As they drew closer to the ranch the familiar pastures, fenced with barbed wire dominated the scenery. This was Yellowstone territory; she'd spent her life living with it. In the largest pasture, she could see the cowboys working the cattle, circling them, chasing after strays, and watching over them. She envied them, cowboying was hard work but she loved it. It had been the best part of her growing up.

Finally, her uncle left the highway and turned onto the road that led to the lodge. She loved seeing the pastures and the outbuildings; then the big white barn came into view with the big "Y" on its front. Now, at last, she was home.

Uncle John would have taken both suitcases, but she insisted on carrying one. They left the parking strip walked up to the lodge, and brought her bags into the huge structure they affectionately called the lodge. She wondered how long it had taken her ancestors to build a structure that was half house, half cabin. She wondered if any traces had been left of the original building, if so they were long gone.

She tried to imagine what the Yellowstone had looked like before her ancestors settled it. When the army had yet to destroy the buffalo and the forest not been had cleared for pasture land. A part of her could sympathize with the tribes for wanting to take the land back, but surely they must understand that it could never happen. Maybe it was progress, maybe it was not, but it had happened. The task now was to learn to work with each other but was that possible?

She let Uncle John carry her suitcases up the stairs to her room. He came back down and hung his hat on a peg near the door.

"Lunch is ready, I think," he told her, "Let's go into the dining room and see what Gator had fixed for us."

She went into the dining room with its antler chandelier and saw that Gator had made bacon cheeseburgers with steak fries. "So this is my welcome home," she murmured. In true Gator fashion, the burgers were so thick she could barely get her mouth around them. How long had it been since she had a burger, anyway? Elena would make Mexican food as a treat, but never burgers. If this was Gator's welcome home, then she couldn't wait to see what was in store for her.

Monica came downstairs holding a baby carrier. Gator quickly cleared a spot on the table so she could set the baby carrier down.

"Welcome home," she said and kissed Coralee's cheek, "Meet your new cousin Michael Lee Dutton."

"Can I hold him?" asked Coralee, and Monica removed the baby from the carrier and placed him in Coralee's arms. She made nonsense sounds as she admired him, he had Monica's eyes, but she could not tell if his hair would be the color of hers or Kayce's. His features were a mixture of both, as far as she could tell, but only time would reveal who he'd favor. He seemed to resemble Monica for now, but that could change. She wondered what Tate thought of his new little brother.

"Do you know if you're expecting a boy or a girl," Monica asked her, "Have you settled on a name?"

"It's a girl and we're calling her Lucy Mara. Travis was set on a boy so he could have a Travis, Jr. which I didn't want, but I'll give in. I don't even know if I want to have a second one, this pregnancy has been killing me. First, it was morning sickness, now it's my back. Since I'm here I'm going to try to find a chiropractor who treats pregnant women. Our ranch is three hours from Fort Worth, doctors, or any kind of services. To see a doctor I have to spend the night in Fort Worth or deal with a six-hour round trip."

"It's the price you pay," Monica said, "I'd rather live here than in a city. We're lucky to have the rez clinic closer than town, but it's isolated. Tell me, would you rather live in Fort Worth, or is it better to live on the ranch?

"Well, right now I'm worrying about playmates and schools. I don't want her to feel isolated, I want her to have a happy social life with lots of friends. My parents made sure that we were involved in school and 4-H activities. I've made friends with the wranglers, but that's different." She sighed, "I worry too much, I know, but Travis tells me it's probably just being pregnant. I'm sure things will be okay, I just need this to be over."

She took a nap after lunch and slept for a refreshing two hours. After she woke, she and Monica walked down to the bunkhouse. Monica carried the baby in her arms as Coralee kept begging to hold him.

The bunkhouse was a refuge, but a messy one. They picked up the dirty dishes and Coralee washed them, leaving them in the drainer. Neither girl felt like vacuuming, but just picking up a little had made a difference.

Rip's horse was gone, along with the wranglers'. Around four or five the wranglers would start drifting in and Rip would stable his horse and wash up before walking up to the house for dinner. Beth would still be at work now but would be home in time for dinner and Coralee dreaded it. Beth treated Coralee differently than she treated her sister-in-law. To Monica, she could be kind, almost sweet, or as sweet as Beth was capable of being. She'd stand up for Monica, like she'd done in the past.

Coralee was a different matter. Beth seemed to resent her, and she didn't understand why. She knew Beth saw her cousin's father as a threat to the ranch, which was ridiculous. Beth saw everyone as a threat where the ranch was concerned and ignored how close Uncle John and her father were.

