Travis didn't come straight to the corral, he pulled up to where the stock was being unloaded. He got out of his truck and went over to Rip. They must have shared a joke because Travis threw his head back and laughed—Travis had a laugh you couldn't miss hearing.

The hands started unloading the horses. Uncle John must be horse shopping again, she thought. She wondered why but she knew her uncle, he was always making plans he told no one about. Things were going on that she didn't know about, her father might but he would never say. One thing she knew, John Dutton's main concern was always the future of the Yellowstone.

It was a treat when Travis and his hands showed up, you knew you were in for quite a show. He had the best horses and the best people in the business. You hired Travis to make you money and he always delivered.

She didn't know if he saw her, but he came over to John and started talking to him. He then directed his attention to her, letting her know she wasn't going to escape him.

"Hello Trouble! How come you're not training? You've got a horse to get ready." He looked at her, looking her up and down like he would one of his horses.

"My trainer had to go out of town, so I'm taking advantage of it. I'm taking Coronado for a long ride tomorrow, let him gallop and stretch his legs. I feel sorry for horses that are kept in stalls all the time. Dad's going to set up a paddock for him so I can turn him out for a while every day. I think it's good for him, who wants to be cooped up all the time anyway?"

She could read the unspoken answer in his eyes. "I'd like to keep you cooped up so I'd have you all to myself." He didn't need to say it. It was bad enough to have him standing there looking at her. Damn! What did this man do to her anyway?

"Are you horse shopping again, Uncle John?" He had to be. Her uncle liked to check out horses but not necessarily buy any. One day, Kayce had told her, he was going to and if he does, watch out.

She looked at the horses in the corral waiting their turn and she could see they were all stallions. She knew what would happen. Uncle John would purchase a ranch stud first, then start adding mares. Her uncle played the long game. He made plans he told no one about then would surprise them all.

"Well, let's get you up on a horse," Travis told her, "I want to see how your routine is coming." She started to object but Travis ignored her. "Lucy," he called out to a girl with long blond braids, "Let's put this little lady on your horse and see what she can do."

The girl came over, dismounted, and handed her the reins of a pretty-looking dun. "He's a little fresh so watch out. He likes to act up to prove that he can, but once he's in the ring he's all pro."

Coralee mounted, then rode to the far end of the corral. It took no more than a squeeze of her legs and the horse was off, speeding up his pace when she asked.

She held her breath as he went into his slide, but it was long and perfect. She then went into her routine, the spins, which the horse seemed to love, backing him up, then cantering around the corral only to go into a spin again. She ended her routine by backing him up, then he halted. Perfect.

The hands, Travis's crew, Uncle John, and Travis clapped. She felt her cheeks burning with pleasure. She had made one tiny mistake and that was all; the horse had completed her routine as if he was used to doing it every day.

Lucy came over to take the reins, "Sorry," Coralee apologized. "I didn't see a graceful way out of this."

"It's okay," Lucy said and meant it, "I wanted to tell you that I think you're good. I'm looking forward to competing against you!"

Travis came over, "Well, that would have gotten you a third, or maybe a second, but you're going to have to work hard to get first place. You're a pro now and the competition is going to be stiff. This isn't like 4-H you know, these people know their stuff. If you work hard you can be that good."

After Lucy walked away he whispered in her ear. "I'm staying the night, will you stay too?"

"Well, I'll have to tell my mom I'm staying at Uncle John's place. I'll go inside and use his phone."

"Use mine," he whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on, "Call your mom, now."

She picked up the phone and dialed the number, grateful that Travis didn't know it. After a few rings her mom picked up the phone and said hello.

"Hi, Ma, I'm going to be staying at Uncle John's tonight, I'll be home tomorrow. Okay, I'll tell him hello for you and ask Gator for his cornbread recipe. Bye, love you."

She handed the phone back to him. "Travis, why is Uncle horse shopping when he just bought an expensive one for me? I know he doesn't have that much cash lying around."

"Who says he bought that horse for you?" Travis gave her a cryptic smile.

"If he didn't then who did? Oh…" The reason suddenly came to her and she was shaken. "Please don't tell me it was you, if it was I'm paying you back." Please, she prayed, don't let it be you, please.

"Well, John wanted a horse for you, but the horse he wanted he couldn't afford. I'm culling my herd right now because I'm bringing in some new horses. I brought you some that I was planning on selling and I knew one would be perfect for you. And you picked the best, you'll have some good times riding him."

