Once John Dutton left his bed, he pushed himself—hard—too hard, and where he went Coralee and Suzie followed. He told the girls flat out he did not need to have them follow him, but Suzie retorted that if he was foolish enough to put himself in harm's way, it was her job to be there to look after him.

"If something happens to you, Uncle John, Beth will never forgive us, and you know we make a point of never dealing with Beth. Besides, if you fall and can't get yourself back up, we'll be the ones she blames. As long as we're here we're going to keep an eye on you, four eyes, as a matter of fact." Suzie had her hands on her hips, glaring at him while Coralee giggled helplessly.

There was nothing they could do when he decided he wanted to ride again, so they helped him saddle his horse and saddled horses for themselves. Both girls kept a careful watch on their uncle, they had come close to losing him and were not going to let it happen again.

They rode to a river that had a hot spring along its banks. Each stripped down to their underwear, the girls had no modesty, the family had used these springs for years.

"Aaah," said Coralee with a contented sigh, "Why did I forget about the springs, I could have been coming here for years." She splashed the water gently, dipping her fingers in the black silt at the bottom of the spring.

"The Indians used it for healing, it's the sulfur in the water that helps heal the skin and the muscles," said Uncle John, "We're lucky to have them, people pay good money to go to resorts to soak in waters just like these."

"Kayce is going to be furious when he finds out I didn't stop you from coming here," said Suzie, "He'll tell me I should keep you from riding, like that would be possible. He forgets where he gets his stubborn."

"Or maybe he'd be mad because he'd want to join us," suggested Coralee, "God, I could stay in here for hours. There's something about these waters that relaxes you, even if it doesn't have the best smell."

At last, hunger drove them back to the lodge. Suzie examined her uncle's healing wounds, making sure that nothing had opened. She cleaned each one and put antibiotic ointment on them. The ride and soak had done her uncle good, after a good lunch he lay down on the couch and napped until dinner.

The Yellowstone had cured him, that's what Coralee thought, maybe he should have remained in the hospital longer, but no harm had come to him despite the doctors' dire warnings. The hospital equipment had been returned unused, and he was recovering nicely, especially now since he had seen the wisdom of slowing down a little.

At last came the day that Coralee had waited for, Travis and his crew arrived with new horses for her uncle to inspect. She had heard his truck pull up and ran down to the barn to greet him.

He smiled as soon as he saw her, picking her up and spinning her around, then kissing her deeply. They hadn't minded when the crew and the wranglers hanging around the corral applauded.

Seeing him made her feel a sense of guilt, she hadn't realized how badly she had missed him. For the first time, she doubted her actions, but then she remembered seeing Uncle John lying helpless along the roadside. She resigned herself to the fact that her actions, no matter how ill-advised, had saved her uncle's life. If there were going to be consequences, so be it.

She took Travis's hand, "Come on," she said, "Let's go up to the lodge, Uncle won't admit it, but the walk here and back will be too hard on him, he needs to use an ATV. We can go down to the corrals after lunch and show Uncle the horses you brought.

He didn't need to stay to supervise, so they got on an ATV and rode up to the lodge. John was lying on his couch but sat up when he saw Travis.

"Hello John," he said and shook his hand.

"Hello Travis," John said in his gravelly voice, "Have you come to fetch your wife?"

"Yep, and I've got some cutters for you to look at, some real nice ones. How are you feeling? I was sorry to hear what happened."

"Well, I proved that I'm a lot harder to kill than they thought I'd be. I'm lucky that your wife found me, and got help. I owe you, Coralee, and I won't forget it."

Travis gave her a strange look as they went into the dining room for lunch. She didn't know what it meant so she shrugged it off. Sometimes she knew what he was thinking, but she could not read his mind and didn't try.

After lunch, they rode the ATV down to the corral. Travis had assembled a small group of cutting horses and riders. She saw the look of sheer enjoyment on her uncle's face as he watched the cutters as they were put through their paces. Thank you for this, Travis, she thought.

How long had it been since she saw him, she wondered as they sat and soaked in the oversized tub attached to the bathroom in her room. She lay against him enjoying the feel of him cupping her breasts in his hands, stroking her thighs, kissing her neck then turning her around so he could kiss her. They let the water out of the tub and dried off, then went to the king-sized bed and began to make love.

He held her tightly when they finished, "I was pissed off at you," he whispered to her, "but then I told myself that's what happens when you marry a Dutton. Don't you go pulling a stunt like this again, you hear me?"

"Yes," she sighed, "I knew that you might get mad at me, but I had to go."

"Well, I'm not going to let you off easy," he told her, and she wondered what he meant, but was too tired to give it much thought.

Gator had outdone himself if that was possible. There was a French toast casserole sizzling with a hot blueberry compote. There were piles of bacon and ham slices, and a bowl of fluffy scrambled eggs, along with the inevitable pitchers of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a pot of Gator's hot coffee.

I should take pictures of things like this, Coralee thought, Gator has got to be the best ranch cook and caterer in the world. This spread would make Elena jealous, and she's pretty good in the kitchen herself. I wonder where I could send them to, I don't think Southern Living would want them but there have to be some magazines in the northwest that would be interested. Gator deserves recognition for his hard work and his talent.

They fell on the feast that lay before them, even Beth seemed to summon an appetite. It wasn't until they finished that the conversations began about cattle and horses. Rip persuaded Travis to stay one more night so he could help with separating the cattle.

