For the first time in his life, Travis learned to exercise patience. Coralee had warned him about the difficulties of traveling with a baby, if he had only half listened before he was finding out now.

He had sent Matt ahead with the second truck, for the baby slowed them down. She needed to be fed and changed, which was not always possible in a moving truck. The two-and-a-half-day drive was stretching out into four, and his patience was being stretched with it.

Coralee could read his moods. He didn't know exactly how, but she had developed a talent for calming him down. She knew the exact moment to say, "You knew this was going to be difficult, but maybe you just forgot, hmm? Let's stop at the next rest area, and chill for a few minutes. I'll nurse the baby instead of bottle feeding her unless you want to do it. We need to dump the dirty diapers anyway. Don't worry, Texas isn't going anywhere."

They spent one night at a motel, giving the crew a chance to sleep in a regular bed. They ate at a restaurant instead of takeout, and the next day everyone felt calm and relaxed.

The next day as they climbed into the truck Travis had to admit the unplanned expense had been a good idea. The baby wasn't that hard to travel with, she slept, for the most part only waking when she needed to be fed or changed. He thought again how lucky he was that he had married the right wife. He had surprised himself when he realized he was in love with Coralee, and glad he had found the right girl at the right time.

Except for Beth the Duttons rose and ate early. Life on the ranch didn't wait for six o'clock. Before the sun came up the horses got restless, stirring in their stalls and waiting impatiently to be fed. Katie had her routine, she fed her horses and then returned to the lodge to feast on the spread Gator would provide. When her stomach was full, she'd return to the barn and groom, then pick out the one she'd ride that day.

The hands would gather and ride together to where the herd pastured that day. If they grazed down the field they would have to be moved. Rip and Lloyd would decide which pasture to move to, then they'd call the dogs and get the cattle moving. Someone, usually Ryan, would ride ahead and get the gates open, then he'd return to help.

Katie was watching him, her heart in her eyes. Ryan had begun to speak to her again, there was no encouragement in his voice, but he no longer ignored her. It wasn't much but she was willing to take it. Maybe if she was patient and willing to give it time, there would be hope.

Carter was beginning to develop a crush on the beauty with the blue eyes and the golden hair. He loved Beth as he'd love a mother, but she'd made it clear she wasn't. She treated him with affection and finally, Rip had warmed to him, even though he was a stern taskmaster.

But the golden-haired Katie had won his young heart. He had been terrified when she'd put the sugar cube in his hand and had her horse eat out of it. That had lessened his fear of horses a little. He'd discovered they weren't so different than some people. There were friendly ones, while others he hung back from because they were unpredictable. He'd taken to sneaking the sugar cubes in his pocket and would feed them to the ones he liked.

His fairy princess was coming down the aisle. She gave him a broad grin and said, "Don't let Rip catch you doing that, okay? People can be funny about feeding sugar to horses, I've never seen anything wrong with it myself, and the horses like it."

"Gotcha, don't let anyone see me doing this; does that mean you don't mind if I give them to your horses?" He looked at her, eager for her approval.

"Oh, I don't mind, and people have been doing it for years. Gotta go, hon, gotta get my horse saddled and get to work. You'll be doing this someday and teaching some other kid how to shovel shit the right way." He watched as she grabbed her saddle from the wall and disappeared into a stall, then emerged leading her horse.

His heart was in his eyes as she rode off. To his young eyes, she was the epitome of female beauty. She was not Beth, she did not have the hard inner core that Beth possessed. He was too young to understand the intricacies of the human psyche, but he could tell somehow that Beth had been hurt by life.

Not so Katie, Katie was light and lovely, she alternately teased him and gave him advice. She never had a harsh word for him, and he began to look for her every day and was disappointed if she did not show.

Ryan noticed it too. Katie had taken it upon herself to teach the kid to ride. She started slowly, putting him in the saddle then put him on a lunge line. The kid was uneasy but was becoming gradually more comfortable. Finally, she took him off the lunge line and had him walking and trotting around the round pen.

She had planned to graduate him to cantering and then try to gallop if he felt comfortable, but while she was out working in the pasture, she saw Carter riding with her uncle. She felt a little jealous that she wasn't out riding with him, but she felt proud that she had helped him get that far.

"Looks like someone took over for you," said a voice behind her and she turned and saw Ryan smiling at her.

"Yeah," she said, a wistful tone in her voice, "But you know, it kind of makes me feel good to see him there with Uncle John. He won't take it easy on him, but Carter's ready. Uncle can give him more time than I can. I wish he hadn't dropped out of school, but he can learn things here he won't learn anywhere else. Maybe Monica and I can talk him into doing a little homeschooling, if not, he's learning how to work, and that counts for a lot."

"Gator's serving us steaks tonight, are you going to be eating at the house or will you be eating with us."

"We'll have steak too, but you know, I miss eating at the bunkhouse. They won't miss me at the table, but I'll tell Uncle John just in case." Wow, she thought, did I just hear that? Are you getting ready to forgive me, Ryan?

It had been a long four days, a very long four days, but at last, they had reached the ranch. Travis had learned to cultivate a little more patience than he was inclined to, and Coralee had learned that she didn't need to be demanding. Somehow they had figured out how to accommodate an infant's needs with the needs of the cowboys and horses.

