Bittner, Rosanne (56 page)

The young man put his hands on his hips authoritatively, and Luke glanced past him to see that Katie had also joined them, Pearl and Robbie bringing up the rear. Luke looked at Lettie. "I feel like a damn calf surrounded by a bunch of wolves. I don't like being cornered."

"Neither do I, Mr. Fontaine," Brad answered. Luke moved his gaze back to meet the boy's green eyes. "With all due respect, sir, there isn't a man in Montana who could love or respect your daughter more than I do," Brad continued, "or who will try harder to take good care of her, or be more gentle with her when it's called for." Katie blushed deeply at the words. "And I want to marry her before I leave for Colorado," Brad went on. "Neither one of us wants to wait until spring. I'd just as soon marry her with your permission and your blessing. And I
am
going to raise sheep, because I'm good at it. I've been helping feed them and herd them and nurse them and shear them since I was five years old."

Luke stepped a little closer, his very presence intimidating. He was taller, broader. "You through?"

Brad swallowed, and Katie moved up to stand beside him. "Yes, sir, I guess that's about it," Brad answered.

Luke looked from him to Katie, saw the pleading and the remaining tears in her eyes, watched her slip her hand into Brad's. He looked at Brad again. "All right. You can get married right here at the house, New Year's Day. Since Katie is running the library and you work at the livery, you can live at the hotel during the week, but you'll spend your weekends here at the Double L for the rest of the winter, weather permitting. We have plenty of rooms, and I intend to get to know you a lot better before you head back to Colorado. I also intend to learn everything I can about sheep. Whenever you're ready to go and get your damn woollies, I'll send some of my men along to help protect them on the way back. They won't be too happy about it, but they'll do what I ask. When you get back, you'll put your money where your mouth is and prove to me that sheep and cattle can range together, right here on the Double L. If it works out, I'll give you some land. I don't want my Katie moving so far away that we never get to see her. If Katie has told you all about this family, you know we have already lost two children. Neither one of us is ready to say good-bye to a third child, and we'd like to enjoy our grandchildren, which is another reason I want Katie right here. I know what my wife went through having her babies alone. A girl ought to have her mother with her in times like that. Do you accept those terms?"

Brad grinned. "Yes, sir. But I won't take land for nothing. I'll pay you for it."

"You just take good care of my daughter and the land will be a wedding present."

Katie hugged Luke. "Thank you, Pa!"

Luke sighed deeply, moving his arms around her. "I just want you to be happy, Katie." He glanced at Brad again. "I hope you know the hell I'm going to go through letting a sheep man graze his woollies on Double L land. You and I are going to the next cattleman's meeting. I might as well prepare them."

Brad reached out his hand. "We can make it work, Mr. Fontaine."

Luke took his hand. "I hope you're right. And call me Luke." Luke finally offered a hint of a smile, and Brad squeezed his hand firmly.

"You have a lot of pull with the cattlemen around here, sir... I mean, Luke. Maybe you can convince them it's time for the fighting to end. There's plenty of room out here for all of us."

Luke glanced at Lettie, who was smiling, her eyes misty. "Maybe there is." He let go of Brad's hand and gave Katie a squeeze. "Let's all go enjoy the Christmas tree and open presents. We'll tell Mae to leave the dishes for now and come join us." He kept one arm around Katie and moved the other around Lettie, leading everyone out of the room. "Sheep," he muttered, shaking his head again. "God help us."

PART FOUR

Memories. We share so many...

Joy, sorrow, pain and laughter,

The light in our children's eyes,

The flowers at a little grave.

In our aging years more memories are born,

And through all that we bear in these

Seasoned years, I see you,

Standing there with your hand reached out

To guide me and give me strength,

As I try to do the same for you.

Life has been hard, but also good.

We conquered all that man and nature put before us,

And we survived to see another sunrise

On this, our home, our Montana.

CHAPTER 28

July 1881

Luke sat atop a butte on the south section of the Double L, Tex and Tyler on either side of him, and stretched out in a line in both directions sat fifteen cattle ranchers who had come from miles around, at Luke's invitation, to camp out and wait for the impending arrival of Bradley Tillis and his twenty-five hundred sheep. Even Nial Bentley was here.

