The power came back on at three, but Katie was asleep and didn't notice until she woke up at four a.m. She got up and turned off the lights, then contemplated going up to her room. But the couch was too comfortable, and heat still emanated from the fireplace, so she pulled the quilt over her and went back to sleep.

Travis and Coralee came downstairs at six and Coralee shook her shoulder, saying, "Wake up, sleepyhead."

Katie opened her eyes and shook her blond hair out of her face. She looked at the clock on the mantle and groaned, "Why are you awake so early, it's only six!"

"Not so early for us, Elena will be here any time now and will start cooking breakfast. Travis and I will check to see if any of the roads have washed out. If they have, they'll have to be repaired, and it's a lot of work. I also want to retrieve my dog from the bunkhouse. Do you want to come with us, or do you prefer to stay here? We'll probably be back by the time Elena has breakfast ready."

"No, thank you, I'm going to stay here where it's nice and cozy, and warm. I'll see you when you return and you can fill me in on the possible disasters."

"Let's go, babe," said Travis and opened the door for her. They headed to the garage, noticing that the ground was soggy but hoping that things were not too bad. Travis preferred to not have to rebuild the road if he could avoid it, but heavy rainstorms like the one they'd had tended to wash out roads.

There were puddles on the ground, but in places, the ground had sucked up the water. The air was warm and steaming, but as the sun rose higher and temperatures warmed, that would disappear.

Travis headed to the road that led to the ranch, his main concern. As they grew closer, his worst fears were realized, a section of the road had washed out. "Son of a bitch!" he swore, but no culvert had been placed there. He wanted to see how those he had put in had fared, possibly they were washed out, along with the road.

"Let's go see if your experiment worked, babe," he said to her, "Let's see how the rain affected those culverts. I like to see if they diverted the flood water."

"Me too," Coralee responded, "I hope my idea worked, but we won't know until we see them."

They roared off on the ATV and came to the first culvert. The flow from the groundwater had dislodged it, water trickled through it, but it would have to be replaced. The second, however, had held up despite the rain, and water that might have caused a washout flowed through it instead.

"This one worked," exclaimed Coralee as she watched the water flow through it, "I can't believe it, I know I hoped it would, but I didn't know for sure."

"Well," Travis said, "Let's check the others."

Two culverts had been sturdy enough to withstand the pressure of the flood, only one had been dislodged.

She thumped Travis's back, "It worked, my idea worked! A part of the road washed out, but two culverts diverted the flood waters. I felt so foolish making that suggestion, but it worked!"

"Don't be embarrassed, if you have an idea about something I want to hear it. This ranch is half yours now, you have a say in what's going on. You've got a good head on your shoulders, don't be afraid to share your ideas with me. You grew up on a ranch, maybe in a different climate, but you know how things work. Let's go and get breakfast, I'm starving, Elena must be putting it on the table by now."

They went to the bunk house and retrieved the puppy. She showed how glad she was to see them by wiggling and wagging her tail. She jumped onto the ATV and rode with them as they went back to the house.

Katie was sitting at the table eating breakfast. She looked up and asked, "Well, how did it go, any disasters?"

"Very funny," said Coralee "but only half a disaster. Travis is going to have to work on the road, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. You know what it's like when the snow starts melting in Montana, things get washed out, too."

Travis sat down and took some bacon from a platter, grabbed a couple of biscuits, and slid some eggs onto his plate. He grabbed the salt and pepper and then contemplated the pile of food that sat before him.

"I want to ask you ladies something," he said, then glared at Katie when she snorted at the word 'ladies'. "After I get things cleared up here, I have to go back on the road. I hadn't intended to take this much time off, but with you getting pregnant, Coralee and Katie coming to visit I got distracted."

"How long will you be gone?" Coralee asked, she knew this day was coming and she'd dreaded it. The baby was putting pressure on her back and no matter how faithfully she tried to get out and walk and do her exercises she couldn't tolerate long rides in a vehicle. She could try to ride with Travis, but she'd do herself no favors if she did.

"Well," he said, "you know how it works. I've got shows to go to, sales to check out, plus visits to customers. This is going to mean long hours on the road and if I thought it would be all right…"

"You'd take me with you, I know. I don't want to be left behind, Travis, it will be too lonely for me here if you're gone." Tears were forming in her eyes; pregnancy tears she called them.

"I know," he said, "That's why I'm wondering if you'd like to go and stay with your parents. It's been a while since you've seen them and I'm sure they'd love to see you."

