After dinner they talked until Coralee was too tired to stay awake. She kissed him goodnight then went to the guest bedroom and slept until early the next morning. After she took a shower Jamie took her out to breakfast—where she cheated and had caffeinated coffee—and then got on the road to drive back to Paradise Valley.

"I'm serious when I tell you that you should tell Uncle John about your son," she had told him, "I remember eavesdropping and hearing him say you'd probably never get married. You're not too old to marry, Jamie, there are a lot of men out there who put marriage off until they're ready. Don't listen to him, don't listen to Beth. Talk to Dad about the Beth situation. You need to protect yourself, maybe file a restraining order against her or an order of protection. You can always call me, you know. I'm not afraid of Beth and she hates that. Can you imagine how she'll react when you tell Uncle John about Jamie Jr?"

I'm afraid of that, Jamie thought, but answered, "I need to talk to his mother about that first, but I imagine Beth won't be happy if I decide to bring him to the ranch. I don't know how she'll react or what he'll do." You make sure to drive careful," he said, "you're going to catch the last of the rush hour traffic."

She got in her borrowed truck and took off. Jamie had given her directions to the freeway, and as bad as she was at directions, she had no trouble finding it. She was glad she had come to visit, she felt lighter somehow, all she could do was hope that Jamie had listened to her, maybe she'd tell her father what was going on. Benjamin wouldn't interfere but he would try to steer her cousin in the right direction.

She was going to confront Uncle John and find out what was going on regarding the ranch. She was the daughter of a lawyer; she knew how to approach things cautiously. Her father had taught her how to ask questions carefully, never be too obvious and most of all, to avoid a quarrel if she could.

She didn't know how much Kayce knew, or Rip. It would be Kayce, she decided, who could maybe provide answers. Uncle John wanted to make sure there was something to inherit for Tate, and when he found out about Jamie's child, he may want to include him. If there was anything left.

She was cramping a little, but it wasn't bad, just the damn Braxton-Hicks. Now that she'd reached seven months they had started up in earnest. She didn't wind up in a car crash like Monica. If the baby started to come, she wanted them to put her in the helicopter and take her to Bozeman. The baby might have to spend a month or two in an incubator, but she would survive. Some babies started out life too small, but thanks to modern medicine and NICU's they survived.

She never knew for sure what caused the cramps, perhaps she should not have had caffeine. She wanted to get home and put up her feet and rest. She'd ask Gator to fix a cup of the special herb tea he brewed for her and she's get in bed and elevate her aching feet.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to exit onto Eighty-Nine, it meant she was almost home. She tended to be overanxious, and knew it, she had made a promise to Travis that she would take care of herself, and they would not lose this baby. That fear was always in the back of her mind due to Monica's loss of an eight-months pregnancy. This was different, though, she reminded herself. Monica had tried to make a good choice, but she had made a bad one. She should not have been driving, but Kayce was not there, and Tate was too young to know how to drive. It was no one's fault that a buffalo had wandered onto the road.

Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her purse, knowing who it was without even having to look.

"Hello, gorgeous," Travis sounded cheerful, "How're you doing?"

"Oh, fine," she answered, "I went to see Jamie yesterday and spent the night. I found out that he has a kid—Duttons are popping out all over the place!"

"How's he doing?" Travis asked, it was obvious he didn't care but he asked out of courtesy to her.

"Not good, but he could be better, I think. Travis, I found out some stuff about the ranch that I need to talk to you about, but I don't want to do it over the phone." And especially not while I'm driving, she thought.

"Okay. Tell you what, sweetheart, I'm going to meet you at the Yellowstone in two weeks. I'll have everything wrapped up by then. I've got some horses I want John to take a look at. Why don't we spend the week then head back to Texas?"

"Yes, please. I miss my husband, tell him to hurry home."

"I will. That baby is getting closer to her due date. I want to have you back in Texas before then. I love you, sweetheart, take care." He made a kissing sound before he turned off his phone.

She missed him too. She wasn't eager to return to Texas, but it would be nice to be back in her own bed. She wanted very badly to make love to her husband if they could manage it with her pregnancy.

Seeing the entrance of the Yellowstone was a welcome sight. The drive was only a little over two hours but seemed to take much longer as she wended her way through the morning traffic. The gate, with the letters "Yellowstone Dutton Ranch" let her know that she had finally come home.

Coralee breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Beth's Bentley was missing. Beth frequently worked long hours so she would not be back until dinnertime at the earliest. John's truck was missing, but Monica's Nissan was parked in the strip so at least she would not be alone.

She grabbed her bag and walked up to the house. Funny, the more pregnant she became the harder it became to walk, even the short walk up from the parking strip to the lodge. She'd have to ask Monica if the same thing happened to her.

She was breathing hard when she reached the porch and decided to sit down for a minute. Her heart felt like it was beating harder than normal, but the doctor said it was normal.

