Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,149

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!"

Ty pulled away, old enough to be embarrassed at the embrace. "We miss Paul, too, Ma. You always acted like you were the only one hurting because he died, but it hurt Pa real deep; we all were hurt, especially Robbie."

"I know, Ty."

The boy rose when he heard a horse gallop up to the front of the house. "Maybe that's Pa now." He hurried out, and Lettie got up, quickly taking a handkerchief from her dress pocket and wiping at her tears. The outer door opened and closed, and to her surprise, Ty led Reverend Gooding into the parlor. Her first thought was that he had heard something had happened to Luke. "Reverend! What's wrong!"

The reverend's face showed his sorrow. "I'm afraid it's Henny Doolan," he told her gently. "I know she was your best friend, Mrs. Fontaine. I'm afraid... she