Pearl giggled again, and Lettie left the room to find Luke. Just as Ty predicted, he was in the library, cigar in hand, a shot of whiskey in the other. He turned away from a window at the sound of the doors sliding open, turned back when he saw it was Lettie.
"If you've come here to stick up for Katie and that... that sheep man—"
"Of course I've come here to stick up for them."
"Why didn't you tell me he raised sheep?"
"I wanted to see if he was man enough to tell you himself. I was surprised, too, at first, but then I thought maybe there is a way to work it out." She stepped closer. "Luke, he seems like a fine young man. He's proud and sure, and he loves Katie. You can see how happy she is."
He sighed deeply and swallowed the whiskey. "She's only sixteen."
"Not a normal sixteen-year-old and you know it. She's no innocent, and yet in some ways she is, just as I was— innocent of the beauty of being with a man. I think Brad will be good to her."
He shook his head. "Sheep. I don't understand what she could be thinking."
"You don't understand? What part about all of this don't you understand, Luke? Love? You certainly know what love is like. You can remember what it was like for us in the beginning, how it felt to want to be together. Maybe you don't understand the fact that she's willing to go far away with him if necessary. Well, that doesn't make sense either. I believe I remember another young man who wanted to take a young girl far away from her family, too—only that was even worse, because he took her to a very dangerous, unsettled land. And I believe that young man and woman also had not known each other for very long, but they knew they were in love, and she was willing to follow her man to the end of the earth, if that was what it took to be with him."
Luke turned to look at her, the anger in his eyes turning to a mixture of love and guilt.
"And maybe you don't understand that Brad has a dream of making it on his own. Is that it? Well, Luke Fontaine, I remember another young man who had a dream, and who dared to risk everything for that dream. He was proud and determined, too, just like Brad is. Don't tell me you don't understand any of this, Luke, because Brad and Katie's situation is no different from ours seventeen years ago. And I understand how Katie feels. She's found a man she thinks can make love beautiful for her. After what she went through, do you really want to take that away from her?"
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed in exasperation. "You know I don't. Lettie, I can't forget how she looked when I found her with those men. What if this upstart doesn't understand that? What if he's just after the family money? What if he hurts her, disappoints her?"
"Luke, do you think my own parents didn't have the same questions about you? We hadn't even known you as long as Katie has known Brad. And you've always been a good judge of people. I feel good about this boy, and I know that deep down inside, you do, too. If he was after family money, he wouldn't be talking about going off someplace else to start on his own."
"Well, that's another thing I don't like. Katie is special for reasons we both know. I don't think it would be good for her to go far from home like that."
"Like when you brought me to Montana, when it was wild and dangerous country?"
He rolled his eyes and waved her off.
"Luke, my parents would have loved it if you had gone on to Denver and got a job there so we could all be together. But you wanted to do something that was just yours. You had an idea, and you were proud and independent. So is Brad. And if you weren't so damn stubborn about this sheep thing, they wouldn't have to go far away. They could ranch right here in Montana, somewhere close to us. Maybe right here on the Double L. You were ready enough to give them some land when you thought he raised cattle!"
Luke set his whiskey glass aside and took a couple of puffs on his cigar. "For God's sake, Lettie, I am president of the Cattlemen's Association. You know how all those men feel about sheep! How is it going to look, me announcing that my own daughter wants to marry a sheep man, let alone offering to let him raise those sheep right here! Katie is an intelligent girl. How in hell could she let herself get mixed up with the very kind of people I've been running off this place for years?"
"Love knows no boundaries and no rules, Luke. She loves him, plain and simple. She wouldn't care if he shoveled horse manure for a living. A man's worth isn't judged by what he does for a living, Luke Fontaine. You know that. Why don't you give him a chance? Maybe he's right. Maybe it is possible for sheep and cattle to range together. Maybe a lot of men have died needlessly in the range wars, and maybe this is a way to keep that from happening here in Montana. This could be just one more way to keep the peace and show the federal government we're on our way to qualifying for statehood. Range wars certainly won't win us any points."
