Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,17

a bastard, she called it off... married someone her father considered more proper and respectable." He studied her lovingly. "I hoped you would be different, and I was right."

Lettie felt a sharp jealousy that he had ever loved anyone else. Now that she had made her decision, she wanted Luke Fontaine all to herself. "Do you love me more than you loved her?"

He smiled, tears in his eyes. "Oh, yes, Lettie." He groaned. "Much, much more." He leaned closer, found her lips again in a gentle, grateful, possessive kiss that told her that from this moment on, she was Luke Fontaine's woman, come hell or high water. She wasn't afraid now, not of Montana, and not of this man who embraced her with gentle strength.

Lettie clung to her mother, both of them crying. Never in her eighteen years had she been apart from her family, but she was promised to Luke now and she knew in her heart she was doing the right thing, not just for herself, but for Nathan. Still, she knew that it could be months, maybe even years, before she saw her beloved mother and father again, her cherished brother and sister. This was her family, who had stuck by her through the awful times after her rape, who had loved her, supported her, loved their grandchild just as much as if he'd been conceived in love.

Henry MacBride stepped up to Luke. "She's a good girl, Luke. I'm trusting you to treat her with respect, never to hurt her, to be a good father to the boy."

"You know I will," Luke answered, picking Nathan up in his arms. "We'll write just as soon as we're settled and can get a letter out to you. That might take some time, so don't get worried."

MacBride took a smiling Nathan into his arms, while Lettie finally managed to pull herself away from her mother so she could hug her brother James, and her sister Louise. Then Henry handed Nathan to his grandma and there was another round of hugs. When Luke embraced Katie MacBride and Nathan both, Katie wept against his chest.

"Do take good care of our little grandson," she sobbed. "And my Lettie."

"You've got nothing to worry about, Katie. I love them both more than my own life." Luke turned to Henry, shook the man's hand firmly, their eyes holding in trust. Then Katie was in her father's arms, and Luke wondered if all the tears and hugging would end in time for them to leave with the rest of the wagon train. The MacBrides were heading south into Denver with three other families, led by a new scout they had hired from Julesberg. Luke and Lettie would go on northwest into Wyoming with the rest of the wagon train. Luke had bought the Nolan wagon and oxen, and some of their supplies. They would marry when they reached Fort Laramie. They would be on their own then, heading into a wild country that held mystery and danger, but Luke was not afraid. He had never been happier in his life. He felt more love from Lettie and Nathan than he had ever known from his own father, and he was anxious now to get to Montana and prove his own worth.

"Let's get moving!" Hank Preston shouted as he rode past them. "Time's a wastin'."

"Oh, dear!" Katie MacBride embraced her daughter once more. All of Lettie's belongings were already packed into the Nolan wagon, Luke's horse and mules tied to the back of it. The entire MacBride family hugged each other once more, cried even more, filled with the painful mixture of great happiness and sadness at the same time. Lettie turned to give Sadie a hug, and the big woman was sobbing, calling Lettie her "honey-child."

Finally Luke took Nathan from Mrs. MacBride, and lifted him up into the front seat of the wagon. He went to get Lettie.

"We have to go, Lettie," he told her, gently grasping her arm. "Nathan is already in the wagon."

Lettie wiped at tears with her handkerchief. "I'll write as soon as I can," she told them. "I love you. I'll always love you, and we'll be together in our hearts. Maybe someday we'll be able to visit somehow."

"And we'll always love you, child," Henry told his daughter. "No matter how far the miles, or how long the months apart, we'll be right beside you in spirit and prayer. You have a fine man, Lettie. You've made the right choice, and Nathan will