Travis Wheatley enjoyed coming to the Yellowstone during the spring and summer, and catching up with his friend Rip. Most of the snow would be melted and the roads clear, so he'd take the opportunity to show John Dutton his new stock.

John hadn't purchased any high-end horses, yet, though in the past he'd bought cow horses because Travis had the best. When he was young Travis had trained horses for John Dutton but he'd long ago branched out. Travis was a self-made man and proud of it.

He and a few of his riders had done a little showing off with the reiners. John and Rip were impressed with what he had, but John was not yet ready to buy. He would, someday, and Travis knew it, and when he did he'd buy big.

He recognized two of the girls sitting on the fence and watching as he and his crew put his horses through their paces, the other he didn't. He'd mistaken her for a young boy until she turned around: no boy had breasts like that. She had her hair cut in a fashionable pixie style, but like most cowboys he preferred that his women had long hair.

He gave his horse a gentle nudge and came over to them at a gentle trot. "Hello, girls," he said, "I recognize you, Arkansas, and you Laramie, but who's your friend?"

"I'm not from Arkansas," Teeter growled and Laramie laughed.

"I'm the former shit shoveler and now new hand. Amy Perez," said the stranger and held out her hand.

"Well, Amy Perez, former shit shoveler, you like kind of skinny to be a hand," Travis replied.

"I had a nasty case of flu that I caught in town. I've promised the doctor that I'll get flu shots on a regular basis, now. Gator's trying to fatten me up, believe me, I wasn't like this when I first came here." She held out her arm and he could see it was all muscle and little fat.

"Well," for the moment that was all he could say. She was an extraordinarily pretty girl. Her dark eyes were fringed with black lashes and her tawny skin would never have to worry about sunburns. The short honey colored hair was in sharp contrast with her dark brown eyes. Her coloring was unusual but striking.

"So," he said, "How did you come to land in Montana? Where are you from?"

"I got away from an ex-husband who tried to use me as a punching bag. Where he is now, I don't know, and I hope he doesn't find out. My mom and my siblings live on a little ranch about twelve miles north of Austin. It was a great place to grow up, but I don't know if I want to go back there. I'm not minding the winter here as much as I thought I would."

Laramie and Teeter had drifted away, it was obvious that Travis had eyes for no one but Amy. For her part she didn't mind that he was flirting with her. He was attractive, although she thought Ryan was better looking. Travis just had a way about him, and it was nice talking to another Texan.

Ryan was startled to see Travis and Amy alone, talking like they were old friends. Rip came up to him and said, "Are you sure you want to leave Travis alone with your girl? He's a flirt and he's persuasive, so beware. Just be sure that you're not acting like a jealous boyfriend."

A jealous boyfriend he was, though. He didn't know where he stood with Amy, sometimes she gave the impression that yes, she was with him, but other times he did not know. He was a cowhand and a livestock agent, and he did not have Travis's money. He was a good hand, but he could not ride like Travis, who was now showing off for the woman he thought of as his girl.

Travis had ridden to the end of the corral, spurred his horse into a gallop, then slid into an impressive slide. Amy applauded and laughed, clearly impressed. Travis rode over to her, and they were laughing and talking and Ryan felt anger growing inside him. Travis was all show and would never give any woman the stability so essential to a relationship. Travis was showing off but he would not put it past him to try to seduce her.

"What did I tell you?" Rip said in a soft voice. "He's flirting and he'll do more than that if she gives him a chance."

"She's told me she's not ready to be serious with anyone after what her husband put her through. Boy, I'd like to find that guy and beat the crap out of him. What kind of man hits a woman, anyway?" Ryan said.

"The kind who's hoping that she's stupid enough to put up with it, and she didn't. She's young, Ryan, she's been through something bad, if you want her, really want her, you'll have to be patient and give her her space when she wants it. Travis might sweep her off her feet, but he won't carry her away. Whatever you decide to do, think about it first."

