Back on the road, Coralee rediscovered her love for performing. Hickory finally learned what reining was all about and began to enjoy being in the show ring. Travis rode him for the first two shows, then turned him over to Coralee, and her surprise she won her first show in a while.

It was hard for her to deal with what was happening to her family's ranch, but she put it to the back of her mind. For now, there was no Yellowstone, there was no threat to her family legacy, there was only the ring and the shows. And it paid off.

She and Hickory became quite the team and began to take firsts in competitions. Her confidence was bolstered, and she began entering the cutting competitions and though she did not place in the money, she didn't do too badly. It was just going to take time and she and Travis had all the time in the world.

The puppy was growing and becoming more responsive to commands. She'd come at Travis's whistle and could now be depended on to stay if she was told to. Her dark sable coat was shiny, and her ears were standing erect. She was a good-looking German shepherd and a smart one too. She'd become protective of their horses and was showing promise of becoming a good guard dog.

Coralee started to relax, and all she wanted now was to tell Travis she was pregnant, but it had not yet happened. The doctor had told her to be patient, but she didn't feel patient. She was hoping that she could tell Travis she was expecting when they got home, and maybe it could still happen. She didn't know who was more eager, Travis or herself.

They were getting close to Texas and their last shows in Fort Worth, after that, they would head back to the ranch. She was pretty sure she would win a buckle in the reining show but knew she'd need more practice for cutting. It would be good to have the show over and head home.

Home. Texas was still not home. She missed Montana, and the mountains, Yellowstone Park, and her family. She missed spending time at her uncle's ranch, hanging out in the bunkhouse, and cheating the wranglers at cards. Yellowstone was in her blood, it was part of her, and now, at times, she felt like it had been ripped out of her.

She didn't get a first, or even a second, at the Fort Worth show, her heart just hadn't been in it. She had been on the road for too long and was suffering burnout. She seemed to be more tired these days but told herself it was nothing special, probably just getting ready to have her period again. It would be good to get back to the ranch and her routine, it was time to go home.

She'd fallen asleep when they pulled in and Travis would not wake her. He put her and the puppy into the ATV and drove up to the house, hoping she'd remain asleep.

The following morning she woke up with the sun shining in the bedroom windows. She glanced at the clock, it was nine, and Travis had let her sleep in. She turned over and she found that Travis's side of the bed was occupied by Shelly, who licked her face with her long pink tongue.

"Thanks, Shelly," she muttered, and fondled her soft, oversized ears, "Guess Dad let you out of your crate. I suppose I should get up and see if someone fed you."

She swung her legs out of bed, momentarily dizzy but it passed. She got up and went into the bathroom.

There was a pregnancy test sitting on the edge of the sink, no note, just the test. "Oh well," she said, "I had to pee anyway."

When she was done, she replaced it where she had found it. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and called the puppy and they went downstairs. As she'd suspected, Shelly had been fed and had hoped to con her into giving her a second breakfast.

She looked at the clock, ten minutes had passed so she went back upstairs to check the test. She crossed her fingers, not knowing what she hoped for, but the little pink and white stick indicated that, yes, she was pregnant.

"Okay, Shelly," she said out loud, "I'll let you have that second breakfast because I've got to eat, too. Then we'll see if we can find your dad and tell him that he's going to be a father. How does that sound?"

"Breakfast," was probably the only word that the puppy recognized. She followed Coralee downstairs went over to her bowl and wagged her tail. Coralee poured herself a bowl of granola and a cup of coffee and sat down to eat while the puppy gulped down her second meal of the morning.

When they finished, they went outside got on the ATV, and drove down to the barns to find Travis. He was out in one of the pastures, so she saddled a horse and the puppy followed as she loped along, hoping she could find him.

He was out inspecting fences, he wanted to move some of the horses so he could use a closer paddock for mares and foals. At night the horses were returned to the barns for their safety, but during the days he liked them to be able to stretch their legs and graze.

"Hey," she called out and he turned and smiled.

"Hey yourself, what's up?" He rode his horse over to hers, then reached out and kissed her.

"I saw the present you left me and decided to use it." She wiggled her eyebrows and looked at him.

"Well?" he said, "Any news?"

"Yeah, we're going to have to pick out a room for a nursery. Should we order a crib now or wait until my due date is closer?" She liked to tease him.

