Monica came out on the porch carrying two frosted glasses of iced tea. "Here," she said as she handed a glass to Coralee, "I thought maybe you could use it."
"The house wine of the south," Coralee quoted from Steel Magnolias, "If I can't drink alcohol I can at least drink this. I'm going to have a tall, stiff drink when I finally can consume alcohol again. I know you don't drink so you don't know what it's like to miss it. As soon as I finish nursing, I will make Travis take me out on the town. I know he may be drinking one for me, at least I hope he is. As long as he doesn't cheat on me, I don't care if he goes out and parties after the show."
"You seem understanding," said Monica, "I don't know if I'd be." want
"Well, I'm not that understanding, but I know my husband. Monica, I to tell you something and please don't tell anyone! Just after Travis and I got engaged, I cheated on him. It was only once, but I did it."
"What?" said Monica, "I didn't think you'd ever do something like that!"
"Well, I was pretty freaked out about being engaged. On one hand, I did want to marry him, but on the other, I felt like he rushed me into the engagement. So I ran into the wrong person at the wrong time and strayed. It only happened once, and I made up my mind afterward that it wouldn't happen again."
"Did you tell him?" Monica asked her.
"No," Coralee shook her head, "and I'm not going to. If he cheats on me, I don't want to know, but it'll be forgiven if it happens. I know Travis and I know he loves women. If he did cheat, I wouldn't be happy about it, but we're human. I made a mistake so I'm not going to condemn him if he does the same."
"Hmm, I don't think you're as open-minded about it as you're pretending to be, but I think I get it. Sometimes I'm surprised that Kayce hasn't cheated, but he hasn't and I'm glad. You and Travis are different, rodeo is hard on relationships."
"I have something else to tell you, I'm going to try and see Jamie, I miss him. We've always had a good relationship and he knows he can tell me anything. It's going to be a two-hour drive to Helena, but I think I can do it. If I'm too sore and tired, I'll spend the night at a hotel. Please don't tell anyone about this, okay, Jamie doesn't seem to be very welcome here."
"I won't," said Monica, "He always seemed to get along better with your family, than his own. I'm sure he'd be glad to see you."
"I worry about him, you know, I worry about the way Beth treats him, she's trying to turn Uncle John against him. I don't trust her; I don't trust her motives. I'm glad he moved out of here, he has his place in Helena now."
Coralee shook her head sadly, "I've watched his confidence erode over the years. He's turned into someone I hardly recognize sometimes. I know Beth has been working a number on him over the years, he's afraid of her and I don't know why. She tries her mind games on me, but it doesn't work. That woman is power-hungry, and I'm afraid of how far she's willing to go. Guess I'll get a taste of it tonight at dinner. Beth doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut."
"I wish you weren't enemies," Monica said, "There's so much strife in this family and it shouldn't be like that."
"I agree, Monica, it shouldn't. My family isn't like this, even with six kids following six different paths we get along and we love each other. Dad has said that he thinks there's a curse on this ranch. Did you know that the original house was built where Elsa Dutton died? That's my ancestress that was killed by an arrow wound. This place was built on blood."
"No," said Monica, "No one ever told me about that."
"Dad was glad when he didn't inherit the ranch. He married his childhood sweetheart, and they bought forty acres and built a little farm. He always felt sorry for Uncle John. My uncle was the golden boy and the expectation of inheriting the Yellowstone always hung over his head. My dad always said that ranching was for fools and dreamers. He went to Harvard and became a lawyer, a good one. He said that with a law degree, he always knew he'd be able to support his family."
"This place used to belong to my family," Monica told her, "I don't know about there being a curse, but maybe there is. I want to get Kayce away from here, I hope I can get him away from here, but it seems to have hooks in him. I don't know if he'll ever escape."
"Well, you make sure you're always by his side, you protect him if you can. He's the heir and if he doesn't protect it, who will? Certainly not the developers who've been sniffing around here." The sound of the iron triangle interrupted, "Oops, there goes the dinner bell, I'm hungry, but I'm always hungry now, what about you?"
It was John Dutton, Beth, Kayce, Rip, Tate, Monica, and Coralee who sat down to dinner. Gator had fixed a roast, served with baby potatoes, green beans, a salad of mixed greens, and a chocolate cake that Gator had fixed for Coralee. He knew that she loved it and figured that her pregnancy might be craving it.
The roast had been fixed medium rare and Gator had made a gravy brimming with its juices. Coralee took a bite and then rapidly took another. "Oh god, this is so good, our cook is good, but she doesn't have the touch that Gator has for meat. I eat well, but I miss Gator's cooking."
