Travis, Coralee, and his crew were leaving the next day. For a while Katie had hung around, watching them load the saddles, feed, and equipment but she had grown bored. Besides Ryan and the wranglers were helping and she could not stand to watch him laugh and joke with the crew and flirt with the pretty girls who rode for Travis.

Ryan had been flirting with a pretty blond with braids almost as long as Coralee's. She sighed, she was on the verge of tears and even worse was feeling jealous and she hated feeling that way. Ryan was just another cowboy among many. She could find someone better, responsible who could give her the life she wanted, the life she had grown up living.

It was no use hanging around, she decided, she'd go up to the house and see Coralee and the baby, she looked at her watch and realized it was almost one o'clock and she was hungry,

The walk to the lodge helped to clear her head. She'd allowed herself to get entangled in a mess, but that didn't mean she couldn't pull herself out. Though she had a big family to lean on she had been taught to be self-reliant. She had a lot of choices, she could go on the road alone and rodeo, or maybe find a partner to travel with. If she chose to, she could go back to school. She had a bachelor's and could use it to build on something.

She let herself into the lodge shutting the door behind her. The aroma coming from Gator's kitchen was making her mouth water and she decided to ask him if he would make her a sandwich, roast beef on rye was sounding good, with a glass of iced tea to go with it.

He set her up with a sandwich and tea. She thanked him and then headed to Coralee's bedroom to see what she was doing.

Coralee was nursing the baby, talking to her softly as she watched her suckle. Katie knocked and her sister looked up and smiled, beckoning her in.

"Does it hurt when she does that?" Katie asked, she was ignorant when it came to babies.

"Nah, Mom gave me something to keep my nipples from getting sore. This little thing has gotten so much stronger, you know? I swear she grows by the day. I was so afraid she wasn't going to make it, but she surprised me."

Katie took a bite of her sandwich. "She surprised us all. She's tiny but she's a strong little thing. She grabbed my finger the other day and I was surprised by how firm her grip was. Watching you is making me think I'd like to have a baby or two someday."

"Are you coming with us?" Coralee asked, deliberately changing the subject, "You could, you know, you'd be welcome. We have plenty of room. Maybe a change of scenery would do you good. I can't ride for a few months so you could compete on my horses. That would give Lucy a break, she's working twice as hard with me out of commission. Maybe getting away from Ryan could help you put things into perspective, you need to think about what you really want."

"I want him if he'll have me," Katie answered, "But I don't know if he wants me. He's down there flirting with the cowgirls and I'm jealous, I remember when it used to be me."

The baby had fallen asleep and Coralee pulled her off her breast. "You've got a lot of trust to build back up if he's really who you want. You know, some of Travis's crew have been giving you the eye, and those cowboys are hot and they're nice guys. Why pine away for someone who doesn't want you?"

"If I don't try, how will I know? I'm hoping that Ryan can forgive me, if not, I need to move on with my life. If it doesn't work out, I can give Texas a shot. Honestly, Coralee, sometimes I wonder how you can even live there. I'd miss the mountains, and the park, and the snow in the winter."

"Who says I don't? My husband wants to live in Texas so that's where I'm living, where we're going to raise our children. I made my choice when I married Travis, make a different one for you, find a man who wants to live in Montana."

She changed the baby and put her in the crib. "Come on, I want to see my husband and see how things are progressing. Uncle John can look in on her. I can't believe that we're leaving tomorrow, it feels like we just got here. Are you up to seeing Ryan?"

Katie shrugged, trying to feign indifference. "I've been watching him flirt with Travis's cowgirls all morning. If I can deal with that, I guess I'm up to it."

Liar, thought Coralee, but she wanted to see her husband, so Katie could come down to corrals or not. It wasn't like she didn't feel sorry for her, but it was time Katie did something about it. She could see a therapist and work things out, there was nothing wrong with that. Or she could talk to Gemma, but their mother would be more pragmatic than sympathetic. Either way, Katie couldn't stay in an emotional limbo forever.

"Are you sure you want to stay here and deal with Beth-the-Bitch on a daily basis? You'd have to stay in the lodge, you know, Laramie and Teeter are the only girls allowed in the bunkhouse now. Say, why don't you talk to Laramie about going on the road? You could split the costs for things like gas, lodging, and feed. Besides, Laramie is fun, and she hasn't given up on rodeoing even though she's with Walker. I know you like her, why don't you think about it? It would be better than hanging out here and pining."

Katie would have said something, but they had reached the corrals. The horses would stay out overnight before being loaded into the trailer. Everyone looked very busy and efficient, but they were laughing and joking and giving each other a hard time. Even Rip was in on the fun.

"Hey, good looking, how about you dump your husband and let me show you a good time?" Travis was grinning ear to ear. Katie envied the way he loved Coralee absolutely, this was the kind of man she needed to find, someone who would worship the ground she walked on.