After lunch Travis brought out the cutters and Anicka was treated to something she had never seen before. She had seen cowboys work a cow or a steer, but not like this. It was like a little dance between the cowboy and the cow, and she knew she'd never be that good, even if she took a lifetime to learn.

Out of all his crew, Travis was the best. Rip could do a little, and Jake was pretty good at it, but watching Travis work a cow was poetry in motion. She watched fascinated as his horse followed the cow, the horse and rider working together.

"Man," she said to Teeter and Laramie, "I never knew anything like this existed. Did you notice how Travis worked that cow? He's better than anyone on his crew, and they're pretty good. I'd pay to watch this if I had to."

"Well, you don't have to pay to watch it here," said Laramie, "And you know what I think? I think you'd watch Travis anyway, whether he was working a cow or not."

"No, that's not true," her voice was huffy and indignant, "He's not half as good looking as Ryan, he's just good at what he does, that's all."

"Well, I've seen Travis watching you," Teeter retorted, "But I'd watch out for that one if I was you, he's a real rounder."

"I'm not interested in getting involved with anyone," Anicka said, "Not after what I've been through. I was barely married for three weeks, and that was three weeks too many. I'm only twenty-three and I'm not getting married again for a long time. No one's going to put their brand on me if you catch my drift."

Lunch had been simple, but Gator went all out for dinner. Early in the day he'd put ribs, brisket, and chicken in the smoker, and now the meat was sweet and juicy. Even John Dutton had come to the bunkhouse for dinner. Rip had even shown up, minus Beth, of course. Sometimes Anicka wondered if Beth really existed, she had yet to see her but both Teeter and Laramie assured her that she wasn't missing out. Evidently Beth was someone to be avoided.

Teeter and Laramie had left the table and from somewhere behind her she heard someone say, "Mind if I sit down?"

She looked up to see Travis smiling at her. "No, not at all, I'm just finishing up. I love Gator's barbeque. Steak is good, but I'd rather have barbeque any day. I know, I'm weird," she said almost apologetically.

"Well," said Travis, "You and me are used to that good Texas barbeque, nothing against Gator. If you're a good cook, you can fix a decent steak, maybe even a good one, but barbeque is something else."

"Like Mexican food. Some restaurants can serve up something sort of good, but nothing can beat my mom's home cooking. I was brought up on Mexican food, my dad was English, but he loved my mom's cooking. I was raised on it, you know."

"So, your mom was Mexican and your dad was English. I wonder how you got your coloring. I haven't seen many blonds with eyes like yours, and you definitely have Aztec cheekbones."

"Mom had five kids, but I'm the only one who's blond. Kind of a freak of nature, all my brothers and sisters have black hair."

"Well, you stand out, you know, you're very striking. Bet you've had the boys lined up wanting to take you out." There was a little twinkle in his eyes as he said this.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but I wound up getting married way too young to a person who wasn't exactly nice. I got away from him and I'm not going to make that mistake again." She lowered her eyes and would not look at him as she said this.

"No one should get married at twenty-two," Travis said in a solemn voice, "At twenty-two you should be going out and having a good time. Sounds like you've learned your lesson."

"I hope so," she said, "Excuse me." She got up from table; Travis was making her uncomfortable.

She went over and threw away the paper plates in the bin that Gator had so thoughtfully provided. Travis made her uncomfortable and worst of all she had to admit she was attracted to him. She wondered how much of Travis's flirting Ryan had witnessed. None, she hoped but she knew better.

She liked Ryan, a lot but she wasn't ready for the relationship he wanted. She kept telling him that she needed time, and though he said he understood but it was clear that he didn't. If she hadn't married so young, if she hadn't been abused by her husband, it would be different. What she needed was time to clear her head and be free to do as she liked. She wanted time to be single and she was sure Travis understood. He certainly wasn't acting like he was serious, he wanted a flirtation and maybe a seduction, but that was it.

