At first, Katie was not eager to join Coralee in Texas. Her romance with Ryan was going strong and she was reluctant to leave him. Living in the bunkhouse at Yellowstone suited her just fine. Most of all she did not trust the handsome cowboy out of her sight, some other attractive blond just might snatch him up
When she saw Coralee crying in the barn, however, she changed her mind. She had never seen her sister so sad or so quiet. Coralee had a friendly, outgoing nature, the family would joke that she "bubbled like a fart in a bathtub." It disturbed Katie to see her so quiet and withdrawn so when Travis asked her to come and keep Coralee company, she agreed to go to Texas until her sister returned to her old self.
If it were the two of them alone on the drive to Texas, she would have kept up an incessant banter, chattering and not allowing Coralee a chance to brood. Instead, from time to time she would tell a story from when they were growing up, encouraging Coralee to remember the happy memories she seemed to have forgotten.
Katie was no psychologist; she went on instinct. Sometimes she would sit quietly, maybe remark on something she could see out the window. Or, if the radio was on, she would sing along to a favorite song, encouraging Coralee to sing along with her.
Travis could see what Katie was doing and at first, he was grateful for her presence. Coralee was starting to come out of her shell, but she was clinging to her sister, not him. At first, this did not bother him; Katie was doing what he could not and he appreciated it.
But now he was wondering if he had made the wrong decision. Coralee had recovered some of her old self, but it was coming at a cost. Katie was monopolizing Coralee's time, leaving less for him. He saw Coralee when they first woke up and at breakfast, then would not see her again until dinner. He insisted they spend the evening together, just the two of them, to avoid Katie monopolizing her time.
Katie was doing her good, he had to admit, she now cried less and smiled more. He heard her laughing with Katie as they explored the ranch on ATVs or horseback. He hadn't noticed it before, but Coralee had lost weight and her naturally round cheekbones grew sharper in her face. Coralee was not made to be bones; she was meant to be peaches and the loss of weight made her look hollow-cheeked and older.
When she first came to the ranch Katie ate dinner with Travis and her sister at night, but after about a week she had taken to eating with the wranglers in the bunk house. He didn't want her in there. There were two female wranglers, both good hands and both attractive, and he did not want them upset by Katie's antics. She liked male attention and the wranglers started paying attention to her. So far, she had not focused on anyone in particular, but if she set her eyes on someone that could mean trouble.
When they were younger, the "Dutton Twins" had acquired a bad reputation. Katie and Coralee were exceptionally attractive and drew male attention without trying. This, unfortunately, sometimes included married men or men with girlfriends. Neither girl was looking for something serious, but sometimes they took things too far without thinking about what they did. So far, they had avoided serious trouble, but it was only a matter of time.
Travis didn't want to look like an older man jealous of his younger wife, but he kept her out of the bunkhouse unless he was with her. He'd seen the surreptitious looks the cowboys would give her when they thought he wasn't looking. She didn't invite them, but she attracted them. Male attention was the cost of having a beautiful wife, but he knew that she loved him, and he had ignored it until now.
Katie was breaking all the rules. She was dragging Coralee into the bunkhouse with her, insisting that the company would do her good. He hadn't suspected, but he came into the bunkhouse to talk to Matt he saw the two girls sitting at the table, laughing, and talking. Katie was drinking a beer and Coralee—who hated beer—was sipping a coke and laughing at a joke someone had told.
He smiled, enjoying the sight of his wife relaxed and happy, wishing she could be that way around him. She looked up, panicked at the sight of him but he pulled up a chair and sat next to her.
"Hey, any more of that beer?" he asked. Someone opened the fridge pulled out a beer and tossed it to him. "Thanks," he said and put his arm around Coralee's shoulders. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear, "I know this wasn't your idea, and I'm not mad. It's worth it to see you smiling."
After one beer, he called it quits. "Come on, sweetheart," he said, "Let's go back to the house, we need to wash up for dinner. Katie, are you coming?"
Katie looked up, "No, I'm going to stay here and eat with the bunkhouse. I may even help cook."
"Suit yourself," he said and shrugged, "Come on Coralee, let's go home." He got up and she followed suit, grabbing her coke. She got up behind him on the ATV and put her arms around his waist as they roared up to the house.
He said nothing to her about being in the bunkhouse, but he'd made up his mind. Katie had to go. Coralee was better, she'd gotten some of her old sparkle back and as far as he was concerned, she didn't need Katie anymore. He certainly didn't need her presence any longer.
Katie had formed her own opinion. She had put a satisfactory relationship on hold to rescue her sister's sanity. Coralee was upset because she formed emotional attachments to animals, she cried when they died, not a good thing for a ranch girl. Animals died, it was a fact of life, and couldn't be avoided.
She could not quite believe that Coralee had lost it over losing her horse, but it had sentimental value. When it was stolen, she blamed herself, and then when it was killed in the accident she had plunged into a depression.
