Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,187

like the things we heard happened in Colorado and Wyoming—no killings or anything like that, at least not yet. My father and the other cattlemen can give a man a lot of trouble if they set their minds to it, but so far they've managed to keep things fairly peaceful. Some Mormons tried to settle in with sheep last summer, but the cattlemen convinced them to leave. So far threats are all that have been necessary."

Damn, Bradley thought. I meet a pretty girl, and she's the daughter of the biggest cattle rancher in the area. Maybe this was some kind of omen that he should give up right now on the reason he had come here. Then again, maybe it was a different kind of omen. If a sheep man married a cattleman's daughter...

He finished helping her with the books, all the while studying the way Katie Fontaine carried herself. She seemed proud and sure, and she filled out her blue calico dress in all the right places. She was the prettiest thing he had seen in his entire life, and she was smart and independent, too, considering that she could surely be living at home doing nothing. The girl had class, was probably pampered, her father's ranch house most likely a castle. Instead, she was here in town on her own, teaching school and running a library. Her parents were pioneers here, so she came from strong stock. What a fine wife she would make, just the kind of woman he was looking for; but first he had to find a way to continue to earn his own way at what he knew best— raising sheep. A terrible drought in Colorado had nearly wiped out the family ranch. He wanted to go off on his own and start his own ranch, but he needed someplace new to start. He had been told he would find less trouble in Montana as far as not having to face the ugly range wars he and his father had suffered the last few years. They had been forced out of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado, and things were even worse in Arizona and New Mexico; so he had come north to find peace, and enough good grassland to start anew.

Now he wasn't so sure he could bring sheep up here without more problems. He had told no one yet why he was here. Like Katie Fontaine, the land agent had taken it for granted he had come here to raise cattle. Already he could see he was not going to have an easy time of it, but he was determined to find a way. Sheep ranching was all he or his father or his grandfather had ever known.

He finished helping Katie carry in the books, then picked up his hat. "Well, I, uh, I guess I'll see you at supper-time at the boardinghouse, then?"

Katie felt her heart beat a little faster, amazed to find herself attracted to anyone of the opposite sex. She actually noticed how strong he looked, the way he filled out his checkered flannel shirt. His denim pants fit his slender hips nicely, and there was that charming smile again. Was it wrong to be aware of such things in a man, after what she had been through? What was happening to her? Was her mother right when she had told her someone would come along who could erase all the ugly memories?

"Yes, I'll see you at supper," she answered. "Mrs. Stowe makes wonderful biscuits. I often help her. I love cooking and baking, but I don't always have a lot of time for either one."

So, she cooks, too, Brad thought. He chastised himself for thinking the daughter of a wealthy cattle barron, especially one as pretty as this one, would even give him the time of day. Once she found out his real reason for being here, his chances of courting this pretty girl would go down to zero.

"Well, we can talk more tonight, then." Katie smiled bashfully and nodded. "How long will you be in Billings?"

"I'm not sure yet. Depends on whether I can find some decent land. Men like your Pa probably already own the best pieces. I might have to go on west of here, or maybe farther north." Was that disappointment he saw in her eyes, or did he just want it to be there?

"Well, I hope you find what you need somewhere close to Billings." Katie immediately wondered why she had said that. Would he