It was inconceivable to Beth that her uncle might not have ulterior motives. Their grandfather had set up a trust, so Benjamin Dutton received a small stipend from the ranch's income every year. When he died, the distribution would go to his heirs, but there wouldn't be much after it was divided among his six children. That was the concession that he had made in return for their father leaving the ranch to Uncle John.

Was Beth so blind that she could not see that the two brothers loved each other? Benjamin had gone to law school and done well for himself. The money he received from the Yellowstone had been put into an account for his children. He had a good life without the ownership of the ranch, and he acted as John's legal advisor whenever he was needed.

"We need to go back," said Monica, "Mikey's starting to fuss, and I need to put him down. Beth will be home soon, but I know you can hold your own against her, I just hope it's not necessary."

"Me too," said Coralee fervently, "I don't want a fight, I came here to rest and take it easy, I'm not here to engage in battle. I don't know why she treats me the way she does. I'm not her enemy, I never have been. I may not like her, but all I've ever wanted is to coexist peacefully. She picks the fights, she throws down the gauntlet, and I'm so gullible that most of the time I take the bait."

"Well, don't let her bait you, you can refuse to fight, you know. You always have that choice. I'm sorry she picks on you the way she picks on Jamie. They're brother and sister, they should be working together to protect their heritage. I guess I'm lucky she likes me." Monica handed the baby to Coralee, "Here, you need to get used to doing this."

Coralee took him gladly. Michael was a pretty baby. Tate took after his mother, she wondered if this one would be the image of his father. His eyes were a little lighter than Monica's and it was impossible to tell what color his hair would be. It didn't matter as long as he was strong and healthy.

Monica went inside to put the baby down, but Coralee sat in one of the chairs on the porch. She missed the views the ranch offered, and she loved the mountains. In a month or so they would have to start irrigating, but for now, the rain was keeping the ranch green.

She missed the forest, it had stood like a guardian for many years, surviving the ravages of nature. She loved it when they camped in the hills during the summer. Their parents would send their kids to the ranch and when they weren't being put to work they would ride, fish, or just run around and be wild. By August the herd would be moved back to the lower pastures and they'd reluctantly return home.

She closed her eyes, she could feel the baby kicking. Sometimes it hurt, this baby was strong. Sometimes she would lift her shirt and she could see the baby moving around on her pregnant belly. Her mother had told her that as she grew closer to her due date the baby would drop and the kicking would stop—it couldn't come soon enough.

She was half asleep so she missed the sound of the car coming up the driveway. The sound of Beth's voice startled her, but she should have been prepared.

"So, you've come back to sponge off Daddy instead of staying on your own ranch? Shouldn't you be with your husband instead of staying here?"

"Hello Beth, I see you're as nasty as you usually are. My husband is on the road, making a living, but I can't come with him. Not good for me or the baby, you know." She held her belly, knowing that what really angered Beth was the fact that she was pregnant, and Beth would never be able to bear a child. "My back is hurting so the doctor told me to stay off my feet and avoid long car trips. I can't stay at home alone, what if something were to happen? So, I'm here until Travis gets home. Deal with it."

For once Beth had nothing to say. Coralee knew what had happened to her. Once while they were drinking Jamie had confessed that he'd taken Beth to a clinic where women were sterilized if they requested an abortion. He'd been afraid of people finding out, he was as scared as his sister had been and little more than a kid himself. He'd regretted what he'd done but Beth would never forgive him.

Jamie had made the wrong choice, but to blame him entirely was unfair. A nineteen-year-old is little more than a kid, it takes more maturing to become an adult. He saw the immediate but did not look as far as the consequences.

Beth bore a measure of responsibility that she did not accept. Sex could produce babies, and she and Rip had used no contraceptives. And if she was old enough to get pregnant, she was also old enough to bear the responsibilities of her actions. She could have called and made an appointment at a clinic or Planned Parenthood. When they got to the clinic at the rez she could have asked questions. The clinic should have asked her if she was sure that she wanted to consent to being sterilized.

The river flows both ways, the siblings should have resolved this a long time ago. Beth must have already resented Jamie for her anger to run this long and this deep. Or was it because she was angry at herself for what happened? Jamie was not blameless, but neither was she.

"You fucking cunt," said Beth, and she went into the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Takes one to know one," said Coralee and she laughed. She almost missed the drama that went on in the family. There was no family strife going on at the ranch in Texas. She and Travis almost never fought but any conflict was solved by their disappearing into their bedroom and fucking it out. When had all the trouble started, was it when Aunt Evelyn was killed when she fell, and her horse rolled over her? Things hadn't been the same after that and Coralee had been grateful for her family and how well they got along and loved each other.