Katie blamed Travis, he convinced Coralee to marry him before she was ready. He had swept her off her feet, and Coralee had little time to think about what she was doing. Katie had encouraged her at first, thinking it would not happen and that her sister would come to her senses. Coralee was too young for him, she needed someone closer to her age.
Travis was alpha male, and Coralee had always been vulnerable to the type. He dominated her and she went along with it, and that infuriated Katie. He bribed her with presents, an expensive horse, a diamond ring, and had helped turn her into an expert horsewoman. He had her competing in the pro circuit and that had gone to her head.
She wanted to get Coralee away from him. She'd bring her back home, or better still, bring her to the Yellowstone. She'd been away from Ryan for too long and she missed him and wanted to make sure he wasn't sleeping with someone else.
Coralee would find someone, maybe in the Yellowstone, somewhere else. She'd shown no reluctance to sleep with the married cowboy she'd met in Albuquerque when she and Travis were first engaged. Her sister was a beauty with a bubbly personality, she'd have no trouble finding someone after she got Travis out of her system. Maybe Bob would show up at a show, or someone like him. No more married men, little sister, she thought, but we've got to find you someone.
Travis and Coralee sat down to dinner, alone, and Travis was relieved to see that Katie was not there. Elena set the food on the table and they served themselves. They ate in silence, except for Travis's gentle queries as to how her day had gone.
They went to their private sitting room to have an after-dinner brandy. Travis could contain himself no longer and asked, "How often have you and Katie been going to the bunkhouse?"
He had caught her off guard and she hesitated before she answered. "Not all that often, all we ever do is talk and have a drink, at least that was all I was doing. You know Katie, she's a flirt. I don't know if she's sleeping with someone or not, but she talks a lot about Ryan and I think she misses him. If I know Katie, sooner or later she will have someone in the bunkhouse picked out. I feel so relaxed there, it's been fun just to hang out. It reminds me of being on the Yellowstone,"
"I thought you felt relaxed with me," he said, "Or am I wrong?"
"It's just that I'm used to having friends my age and I haven't made any. You don't want me hanging around the bunkhouse, so I haven't—until now. I had a big social circle at home but there's no one to make friends with here and I get lonely."
"There's Elena," he started to say but she cut him off.
"Elena resents me, every time I come into the kitchen she treats me like an intruder. Having her here is convenient, I hate housekeeping and she doesn't seem to mind. It's like she doesn't want me to be married to you, I'm in the way or something. When I want to cook dinner or must make something, Elena tells me she's got something on the stove, or in the oven. I'm afraid that Elena and I will only ever tolerate each other but we'll never be friends."
"Well," he said, "We'll have to do something about that."
"No," she said, "Don't. All I want is for Elena to leave me alone. If you say something I'm afraid it will only make things worse. Let me figure this out, okay? I don't want you to try to smooth things over for me, I need to learn to do this for myself. Promise me you won't say anything. If it gets to a point where I think I need your help, I'll ask.
The next day she found Katie in the bunkhouse. Coralee felt guilty being there, but Katie chose to ignore it.
"You need to leave him, Coralee," said Katie, "He dominates you and you don't seem to notice. He treats you like a daughter, not a wife, he tells you what to do and you do it, that's totally unlike you. You don't seem like the sister I grew up with, you've lost something that I'm afraid you won't get back."
"I love Travis," Coralee was trying to not sound defensive without much luck.
"You must," countered Katie, "You're out here with no friends living with a husband who's almost twice your age. You must be happy to put up with that."
"Shut up, Katie, you're here to help me feel better, not make me feel worse."
"That's what I'm trying to do. Ryan is coming to pick me up in a week. If you want, you can leave with us. We can leave in the middle of the night and no one will know until morning. I don't think he's doing you any good but you're too blind to see it."
When she and Travis made love that night, Coralee felt as if she had woken from a dream. All these weeks it was as if he had held the ghost of who she had been in his arms. It was not as if she would turn him away or outright refuse him, it was as if she wasn't there, and her body responded to him. Now, however, it seemed that he was getting her back.
"I don't want you going to the bunkhouse without me Coralee," he told her, "They flirt with you and that's a sign they don't respect me."
She was surprised by what she was hearing, she thought that finding her with Katie had settled that. Nothing went on that was untoward and she was enjoying the time she and Katie were spending with the wranglers.
"But they do respect you, you're a good boss and you're smart and you're good at what you do. If someone is flirting with me, I just ignore it, Katie's the flirt, not me. Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you, I just don't like it when they try to come on to you. Please do this for me, Coralee."
She sighed, "Travis, you've got to give me a little leeway and let me exercise my judgment. No one is going to do anything, if they flirt, so what? It would only be a big deal if I responded, and I don't. Katie coming here has been like a breath of fresh air, without her I think I'd just sit in the house all day doing nothing. She's doing nothing wrong; you know? She's helped me more than you know. I felt dead inside but I'm starting to feel alive again. Please say you trust me and let me do the things I enjoy doing without constantly worrying about what you think!"