"No, I don't want to go to my parents' house," she replied, "I want to go to the Yellowstone and stay there if Uncle John will let me. I don't want to hear what my mother thinks of our marriage and my getting pregnant. I can always borrow one of the ranch trucks and go see them, and I'm sure they'll show up." She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on the corner, then set it down. "You don't know what it's like being the youngest child, I'm still her baby and she treats me that way."

Travis knew what Gemma thought of him. She had softened her attitude a little after the second wedding, but with Coralee pregnant again, the old antagonism had bubbled back to the surface. He would be criticized for leaving her behind, or if he took her with him. Either way, he couldn't win so he stopped trying.

She didn't like his reputation. He'd always been honest about who he was and had been happy with his life. Then, Coralee had come along, and he changed his ways for her, to prove to her, not Gemma, that he deserved her.

He loved his wife, he'd gladly given up his old lifestyle for her. She made him happy, and he no longer felt the need to play the randy bachelor. Now that she was pregnant things had changed, and his concern was for her welfare. She trusted him, she didn't care what he did when he was out with friends, she knew she was the most important person in his life.

"Well," said Travis, "I know John will be glad to have you. Give him a call and let him know you're coming. You can book a flight whenever you're ready."

"Now," he went on, "I have something to ask you, Katie. How long has it been since you competed? I'd like to put you on Coralee's horses instead of leaving them behind. If you think you're up to it, we can put you through a little refresher course. What do you say?"

Katie looked at Coralee and knew this would not be easy. She'd let her competing slide; it had taken second place in the drama of her love life. Coralee would not be happy, these were her horses, after all, but what Travis was proposing made sense.

"If Katie agrees to give me half her winnings, she can use my horses," said her sister. This was a blow she had not anticipated, but what Travis was proposing made sense. It would be good for Katie to get out there again. She would compete if she could, but now it was out of the question. Her horses shouldn't just sit idle, let her sister compete.

"I think that's fair," said Katie, "They're your horses, Coralee. Travis, I'll do it, I think going back on the road is a good idea."

"Well, that's it then," said Travis, not quite sure what he had just negotiated. He'd put Coralee on a plane the day before he left. The time they had left together was precious. He had a road to repair, stock to get ready, and shows to plan for. Not only that he had a pregnant wife to take care of who he would miss while on the road. He was beginning to realize just how important she was in his life.

Coralee put her napkin down and stood up. "Excuse me," she said and called to the puppy who followed her as she went out the door. The sound of the ATV starting up could be heard, and it roared off

"Sorry Katie," he said and got up. She heard the door slamming and wondered if she'd started something she hadn't intended.

Travis found Coralee sitting on a straw bale, outside the stalls of her horses. She looked up at him when she heard his footsteps and tried to wipe away any evidence that showed she'd been crying. It wouldn't do any good, when she cried her eyes would turn puffy and her skin tended to flush. And having him see that she had been crying was the last thing she wanted.

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She tried to pull away, but he held her in a firm grip.

He waited for her to calm herself, then asked, "What's wrong, Coralee? I can't do anything about it if you don't tell me."

"It's so unfair, I didn't know this pregnancy would be so hard. First, there was the morning sickness but now that it's gone I can't even ride and I hate it. I love competing in shows, I love being on my horses and showing off for the crowd. I'm good, I've worked hard and it's paid off but now I can't do it and Katie is taking my place. I hate it.

"I hate being left behind like a child that's too young to go on a trip and has to stay home. I love our road trips. I love going to the bar with you after the shows—and now I can't. You'll be gone at least a month, if not longer depending on how things go and we've never even been apart. You have no idea, none, how much I'll miss you and how much I resent your leaving. I know you're doing what you need to do, and I understand why, but you don't know how much I resent being pregnant and left behind."

"I know it's hard," he murmured, "But it won't always be like this. I hate leaving you behind, too. You're the light of my life, and it's always better when you're around, but I have to take care of business. This pregnancy has been hard on you, maybe the next one will be easier. I don't envy you; I can see what you go through, and I wish I could make things easier. Maybe staying at the Yellowstone will help, remember this isn't forever. The baby will come, and you'll start to feel better, you're just a little depressed, that's all."

"With my luck, I'll probably have postpartum depression, too. Travis, I don't think I want to go through this again. The morning sickness, the mood swings from the hormones, I hate it. I want this baby, but I resent what I'm going through. It's not fair." She put her arms around him and held him tightly.

"Well," he said, "wait until this baby comes and see how you feel. I'll make sure you have someone to help you and try to keep your mother away unless you want to see her." She looked up at him and smiled. He kissed her, and said, "You have no idea how much I love you. If this is too hard, we won't do it again. I'll be happy with one healthy child; I'll leave having another up to you."