Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,192

was only one way to approach a man like Luke Fontaine, and that was to stand right up to him, be honest and open and take no gaff. At the least, the man would want his daughter to marry someone who was unafraid of challenges, and who was proud of what he did for a living. For the moment the only thing Luke knew was that he was a "rancher." He had hoped Lettie would break the news first, but he realized that that might not be best after all. He didn't need any woman to do his talking for him! He set his fork down and leaned back in his chair.

"Mr. Fontaine, everybody is just about finished eating, and I can't take this silence any longer. Katie told me how this house is always full of good times on Christmas Eve, and there's a big tree in the front parlor where she says you always gather to listen to Pearl play Christmas carols."

Luke swallowed his last piece of turkey and scowled at him. He picked up a glass of wine and took a sip. "Well? You apparently have a lot more to say, so say it." He leaned back in his chair, his handsome blue eyes drilling into him.

Brad looked from Luke to Tyler, holding his chin a little higher, then looked back at Luke. "May I stand, sir?"

Luke nodded. "Go ahead."

Brad took a deep breath and rose, scooting back his chair. Pearl and Robbie stared wide-eyed, and Lettie watched Luke closely. Katie sat staring at her plate, her cheeks flushed. She felt like crying for the hard time Luke was giving poor Brad.

"Mr. Fontaine, it's like your wife told you when you got home. I love your daughter very much and she loves me. We met in town. I work at the livery, but I actually came here looking for land. Since all the good land around here is taken, I'll have to go farther away to find it, so I'll wait till spring because a man can't travel far out here in the dead of winter, and because I wanted to stay close to Katie awhile longer. We want to get married, and I came here to ask your permission. I understand you'd be skeptical because you don't know me from Adam, but I assure you, sir, that I come from a good family. My father is John Tillis, from Iowa. He and my mother and two younger brothers live in Colorado now. I want to strike out on my own. I didn't come to Montana looking for a wife—just land. But when I met Katie—" He sighed deeply. "I kind of ran into her by accident at the library, and then we found out I had taken a room at Stowe's boardinghouse and we eat our meals at the same table, started taking walks, what have you. Anyway, that's how it all got started, and now I'd like to marry her. I'm old enough—twenty-four—and I'm a hard worker. I know she comes from a rich family, and I intend to take good care of her. And don't think I'm marrying her for her money. I couldn't care less if you totally disinherited her, except that it would be pretty unfair to Katie. I just happen to love her for the wonderful woman that she is." He swallowed. Should he say anything yet about the sheep? Why couldn't he make the words come out?

"Pa, I love Brad," Katie spoke up quietly, meeting her father's eyes. "You and Mama know what a special thing that is for me. I never thought—" Her eyes teared then, and she looked back down at her plate. "I never thought I'd feel like this about any man."

Luke glanced at Lettie, who arched her eyebrows. He knew she was remembering their own beginning, and that her situation had been similar to Katie's. He understood that was why Lettie would sympathize with Katie's predicament, but that didn't make her marrying a man they knew little about right. He looked back at Brad. "You know then, about what happened to Katie?"

"Yes, sir, I know, and it doesn't make any difference to me. It sure wasn't her fault. I don't love Katie just because she's the prettiest girl in Billings." Pearl finally giggled, and he felt the color coming to his own cheeks. "I love her for her strength and courage," he went on, "for her intelligence, and because she comes from strong stock, a good