Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,30

the women talked about dress styles back East, the fine china Henny had been given by her mother when she was left at Fort Laramie to marry Will. She had managed to preserve and protect the precious dishes. "Broke only one plate and one cup over all the years and all the traveling," she bragged. Her father had never found gold, but he and the rest of her family had settled in California. Henny had never seen them again, a thought that brought pain to Lettie's heart.

It was nearly dark when Will and Luke went out to look at some of Will's horses. Lettie helped Henny clean up. Nathan had taken to chasing the "kee-kee" again, and by dark, both boy and cat were worn out. In desperation the cat had taken refuge on top of the fireplace mantle. Nathan climbed back into Lettie's lap, where he fell asleep, clutching his horse.

Henny laid out a feather mattress near the fireplace.

"You and Luke will have to share this mattress with the boy tonight. It's all we've got. I think you'll be comfortable enough."

Lettie smiled. "It can't be any worse than what we sleep on now," she answered. "Just a feather mattress covered with a bearskin rug and several blankets. The cabin is so cold. It's nothing more than a bunch of flat boards nailed to supports, with cracks in between. We have to keep the iron heating stove practically red hot to stay warm. That's why Luke bought the tar paper. He's having a supplier in Billings bring out some bales of hay. He'll stack them around the outside of the cabin to help insulate it against the winter winds. Next spring we'll build a decent log house like this one." She got up from the rocker where she sat and laid Nathan on the feather bed. She covered him, then bent over to kiss his chubby cheek. "It's Nathan I worry about—either getting sick from a draft or burning himself on the iron stove."

Henny sat down in a rocker near the fire. "Just be glad you've got a young one to be worried about. The good Lord chose not to bless me with a child. I guess ours is not to question his decisions."

Lettie joined Henny before the fire. "I'm sorry, Henny."

The woman smiled sadly. "Don't be. It certainly isn't your fault. I hope you have many children, Lettie, and that you'll let me help you however I can when they come. In this land you need good friendships." She glanced at the doorway at the sound of her husband's bellowing laughter. He was just outside smoking with Luke. "And you need a good, strong man who loves you no matter what. That's what I have in Will. If I didn't love him so, I'd have gone crazy up here." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "You've got to be very strong, Lettie. And if you really love your man, you'll let him live his dream and not try to stop him. Sometimes that means giving up some dreams of your own, but Luke is young and determined. I think someday he'll make a good life for you, if you can survive these first few years. And if you're real clever about it, you can finagle a man into doing anything you want him to do for you. Luke certainly loves you and the boy. Anyone can see that." Her kind brown eyes glittered with good wishes, but they also showed concern. "I hope the best for both of you. I can see you aren't used to this kind of life, but Luke has said it will get better, and it will. You just have to hang on. A man's success depends a lot on his woman, you know."

Lettie felt tears threatening. Sometimes she wanted to scream and weep, wondering how she was going to get through even one winter here, so far from family and the comforts of home. "Luke's love is the only thing that keeps me going. There is something he needs to prove to himself and to his father, and I want to help him do it. At the same time—" She stared into the flickering flames in the fireplace. "I'm grateful that he loves me, especially for how he loves Nathan. It isn't easy for a man to take so well to another man's son." Especially when he's the product of rape. No, she would not mention that. That was behind her