"Well, it looks like you're trying to fatten yourself up," said Beth unhelpfully, "You've got a good start on that."
Coralee put down her fork and looked at her. "Pregnant or not, I can still flatten you, Beth. I promised Travis I wouldn't get in any fights but push me too hard and I may forget my promise."
Coralee and Beth were the same height and build, but Coralee had years of working on the farm and with the horses. Travis had set up a small gym in the basement of their house so Coralee could continue to work out. She stretched out an arm and flexed her muscles, "Wanna go at it?" she asked.
Before it could go any further John Dutton said, "You two, stop. You're not too old to be sent from the table, this is my house, and I won't have it."
"She started it," said Coralee, words that she had uttered many times before.
"Well," John replied, "I'll finish it. Coralee, you should be ashamed of yourself. You're almost seven months pregnant and you're willing to get into a fight over nothing and put your pregnancy at risk. Beth, you're taunting her, stop. I want a peaceful dinner without the two of you yammering at each other."
I wish Evelyn were still alive, he thought, She and Gemma could always control those two and keep them in line, but I don't know how. I know how to raise boys but after all these years I still don't know how to deal with girls.
He knew that something had happened, something he did not know of. It had been easier to raise his kids when Evelyn was alive. She had maintained a heavy hand with Beth, something she didn't seem to need to do with the boys, the trouble with Beth had started only after his wife had died.
At first, he thought it was because Beth had been unable to save her mother, but he soon realized it went deeper than that. For a while, he wondered if he should send Beth to live with his brother's family, but he soon realized that wouldn't work.
Whatever was between the girls stayed between them. Beth grew up and went off to school and started her career. Coralee studied animal husbandry and stayed and helped manage the family farm. Beth didn't care for horses, but Coralee spent most of her free hours riding and learning to show. She was a typical farm girl and not afraid of hard work. It made her a perfect match for Travis, and he was happy to see that their marriage was working out.
Beth had settled on Rip and there was nothing that could come between them. Rip was a good man, but he had expected his daughter to marry up. Beth seemed happy, as happy as she could be anyway, so that was good enough for him.
After dinner, Coralee joined her uncle in the living room and sat with him while he sipped a bourbon. She wanted one, badly, but she sat and drank iced water instead.
"Uncle, I need to ask a favor," she got right to the point, "I need a vehicle to drive, I was wondering if I could use one of the ranch trucks."
"What do you need it for, honey?" he asked.
"Well, I want to be able to get to and from town, I don't want to depend on having someone to drive me. And," She took a deep breath, "I want to drive into Helena and see Jamie. I need to call him to see when it would be convenient, so he'd know I was coming. I want to see him. We've always been friends and I haven't seen him in a long time. I figure I'll get a hotel room in town and drive back the next day instead of doing a four-hour round trip."
By the look on his face, she could tell he was taken aback, but he recovered himself and said, "Are you sure? I could have someone drive you. Do you have a problem with driving one of our trucks?"
"I don't mind driving a truck, I just need to be a little careful when I park. Travis is thinking about getting a truck for me, or an SUV that will perform well in Texas weather. I've driven trucks with trailers, you know, and I think a truck cab will be comfortable, and roomy, there's a lot more of me these days."
"Okay, honey, I'll have Rip bring one of the trucks up here for you to use. If you're sure you want to go to Helena, that won't be a problem."
It's a problem for you, though, isn't it Uncle? When it comes to Jamie, Beth has you all twisted around. I need to find out what's going on, I'm only hearing half the truth about that. I know what it means to be a Dutton. We know how we want things to be, and we think we can make it happen by the power of our beliefs. Jamie told me something a long time ago and I need to see if it's still true.
"Thank you, Uncle John," she said and kissed the side of his head.
She called Jamie the next day after she knew he would be in his office. She didn't want a long, extended phone conversation, she wanted to be where she could read his face and tell what was going on. Something told her Jamie needed to talk.
When he answered his phone, his voice perked up and she chided herself for not calling sooner. If she wanted to come see him, the day after tomorrow would work. If she wanted to spend the night he had a spare bedroom, his new house had lots of room.
"I'll stay at a hotel," she told him, "The baby has me getting up and down all night. Uncle John had promised me a truck. I'm looking forward to seeing you, Jamie, it's been way too long."
She hung up and took a deep breath. What was going on with this family? Jamie could stay at the lodge if he chose, but he'd gotten a house in Helena. This was almost too much, something was wrong but she could not put her finger on it. Either way, the day after tomorrow she was going to Helena.