yCoralee sat on the front porch, drinking the blueberry lemonade Gator had made her. Like everything else he made, it had his special touch. He had mashed the berries and combined them with the freshly squeezed lemon juice. It had been sweetened with simple syrup, and fresh, cold water from the Dutton well. He had thrown fresh berries into the glass and then poured it over them.

Yum, she thought and took another sip. Gator could make a fortune if he decided to open a restaurant or a full-time catering business. He could teach classes, too, he was the type of person who would teach you how to make something and make sure you made it right. She was sure she'd gained weight in the short time since she'd returned to the ranch.

She heard the sound of a truck engine before she saw it, one of the "Rams" that Uncle John preferred these days. She preferred Fords and thought they were more reliable, but the Rams were fun to drive. Travis had just bought one, they were still debating what to get for her. Probably an SUV, it would work better for accommodating a baby seat.

Someone got out of the cab, and when she looked she saw Ryan making his way up to the lodge. She had thought it would be Rip, but if he was busy the task would fall to Ryan. He looked at her and smiled, then tipped his hat.

He came up the steps and then sat next to her. "One truck for the lady," he said and handed her the keys. "I've filled it up so you should be able to get to Helena and back, without having to s top for gas."

"Thank you, Ryan, would you like something to drink? This lemonade is good, or we've got cold beer. I know you cowboys like your beer."

"Well, I've got to get back," he started to say but she interrupted him.

"No, stay a few minutes. I know it's not far, but I'll drive you back to the bunkhouse. If Rip complains, I'll remind him that I'm family and technically one of the bosses."

Ryan settled back, "I think I'll take that beer then if you don't mind."

"Coming up," she said and for the first time, he got a look at just how pregnant she was.

"Whoa girl, should you even be on your feet?" he asked.

Coralee gave him her hundred-watt smile, "Not to worry, I'd be riding if the doctor would give me the okay, but he wants me to be careful. I'll be right back."

She disappeared into the house for a moment, then returned. "I brought you a yellow jacket, I'm not sure if you prefer a can or bottle." She handed him the beer, then sat down and took a sip of her lemonade.

He popped the top of the can, then took a swig, "Ah, that's good, nothing like a cold beer." He was silent for a moment, then asked, "How's your sister doing?"

Ah, she thought, I think I get it. "Do you want the truth?" He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Well, to be honest, she's not doing very well. Mom and Dad pretty much sent her to stay with Travis and me for a while to see if a change of scenery would help. She's going to spend a month after I have the baby and get back on my feet. Travis is taking her on the road and having her compete with my horses since I can't. She isn't as good as me and she's going to go up against some stiff competition. She may not win but I think it'll be good for her."

"So she's not doing too good," Ryan seemed not to have heard her talk about the horses.

"No, she's not, Ryan," Coralee said, "She's a pretty sad girl. The blowup with you, the collapse of that hasty mistake of a marriage, she hasn't been doing well, and I worry about her. Going on the road is going to be the best thing for her." She paused and looked at him, "Ryan, neither one of you is perfect, but when things were good the two of you seemed to be made for each other. Then, when you hit a rough patch, you ran instead of working it out."

Ryan drained his beer and crumpled the can, "She ran, Coralee, I didn't. Can I get that ride back to the bunkhouse now?"

"Sure," she said, "No problem."

When she dropped Ryan off, he turned and told her, "Look, I don't know how I feel about your sister. Sometimes I miss her, but I don't know if I can forgive what she did. I'm sorry she's hurting, and I hope things get better, but for now, that's all I can say."

The next morning she showed up for breakfast dressed only in her pajamas and her robe. Beth gave her a dirty look and started to open her mouth, but John glared at her. Coralee smiled and shrugged it off. After breakfast, she would shower, get dressed then hit the road. Who cared how she looked anyway? No rule said you couldn't show up for breakfast wearing your pajamas and robe if that's what you wanted to do.

It was good to be driving again. She loved the power of trucks and loved being able to hear the rumble of the engine. She had no use for electric vehicles, she was environmentally conscious but give her an internal combustion engine any day.

She'd grabbed a few CDs to help keep her company. She loved country but sometimes nothing but rock and roll would do, and this was one of them. She shoved the Eagles' greatest hits into the stereo and turned it up loud.

This was different than driving through Texas. Montana could be brown and flat but there were always the mountains to look forward to. She could peer up through the window and see the big sky of Montana, complete with its fluffy white clouds.

She missed Montana and wished they could raise her here, but Texas was Travis's home, he'd be miserable anywhere else. They'd never talked about it, but he'd assumed that would not be a problem. The only solution she could see was getting away as often as she could. Going on the road for the horse shows would be a help but someday their child would have to go to school and that would mean more time at the ranch for her.

