The girls tried to sneak out of the lodge without eating breakfast the next day, but Uncle John caught them at the door. "Oh no you don't," he told them, and herded them into the dining room saying, "You know you can't leave without eating breakfast. Gator made your favorite breakfast, bacon and waffles with strawberries. If you don't sit down at the table and start eating, you'll hurt his feelings."

"But Uncle John," Katie protested, "We're not hungry, we're still full from last night's dinner."

"Doesn't matter," said their uncle, "Gator's almost family, you know that. He takes it personally when someone doesn't want to eat." He held the door open and the girls entered the dining room.

Despite their lack of hunger, or an appetite, their mouths began to water when the smell of the stacks of steaming golden waffles hit their noses. A platter held strips of thick, hickory smoked bacon, and huge carafes of orange juice and coffee sat waiting for them.

"Oh, what the hell," said Coralee as she and Katie sat down. They could not resist the waffles, Gator's secret recipe, and stacked some on their plates, swimming with butter and strawberries. Kayce's son Tate and his wife Monica joined them, Tate begging for one more waffle than his mom put on his plate.

They were grateful for the coffee, they needed the caffeine to accompany the heavy breakfast. Eating had been worth it, even if their stomachs felt like they would burst. It was almost a nine hour drive to Cheyenne and they hoped to drive straight to Cheyenne and not stop on the way to do anything other than refresh themselves and walk the horses.

With the exception of Beth, the family was there to see them off. They got bear hugs from Rip, Kayce, and John, even Tate gave the girls shy hugs even though he was still uneasy around girls.

"Stay out of trouble," Uncle John warned but Rip added, "Stay out of the kind of trouble that gets you in trouble, that doesn't mean don't have fun."

Coralee did a last-minute check on the horses, making sure they were securely tied and the stall mats fastened. The horses had their breakfast, and would have water breaks when they stopped.

Katie liked rock and roll, Coralee preferred country so they took turns switching stations on the truck's radio. It was a good day for driving, cool but not cold and the sun was out. The further they drifted away from Montana the more the traffic thinned. The lack of traffic on the road promised an easy drive.

"Do you think he's going to be in Cheyenne?" Katie was tired of the silence, she didn't need to say who "he" was, both girls knew.

"I hope not," Coralee replied, "it wasn't on his list of places where he'd be. I don't want to have to worry about him watching me compete in my first pro event. I don't think I'm going to get lucky when it comes to Vegas though, he's supposed to be there. I know he likes Las Vegas if he doesn't have to spend a lot of time there."

"Well, he's not supposed to be in Albuquerque or Missoula, is he? He's been awfully good to us, especially you, you could be a little grateful."

"Well, he's not pursuing you, now is he? I'm beginning to feel like I owe him and I don't like it."

"Well, you do so you have to square yourself with that. You two suit each other, you're a lot alike. If it were anyone else besides Travis you wouldn't be talking this way. So, he was generous with you, so what? He's in love with you, I bet he's been waiting for his chance and he decided to take it. Face it, you've had a crush on him for a long time, and you felt safe because you thought he wasn't interested. Now that he is you're acting like a scared rabbit. Coralee, this is my advice, marry that damn cowboy, I don't think you'll regret it."

"Shut up, Katie, if you think he's all that great why don't you marry him?"

"I'm not the one sleeping with him, little sister, and I don't think you would be if you didn't like him. And if you aren't interested, why are you sleeping with him?"

Coralee had no answer for that so she just cast an annoyed look at her sister and said nothing, Was Katie going to keep talking about this or would she give her a break?

Don't rush it, their father had advised, take breaks, and use the rest stops. Take the horses out and let them stretch their legs. Clean out any mess they've left in the trailer if you can. Don't leave the horses in the trailer overnight if you can help it. You've got your hotel reservations so get the horses unloaded once you get there. Treat yourself to a good dinner and get a good night's sleep because you'll deserve it. Most of all, have fun.

They took turns at the wheel to avoid road fatigue. As the drive wore on the horses got a little restless, at one stop Coronado even started bucking. They weren't the only ones traveling to the show, they'd run into people with horses and trailers at the rest stops attending the same show.

This was a new group for her. She was now in a new class, professional. She'd done a lot of showing at fairs and 4-H, but now she would be competing with people who did this for a living. There was money to be made and won at the shows, and this was her chance to see if she could do this to support herself and her horse.

"I'm nervous, Katie," she said, it was Katie's turn to drive and she was concentrating on the road.

"Why? You're prepared, or you should be. You've been working really hard, and you've had Travis critique you. It's your first professional show, but everyone has their first. I know Mom and Dad aren't here to reassure you, but you can make do with me. Remember, I've got your back." Katie talked she kept her eyes on the road as she talked.

