Wildest Dreams

by Rosanne Bittner

  Annie laughed loudly. "I've never had it put that way before."

  Lettie remained sober. "I mean it. And I meant what I said about getting out of this. I would openly call you my friend."

  Annie's laugh faded to a soft chuckle. "You just go on and take care of your own life. I'll take care of mine."

  Lettie turned to the door, then hesitated. "Please don't tell Luke I was ever here."

  "Of course not. Something tells me I won't see much of him from here on anyway."

  Lettie met her eyes once more. "I hope not." She swallowed back an urge to cry. "Thank you, Annie."

  As Lettie left, Annie watched after her, tears slipping out of her eyes. "Any time," she muttered. She poured herself another drink.

  Luke and the vigilantes with him numbered seventeen men all together. They made their way quietly below the rim of red rock that was the last barrier to the rustlers they knew were on the other side, grazing stolen horses and cattle along Pine Creek. Runner had stealthily sneaked close to their camp last night. The sly Indian was the only one of them who could get that close without being noticed or heard in the still night air. He had verified their suspicions. It was the Walkers, and he had recognized Luke's own brand on one of the stolen horses. They had talked about hitting another ranch before heading for Canada, and Zack Walker would pick up his son Johnny's wife on the way. Where she was living was unknown, but that didn't matter to the vigilantes. There was no doubt the men they had caught up with were the rustlers they had been after for months, the men who had murdered Matt Duncan and raped his wife. Runner reported there were at least ten outlaws that he could see in camp, but there could be more.

  Luke suggested they split up, half the men riding in from one end of the canyon, the others cutting off the outlaws' flight from the other. It was just barely dawn, and thin clouds filtered the rising sun's light into shades of purple and peach. Runner had gone back on foot to find a place to hide, ready to cut loose the rustlers' remuda of riding horses as soon as he heard Luke and the other men coming in for them.

  Luke petted his horse's nose to soothe the animal and keep it quiet, and no one spoke. They stayed to soft ground as much as possible and led their mounts rather than riding them, hoping to keep the rustlers from hearing the sound of squeaking saddles. The attack had to be a surprise, or they would fail.

  Luke pulled out a pocket watch, checking the time. Six a.m. He knew it would take the other men another twenty minutes to get around their side of the rock formation, and he put up his hand for everyone to stop, as they were nearly in position to attack. He pulled his Colt revolver from its holster and checked to be sure every chamber was loaded, then put it back and mounted his horse, a buckskin gelding that was his favorite. The animal was fast, and quick to obey. He pulled his Lightning repeating rifle from its boot and rested it across his knees, waiting.

  The dead quiet was almost deafening, the only sound the squeak of leather and an occasional cough. While he waited, Luke took time to think, all the things he could and should say to Lettie parading through his mind. Should he be angry with her for letting Nial Bentley come visiting while he was gone? No. Nial was the one who should receive the brunt of his anger. The man had been warned once. Their next encounter would involve more than a warning. The thought of some man thinking he could move in on Luke Fontaine's wife... the bastard! Then again, what would Lettie think of his turning to Annie Gates? Did she know? Maybe she didn't even care. Maybe she and Nial had... No. Lettie wouldn't do that, even if she knew about him and Annie.

  "Luke, you with us?"

  Luke turned to look back at Will.

  "Get your thoughts on matters at hand," Will told him quietly. "It's time we rode in."

  Luke nodded, raising his rifle as a signal. He kept the rifle in hand and kicked his horse's flanks, breaking the animal into a gallop and heading around the south end of the canyon wall. From there on the ride had to be hard and fast. They could not attack by riding down from above, or the rustlers would have the chance to flee the canyon with their pursuers behind them. Attacking from both ends of the canyon was the only way. A climb out would be very difficult if the outlaws wanted to escape that way, but there was always that possibility, at least for a few of them. Reaching them as quickly as they could, guns ready, was the only answer.

