Bittner, Rosanne (42 page)

"Hang them, Luke, or they'll just come back with more men and make more trouble," another one of Luke's men said. "Matt Duncan's dead, and you and the other ranchers have had too much stock stolen the past couple of years. This probably won't stop it completely, but we can slow it up. Don't forget Duncan's wife was raped, and one of Duncan's men lived to tell us he for sure knows these Walker boys and their pa were part of the gang that did it. These bastards don't
deserve
a trial!"

"Hey, look!" Baker spoke up, nearly ready to cry. "I told you, I never killed anybody, and I sure never raped no woman! Maybe these other two were there, but I wasn't!"

"You stinkin' coward!" Johnny turned his head and spit on Baker, who just cringed. He turned to glare at Luke then, realizing Luke was looked to as a leader by the other vigilantes. "If you hang us, Pa will get you, one way or another!" he told Luke calmly. "He got away, and he's probably up there someplace watchin' you right now. You'd better let us go, Luke Fontaine, or he'll get you.
You're
the one he'll come after, 'cause
you're
the one he hates. He'll get you, your wife, and your kids! Two of your kids for two of his!"

"Damn it, Johnny, shut your damn mouth!" Jeeter warned.

The rage in Luke's eyes made Baker break into tears. Luke stepped up closer to Johnny. "Just
threatening
my family is a hanging offense in my book." He sneered. "And if your pa has any sense at all, he'll be wise to get as far away from the Double L as possible. Fact is, he'd better get the hell out of Montana completely, or he'll end up in a noose, too!" He turned to the men who had ridden with him. "My vote is to hang the Walker boys and let the older man go. I believe him about not being part of the bunch that killed Matt Duncan."

Baker sank to his knees and cried even more, this time with relief.

"Bastard!" Johnny cursed. "You rich goddamn bastard! Your wife's gonna die, Fontaine! To hell with
all
you Fontaines, your wife, your sons, and your daughters!"

"Jesus, Johnny, you're only makin' it worse," Jeeter pleaded, himself breaking into tears.

"Baker here stole cattle," Tex reminded Luke. "He ought to hang, too."

Luke glanced at Baker. "I think he's smart enough to get the hell out of here and never come back... maybe smart enough to think twice before joining a bunch of rustlers again. Let him go." He walked over to Baker and poked him with his rifle. "Get up. You're going to help us bury all these men when this is over with, and then I want you to rustle up one of your own horses and get your ass out of Montana."

Baker stood up, wiping at his eyes with dirty hands. "Thanks, mister. You won't never see me around here again." He hurried away, and Luke turned to the rest of the men.

"You know what my vote is. The rest of you vote and I'll abide by what you decide. I'm going to ride back to where we left the packhorses and take care of Will. I don't give a damn about the rest of this shit." He walked away and mounted his horse, wondering how he was going to break this to Henny.

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!"