He set his cigar in an ashtray and studied the only person who could sway his opinion on anything. "You're determined to let this happen, aren't you?"
Lettie frowned, stepping closer. "I am determined that Katie will be happy. I'm tired of seeing her cry."
Someone knocked on the door. It was Tyler. When he opened the doors he looked nervous but determined. "Pa?"
Luke shook his head, able to read his son's eyes. "You, too?"
Tyler shrugged. "Pa, I've been talking to Brad. He says his folks come from Iowa, but more and more farming there forced them to come west to graze their sheep. They've been through a lot, Pa, been shot at, had their sheep slaughtered by cattlemen. They finally settled in northeast Colorado, but a drought there has made things real hard. Brad's pa is going to quit, but sheep are all Brad knows. He wants to keep raising them. There's good money in sheep, Pa, real good money. All he needs is a place to raise them, and with all the range wars in Wyoming and Colorado and farther south, and the Mormons taking up all the good land in Utah, he figured Montana would be a good place to come. Brad says—"
"I'll speak for myself," Brad said, walking in behind
Tyler. "I say sheep and cattle can graze together, Mr. Fontaine," the young man said, keeping his voice firm. "I've seen it back in Iowa. You let the cattle graze first. Sheep aren't as particular about what they eat. They come along behind the cattle and eat what they leave behind. And sheep are cheaper to raise. It takes at least seven men to herd a thousand head of cattle. Am I right, Mr. Fontaine?"
Luke frowned, folding his arms and nodding his head. "That's about right."
"Well, sir, one man and a good sheep dog can handle about three thousand sheep. And I've heard of men who herded sheep from New Mexico to California and made ten times their original investment. With the herd I can get from my pa down in Colorado, I can get a good start. Sheep sell for about a dollar and a half a head when they're shipped to market, and like I said, it's cheaper to ship them because it doesn't take so many men to get them there. I'm also thinking that once I build up my numbers, I won't have to bother herding them anywhere. I can hire men to shear them and I'll ship and sell the wool. That goes for eight cents a pound right now. I can take it by the wagonload to Cheyenne to sell back East, and I hear that before long there will be a railroad come right through Billings, probably in another five or six years, so I'll make even more money because I won't have to herd sheep or haul wool so far. My pa has some good, healthy ewes, figures the lamb crop to be real good next spring. I aim to go down there and bring most of them back to Montana. If I have to do it farther west, then that's what I'll do. It will be dangerous herding them through Wyoming, what with the problems there with cattlemen and all, but I'll manage."
The young man put his hands on his hips authoritatively, and Luke glanced past him to see that Katie had also joined them, Pearl and Robbie bringing up the rear. Luke looked at Lettie. "I feel like a damn calf surrounded by a bunch of wolves. I don't like being cornered."
"Neither do I, Mr. Fontaine," Brad answered. Luke moved his gaze back to meet the boy's green eyes. "With all due respect, sir, there isn't a man in Montana who could love or respect your daughter more than I do," Brad continued, "or
who will try harder to take good care of her, or be more gentle with her when it's called for." Katie blushed deeply at the words. "And I want to marry her before I leave for Colorado," Brad went on. "Neither one of us wants to wait until spring. I'd just as soon marry her with your permission and your blessing. And I am going to raise sheep, because I'm good at it. I've been helping feed them and herd them and nurse them and shear them since I was five years old."
Luke stepped a little closer, his very presence intimidating. He was taller, broader. "You through?"
Brad swallowed, and Katie moved up to stand beside him. "Yes, sir, I guess that's about it," Brad answered.