  Dust and gravel flew as Luke and Will and the others charged forward, some of them splashing through the shallow creek. Horses and cattle began to stir restlessly, and some of the men shot off their guns to scatter the herds and confuse the rustlers. As they got closer, Luke could see men running everywhere, some heading for where they probably thought their remuda waited. They would find nothing there, if Runner had done his job. He heard the whir of a bullet, felt the rushing sound near his ear, and he knew the rustlers were shooting at them now. "Take cover!" he shouted, pulling his own horse to a sliding halt and dismounting to take a position behind a large boulder. He pulled the horse around with him, and Will joined him.

  Luke positioned his rifle, took aim, and fired. One of the men screamed and went down. He shot at others who were running in every direction, trying to get to their horses. Bullets spit back at them, pinging at the rock, biting off bits of the boulder. A piece of the rock shattered against Luke's face, cutting into it in several places. Instantly he squeezed his eyes shut and turned away for a moment. He put a hand to his face and saw considerable blood on his palm. "Damn!" he swore. "Watch yourself, Will."

  He got no answer but there was no time to turn to see how his friend was doing. He could see the rest of the vigilantes riding in now from the other end of the canyon. He heard the rustlers screaming obscenities over being trapped. A second man went down from Luke's own gun. A third. He saw four others down from bullets from other guns. One of the outlaws was writhing in pain. Two men were trying to sneak up the canyon wall, and Luke took careful aim with his rifle and fired. One of them cried out and tumbled back down the hill, his body bouncing against boulders. The second man made it to the top and disappeared over the edge.

  The remaining rustlers threw down their guns and put their hands in the air, and the vigilantes who had ridden in from the north end of the canyon surrounded them. "We got them, Will!" Luke grinned, wiping more blood from his face as he turned to share the moment, only to see Will lying flat on his back, a bloody hole in his face. "Will!"

  Luke bent down to feel for a pulse. Will's eyes were still open, and horror moved through Luke at the realization that his good friend was dead. He thought for a moment that his heart would stop beating, and a painful lump formed in his throat. "Will!" He groaned. Tears formed in his eyes, and he gently reached over and closed Will's eyelids. He leaned across the man to pick up his hat and he placed it over Will's face. Anger and grief filled him in overwhelming proportions, and he stood up. "Is everybody all right?" he shouted.

  "All okay, Luke," Tex shouted in reply. "We've got three of them over here. I think just one got away!" He let out a war whoop. "All the rustlers, and we got our horses and cattle back to boot!"

  Luke looked back down at Will. What would he have done in those early years without this man? He would never find a more faithful friend again. This man was one of Montana's original settlers. And Henny—she had suffered the worst loneliness, for not only were there no neighbors in the beginning, but she never even was able to have children. She'd be so alone now, half crippled, so sick. How in hell could he go home and tell her Will was dead? The man was her whole world. "Bastards!" He sobbed.

  He quickly wiped at tears, smearing them with the blood that continued to stream down his face from the superficial wounds. He turned then and stormed toward the others. "Will's dead!" he shouted. "The sons of bitches killed him!"

  Tex reached out and grasped his arm. "Your face, boss. It's covered with blood."

  "I'm all right. Just got hit with pieces of rock." He wiped at it again with his shirtsleeve, walking up closer to glare at the rustlers, whose faces showed their terror. Two were young
, perhaps in their twenties. The third man was older and bearded. "The best man who ever set foot in Montana is dead!" he growled at them. "So is another good man. Matt Duncan! His wife raped! Those cattle and horses out there carry all our brands. We don't need any more reason than that to hang the lot of you!"

  A fourth survivor lay groaning on the ground. Tex turned around and shot him in the head without hesitation.

  The older of the three captives gasped, looked around at the vigilantes. "Look, I... I don't know anything about killin' a man or rapin' his wife," he told them, shaking. "I just met up with the Walkers here a few days ago."

  Luke looked them over carefully, his steely blue eyes resting on the younger boys. "Walkers! By God, you are the sneaking thieves I chased off my land over a year ago! Zack Walker's boys! We heard you were behind this, but I thought you were smart enough to stay the hell out of Montana! How in hell did you end up with a whole gang of rustlers!"

  "To show rich bastards like you, Luke Fontaine, that you can't have it all," Johnny Walker answered with a sneer.

  "Johnny, shut up!" the other warned. "Don't rile him more."