Luke's announcement at the cattlemen's meeting in February, that he would allow an experiment in sheep and cattle grazing on the Double L, as well as his new son-in-law's presence at that meeting, had been met with anger and curses; but Luke knew that deep inside most of the men involved were his friends. After a lot of explaining from Brad, and a promise from Luke that no sheep would be allowed to stray onto anyone else's land, anger turned to cool receptiveness. Luke suspected most had agreed to go along with him just because Katie had found a husband, and all knew what Katie had been through. They respected Brad because he was Luke Fontaine's son-in-law, and Luke could not help being proud of how Brad had stood up to all of them at the meeting, answering every question honestly and with obvious knowledge of his subject.

Sheep man or not, Luke admired Brad for his guts and determination; and Katie had never seemed happier. She was expecting a baby, something Brad didn't even know yet. The new light in Katie's eyes was worth putting up with the sound of sheep's cries, and maybe he could get used to the smell.

That morning some of the men were sure they had heard the distant sound of bells clanging, the kind some sheep men put around the necks of their stock to keep track of those that wandered off to forage where they liked; then came the baa of sheep's cries. Luke knew that if Brad and the Double L men he had sent along for protection took the correct path back home through Wyoming, they should come through the pass at the south side of the butte where he and the other men had come to watch.

"There they are, boss!" Tex pointed to a few sheep that rounded a distant plateau and headed toward them through a broad, grassy valley. A black-and-white, long-haired shepherd dog scurried about, keeping the herd together, darting, barking, nipping at strays.

"Look at that." Joe Parker spoke up. "All those sheep, and no men. Just that dog keeping them in line."

"Brad says sometimes sheep can be turned out to pasture without any men at all," Tyler told the others. "Just the dog. His dog is called Shep. He says Shep can take a herd out, let them graze, and watch them all day long all by himself, then gather them up and bring them back to the ranch in time for supper."

"I don't believe it," Hank Kline said.

"Hell, see for yourself," Tex told him. "Ain't a man around yet. Just the dog."

Runner just sat quietly smiling at the sight.

"I'll be damned," Billy Sacks spoke up.

"Will ought to be here to see this," Luke said thoughtfully.

"You just remember your promise, Luke," Carl Rose told him. "Those sheep stay on the Double L."

Luke began rolling himself a cigarette. "I don't break promises. But if this works out, you all know you don't have to be afraid of sharing federal land with sheep men." He lit the cigarette. "My wife was probably right about one thing. If this works out, we'll save a lot of bloodshed. I'm doing this partly for Montana, to show the federal government we're willing to be reasonable about these things, show them we're civilized enough not to go out killing innocent people just because they choose to do something different. Statehood means a lot more federal help for ranchers in the future, especially in the hard times; and it can mean more contracts with the government to sell beef to the army. This could be a good thing for the territory, and eventually for the state."

Joe Parker chuckled. "Luke, you son of a bitch, you're giving a campaign speech. You wouldn't be thinking of running for territorial representative, would you?"

Luke kept the cigarette in his mouth. "Hell, no. I'm too busy for all that." He leaned forward to look over at Joe. "What's with all this talk of politics? Lettie suggested the same damn thing."

"Hell, I can't think of a better man to represent us," Joe answered.

"Except, perhaps, the
second
biggest landholder in Montana," Nial put in, casting a sly glance at Luke.

Luke turned to look at him, his blue eyes cautious. "An Englishman? Representing Montana?"

"Why not? A lot of foreigners have invested in land out here in your great American West, most of them from England. I am now officially an American citizen, you know, and I have a great investment and interest in Montana."

Some of the other men glanced at each other, all aware of the animosity between Luke Fontaine and Nial Bentley. "I don't know," Hank Kline spoke up. "Seems to me like when we send somebody to Washington representing Montana, it ought to be one of our original pioneers, a rugged-looking cattleman who's been out there and risked his life and got his hands dirty. No offense, Bentley, but you don't exactly look the part."