"Well, there's time for that, you'll have to find a doctor and find out when you're due. Do you want to celebrate tonight?" He was looking at her and smiling. She'd made him happy, she wasn't so sure that this was what she wanted, but it was something she could do for him.

"Well, I'll tell Elena that you want something special for dinner tonight. I know what I want, but let's see what she can come up with. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart, I'll see you tonight." He turned his horse around and rode off.

She rode back to the house, the puppy on her heels. Shelly had gotten big enough that she could keep up most of the time. When she reached the barns she took the saddle off her horse and put it back in the stall.

"Come on Shelly, let's go back to the house and FaceTime Grandma. She won't forgive me if I don't tell her before anyone else." Shelly hopped behind her onto the ATV and they rode to the house.

"Oh Mom, please be happy when I tell you," she prayed, "You didn't like my marriage but you've come to terms with it. Let this be good news, or at least let Dad be on the computer."

It wasn't her mother who answered the call, it was her father. It was unusual for Benjamin Dutton to take a day off work, her marriage was one of the rare exceptions. Alarm bells started going off in her head that she tried to quell, it was pointless to panic over nothing.

"Hi honey," her father said, "What's going on? How are you doing?"

"Fine, Dad," she replied, "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be at work? Is something wrong?"

Benjamin got a worried look on his face that she could read even through the computer screen. "Honey, I have something to tell you, and it's not good."

Oh no, she thought, what's happened? Whatever it is, it's bad, I can tell by your face.

"The ranch was invaded, or it was an attempted invasion. Two of them had cans of gas, and a blow torch; they were going to burn the house. Fortunately for us, Gator was in the kitchen and heard them enter, and got his shotgun out of the cabinet and shot them. He called Rip and John and told them what happened to give them a heads up in case some were headed towards the barn.

"John and Rip armed the wranglers, so the intruders got quite a surprise. They thought that the wranglers would be in the pasture and planned on setting fire to the barn with the horses inside, mind you. They weren't prepared for wranglers armed with shotguns, a couple of them even had thirty-thirties. The intruders were armed, too, but the wranglers managed to catch them off guard.

"The ranch had no casualties, but a couple of the assailants were killed, and Rip managed to grab one. He's not talking but he's young and he was in shock. He may find himself overwhelmed if this goes to a grand jury and maybe we'll find out who's behind this."

"Is there going to be an inquest, Dad?" she asked, ever the lawyer's daughter.

"Yes, soon, and it won't go well for the survivor if he doesn't talk. Now honey, enough of this, what did you want to talk to your mother about."

She took a deep breath, this wasn't the time to share her news, or was it? She knew that Travis wanted her to tell her parents and her uncle's family. She could even hear her uncle saying, "We could use some good news now, honey."

"I'm pregnant again. Travis and I are gonna hang out on the ranch for a couple of months until we get the doctor's okay to go on the road again. It just feels awkward telling you this after what just happened."

"Don't feel awkward, honey, let me go get your mother." He left the computer for a moment, then returned with Gemma.

"Honey, that's wonderful news," Gemma told her, "And after what happened, this is something that we need to hear. How are you feeling."

How am I feeling, she thought, what does that matter after what happened to the ranch?

"Mom, I'm fine nothing to worry about. Do you want me to come to the ranch? Uncle John could use the support. It's a stroke of luck that Kayce and Monica had moved, things could have been worse. Travis and I aren't doing any shows right now, I have the time."

"Don't be silly, you don't need to be running around all over the place. You stay home and take care of yourself and my grandchild. Love you, sweetheart, I'll put your father on." Gemma's face disappeared from the screen.

"Dad, are you sure Uncle John doesn't need to have me come there? I could hop on a plane and be there in no time. Fort Worth is a busy airport, I'm sure I could find something on short notice."

"Don't even think about it, Coralee, you stay home and take care of yourself. I'll keep you posted as to what's going on. Funny, it made local news but not the national, I guess we're not considered that important."

"Dad, do you or Uncle John have any idea who did this? I mean, it sounds like someone is trying to drive them off the property. It's almost like the old days, we've always had to fight to keep the ranch, but I thought stuff like this was in the past."

"Some things don't change, honey. You'd think a big corporation wouldn't stoop to tactics like this, but if they can't buy him out, they may try to drive him out. Don't be discouraged, I'm sure they won't try something like this again, whoever they are. John's going to hire some security guards until this blows over. Don't worry, we're not giving up." He signed off but Coralee continued to stare at the blank screen for a long time.