  Luke shoved his rifle barrel against Johnny's throat. The young man smelled as though he hadn't bathed in months. His dull blond hair was pasted to his head from too much oil and dirt, and his thin face was set off with narrow dark eyes that reminded Luke of a small animal rather than a human. As far as Luke was concerned, he was an animal. "My best friend is dead," he told Johnny through clenched teeth. His jaw flexed in his rage. "I'd rather lose my entire herd than lose Will Doolan's companionship!" He looked at the other brother, who he remembered was called Jeeter. "I'm already as riled as I've ever been in my life!" he growled. He stepped back and looked over at the older man. "Who are you?"

  The man blinked and swallowed, visibly shaking. "B-Baker. Clyde Baker. It's like I said. I... I just joined up with this bunch. I don't know nothin' about killin' no Matt Duncan, and... and I never fired a gun just now. I ain't even wearin' one."

  Tex spoke up. "You had a hand in stealin' horses and cattle. Out here, that's enough to hang a man."

  The others joined in agreement. "I vote for hanging, too," Calvin Briggs put in. "We've got the right. All the cattlemen agreed on it, and Sheriff Tracy doesn't have any say out here."

  "Hang them, Luke, or they'll just come back with more men and make more trouble," another one of Luke's men said. "Matt Duncan's dead, and you and the other ranchers have had too much stock stolen the past couple of years. This probably won't stop it completely, but we can slow it up. Don't forget Duncan's wife was raped, and one of Duncan's men lived to tell us he for sure knows these Walker boys and their pa were part of the gang that did it. These bastards don't deserve a trial!"

  "Hey, look!" Baker spoke up, nearly ready to cry. "I told you, I never killed anybody, and I sure never raped no woman! Maybe these other two were there, but I wasn't!"

  "You stinkin' coward!" Johnny turned his head and spit on Baker, who just cringed. He turned to glare at Luke then, realizing Luke was looked to as a leader by the other vigilantes. "If you hang us, Pa will get you, one way or another!" he told Luke calmly. "He got away, and he's probably up there someplace watchin' you right now. You'd better let us go, Luke Fontaine, or he'll get you. You're the one he'll come after, 'cause you're the one he hates. He'll get you, your wife, and your kids! Two of your kids for two of his!"

  "Damn it, Johnny, shut your damn mouth!" Jeeter warned.

  The rage in Luke's eyes made Baker break into tears. Luke stepped up closer to Johnny. "Just threatening my family is a hanging offense in my book." He sneered. "And if your pa has any sense at all, he'll be wise to get as far away from the Double L as possible. Fact is, he'd better get the hell out of Montana completely, or he'll end up in a noose, too!" He turned to the men who had ridden with him. "My vote is to hang the Walker boys and let the older man go. I believe him about not being part of the bunch that killed Matt Duncan."

  Baker sank to his knees and cried even more, this time with relief.

  "Bastard!" Johnny cursed. "You rich goddamn bastard! Your wife's gonna die, Fontaine! To hell with all you Fontaines, your wife, your sons, and your daughters!"

  "Jesus, Johnny, you're only makin' it worse," Jeeter pleaded, himself breaking into tears.

  "Baker here stole cattle," Tex reminded Luke. "He ought to hang, too."

  Luke glanced at Baker. "I think he's smart enough to get the hell out of here and never come back... maybe smart enough to think twice before joining a bunch of rustlers again. Let him go." He walked over to Baker and poked him with his rifle. "Get up. You're going to help us bury all these men when this is over with, and then I want you to rustle up one of your own horses and get your ass out of Montana."

  Baker stood up, wiping at his eyes with dirty hands. "Thanks, mister. You won't never see me around here again." He hurried away, and Luke turned to the rest of the men.

  "You know what my vote is. The rest of you vote and I'll abide by what you decide. I'm going to ride back to where we left the packhorses and take care of Will. I don't give a damn about the rest of this shit." He walked away and mounted his horse, wondering how he was going to break this to Henny.

  CHAPTER 21

  Lettie studied herself in the mirror. She wore a plain pink cotton dress today, and her hair was pulled back at the sides with combs. She supposed that for thirty-two years old, she was still attractive. Everyone else was always telling her so, and she knew women her age who looked sixty. Luke had always insisted she keep creams on her skin and wear wide-brimmed hats to keep the sun off her face—Luke, who was himself becoming tanned and leathered from that same sun; but on him it looked good.