"Not looking forward to that, are you, Coralee?" she said out loud. Not gonna be selfish when it comes to my kid, she thought, she was going to make sure she didn't have a lonely childhood. Travis agreed, he'd had a happy childhood and wanted the same for their daughter.

She turned her mind away from unpleasantries and focused on seeing Jamie again. She had a feeling this was more than cousins reuniting.

It was more convenient for Jamie to live in Helena, but she guessed there was more to it, and it began with Beth. Beth had delighted in tormenting Jamie and Coralee did not know why. Jamie had not wanted to go to Harvard or leave Montana, but she'd assured him that getting away from his sister would be a bonus.

"Look at it this way, Jamie, Beth won't be at Harvard. I know you don't want to be a lawyer, but give it a try, you might be good at it. If it doesn't work out, find something else, and to hell with Uncle John."

Beth had had to come to terms that at least someone was not afraid of her. As Coralee grew older, more educated, and more mature she discovered that she was no longer afraid of her. She realized that she could see through Beth's grandiosity. Beth had an over-inflated view of her power, she believed she exerted control over the ranch and her father. Beth liked to threaten, to throw her weight around, unaware that her threats often fell on empty ears.

Beth had demons, Coralee didn't know what they were, but she had them. Beth was unstable at the very least, and dangerous. Her cousin needed help, but would not admit it. Beth was intelligent and capable, but it was becoming less apparent.

If Beth had attempted to come between Coralee and Jamie, she would not succeeded. She didn't know why she seemed to have or was trying to have, the power to intimidate, and sometimes even frighten Jamie. This was something she intended to get to the bottom of on this visit. She was going to help Jamie, but no one else seemed interested so it was going to fall to her.

She saw the turnoff to the capital and took it. "Come to my office," he'd told her, "I'll take you to lunch then show you my house. I can take the afternoon off, I don't do it very often so it's not a problem. If Lynelle is in her office you might want to stop and tell her hello."

She followed his directions and found herself in a parking lot not too far from the building. She'd packed herself a go bag that she left in the truck, and reluctantly left the plastic cup of iced tea that she'd brought with her.

The first thing on her agenda was to find a restroom, the baby always felt like it was pressed against her bladder and she never seemed to get a break from going to the restroom. She tried to find Lynelle's office in the maze of corridors and after asking three people for directions she was finally able to find her.

"I'd like to see the governor if that's possible," she told the secretary, "I'm Coralee Dutton, I'm an old family friend."

The secretary, somewhat reluctantly, picked up the phone, "There's a Coralee Dutton who'd like to see you."

"Send her in," Coralee heard Lynelle's voice, and the governor opened the door and smiled.

"Hi, kiddo," she told her, "Look at you, when are you due?" She showed Coralee to a chair, she knew how pregnancy was hard on the feet and legs.

"Not soon enough, I'd like to have this baby now, only I'm told it wouldn't be a good idea. I came to see Jamie, but I wanted to say hi to you. I haven't seen you since the wedding."

Uncle John, she thought, why don't you marry this woman? She's strong, she won't take any of your nonsense, and she can stand up to Beth. Well, maybe that's why, isn't it, Beth hates her and would try to make her life miserable, but Beth does that to everyone. I'd love to see her in the family.

"Well, how's the horse showing? John told me you've made a lot of money." Lynelle smiled at her. There were members of the Dutton family she genuinely liked, and Coralee was one of them.

"It was going great until I got knocked up. I'll take it back up as soon as I can. I plan on having my daughter follow in my footsteps."

"A girl? Well, that will be nice for you, girls are easier to raise. I know Jamie is waiting for you, so I'll walk you down there, navigating these halls can be confusing until you learn your way around."

Without her help, Coralee would have been lost. She deposited her in Jamie's office and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Jamie's secretary buzzed his office, and he came out smiling. "Well, look at you, I can't believe my little cousin is all grown up and expecting a baby. Come on, I bet you're hungry, how does the best steak in Helena sound?"

"It sounds great, you'd think with all the space the baby is taking up, I wouldn't have room for food but I always seem to be hungry these days. Travis fusses and says I don't eat enough, but I'm eating plenty, trust me." She beamed at Jamie.

Their conversation during lunch was trivial, a restaurant was not the place to talk about the things they needed to say. No politics, no Beth, no ranch, they would save that for when they reached his house land could talk openly. In the meantime, lunch was something to be enjoyed.

She and Jamie needed to talk, she didn't need to be told that he needed her. Things were going on below the surface at the ranch and Jamie was the only one who would tell her. She'd always been there for him, always would, whether it was her love for him or her hatred for Beth she did not know. All that counted was that Jamie needed her.