Ryan walked by, gave her a brief look, then turned his head away. Katie wanted to burst into tears but there was no way she was going to create a scene. She watched as Travis lifted Coralee and set her down in the corral. Since there was no one to help her, she climbed over the fence, trying hard not to look at Ryan. Maybe Coralee was right, maybe she should leave the Yellowstone and go to Texas for a while. Maybe a change was what she needed.

Rip came over, "Hey, where's that baby of yours? We're gonna miss her when you leave." Lucy had become the bunkhouse pet, even hardened cowboys would give her a bottle though it was up to the girls to change her diaper. She loved to tease the guys about being such a softie over her baby girl.

"She's asleep, thank goodness. I don't know how she's going to do on a two-and-a-half-day road trip. I hope she sleeps, she's a good baby, and she doesn't fuss much." And I've seen what a puddle you turn into when you hold her, she thought, it's too bad Beth can't have kids, but you know, I won't tell you this, but I think it might be a good idea that she can't.

"Don't worry," Coralee told him, "you all can fuss over her tonight. She has this whole damn ranch wrapped around her little finger, what are you guys gonna do when we leave tomorrow?"

Laramie and Walker strolled up; he had a protective arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. It's too bad Walker was taken, maybe he and Katie might have made a good pair. Walker had his faults but he was a good guy. He was working at establishing a music career but was going at it slowly. He was a good hand and a good man to have around the ranch.

"Well, maybe we can help out with that," Laramie had a broad smile on her face and the look of love Walker was giving her warmed Coralee's heart. "We've been saving our money and, well, after seeing your little mite we decided we want one of our own. We're getting married next year and we're gonna try to see if we can have a kid. We've got things to work out, but we've decided it's time."

Katie and Coralee squealed and hugged her. "That's such good news," said Coralee. "It's about time you made an honest woman of her, Walker," said Katie, "be sure and let us know when the wedding is."

That lifted Katie out of her funk. Thank god, thought Coralee, now she'll have something cheerful to think about. Maybe I can talk those two into going on the road. Laramie's good company and she can help keep Katie's spirits up and I won't have to worry about her.

There was a party atmosphere at the dinner table that night. Beth had decided not to sulk and participated in the conversation. Beth had never held the baby, and never asked to, much to Coralee's relief. She didn't trust Beth and with good reason. She was afraid that Beth would hurt Lucy, accidentally on purpose, of course. She got a dark look on her face whenever anyone talked about the baby or asked to hold her.

Rip loved to pick her up and hold her up in the air before bringing her safely down and Lucy seemed to love it. The big scary cowboy with the toothpick in his mouth had proved himself a softie. Maybe if Beth were to sober up and go into therapy for whatever problem she needed to work out, she and Rip could adopt.

But that would never happen. Beth preferred her hate and her darkness. Beth could choose to work out whatever she kept trapped in her, but she chose not to. Beth preferred her hate.

The baby was starting to fuss, so she took her upstairs to nurse her and get her ready for bed. She was tired too, there was a long two and-a half days ahead of them, and neither she nor Travis knew what they were in for. Travis preferred to make his drives in one long haul, but they had a newborn. She'd done all right on the drive to Helena, but that was only two hours. Travis knew he'd have to make allowances. They'd have to stop so Coralee could nurse Lucy and clean her up, likewise for diaper changes.

The baby was either the best idea or the worst one they'd had in their relationship. Coralee liked what Lucy brought out in Travis, he adored his baby daughter. Babies grew up, though, and she wondered how he'd deal with the 'terrible twos' but that was a long way off. For now, Lucy was his little princess, and it looked like she'd always be Daddy's girl.

Coralee hadn't buttoned her shirt, the night air felt cool on her breasts. Travis came in, and picked up the baby and put her in her crib, then cupped Coralee's breasts in his hands.

"Are they sore?" he asked as she leaned against him.

"Not so bad," she replied, "but careful, we don't want my milk to come in."

"Well," he said, "Let's see what happens."

The next morning Katie helped load up the trucks, she had goodbyes to say for she'd made friends with Travis's crew. There was something both happy and sad about going on the road. Happy because of anticipation of what might lie ahead. Sad because they were leaving behind good friends. Travis's crew loved coming to the Yellowstone as much as he did.

Ryan appeared next to her. "Are you going with them? I thought you were going to Texas with Travis and Coralee."

"No, Uncle John said I could stay and work here for a while. Besides, we're heading into autumn and that's always a beautiful time of year. Texas is too brown for my tastes."

"Are you disappointed?" she wanted to ask him, "Do you want me to leave so you won't have to look at me? Sorry Ryan, that ain't happening, you're stuck with me."