It was early morning, and Travis and his crew were packed up and ready to go. There was one last thing to do, the hardest of all, say goodbye to his wife.
They stood in the bedroom holding each other. Don't go, Coralee wanted to tell him, stay with me, wait until our baby comes home. But she knew she couldn't say it, and she wasn't going to. She would not be a clingy wife, although she wanted to hold him and not let him go.
"It's going to be all right," he tried to soothe her, "The baby will come home pretty soon, she's thriving and I'm sure they'll release her. If I could stay, Coralee, I would, but I've got to get back to work, you know I have to make a living."
But couldn't you do it in Montana just as easily as you could in Texas, she wanted to say, but she didn't, she wouldn't. Travis loved Texas, the good and the bad. What was it about Texans that made them so loyal she wondered? She'd never understand, but she was his wife, and if Texas was where he wanted to live, that was where she would go.
"I'm going to leave the puppy with you," he said, "We still don't know who invaded the ranch, but if someone tries, Shelley will hear it. John's increased the number of guards patrolling the perimeter, but if they broke through once, they can do it again."
"Don't say that, Travis, but you're right. Life on the Yellowstone is never going to be the same. We're lucky that none of us were hurt that night," she replied, "I'm afraid that something is going on, and Uncle John is closing his eyes to it. Jamie said..."
"What did Jamie say? He asked.
"Jamie said there are developers who have their eyes on the ranch, and if they can't get it through legal means they will do anything they can to secure it. There is more going on than he was willing to tell me. I guess he doesn't want to upset me, with all the stuff that's been going on with the baby. I wonder what Dad knows, he and Jamie have always been tight. Jamie didn't want to go to law school, but Dad convinced him to do it. He told Jamie he could always choose the life he wanted, and having his law degree would help."
"Talk to your father then," urged Travis, "Tell him what you know, see what he knows. I don't want to see your family lose the ranch. If there's a way to save it, they should do it even if John has to swallow his pride."
They went downstairs and said their final goodbyes on the porch. He got on the ATV and headed to the barn and did not look back. He never did, he always looked forward. He had horse shows to go to and sales to attend. He'd come home with an empty trailer and a wallet full of fat checks.
She went back into the house and closed the door behind her. Katie was there, waiting for her. She'd had a late breakfast and had stayed behind to help her sister. Coralee was going to Bozeman to see the baby and today was the day when she'd find out when she could bring her home.
"Travis has been gone a lot lately," Katie said, startling Coralee who shrugged her shoulders. "And now he's left again."
"It's business, Katie, I'm married to a horse trader. I just wish I could go with him. Are you coming with me to the hospital today?"
"Yes, I want to see how the baby's doing. Do you know when she's coming home, I bet your hospital bill will be enormous." Katie could be tactless.
"He got better insurance when I got pregnant. We'll have to pay some out of pocket, but it will cover most of it. Travis has a good head on his shoulders for business, babies are expensive, so he planned for it. We didn't plan on having the baby here, but our coverage extends to out of state."
"We've got to get you some more baby stuff, like a portable crib, and I know all your baby clothes are in Texas." Katie had a hopeful look on her face.
"Yes, I need to get a few things, like diapers. I'll nurse her when we drive back to our ranch, but in the meantime, I need bottles, clothes, and a portable crib. And I'll have to introduce Shelley to the baby."
"Aren't you worried about that?" Katie asked, "She's such a big dog."
"German shepherds are very protective of their family, and the baby will be family. No, I'm not worried, I'm glad she'll be there to look out for her."
Katie was surprised at how small her niece was, but she was healthy and nursed well. She wasn't sure she was ready for motherhood, but Coralee looked happy. Motherhood suited her and Katie felt a little jealous. She was the older sister, after all, she was the one who should have had a baby first.
She felt unsure of herself, something she was not used to. She deeply regretted the way she had treated Ryan and didn't even have a reason for her actions. Then there was that disastrous marriage to Bob, she didn't understand why she had done it.
She wanted Ryan back; she realized what she'd lost and was afraid he would want nothing to do with her. She stayed away from the bunkhouse, but when she was there, he would barely look at her. She wanted to talk, at least have the chance to apologize, but what good would apologies do?
Katie was surprised when he showed up at the lodge. She heard knocking and no one was around, so she answered the door and was surprised to see Ryan standing there.
"Hello Katie," his voice was curt, as if she was the last person he wanted to talk to, "Is your sister here?"
"Yes, she is," Katie was about to look for her, but Coralee was coming down the stairs, her dog at her side.
"Ma'am," Ryan removed his hat, "I was wondering if I could borrow your dog? Would she obey me if I told her to do something?"
"Yes, she's well trained, but it would be better if I came with you. "What's wrong?"
"Someone may have breached the perimeter fence and we thought if they heard the dog barking it might scare them off. We're hoping we might catch someone, or at least get a look at a car or something. I'd keep an eye on her so no one would hurt her."
"I'll go with you Ryan, I'll take along a shotgun. I'd like to know who these people are. It's awfully brazen of them to come back so soon."
"Can I come too?" asked Katie, but Ryan shook his head.
"Not enough room on the ATV with two people and a dog. Let's get going, I need to see what's going on."
