in his dream, Nicole was so real that he half expected her to be lying next to him when he awoke.
But it wasn’t Nicole, it was Sally, and looking over at her now, he knew that she did not have to feel threatened by the dream, just as he knew that his love for Nicole did not end with her dying. Getting out of bed carefully so as not to awaken Sally, Smoke padded barefoot across the bedroom floor, where he stood at the window looking out at his ranch, Sugarloaf.
The ranch was not only big. It was also one of the most profitable cattle operations in the entire state of Colorado. From this window, he could see the barn and corral, the bunkhouse, the cookhouse, and the rolling pasture beyond, all painted in silver and black under the full moon that floated high in the night sky above. Kirby Jensen had come a long way from the wild Missouri boy who grew up in the mountains under the tutelage of one of the most storied mountain men in history, a man who was known far and wide as Preacher.
After avenging Nicole’s murder, Smoke met a schoolteacher named Sally Reynolds. And though he had thought no woman could ever replace Nicole, Sally had done just that. She had not eliminated Nicole, for the memory of Smoke’s first wife would forever be kept green. But Sally had certainly established her own claim to his heart.
“Smoke?”
He had not wanted to awaken her, but he realized now that she had probably been awake from the moment he got out of bed. In the quiet, dark room, Sally’s voice was soft, resonant, and comforting. “Smoke, are you all right?”
Smoke looked back toward the bed. Sally had raised herself up on her elbows to look over at him. The white silk of her nightgown shimmering in the moonlight. Why did he dream of Nicole? Was his dream of his first wife a betrayal of this one?
No, surely not, just as his concern about the dream was not a betrayal of Nicole.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“What are you doing up? ”
“I don’t know, I just woke up.”
“Did you have a dream? ”
“Yes.”
“A nightmare?”
“A nightmare?” Smoke thought of the dream, and of the warmth and love he had felt for Nicole and the baby in that dream. “No,” he said. “No, it wasn’t a nightmare.”
“Would you like me to get up as well? I could make us some coffee,” Sally said.
Smoke walked back over to the bed and sat down on her side. He reached for Sally and pulled her to him, then kissed her deeply.
“Uhmm,” she said. “Whatever your dream was about, I like it.”
“About the coffee?” Smoke said.
“Yes?”
“I don’t think we are going to need it.” Crossing around to the other side of the bed Smoke climbed into bed beside her, then pulled her to him. Outside their window, the limb of an aspen tree was moved by a gentle breeze, the leaves catching the moonlight, to send a sliver of silver through the night.
The aroma of freshly made bear claws drifted out of the kitchen and into the yard, all the way over to the bunkhouse. Pearlie noticed it first and he began sniffing the air.
“What are you doing?” Cal asked.
Without answering, Pearlie pulled on his boots, then started for the door. Before he reached the door, Cal got a whiff as well and, even though he only had on one boot, he ran after Pearlie, hopping and skipping across the yard with one boot on his left foot and the other in his hand.
“No, you don’t!” he called out after Pearlie. “You ain’t goin’ to get ahead of me!”
The two young men burst into the kitchen just as Sally was taking the pastries from the oven.
“My, oh, my, do them smell good!” Pearlie said.
“It’s do ‘those’ smell good,” Cal corrected.
Sally smiled. “Very good, Cal. I’m impressed.”
“Seems to me like somebody that can’t speak English good probably ought not to get any bear claws,” Cal said, putting on his other boot.
“Oh, I’m afraid that would leave you out as well,” Sally said.
“Why?”
“It’s can’t speak English well,” Smoke put in, coming into the kitchen then.
“Oh, well, I was just teasin',” Cal said. “Sure I want Pearlie to have some.”
“That’s very generous of you, sharing my bear claws like that,” Smoke teased.
“Your bear claws? That’s funny, I thought I was the one that made them,” Sally said.
“Well, you didn’t make ‘em all for yourself, did you, Miss Sally?” Cal asked.
Sally put the pan on the table. “No, I didn’t make them all for myself. You can have one as soon as they are cool enough for you to—oh, never mind,” she added with a little laugh when she saw Cal and Pearlie each grab one, then toss it from hand to hand until they could raise it to their mouth.
“Must be a special occasion for you to make bear claws this morning,” Smoke said. “Anything I might know