  Lately the thought of him made her heart flutter again. She had been in better spirits since her visit with Henny, and her talk with Annie Gates. She wasn't sure what she was going to do or say to Luke when he got back. She only knew that she missed her husband.

  Seeing Ty again had awakened an ache for her husband she had not felt in a long time. Ty had come home with Oatmeal and a couple of other men, and she could swear her son had grown even taller over the summer. Her first glance at him when he came through the door, still dusty from the trail, had stirred memories of Luke coming home that way.

  She walked over to straighten the bed, remembering what she and Luke had once shared in it. What if something happened to him before they could work out their problems? What if she never got the chance to hold him again, tell him again that she loved him? She walked to the window, looking out at familiar sights, the ranch Luke loved so much, even more barns and outbuildings, a lovely lawn and gardens around the house now, new men being hired every year, cabins scattered throughout the valley to house them.

  Her pleasant thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a buggy coming up the drive. She recognized it as Nial Bentley's, and this time his appearance stirred the old irritation she had once felt for the man. She hurried downstairs, realizing she did not look her best today and not caring. Her thinking had not been this clear and sure since Nathan ran off, and she knew what she had to do. She had to set things straight with Nial before she saw Luke again.

  She opened the double front doors just as Nial was tying the horse that pulled his buggy, and she thought how unlike a true rancher he was. There he stood, in a dapper suit, all neat and manicured. His men did all his work for him, while he sat directing things from his stone mansion, or went visiting another man's wife. Why hadn't she noticed all these things before? She was glad Ty was out helping with the hay harvest, and the other three children were upstairs taking lessons from Elsie, who had her six-week-old daughter with her. The birth of Elsie and Peter's baby had been one of the few bright moments at the Double L since Luke had left on the cattle drive.

  Nial's eyes lit up at seeing she was already at the door, as though he supposed she was eager to see him.

  Lettie did not smile. "Come in, Nial. I want to talk to you."

  He frowned then, co
ming inside. Lettie closed the door and whisked him into the parlor, sliding closed the parlor doors.

  "What is it, Lettie, dear?"

  Lettie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. "Don't call me dear, Nial. It isn't right." He laughed lightly. "Well, we've grown so close—"

  "That was my mistake, Nial. I think it would be best if you stopped coming here. You always pick a time when you know Luke is gone."

  Nial stiffened, alarmed. What had happened? She was changed. He had been so sure his plan for winning her over was working. "Well, that—that isn't so. I thought he would be back from the cattle drive by now."

  "No, you didn't. You know a posse has gone out after cattle rustlers. You know they hoped to intercept Luke so he could go with them. You knew it the day you visited me before I went into town to visit Henny. Some of your own men went with them. Why didn't you tell me, Nial?"

  The man reddened slightly. "Well, I—I didn't want you to worry. You have had so much worry and sorrow over these past months—"

  "You didn't want me to start fretting over Luke. You didn't want me to think about him at all." She shook her head and walked past him. "I've been a fool, Nial. I don't blame you for what you've been trying to do. I blame myself for letting it happen."

  "Lettie, I—"

  "Nial, I love Luke." She turned to face him. "Can you possibly understand what we share? Did you really think you could take his place?"

  A deep sorrow came into his eyes. "Lettie, I admit that I love you. I can give you so much more—"

  "No. You could never give me more in life than Luke can. It's something more than money and title and education, Nial; something you and I could never share." She stepped closer to him. "I never had any romantic intentions about this friendship. You were here when I needed someone to talk to, and you helped the children when they needed it; but I wanted to think it was all out of the goodness of your heart. Now I know everyone in town is talking about us, and I intend to put a stop to the gossip, because it isn't true. And someone... someone who knows men well told me everything you've done has just been a ploy to try to win my heart. Is that true, Nial? Is that the only reason you've been coming here, bringing books about medicine to Robbie, and music for Pearl? Did you truly care that my son had died, or were you just using my sorrow to get closer to me?"