They all laughed then, and Nial smiled, accustomed to their joking about him. "Think what you want, but I do love

Montana, and I am highly educated in politics and finances and how the government works."

Luke took a deep drag on his cigarette, Nial's words stirring his own interest. "You saying I don't have enough education?"

"My pa's education comes from working the land and taking bullets and fighting Indians and grizzlies," Tyler spoke up defensively. "He knows the land like the back of his hand, knows what the ranchers need, knows what we need in the way of law and order. He's got a son buried on this land, a daughter who suffered at the hands of outlaws, another son stole away by Indians. He doesn't have to go to Harvard to know what Montana needs."

A round of whistles and laughter went up from the rest of the men. "Listen to that boy!" Carl Rose spoke up. "There's your campaign manager right there, Luke!"

They all laughed again, and Luke grinned, shaking his head. He exchanged a proud look with Nial, then reached over and yanked Ty's hat down over his eyes, noticing the boy was blushing deeply. He wanted to hug him but wouldn't embarrass him that way.

"To hell with politics," Luke told the rest of them. "I don't have time for that right now. It looks like I'll have my hands full for a while just handling this sheep-cattle thing."

Brad finally came into sight, along with the four Double L men Luke had sent with him for protection.

"Them men are never gonna forgive you for this one," Tex told Luke.

"They'll get over it." Luke took a last, long drag on his cigarette, then crushed it against his canteen to make sure it was out before throwing it down. It had been a dry spring and summer, and there had already been a few grass fires. So far they had been kept under control, but all were aware that if it did not rain soon, the danger of major fires was high.

"I say we go down there and shoot the shit out of those damn sheep," Joe Parker joked.

Another round of laughter was heard as the sheep headed for a wide expanse of grassland where about five hundred head of Luke's cattle were already grazing. He had promised this south section to Brad for grazing, was relieved to know Katie's husband had made it back unscathed. "I'm going down to greet my son-in-law," Luke told them. "The rest of you can sit here and see how those sheep mix with my cattle. I'll know by the next meeting how this is working out." He rode off with Ty, Tex, and Runner, heading down the steep embankment into the valley.

Brad broke away from the others and headed out to greet his father-in-law. "How is Katie?" was his first question.

Luke grinned. "Fat. She's going to have a baby, probably around October."

Grave concern came into Brad's eyes. "She is? Is she okay?"

"So far."

"But she must have known before I left. Why didn't she tell me?"

"She wasn't sure," Luke answered, "and she didn't want you to worry. She's fine, Brad. She's been staying at the house, and Lettie won't let her do a damn thing. One of the other women from town has been taking care of the library. And by the way, your own house is almost finished. I've had some of my men as well as a carpenter from town working on it. You and Katie ought to be able to move in in just a couple of weeks. It's only a couple of miles south of the main house so we'll all be close to each other." He nodded toward where the sheep were beginning to graze. "This is part of the land I'm giving you, but I want my own cattle to be able to graze here, too."

Brad was still wrestling with the news that Katie was going to have a baby. He blinked to get rid of the mist in his eyes. "Yes, sir. No problem. You'll see sheep and cattle can get along just fine." He sniffed and took a deep breath. "You sure Katie's all right?"

Luke chuckled. "I'm sure."

Brad grinned. "I can't wait to see her. Is she happy about the baby?"

Luke just nodded his head, grinning. "What do you think?"

Brad took off his hat and let out a whoop, laughing. "Let's get these sheep closer to home. I want to see her!"

They headed out behind the sheep, the air filled with baas and the clang of sheep bells. The rest of the ranchers who had come to see headed down the bank then, some of them still laughing. Luke managed to swallow his pride. It was enough to know that Katie was happy. If he had to put up with the jokes and the smell of sheep for that, then so be it.

Here lies Paul Lucas Fontaine, Born March 12, 1870—Died January 10, 1876. "Light of My Life, Child of Mine, Forever You Will Be in My Embrace."