"Travis, you can't do this, you could have sold him for a good price. You can't go around just giving away an expensive horse like that."

"Says who?" he countered, "I can afford it more than you think. That horse is my gift and your uncle's gift. He wants to see you do well and so do I. And don't think about trying to give him back because you don't return gifts. He's yours, now I expect you to show me you deserve him."

"You've put me on the spot, you know," she said and he answered,

"Exactly. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say, ride him. Now Gator must have lunch ready, we'll show your uncle some more horses after lunch."

Travis was a force of nature and there wasn't much holding him back when he decided to do something. And now that he was spending the night he no doubt intended to do her. He hadn't been in her plans but he was hard to resist.

He made sure he was seated next to her at lunch. Every so often he would surreptitiously lay his hand on her thigh then remove it. She couldn't do anything because she didn't want to draw attention to what was going on. And besides, she was still having trouble deciding if she minded.

After lunch, Travis brought out the cutting and the roping horses. She knew a little about this, she'd worked on Uncle John's ranch all her life. She loved the way the cowboys on the cutting horses could work the cows. She had learned to do some of this, but not like that.

Just before sundown, Gator came out and rang the triangle. Inside was a spread fit for a king, Gator had outdone himself.

When they finished dinner, the guests grabbed whiskies and either wandered around or sat in the living room and talked. Travis talked to John for a while, then came over to her and said, "Come with me."

She followed him to the trapper's cabin. He shut and locked the door, then sat on the corner of the bed.

"Come here," he said and she came over and got on his lap. They began kissing, then he pushed her down and began to unbutton her blouse.

"Let me help," she said and pulled it over her head. They removed their clothes and began to make love, forgetting that someone outside might miss them.

When they finished he pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment. He looked at her and said, "I have something I want to ask you. I've watched you grow up, I like the woman you've turned out to be. Miss Coralee, I want to marry you, do you think you'd want to marry me?"

"Travis," she drew a breath, "I can't marry anyone yet. I don't want to go from being someone's daughter to being someone's wife without having had a chance to just be me, for a while."

He laughed. "And here I thought all girls wanted to get married."

"This is 2023. We want to, or many of us anyway, we just want to do it when we're ready. I've led a sheltered life and I need to see a little of the world. Katie, my older sister, and I want to travel around the country competing. She's going to take Best Boy and ride him, I'll take Coronado and between the two of us, we can support ourselves if we can make enough winnings. We've dreamed of doing something like that. And if we don't win the way we want, we have money that we've saved to use to support us."

"Well, do you think you could do this and be engaged to me?"

"Do you think you'd be willing to wait until I said I was ready? I love my parents and my family but I need to be on my own for a while."

"I have to admit I didn't expect this," Travis scratched his head, "I was hoping you'd say yes."

"I'm not saying no, Travis, I'm saying if I do say yes it has to be on my terms. I need to know if you can wait until I'm ready."

"Well, missy, I don't know how long I'm willing to wait, but I don't want to lose you. Take your time, just don't shut me out of your life. Just let me know when you're ready for that ring." And he decided he'd buy her that ring he'd been looking at. He was going to marry this girl.

They woke up early and made love. He sat up and looked for his clothes. He wanted to get an early start.

"Travis," she lay her head on his broad shoulder, "Ask me next year on my birthday."

"Ask you what?" he asked, like he didn't know.

"Ask me to marry you on my twenty-fifth birthday."

"Are you proposing Miss Coralee?" He smiled at her.

"Mmm, maybe. I told you I wasn't saying no. I just want my year with Katie on the road. I want to be sure you mean it and that I can do it."

He put his arm around her, "I mean it. I don't think John and your father are going to like it but I guess I'll have to convince them I can become a new man."

"I don't know if you can make that one-hundred-eighty degree turn around, but just remember what you expect from me is what I'll expect from you. You're going to have to learn to do the thing that men hate to do—talk."

Beth had seen her coming in and wanted to let her know she knew. "So, you're sleeping with Travis? He's the male version of a whore, you know."

"You're one to talk, at least I was of age before I lost my virginity. And I didn't have to…"

Beth raised her hand to slap her, but Coralee grabbed it and held it for a moment before she let go. She was stronger than Beth and knew it.

"I know your secret, Beth, but don't worry I won't tell anyone. You have no right to judge me or what I do. You think Travis is a whore? Why don't you take a look in the mirror?"