She wanted to go to the bunkhouse to get away from the stifling atmosphere in the lodge but knew she couldn't. Instead, she sat in the living room in front of the fire and talked, or mostly listened, as the family discussed the small things that John would permit.

Tomorrow she would try riding again. The doctor had said she shouldn't experience too much in the way of soreness, sex was taboo until she felt up to it. That was what she missed most about having to leave Travis behind. They had a healthy sex life, it encouraged intimacy and it broke down barriers they had between them. They were still newlyweds, they made love in the morning and before they went to sleep. Sleeping without him was hard for her.

Around ten everyone retreated to their separate rooms. She was still on Texas time and she was tired enough that falling asleep was no problem. Staying asleep was another matter, and she woke in the middle of the night and was unable to get back to sleep.

She crept down to the kitchen in her bare feet to see if Gator kept any herbal remedies that might help. Luck was with her, she found some valerian and skullcap in a cupboard, tucked away with some other herbs. Both herbs had a nasty taste, but combined in an infusion would help her fall asleep. She'd learned to make herbal teas from her mother: bring the water to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat and add the herbs.

She let it sit for twenty minutes then strained some into a cup. It tasted as awful as she remembered but when she went back upstairs she fell asleep within a few minutes. Though it made her feel a little guilty she left the mess to Gator to clean up.

She slept until five-thirty and woke up feeling rested, well, rested enough. She went downstairs to the kitchen to see if breakfast was ready, or if Gator had something she could eat.

The others were drifting in and taking their place at the table. Gator gave her a plate of scrambled eggs and a couple of biscuits. She hid in the kitchen until she finished eating then joined the others in the dining room.

There were two rules regarding meals. You ate with the family at breakfast and dinner. No hard rules existed for lunch because no one might be around. Gator might bring food to the wranglers if they weren't too far, otherwise, you'd grab something and bring it with you if didn't want to deal with an empty belly until dinner.

She poured a cup of coffee but refused food. "I already ate," she explained, "You all weren't up yet."

That seemed to satisfy John Dutton. "Well, honey," he told her as Beth made a sour face, "What are your plans for today?"

"Well, it all depends on Jake. If he's busy, I'll be in the pasture with the wranglers. If not, then I want him to teach me how to train. Travis wants me to learn. I can lunge, but I don't know the finer points. Travis is teaching me to work the reining horses, but Jake is good with the cutters, and that's something I need to learn. I need to improve my skills so I can help. I can practice, but I want to learn how to do more than that." John was impressed with the way she was taking this seriously. Coralee had never been one just to sit by and let others do the work, getting dirty never bothered her. As she grew more experienced, she and Travis would make a good team.

He wondered if motherhood would interfere, but knowing his niece she probably would not let it. She would do what her father had done, put the baby on her lap, and keep working in the saddle. She had grown up viewing the world through a horse's ears, not much would change.

"Well, talk to Jake and see how his schedule is. If he's busy, we can always use help with the cows. We'll put Travis to work when he gets here, we have the branding coming up so we can use him."

Yellowstone specialized in grass-fed beef, so there was no fattening on grain. Each year calves would be weaned, bull calves would be castrated, and there was branding to be done. Travis had always come to help, and this year would be no different, only he would be sleeping in the lodge with her.

The bucolic days were passing slowly, but she didn't mind. Jake was making time for her, albeit reluctantly—John had made it clear that he wanted him to work with his niece. And she was learning the difference between teaching a young horse to work and working with a cow horse that had been doing this for most of its life.

The learning could be frustrating, but it was also fun. She loved to feel the breakthrough in a young horse as it finally understood what she expected. In teaching them she was learning, too, and she enjoyed it.

She went to bed tired at night, and the waking in the middle of the night had stopped. When the first lights of dawn came in through her window, she was up and out of bed, ready for the day to begin. She knew her parents had hoped that she would go to vet school, but she refused. Working with the horses and being a cowboy was what she loved. Let others deal with the sick and dying animals, that's what they got paid for.

She and Travis face-timed each other at night. Since they got married, they had been with each other every day or most days. She hadn't wanted him to send her away, but it had helped, she was feeling better, no, hopeful, about their future and her part in it. She held back her frustration with the way she thought he treated her.

She felt like he saw her more as the twelve-year-old girl he had met at her uncle's ranch than a woman he'd married. Was this how someone treated you when they'd watched you grow up? She appreciated that he looked out for her, but she was past the age of needing to be parented. Would it finally quit when they had their first kid? She didn't know and knew no one she could ask.

Travis was receiving his share of trouble from his friends. He was being ribbed and teased about his life changed after his marriage. He had always been a good man at the bar and still was, but now he flirted less and took no one back to his hotel room.

His friends stopped short of calling him "pussy whipped". "I have the most beautiful woman in the world waiting for me," he told them, "None of these women even measure up to her." And they knew it was true.

They liked Coralee, and not because she didn't try to put restrictions on Travis. She was funny, friendly, and a lot of fun, like him. She was hard working on the road, never acted privileged, and was as levelheaded as they come. Best of all, she made Travis happy.