"I'm just afraid of disappointing everyone, and that includes me. I've done so well in the amateurs but I'm going up against people who've been doing this for a living. The fairs and 4-H were nothing compared to this."

"Just give yourself a break, would you? I'm glad I'm not the perfectionist, I don't have to excel at things. You push yourself too hard, you're supposed to enjoy this, not agonize over it. Just shut up so I can concentrate on driving."

By the time they reached Cheyenne they were tired, but they went and registered and got stall spaces for their horses. Only after their horses were seen to did they check into their hotel then went to find a restaurant where they could get a hot meal.

Coralee's case of nerves grew worse. She didn't understand why, she was prepared, she thought, she'd rehearsed and rehearsed to make sure she had her routine down. Maybe it was because this was her first show in the pro class, she told herself, and she wanted things to go well. Travis had been critical but he had always been that way, he wanted her to be prepared, he wanted her to do what he felt she was capable of doing.

But things didn't go well. She seemed out of sync with Coronado and he seemed to be driving the routine, not her. The obvious errors weren't big ones, but it was going wrong and she could feel it.

She wasn't surprised when she got fourth place—if Travis found out he would have her head. She refused to go out with Katie and the rest of the group they'd met, instead she went back to their room and went over the mistakes she'd made. She promised herself that she'd rehearse her routine early in the morning before the competition. Maybe she had jumped into this too soon after getting a new horse, but she wasn't going to give up.

It was an eleven to twelve-hour drive to Las Vegas. She pulled the covers off Katie at six in the morning, saying, "Come on, rise and shine, we've got breakfast to eat and horses to load. It's a long drive to Vegas."

Katie threw a pillow at her, "All right, all right, I'm up. Let's get going."

Coralee drove, Katie was tired from a late night and a little too much alcohol. She didn't mind if she slept, it was all right, sometimes it was nice to not have to carry on a conversation just to fill time.

Utah's landscape was boring and bleak with occasional flashes of spectacular scenery. Utah and Nevada might be places to visit for horse shows but not places sane people wanted to spend time. There was too much desert, with the occasional break of mountains, and all they wanted to was get to Las Vegas and the show.

Las Vegas seemed to spring up out of nowhere. The first thing they saw was the soft glow of lights in the sky, then as they got closer it seemed to grow brighter until it seemed to envelope the town.

There were lights in the hillside surrounding suburbs. Coralee, used to the peace of the surrounding countryside wondered how the residents could sleep at night. Was Las Vegas ever quiet?

They drove past the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign that had been around so long that no one knew for sure when it had been erected. Little chapels sat here and there, luring in those who were marrying on the spur of the moment, or had opted for the novelty of marrying in Vegas.

They bypassed the brightly lit casinos, ignoring them for now, concerned only for their horses. Once they got to the arena they put them in their stalls, happy to see there were security guards who kept out unwanted and authorized visitors. There were horses that were worth millions of dollars and the owners wanted to be assured they would be well guarded.

Then and only then did they register at the hotel and find something to eat, a thing not hard to do in Las Vegas. When their stomachs were full they stumbled their way to the hotel and crawled into their beds.

At five-thirty the alarm went off and Coralee resisted the urge to throw it across the room. She had fifteen minutes to get to the arena so she could have her fifteen precious minutes to work with Coronado. She knew she could do better than she had in the show in Cheyenne and this time she was determined to do better. Nothing less than first place would do, she decided, and to make sure she was going to be prepared.

Travis had dropped a less than subtle hint that he might be at the Vegas show. She hoped not, if she saw him while she was performing she would lose her nerve no matter how well prepared she was. Her mom and her dad, and her siblings didn't bother her but when Travis was around she felt anxious. It was like she had to prove something, show him that she was good enough.

When she returned to the hotel room Katie was sitting on the bed wrapped in a towel, her long blond hair dripping as it hung down her back. "Well, did you get in your practice time? Do you think you're ready? I know how disappointed you were with yourself in Cheyenne."

Coralee collapsed onto the bed, "Well, I got in my fifteen minutes that they allowed me and I hope it was enough. I'm exhausted, I'm going back to bed and try to catch up on my sleep. I don't know what you were planning on doing, but I think I'm going to skip breakfast and eat a big lunch to make up for it. I'm exhausted."

"Okay," said Katie, "Meet me for lunch in the hotel coffee shop. Why don't we go to one of the casinos on the strip after that and experience what Las Vegas has to offer. If we eat dinner at five that will give us enough time to get dressed then get the horses ready. I want to watch the other riders and see if I can pick up tips for next time. You really do look like you could use some sleep, you know. Take a nap and take a shower and do your makeup. If Travis shows up you want to look your best."

"I don't want to hear about Travis, "Coralee didn't hide the irritation in her voice, "Now go, and let me get some sleep."