Instead of the ATV Travis had purchased a small pickup to travel back and forth beneath the barns and the house. There was more baggage now, cribs, clothes, bottles, and that was just the baby's.

Fortunately, Elena and her husband Raul were there to help. Coralee had forgotten about the baby furniture she had ordered, but a newly assembled crib stood in a corner of their bedroom, along with a changing table. The baby's clothes were in a dresser in a separate room where Elena guessed they'd move the baby eventually. The clothes and furnishings had been put away. If they decided to repaint the room, it could be done while the baby stayed with them.

The baby wasn't sleeping as much now. She was getting closer to three months old now, almost to the "magic baby" stage. Soon she would be laughing and gurgling and become curious about her world. She would start growing and there would be no turning back.

Coralee picked her up and carried her through the house. She would stop in each room and explain what it was. Lucy was too little to understand this, but Coralee needed to reacquaint herself with the house. She had felt safe and secure at the Yellowstone, though that was not the entire truth.

No one wanted Travis's ranch, so it was safe for her to start to become attached to it. The hands would be unloading the horses now and putting the equipment away. The wranglers who lived away from the ranch would be loading up their trucks and taking their horses home. The Yellowstone horses would stay, as would some of the riders. There was always the next show to get ready for.

She sat on the porch, holding the baby close to her. She already missed the great white barns with the giant "Y". If she closed her eyes, she could see the mountains and the green pastures in her mind's eye.

"Let me hold her," Travis had appeared as if out of nowhere, his big hands were surprisingly gentle as he took hold of his daughter and snuggled her close. "Are you going to feed her soon," he asked.

"Mm-hmm," she answered, "do you want to watch?"

"Hell, yes, I'm going to watch," he said, "We haven't had much privacy for the past few days, I want to be alone with my wife. I want to see you take your clothes off and feed the baby, then when we get her ready for bed, I want to see how much you're up to. I want to feel you naked next to me. You were my girlfriend, and then my wife before you were a mother. I want you Coralee, you have no idea how badly." He kissed her then handed Lucy back to her, then disappeared inside the house.

The baby fussed as she squeezed her a little too tightly. She knew that Travis meant what he said. It was time to see how far they could take her. He loved it when she performed oral sex on him, but he wanted more than that, he wanted her. She knew she could trust him, knew that he would stop if she started to hurt, but that was what she was afraid of. Sex after childbirth could be painful and he understood. He wanted to have her, and she wanted to give herself but was embarrassed and ashamed of the thought of not being able to please him.

For Katie eating dinner at the bunkhouse was like coming home. She loved her family, she did, but eating at the Dutton table could be stressful.

Though Beth would deny it, Jamie's absence was conspicuous. She missed him, she would rather Beth be gone, and that source of tension dismissed. If the conversation was civil, that was fine, but Beth was fond of drama and a simple family dinner which should have been enjoyable became a source of tension instead.

Not so in the bunkhouse. There was laughing and joking, and Walker and the rest of the cowboys would "swap whoppers". She could drink as much as she liked, the rest of the cowboys certainly were.

It was relaxing and happy, if not a little sad. Walker and Laramie, and Teeter and Kolby were together and happy, making her miss her relationship with Ryan. She did not mope though but held her head high and smiled as if nothing could touch her.

Did they remember her days with Ryan? They must but were all too diplomatic to hint at it. Instead, they sat around the table and drank beer, playing hold 'em and giving each other a hard time.

Katie was on a winning streak. She and Coralee liked to gamble and cards were a favorite. Katie loved Hold 'em but Coralee was a demon at blackjack. Tonight lady luck seemed to be smiling on her and she was cleaning out everyone, though generously lending money she would not get back when a player ran too low.

At last, they began to tire. Maybe it was the steak dinner, maybe it was the beer drunk before, during, and after dinner, but even the most hardcore decided to call it a night. The music and TV were turned off, and the cowboys stumbled off to their beds.

Katie stood up and stretched, almost losing her balance. She went to the coat rack to get her coat and walk up to the house, but Ryan put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You're too drunk to walk back to the house, Katie," he told her. Hadn't they had this conversation once before?

"No, I'm not and if I fall, I'll get up again. God watches over children and drunks, remember? Besides, I don't feel like sleeping in a spare bunk when I can sleep in my bed." What was this sudden concern for her? Katie wasn't buying it.

"Okay, stay with me, we can sleep in my bunk. You can go back to the house in the morning," he said.

She looked at him. If he meant it as an invitation that was one thing, if he was just looking out for her, well, she didn't feel like being looked out for.

"Ryan, no, I'd rather sleep in my bed. So thanks but no thanks." She turned to go but he grabbed her.

"Come on," he said, and grabbed her, "It's not about anything, I just want to make sure you're safe."

"And that's why I'm turning you down, I can be safe on my own. After all this time are you still not forgiving me? Have I lost you for good?" There were tears in her blue eyes as she looked at him and it was breaking his heart.

"Come on," he said and led her to his bunk. He wrapped his blankets around them, and she felt herself pass out, wondering if she should be glad or not.