Coralee was lying on her bed, looking out the window at the full moon. Somewhere, Travis was staring at the same moon, and she wished he were lying on the bed next to her.

Her phone rang, a FaceTime call was coming in. She swiped the screen and saw Travis's smiling face.

"Hello beautiful," he told her.

"Hello yourself. I miss you—when will you get here?" She leaned close to the phone so he could see her cleavage on the screen.

"Whoa, sister, none of that, my hand is getting sore, but you could unbutton your shirt a little more."

This made her laugh; phone sex was something neither liked. This was different, he had a beautiful wife, he told her, could he be blamed for wanting to look at her?

"A few more," she slowly undid three more buttons, giving him a glimpse of her breasts, "But you have to tell me when you're going to be here."

"A week," he laughed as she groaned, "You'll live. I have a present for you, but you have to wait to see it." The phone went dark to the sound of his laughter.

Five days later he stood on the porch, a ten-week-old German shepherd puppy in his arms. He kissed Coralee and then told her, "I figured she might scare off unwanted visitors when she gets big. Shepherds are smart, maybe just getting a look at her will scare them off."

He set the puppy down and Coralee knelt in front of her and received a lick on the nose. "You're pretty, aren't you? Travis, I love her!"

Rip chose that moment to appear, "Oh god, not a dog, I hate those damn things."

"Don't worry Rip," she said, "she'll be gone when we are…" but she didn't get to say anymore.

Tate came outside, "A puppy!" He exclaimed and the puppy jumped up, and he put his arms around her while she licked his face. "What's his name? Can I play with it?"

"It's a 'she'," said Travis, "I've been calling her 'Shelly' and you can play as long as she wants. She's coming home with us in a week."

"Yay!" He ran off the porch with the puppy following him. Rip went back into the house in disgust.

"That should run off some of her excess energy," observed Coralee, "Kids and puppies go together."

"Well, we'll have two kids growing up together," Travis put his arm around her shoulders, "God knows I grew up with dogs and cats, I suppose you'll be wanting a couple of kittens now."

"Of course," she answered, "but the puppy needs to get a little bigger. She'll do well in the barn, horses befriend just about anything, even chickens. Shepherds make good guard dogs, they're very protective."

"That's why I got her. For the barn and you. There are going to be times when I'll have to leave you, even though I don't want to. I know the hands are there for you, but she'll stay close. I know who owns her mama and he picked her out for us. We just have to live through the puppy stage."

"And kitten. I love her Travis, she's beautiful and look at how she took to Tate. I never thought I'd say this, but I hope I get pregnant soon."

"So when did the doctor say that will happen?" he asked.

"Maybe three weeks or a month from the time we get home, depending on how my body is working."

"Your body is working just fine," he said firmly, "And it will happen. Things happen sometimes, and we just had some bad luck. We'll get you pregnant, don't worry."

The cattle were brought down from the hills and were separated. Coralee hated the branding and the castrating because she felt sorry for the cows, but the rest she loved. The puppy had to be kept out of the way, Gator kept her while they cold camped, and fed her on table scraps too rich for her stomach but she loved them.

When they returned it felt good to have a hot shower and she and Travis stole a "quickie" in the shower. Three weeks had been too long to be away from her. Afterwords she pulled on clean clothes and went out to finish helping, enjoying the camaraderie she had with the wranglers.

Gator set up a barbecue. Tate put a collar on the puppy and led her around using a soft rope lead. A stray dog had appeared at their house that they'd adopted, but puppies were different. He'd beg his parents for a puppy when the branding was over but didn't hold out much hope. In the meantime he could pretend Shelly was his dog.

Travis and Coralee pulled out a couple of show horses and put on a small exhibition. Rip took over Coralee's horse and he and Travis had a horse sliding competition, fueled no doubt by the beer they had drunk.

They had nothing like this in Texas, not on their ranch. She knew few people in Texas and had decided to avoid Elena, her friends and family were here.

John and Lynelle were talking. She was talking about leaving the governor's office and running for senate which would take her out of Montana. Coralee wished there was a way she could play matchmaker. Lynelle and John had been carrying on for years, but it had never grown serious. She'd always felt that Lynelle was perfect for him and wondered why she and John had never taken things further. She liked Lynelle better than she had liked Aunt Evelyn; Lynelle had even come to her wedding.

Travis came, carrying two plates of food and cans of beer and coke under his arms. "Hungry?" he asked as he handed her a plate.

"Starving," she answered truthfully, "Where's the puppy?"

"Probably helping Tate eat. Half the fun of having a dog is feeding them food they shouldn't have. We'll be lucky to get her away from him." He took a piece of meat he peeled from a rib bone and put it in her mouth, then kissed her.

John had thought of everything, a small stage had been built and a band appeared and started playing and people began to dance. Travis claimed her for a dance and they joined the other couples moving around on the dance floor.

It had been a good day, one of many that she'd had since she came to Montana. She dreaded going back to Texas but she would not tell Travis. She did not lie to him, she did not like living there, but he was her husband, and she'd live wherever he wanted. Nothing was perfect, but she was with someone she loved.