Luke looked from him to Katie, saw the pleading and the remaining tears in her eyes, watched her slip her hand into Brad's. He looked at Brad again. "All right. You can get married right here at the house, New Year's Day. Since Katie is running the library and you work at the livery, you can live at the hotel during the week, but you'll spend your weekends here at the Double L for the rest of the winter, weather permitting. We have plenty of rooms, and I intend to get to know you a lot better before you head back to Colorado. I also intend to learn everything I can about sheep. Whenever you're ready to go and get your damn woollies, I'll send some of my men along to help protect them on the way back. They won't be too happy about it, but they'll do what I ask. When you get back, you'll put your money where your mouth is and prove to me that sheep and cattle can range together, right here on the Double L. If it works out, I'll give you some land. I don't want my Katie moving so far away that we never get to see her. If Katie has told you all about this family, you know we have already lost two children. Neither one of us is ready to say good-bye to a third child, and we'd like to enjoy our grandchildren, which is another reason I want Katie right here. I know what my wife went through having her babies alone. A girl ought to have her mother with her in times like that. Do you accept those terms?"
Brad grinned. "Yes, sir. But I won't take land for nothing. I'll pay you for it."
"You just take good care of my daughter and the land will be a wedding present."
Katie hugged Luke. "Thank you, Pa!"
Luke sighed deeply, moving his arms around her. "I just want you to be happy, Katie." He glanced at Brad again. "I hope you know the hell I'm going to go through letting a sheep man graze his woollies on Double L land. You and I are going to the next cattleman's meeting. I might as well prepare them."
Brad reached out his hand. "We can make it work, Mr. Fontaine."
Luke took his hand. "I hope you're right. And call me Luke." Luke finally offered a hint of a smile, and Brad squeezed his hand firmly.
"You have a lot of pull with the cattlemen around here, sir... I mean, Luke. Maybe you can convince them it's time for the fighting to end. There's plenty of room out here for all of us."
Luke glanced at Lettie, who was smiling, her eyes misty. "Maybe there is." He let go of Brad's hand and gave Katie a squeeze. "Let's all go enjoy the Christmas tree and open presents. We'll tell Mae to leave the dishes for now and come join us." He kept one arm around Katie and moved the other around Lettie, leading everyone out of the room. "Sheep," he muttered, shaking his head again. "God help us."
PART FOUR
Memories. We share so many...
Joy, sorrow, pain and laughter,
The light in our children's eyes,
The flowers at a little grave.
In our aging years more memories are born,
And through all that we bear in these
Seasoned years, I see you,
Standing there with your hand reached out
To guide me and give me strength,
As I try to do the same for you.
Life has been hard, but also good.
We conquered all that man and nature put before us,
And we survived to see another sunrise
On this, our home, our Montana.
CHAPTER 28
July 1881
Luke sat atop a butte on the south section of the Double L, Tex and Tyler on either side of him, and stretched out in a line in both directions sat fifteen cattle ranchers who had come from miles around, at Luke's invitation, to camp out and wait for the impending arrival of Bradley Tillis and his twenty-five hundred sheep. Even Nial Bentley was here.
Luke's announcement at the cattlemen's meeting in February, that he would allow an experiment in sheep and cattle grazing on the Double L, as well as his new son-in-law's presence at that meeting, had been met with anger and curses; but Luke knew that deep inside most of the men involved were his friends. After a lot of explaining from Brad, and a promise from Luke that no sheep would be allowed to stray onto anyone else's land, anger turned to cool receptiveness. Luke suspected most had agreed to go along with him just because Katie had found a husband, and all knew what Katie had been through. They respected Brad because he was Luke Fontaine's son-in-law, and Luke could not help being proud of how Brad had stood up to all of them at the meeting, answering every question honestly and with obvious knowledge of his subject.
Sheep man or not, Luke admired Brad for his guts and determination; and Katie had never seemed happier. She was expecting a baby, something Brad didn't even know yet. The new light in Katie's eyes was worth putting up with the sound of sheep's cries, and maybe he could get used to the smell.