Coralee grabbed a shotgun and snapped a leash on Shelley's collar before they took off. Shelley liked to ride, a car, a truck, an ATV, it was all the same to her.
They rode to the ranch's western perimeter as the sky started to darken. "They always seem to come here, maybe because it's easy to reach. We don't use this pasture now but maybe they don't know that." Ryan took his pistol out of the holder.
Shelley started growling softly, making little noises in her throat. "Shh, baby," Coralee told her, "We don't want to scare them, not yet." Her dog stood stiff and still, her body posture revealing that she could smell, or hear something.
Ryan and Coralee hid in the tree line, not sure what they were waiting for, when a line of trucks came up the lane. They parked away from the fence, and soon she could see figures emerging, carrying cans that could only contain one thing.
Coralee could smell it even from where she and Ryan were standing. "They're going to burn the field, and if it catches fire..."
"It'll burn the whole damn ranch, or come close," said Ryan, "Let's try to approach them peacefully but make your shotgun is cocked.
Shelley was pulling hard on her leash, she wanted to be let go. Coralee wanted to be careful, she didn't want her dog to get hurt.
Whoever these bastards were, they were careful, no one was smoking. They would probably soak the field with gasoline then light a Bic lighter and throw it on the field. The grass was dry and the pasture would be burning in a few minutes.
"Ryan, I know this sounds insane, but I think these guys are professionals. They're driving black trucks, and it looks like their clothing is black. I wouldn't be surprised if they were wearing black masks, too, and Kevlar vests."
"That's why we came to help," a voice said. Coralee turned around and saw Kayce and Walker standing behind them. "We figured it wouldn't be safe with just the two of you, so we followed you," said Kayce, "What do you want to do now?"
"Figured we'd give them a chance to surrender peacefully," said Ryan, "If not, we're all armed, I hope." Walker cocked his rifle and grinned.
"Do you have flashlights?" asked Coralee, "Let's let them know we see them and see what happens next."
They shone their flashlights on the would-be invaders, revealing that there were fewer of them than they'd feared. The assailants dropped their cans and ran towards the truck, except for one who turned and drew a weapon after he'd dropped his can.
"He's mine," said Coralee and she fired low and hit him in the leg. "We're going to need someone to question if you're wondering why I didn't kill him."
They could hear him howling as the others drove off. She'd never shot a human being before and was having trouble processing just what she'd done. Kayce, however, combat veteran that he was, had no such trouble.
"I'll call the vet, let's get him on the ATV," he said, "I'm sure he won't be cooperative, but after getting shot in the leg with a shotgun he won't be in any condition to object too much. The vet can patch him up, I hope you didn't hit his femoral artery, Coralee, if you did he'll bleed out. Nice shot, nice thinking, by the way. I always knew you had it in you."
Coralee removed her shirt and they used it to bind his leg. The intruder wasn't talking, just moaning and crying in pain. They put him on the ATV Walker and Kayce shared; Shelley was barking and growling and they were afraid she would further harm him—not that anyone was bothered by this.
It was midnight when they returned to the bunkhouse, and the vet was there waiting for them. They put the wounded man on the table where she picked out the buckshot and tended to the wound on his leg.
"Don't worry," the vet told him, "You aren't going to lose your leg. I wouldn't mess with these guys though, they don't take kindly to people who want to burn their ranch down. I'll give you a shot to kill the pain, but my advice to you is to sing like a bird."
They put him in a chair and gave him a crate to elevate his bad leg on. He had a scared look on his face and Coralee didn't blame him. Rip always looked imposing, wearing his black, he was six-one and his size enhanced the menacing look.
It was Kayce who surprised her, who always surprised her. He seemed gentler than Rip, but Kayce was made of steel. While Rip was concerned with the outcome and didn't care how it came about, Kayce was a man who believed in doing the right thing. She had grown up knowing that she could depend on Rip, but of the two, Kayce was the one she would always put her trust in.
"Who are you with?" asked Rip, "You aren't working alone, is it an individual or is it Market Equities? Were you here to burn the ranch, or was it a scare tactic?" He took a step towards him, and Coralee called out, "Rip—no!"
"Look," said Kayce in his soft voice, a voice that was trying to be both reasonable and convincing, "Tell us what we want to know, and we'll take you to the hospital,"
Rip got a look of irritation on his face when he heard Kayce say this. The hospital was not what Rip had in mind.
"And I'll see that they do," Coralee spoke up and glared at Rip. She knew about the "train station" and she would not tolerate a man being killed, no matter what he had intended for her family's ranch.
The man looked from Kayce to Rip, to Coralee. She could tell he was torn, he was scared and not necessarily of them.
"Look, they'll kill me if they find out I talked. These people are serious, they're after your ranch and they'll do anything to get it."
"We'll make sure no one knows, isn't that right Kayce?" She looked at him, she didn't bother to look at Rip who realized there wouldn't be a trip to the train station after all.
Kayce nodded and said, "If you help us, we'll help you. Tell us who's behind this."
The man licked his lips, then looked around him. "All right, it's someone from Market Equities who's acting on his own. The company officially wouldn't condone this, but if someone wants to take the initiative they won't object. Please, you've got to help me, they'll kill me, that's how serious they are."