Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,139

from under your nose. You might as well know Bentley has been over to the ranch quite a few times over the summer, accordin' to what your men tell me. He dotes on Pearl and Robbie mostly, but Katie, too. I think the man is tryin' to get to Lettie through the kids. Lord knows their own father hasn't been around enough to know what's goin' on in their lives. If you don't want to lose them all, Luke, you'd better tend to the family. If Lettie won't talk, then find a way to make her talk, but first, get rid of Nial Bentley. And don't tell me it don't bother you to know the man is after your wife again. A woman in her state needs a man's strength, and don't think Nial don't know that. He's movin' in for the kill, and you're lettin' him do it."

Luke drew his horse to a halt, and when Will looked over at him, he shivered at how dark the man's eyes looked, their blue color seeming to change to smoke. "I'm not letting the man do anything! I had no idea Bentley was damn fool enough to keep coming around. I let that first visit go by as an expression of friendship and sympathy. I didn't know there were others."

"Everybody in town talks about you and Annie and Lettie and Nial. I just thought you should know. I don't doubt Nial has put ideas into Lettie's head about you and Annie Gates. If she thinks you're sleepin' with the woman, it ain't gonna help anything." He paused, studying Luke intently. "Have you slept with Annie?"

Luke looked away. "Only once." He heard Will sigh, and he met the man's eyes again. "Jesus, Will, Lettie hasn't slept with me since before Paul died. A man can only take so much." He turned away again. "But I'm not taking it anymore. Something is going to get straightened out when I get home, and it's going to start with Nial Bentley!" The last words were spoken with bitter venom. "Let's bag ourselves some rustlers!" He kicked his horse and headed toward the posse, which was well ahead of them now. Will charged out after him, glad to see a new spark of life in Luke's eyes. Henny was right to suggest that he tell Luke about Nial Bentley. Jealousy could do a lot of things to a man.

CHAPTER 20

Lettie knocked on the back door to the Lonesome Tree, hoping no one had seen her duck into the alley after leaving the hat shop. She had asked Bob Franks to take the children back to the ranch and had stayed two nights with Henny. Because of Henny's illness, she wasn't sure how much time there was left to be with her friend, and she knew Henny was lonely with Will gone, so she had decided to keep her company for a couple of extra days.

The visit had done her heart good. She had come to town to comfort Henny, but Henny had comforted her instead. Her good friend had a way of making her think, and she realized how wrong she had been to withdraw from the rest of her family because of Paul. She should be grateful for what she had left, a beautiful home, four other strong, healthy children, a husband who had practically killed himself to give her the life he thought she deserved. The women of Billings and the surrounding area had finally brought in a minister this summer, and a church had been built. Yesterday Reverend Gooding had come to visit Henny, but it was Lettie who had ended up having a heart-to-heart talk with the man. He had prayed with her, and she had come to accept that the reverend was probably right that God had had a purpose in taking little Paul. Maybe the whole experience would make Robbie a more dedicated doctor, a man who would someday save many lives. She had to believe there was a reason for her baby's death, or she could never go on with her own life. Now there was one more thing to be dealt with before she went home and waited for Luke. She had to know the truth about Annie Gates. She didn't really hate or blame Luke if he had been with the woman. He had literally had no wife for almost two years now. She just wanted to understand, wanted to hear from the horse's mouth if it