Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,31

now. Luke had come here to start a new life, and so had she. He had shown her how good it can be between a man and a woman. She had to forget the ugliness of the past, for Nathan's sake as well as her own.

"Oh, but the boy is so sweet and obedient."

"Not always." Lettie smiled. "We met when Nathan ran away from me and nearly got trampled by a couple of horses. Luke saved him. Nathan is so energetic, and since he learned to walk, he's taking full advantage."

Henny laughed. "Well, he's all boy, that's for sure. He'll be a big help to Luke someday."

"Yes, I suppose."

Henny leaned back in her rocker, and to Lettie's surprise she picked up a pipe, stuffed it and lit it. Lettie had assumed the pipe on the stand beside the rocker was Will's. The woman puffed the pipe for a few seconds, then glanced at Lettie, noticing the shock in her eyes. She grinned. "Honey, don't be surprised at anything you see up here. A woman gets lonely, she looks for things to sooth her. Me, I like to smoke a pipe. I figured you might as well know it.

Lord knows a woman can fast forget her femininity up here." She winked. "But you, you're too pretty for that. Maybe you'll bring some class to Billings and its surroundings. You buy yourself plenty of those fancy creams to keep that face from being ruined by the wind and sun. Wear a bonnet with a good wide brim on it in summer, and always be a woman. Did you go to school?"

Lettie finally managed to find her voice. "I... yes. I had ten years of schooling."

"Well, that's more than most folks in these parts." The woman pointed the stem of the pipe at her. "I predict that someday Mrs. Lettie Fontaine will be the first lady of Billings. We need more women like you here. We need schools and churches and all those things. Women like you will help see that we get them. Stick to your guns, Lettie. Be stronger than the land and the elements. Don't let them conquer you. You conquer them."

Lettie was still recovering from the sight of a woman smoking a pipe. "I'll try," she replied faintly.

The men came inside then, and all four of them talked well into the night. Bear was allowed inside, and the big dog curled up in front of the hearth. Will stoked up the fire before he retired with Henny. Then Luke and Lettie snuggled into the feather mattress without undressing, except for removing their boots. Lettie pulled Nathan close, and the cat he had chased all afternoon and evening quietly jumped into Henny's rocker and went to sleep on the padded seat.

Lettie pressed her back against Luke's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Can we have a cabin like this next spring?" she asked.

"It will be better than this."

"I think they'll be good friends, Luke. Did you know Henny smokes a pipe?" she whispered.

"I saw her when I came in." He kissed her hair. "You won't take to smoking pipes, will you? I'd rather you didn't."

Lettie laughed quietly. "I don't think you have to worry about that."

"This might be your last visit for quite a while, Lettie. I'm sorry."

Grasping his hand, Lettie said, "Henny says a man's success depends on his woman. I want to help you, Luke, and I hope I can give you lots of children to also help; but I also want to teach them to read and write. If a preacher ever comes to Billings and we have a church, I want the children to go. I want them to know about the finer things in life."

"Someday they'll have the finer things. We'll bring in a professional tutor. We'll have a ranch so big that I'll have help living right there, with their own families. We'll need our own school. Will thinks my idea of building a cattle ranch is a good one. He agrees there will be a big demand for beef after the war, and once the railroad is completed, it will be a bonanza for men who get a head start. God knows there's plenty of grass here for grazing big herds. Next spring I'm going to see about running down some wild horses, and it's possible I can get some beef at good prices out of Oregon. There is always a market for good horses, and the beef market is growing."

It was