"And you need to get packed and be ready to go first thing in the morning;" he told Coralee, "We need to get back on the road, I only came here to fetch you and show your uncle some horses."

"Suzie and I are going to help, you wouldn't make us miss out on the fun, now would you?" She didn't like the look Travis was giving her, "Hey, I'm not fragile, farm women have had to work while they were pregnant for centuries. I'll have plenty of time to get us packed up. Please don't stifle me, okay?"

Ranch work felt good, it was therapy for her. She always felt like she'd been blessed to be a part of the Yellowstone. They'd taught her to ride, rope, to chase cows, and how to be happy doing something as simple as helping to brand a calf. There was no snobbishness in the valley, most of the kids she'd gone to school with had been ranchers' kids. Sure they had their football games and homecoming, but there had also been rodeo and rodeo queens.

She fell asleep in Travis's arms, looking forward to being on the road again, even if they were only heading back to Texas. She still hated Texas, hated the heat, and hated the weather, but she loved their ranch. Travis was making a business out of training horses and the rodeos and reining horses were his way of advertising his blossoming business. They already had acquired new customers, and it was clear that more would be coming.

Though they woke up early, Gator still had breakfast ready. Travis and her uncle discussed whether he should purchase the chestnut with a blaze and four white stockings that stood out from the rest. One more horse wouldn't hurt, Travis argued, this one was a mare and when he was ready to retire her, he could breed her. She was smart and had a nice pedigree and would be worth the price.

Uncle John couldn't make up his mind but asked Travis to bring her the next time he came around.

He turned to his niece and hugged her, "You behave yourself; you hear? Just because you had one miscarriage doesn't mean you'll have another. You're a Dutton, you should be able to have as many babies as you want."

She was glad that Beth wasn't here, as far as she could tell her cousin loved her nephew, but with Beth, you never knew. Beth had a secret, at least when it came to children but she didn't know what it was.

Travis was quiet for most of the trip, which was either normal or not for him, she still hadn't figured that one out. The closer they got to the ranch, though, the further he seemed to draw into himself. Something was up, that was almost a certainty, but what?

She was glad when they finally arrived. She no longer had to sit in a truck cab with a husband who was barely talking to her. He unloaded their suitcases and carried them upstairs, leaving her to unpack and sort out the clean clothes from those that needed to be washed. Laundry could be done tomorrow, she decided, waiting a day wouldn't hurt.

Travis took a shower after dinner and crawled into bed. He sat up, looking bare-chested and sexy, and told her to join him. No problem, she thought.

She expected him to make love to her, but his eyes gave her a hard look.

"You know," he said, "I've been angry at you for running off the way you did. You had me worried, I worried that something might happen to you."

"Travis, haven't we been over this? I've apologized, more than once. I told you I needed to go to the Yellowstone and you wouldn't let me go so I had to take matters into my own hands. And I was there at the right place and the right time. I saved Uncle John's life!" What is going on with you, she thought.

"You should not have left behind my back. You're not a teenager anymore, that's not what I expected of you."

"Well, it's over. Uncle John is safe, he got to the hospital just in time. It could have been worse." Where are you going with this, Travis?

"Well, I've spent the past few days thinking of a punishment for you, I decided there should be consequences for what you did, I don't want this to happen again." He was giving her a cryptic look and she didn't know what he was thinking.

"Well, Travis, what is it?" she asked, she was getting tired of this conversation.

"You'll find out tomorrow morning," he said and turned over. He didn't make love to her, he didn't even kiss her.

The next morning when she woke his side of the bed was empty. She wrapped a robe around her and went downstairs.

He was sitting at the table drinking coffee. "Oh good," he said, "You're awake. Come with me."

Two horses, one saddled, the other only with a bridle, stood tied to the porch rail. She turned and looked at him.

"Travis, what's going on?" she asked.

"You can ride bareback, right?" he asked.

"Of course I can, guess who taught me?" she didn't know where this was going but had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

"Well, you know who Lady Godiva is, well today, you're going to pretend you're her. Take off your robe and get on the horse. Here's your white straw hat," he said helpfully, "I don't want you to get a sunburn."

She stood for a moment, knowing she didn't have much of an out. "You're not going to take me past the barn, are you?"

"You think I want the wranglers to see you naked? No, where I'm taking you no one will see us."

She was defeated and knew it. She dropped the robe from her shoulders and swung up on her horse. She took the hate he offered her and placed it on her head. Fuck you, Travis, she thought.

They rode away from the house, riding on paths that Travis had not yet shown her. She hated to admit it, but she liked the way the sun and warm air felt on her bare skin. She took sips from the canteen he'd brought with him filled with cool water from their pump.

It felt erotic, riding with only her hair to cover her. She loved riding bareback, it put her closer to the horse, and she decided to do this more often. The sky was a brilliant blue with a few puffy white clouds. She wondered if they meant rain or if they'd evaporate as clouds here so often did.

They came to a little copse of trees, and she could hear the gurgling waters of a stream. Travis got down from his horse and then helped her off hers, although she didn't need it. He took a blanket he'd tied to his saddle and then spread it beneath the trees, He took off his hat then the rest of his clothes and pulled her down next to him.

"You bastard," she told him but smiled as she said it.

"You look beautiful like this," he said, "It makes me feel, well naughty, I haven't been able to keep my eyes off you. Think I could talk you into doing this again."

"Maybe, to celebrate a special occasion. I never even dreamed of doing something like this. I didn't think I'd love it, but I do."

"Well," he said, "Love me then, love me now."

Soon they were both beyond words.