That morning some of the men were sure they had heard the distant sound of bells clanging, the kind some sheep men put around the necks of their stock to keep track of those that wandered off to forage where they liked; then came the baa of sheep's cries. Luke knew that if Brad and the Double L men he had sent along for protection took the correct path back home through Wyoming, they should come through the pass at the south side of the butte where he and the other men had come to watch.
"There they are, boss!" Tex pointed to a few sheep that rounded a distant plateau and headed toward them through a broad, grassy valley. A black-and-white, long-haired shepherd dog scurried about, keeping the herd together, darting, barking, nipping at strays.
"Look at that." Joe Parker spoke up. "All those sheep, and no men. Just that dog keeping them in line."
"Brad says sometimes sheep can be turned out to pasture without any men at all," Tyler told the others. "Just the dog. His dog is called Shep. He says Shep can take a herd out, let them graze, and watch them all day long all by himself, then gather them up and bring them back to the ranch in time for supper."
"I don't believe it," Hank Kline said.
"Hell, see for yourself," Tex told him. "Ain't a man around yet. Just the dog."
Runner just sat quietly smiling at the sight.
"I'll be damned," Billy Sacks spoke up.
"Will ought to be here to see this," Luke said thoughtfully.
"You just remember your promise, Luke," Carl Rose told him. "Those sheep stay on the Double L."
Luke began rolling himself a cigarette. "I don't break promises. But if this works out, you all know you don't have to be afraid of sharing federal land with sheep men." He lit the cigarette. "My wife was probably right about one thing. If this works out, we'll save a lot of bloodshed. I'm doing this partly for Montana, to show the federal government we're willing to be reasonable about these things, show them we're civilized enough not to go out killing innocent people just because they choose to do something different. Statehood means a lot more federal help for ranchers in the future, especially in the hard times; and it can mean more contracts with the government to sell beef to the army. This could be a good thing for the territory, and eventually for the state."
Joe Parker chuckled. "Luke, you son of a bitch, you're giving a campaign speech. You wouldn't be thinking of running for territorial representative, would you?"
Luke kept the cigarette in his mouth. "Hell, no. I'm too busy for all that." He leaned forward to look over at Joe. "What's with all this talk of politics? Lettie suggested the same damn thing."
"Hell, I can't think of a better man to represent us," Joe answered.
"Except, perhaps, the second biggest landholder in Montana," Nial put in, casting a sly glance at Luke.
Luke turned to look at him, his blue eyes cautious. "An Englishman? Representing Montana?"
"Why not? A lot of foreigners have invested in land out here in your great American West, most of them from England. I am now officially an American citizen, you know, and I have a great investment and interest in Montana."
Some of the other men glanced at each other, all aware of the animosity between Luke Fontaine and Nial Bentley. "I don't know," Hank Kline spoke up. "Seems to me like when we send somebody to Washington representing Montana, it ought to be one of our original pioneers, a rugged-looking cattleman who's been out there and risked his life and got his hands dirty. No offense, Bentley, but you don't exactly look the part."
They all laughed then, and Nial smiled, accustomed to their joking about him. "Think what you want, but I do love
Montana, and I am highly educated in politics and finances and how the government works."
Luke took a deep drag on his cigarette, Nial's words stirring his own interest. "You saying I don't have enough education?"
"My pa's education comes from working the land and taking bullets and fighting Indians and grizzlies," Tyler spoke up defensively. "He knows the land like the back of his hand, knows what the ranchers need, knows what we need in the way of law and order. He's got a son buried on this land, a daughter who suffered at the hands of outlaws, another son stole away by Indians. He doesn't have to go to Harvard to know what Montana needs."
A round of whistles and laughter went up from the rest of the men. "Listen to that boy!" Carl Rose spoke up. "There's your campaign manager right there, Luke!"
They all laughed again, and Luke grinned, shaking his head. He exchanged a proud look with Nial, then reached over and yanked Ty's hat down over his eyes, noticing the boy was blushing deeply. He wanted to hug him but wouldn't embarrass him that way.
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