave another wave before finally riding off.

Lettie set Paul down. He toddled to the steps, then sat to scoot down them, then grabbed fists full of dirt from the driveway and threw them into the air, letting it blow back into his hair. Lettie pulled up the chair Bentley had used beside Luke and sat down. "Quite a character, isn't he?"

Luke smoked quietly, watching Nial Bentley ride through the gate. "Who? Paul? Or were you referring to Nial Bentley?"

Lettie caught the irritation in his voice. "Are you all right, Luke? You never put your jacket on. It's getting chilly."

Luke met her eyes then, a teasing smile on his face. "You
are
a hell of a woman, you know."

Lettie reddened, looking at her lap. "I can't help how the silly man looks at me, Luke. In fact, when I got the chance, I set him straight at the cattlemen's meeting. I told him that being a married woman, I did not appreciate him staring at me. He was quite apologetic and quite the gentleman after that. I don't think he means any harm."

Luke reached over and grasped her hand. "Why didn't you say something when you came home from the meeting?

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because I wanted so much for you to see about those Herefords. I was afraid if I made you dislike the man before you even met him, you wouldn't consider trying the new breed. What's good for the ranch comes above everything else."

"Lettie."

He squeezed her hand. When she met his eyes, she saw the love there, but also the stern look of a man who sets his own rules.

"Not when it comes to you and me and the kids. All of that
always
comes first. We said once that we'd tell each other everything, remember?"

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "I love you, Luke."

He closed his eyes and groaned. "Then don't kiss me. It's too hard on me, wanting you and being laid up like this. We're going to have to figure something out pretty soon, or I'll go crazy."

Lettie smiled. "Then think about other things, like breeding a new strain of cattle, and letting me send for that mine owner from Denver."

"I don't want any damn mining company coming in here and tearing up my land."

"He promises not to disturb the land any more than necessary. Luke, we've had enough hard times to know we can't just count on the cattle. We have to have something to fall back on in case of disease or drought. It can't hurt to let him see what's out there."

Luke sighed deeply. "You drive a hard bargain, woman." He gave her a wink. "Go ahead and send for him. I'm only doing it because if he finds anything valuable out there, I can build you that house that much quicker."

"I don't need the house, Luke—"

"Yes, you do, and a lot more. I promised you a big house and a tutor and maids and fine furniture—the works. You'll have it. This family has outgrown this place anyway. The girls should each have their own room, and Ty and Robbie shouldn't have to share a room with Paul. He is constantly getting into their things."

Lettie laughed. "He
is
a wild little thing. Sometimes he reminds me so much of—" Her smile faded. She turned then and ran to pick Paul up when he started toddling off toward some horses tied near the barn.

Luke watched her, still wrestling with whether he should tell her what he thought he had seen that morning he was found. Even if Nathan was alive, the little four-year-old boy who had been torn from his mother's arms was gone forever. Luke would never get over the guilt he felt for being partly responsible. Maybe that was what had stirred this fierce possessiveness he felt when he saw how Nial Bentley looked at her, his own fear of someday losing her because she might blame him, deep inside, for losing Nathan. That was why he had to keep all the rest of his promises, build her that big house, cater to her whims. He'd let the miner from Denver come out because it was what Lettie wanted, and he'd vowed a long time ago that whatever Lettie wanted, Lettie would get.

CHAPTER 15

As soon as Luke walked into the spring dance, a crowd of well-wishers surrounded him and Lettie. They made such a fuss over the fact that Luke was on his feet again that he was embarrassed suddenly to be the center of attention. Even though he had to use crutches and still felt pain, it was good to stand tall again, to be among his friends, to get out of the house. He shook a sea of hands, and the wives of ranchers and townspeople hugged Lettie at the same time, the women exclaiming over Lettie's wardrobe. She had worn a muslin dress printed in a paisley pattern of yellow and white, the bodice made of handkerchief linen, the long sleeves bearing ruffles at the cuffs in the yellow paisley design. The same design ran through the ruffles at her waist, down the front of the bodice, and in the four tiers of ruffles that graced the full skirt. The straw bonnet she wore was decorated with yellow ribbon and flowers. The bright color only accented her dark auburn hair and green eyes.

"You look like spring yourself!" Henny told her. "How do you always manage to look so beautiful, Lettie?"

"It's because her handsome husband is alive and back on his feet," Henry Kline's wife, Lucy, said. "She's glowing with love, that's what."

The women all laughed, and Lettie glanced at Luke. Yes, he certainly did look handsome this evening. He had worn a black suit, with a blue shirt and black tie. The shirt accented the color of his eyes. The clothes were just some of those made for them over the winter by an Italian tailor who had come to town last summer. Luke had insisted on paying for a whole new wardrobe for her, but getting him to let Gino Galardo measure him for a suit of his own had been like pulling teeth. She had had Tex bring Gino to the ranch, literally ordering Luke to allow the man to measure him, reminding Luke he dearly needed a new suit.

The heavy wrapping and brace were off Luke's leg now, and he only wore a firm wrap of gauze for support. Over the winter she'd had to cut the right leg out of several pair of his pants, and she had already talked with the owner of the town's only general store, Syd Martin, about ordering new denim pants for him to replace the ruined ones.

"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."