It was time for that visit to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy checkup. She knew the routine by now, they'd do an ultrasound and measure her stomach. Only two more months of this, she told herself, then her body would take the time it needed to heal from the pregnancy. The first thing she was going to do was start riding again. She'd buy one of those front facing baby carriers and when the baby was big enough she'd start taking her on rides, just like her own father had taken her. She was determined that little Lucy would grow up on horseback just as she had. There'd be 4-H riding competitions, but she'd be ahead of the rest of them because she was going to teach her all that she knew.

The front door opened, "Hi," said Monica, "I thought I'd bring you a glass of iced tea." She sat down next to Coralee on the bench, "How did it go?"

"It was a good visit. Did you know that Jamie has a little boy?" Coralee was curious to hear her response.

"No, I didn't, but I'm glad. Tate will have another little cousin to play with and keep his baby brother company. There should be more children in this house, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean. I'm just sorry that I'm going to be living in Texas, it's so far away. That two-day drive can be intimidating, but there's holidays to look forward to. I wish we weren't so far away, I miss my family and Travis's is scattered all over the place. I haven't met any of his relatives yet."

"I noticed none of his family were here for your second wedding. Do you know if any of them are close?"

"He has a couple of cousins, but his parents are no longer with us. I suppose, if there's anyone who wants to meet me, they'll show up when we bring the baby home." Coralee started rubbing her stomach, something she did when she felt stressed but wasn't aware of it. "In a way," she went on, "I'm sort of glad it's been only us and the ranch hands. That's easier to deal with."

"If he has family, he ought to introduce you," said Monica, "You're his wife and soon you're going to be the mother of his daughter. It's strange that you haven't met anyone yet."

"Well," Coralee said, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt, "Between the tornado and the heavy rainstorms, Travis going out of town for the shows and the disbursal sales, there hasn't been much extra time. What if I don't like these people? What if they don't like me? Maybe I'm better off not knowing them."

"That's how I felt about meeting Kayce's family. It was so safe and private when it was just Kayce, Tate, and me and I was just as afraid as you are. But Beth has been kind to me, John has been supportive and helpful and I'm happy that I've gotten to know them. It could have been worse, I was afraid of not being accepted, but that's not how it was. Don't force things with Travis and his family, let it happen organically and it will be all right, I promise."

"Let's go up to my room, I want to get rid of my bag, and I have something to ask you." Coralee grabbed her "go bag" and the girls stood up and went to her room. She threw the bag in the corner, unpacking could come later, and sat on the bed.

"Tell me about Braxton-Hicks contractions. I seem to have these little crampy feelings, but they just go away. I had my six-months checkup, and everything seemed to be fine, but now that I've hit month seven, I get these stupid things all the time. They hurt, and they make me wonder if I'm going into labor but then they stop."

"Are they in the front?" Monica asked and Coralee nodded, "Well, that's a good sign, if they start coming from the back, watch out, that means you're in labor. Drink some warm milk, or a relaxing herb tea, and lie on your left side, that always worked for me. Sometimes walking will help, just don't over-exert. I know how scary pregnancy is your first time, so if you have any questions, ask me! Are you do for a checkup?"

"Yeah, I'm going to call Planned Parenthood first thing in the morning and schedule an appointment. Hopefully I can get in soon. Travis will be back in a couple of weeks or so, but if he's not, would you go with me?"

"Of course. I hope your cowboy gets here soon, that will make you feel a lot better. Are you going to have a home birth/"

"No fucking way," answered Coralee, "I'm no pioneer woman. I still can't believe my mom had all six of us at home, that's crazy. I'm having an epidural, and if anything goes wrong they can admit me and there will be a NICU for the baby."

She got lucky when she called Planned Parenthood and thought that was a good sign. There had been a cancellation, and they could fit her in the next week. When the time came, she dragged Monica with her to the appointment so she wouldn't feel so alone and isolated.

The news was good, everything was fine and she was healthy. By the way, the doctor told her, I think you're further along. I think you're closer to eight months, not seven. You must have miscalculated when you had your period, it happens all the time. The baby hasn't dropped yet, but that will happen a few weeks before you go into labor."

The girls left, Coralee holding the latest ultrasound picture in her hand. "Monica, what am I going to do? The doctor thinks I'm farther along and what if Travis gets here late and I can't risk the drive to Texas? I've got to find a place in Fort Worth so I can get to the hospital more quickly. I don't want to have the baby at home, I don't want natural childbirth. Everything was coming along fine, and now this."

"Maybe you should stay in Montana, John has the helicopter, and they can get you to the hospital that way. Travis won't be here for another week, maybe things will be fine."

"I'm sure glad you think so, but I don't feel so sure about it. I'm scared Monica, what am I going to do if the baby comes early?" She hated the way she sounded, but she felt apprehensive and wished she didn't have to face the drive to Texas. What if her worst fears materialized.