Ryan came and took her arm. She'd avoided him at dinner, choosing instead to eat with the girls, but he'd been fine with that. It was the attention that Travis was paying her that he minded. He thought of her as his girl but lately it seemed like she was pulling away from him. Maybe he was pressuring her a little too hard, but he didn't want to share her with anyone, especially Travis.

"Hey, we got a poker game going. There's lot of money on the table but maybe you're up to it? I've seen you beat everyone in the bunkhouse, maybe you can beat these cowboys, too," he said. He was trying to act like he wasn't jealous, that he didn't resent the attention that Travis had paid to her. He hoped he was succeeding.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Travis had joined the game. "I think I will. I bet these Texans think they can take on anyone, let's show them they can't."

She sat down and threw her money on the table. She was good at poker, especially hold 'em. She wondered if Travis knew how to stack the cards. Benito had been good at cheating at cards, and he had showed her a few tricks. She'd be wary and keep an eye on Travis if he was dealing. It wasn't possible to catch a cheater in the act, you had to know after the fact that he'd done it.

Kolby was dealing now, and she could tell by the look on his face that his hand wasn't what he'd hoped it'd be. People could be so careless, their tells would be so obvious that it was easy to see what kind of hand they were holding. Of course, Kolby lost but she'd won, and she looked triumphantly at Travis. Ryan was next, and things didn't go any better for him and she almost felt guilty when she won again.

It was Travis's turn to deal now. He caught her eye and smiled, she responded by looking directly at him as he dealt the cards. The two of them had the best poker faces at the table.

She looked at her cards, then at him. It was too soon to tell if Travis was doing something underhanded, something he seemed quite capable of doing. Her eyes held his, letting him know she was keeping an eye on him and did not trust him.

If he had tried to manipulate the cards he had not succeed for she won again. "You're cheating," he said, clearly upset that he had not won.

He should have known better. "How can I cheat when I'm not the one who's dealing the cards. I wouldn't trust you any further than I could kick you. You're just sore that you lost." She looked at him and lifted her eyebrows to make her point.

The others laughed at him, and he laughed along with them. You don't play poker if you can't stand being laughed at once in a while. Travis had the Texas sense of humor that she'd missed ever since she left. She wished Benito were with her right now, she was missing him more than ever.

"Well, I think I'm going to leave the table before I clean you all out," she said, "All I'm taking is my winnings. Have fun, guys." When she reached the door that led out to corrals, she looked at Travis to indicate he would find her there.

Why am I doing this? She asked herself, but she knew why. She walked out into the chilly spring night, looking up at the stars and burst into tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Travis as he put his jacket around her shoulders, "You're going to get cold."

She pulled his jacket tightly around her shoulders. "I'm just homesick," she said by way of explanation, "I miss home so much, I miss my family. I haven't been to my father's grave in almost a year, I feel like I'm being disloyal. Like I'm a bad daughter."

"Why are you here then?" although he knew the answer he wanted to know more.

"Montana is safe, Texas isn't. As big as it is, I'm afraid my ex would be able to find me, and I think he'd kill me. He beat me, but I left him, I'm sure I bruised his ego although why he'd think I'd stick around after he hit me then I don't know."

He didn't say anything, he just took her in his arms and began to kiss her, half expecting that she might draw away, but she didn't.

"Listen," he said, "Under different circumstances I'd ask you to leave with me, but I know that's not what you want to do. You need time, and it's too bad your cowboy doesn't seem to get that. I'm not interested in anything but right now and what I want, for now, is to take you to my truck and make love to you. If that cowboy doesn't understand then either you make him understand or tell him to get lost."

"I want to make love to someone who doesn't expect anything from me," she said, and kissed him, "If all we ever have is tonight, that's fine with me. I don't belong to anyone but me, and I think you understand."

He didn't need to say a thing, he just put his arm around her shoulders and led her to his truck.