They reached the camp just before sundown. There was a stream nearby and Anicka could smell the fresh grass and water, so did the cattle. It was hard for the hands to control them and she thought that they would try to drink the stream fed by snow water rushing down the mountain dry. But that was impossible.

Ryan pulled up next to her, "This is what cattle need, food, water, and shelter. There are lots of trees to provide shade sun and the meadow hasn't been grazed in a long time so there's plenty of grass. Can you smell the air, how fresh and green it is? I wish we did this more often."

So it was to be a truce between them then, and she was grateful. She hadn't expected that she would find herself in the middle of a love triangle when she came to the Yellowstone. Her object had been to find out what happened to her brother, what she hadn't expected was romantic entanglements.

There was a little breeze blowing and she took off her hat to let it ruffle her hair. It was nice here, and she didn't mind the fact that she'd be sleeping in a tent, and the only bathroom facilities would be latrines that they dug by hand. She was an outdoors girl at heart and although this was work it was also a welcome treat.

"I love it, you won't find anywhere like this in Texas, even in the hill country." She looked down at her feet, "I miss Texas, it's home, I was raised there. I miss my family, Ryan. Everyone here treats me well, and y'all are real nice, but it's just not home."

"I understand," he told her, "I grew up here in the Big Sky country, I don't know if I'd be happy anywhere else. This is my home and probably always will be. I was sent to come and find you, we've got a camp to set up. Gator's going to feed us when we're done. I think it's going to burgers tonight. Food tastes twice as good when it's eaten under the stars."

Soon she settled into a comfortable routine. Half her day was spent with the cattle, and after lunch she would help Gator clean up and then get dinner ready. The puppy was put to work with the cattle dogs/ Though she was still young she was old enough to not be intimidated by the size of the cattle.

She had a deep bark, and her size was enough to scare off unwanted intruders. When she wasn't guarding the cattle she would be at Anicka's side, or coaxing treats from Gator. If left to herself she would chase squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional rabbit.

One day the crew heard her barking and saw her chasing a half-grown bear away from the cattle. This got her a pat on the head from Rip and a beef bone that was loaded with fat and meat from Gator. She sat down and began to chew on the bone, a blissful look on her face.

The camp fell into a routine of watching cattle, doing the endless chores the camp involved, but there was also time for fishing. No rifle would be fired within earshot of the cattle, so hunting was out of the question. There was a peace up here that could not be found in the flatlands, and there were few quarrels among the hands.

At night they would build a fire and gather around for companionship and warmth. The bottles of whiskey or beer would be passed around, but there were no fights or quarrels. Eventually everyone would trail off to their tents, and the last one awake would be responsible for putting the fire out. Then, at sunrise, the hands would rise and go about their business. It was a comfortable routine for all.

The boys feigned surprise when the girls turned out to be as good at fishing as they were. Anicka dug up a mess of worms, and Kolby, Teeter, Laramie, Walker, and Ryan caught a mess of trout and gave them to Gator to cook for dinner that night. He dipped them in egg batter and rolled them in cornmeal then fried them, Cajun style. He added fried potatoes and corn on the cob and there was not a crumb left on their plates when the cowboys finished.

Anicka borrowed Walker's guitar and sang a song around the fire that her father had taught her when she was young.

I ride an old paint, I lead an old dam,

I'm going to Montana to throw a houlihan.

They sleep in the hollow, they water in the draw,

Their winds are all broken, their backs are all raw.

Ride around, ride around real slow

Where the firey and the snuffy are rarin' to go.

She didn't really like the song, it was sad, and she hated sad songs but her father had loved it. Everyone congratulated her, they didn't know she could play the guitar. Walker patted her on the back and said he suspected it all along.

The summer passed too quickly and one morning when they woke there was ice at the edge of the stream and frost on the grass. They loaded up the wagons and wrangled the herd and drove them back down to the southern pastures. Summer was officially over.

She and Rayn had repaired their friendship, but Ryan looked for a hint that there might be something more. She didn't want to lead him on with false promises, but she wasn't going to depend on Travis. He struck her as fickle, as someone who could not be counted on. He liked to flirt and he liked attention. He'd swept her off her feet but the weeks away from him up in the hills had brought her back down to earth.

She appreciated the horse and intended to keep her. She was good on the cattle and well-mannered and made a good cow horse. She didn't own a trailer but there was a hitch on her father's truck, and all she needed was a decent horse trailer. She didn't want or need anything new, just something in good condition.

It disappointed her that she wasn't any closer to finding out what happened to her brother. Maybe his killers, whoever they were, had been spooked and had left the area, maybe there was nothing to find out. And as for the train station, she suspected that someone on the ranch knew but wasn't talking. There must be a good reason that it was a well-kept secret,.

She hadn't dreamed about Benito again, which was a relief. She'd started dreaming about her father, but he seemed to be there to soothe her and warn her to be careful. It was something that she didn't need to be told, but she was starting to wish she could tell everyone the truth. She didn't dare, though, if her husband had been clever enough to deceive her into believing he was something he was not, who knew what secrets someone else might harbor?

One afternoon she had nothing to do, a rarity on the ranch, and Ryan asked her if she'd like to go into town with him. She jumped at the chance, eager to get away from the ranch for a few hours. She'd just gotten paid and wanted to visit a little boutique she had seen. There had been some turquoise and silver rings and bracelets in the window, and she thought it would be nice to buy some jewelry. This was something she could afford, she'd barely touched the cash she had put away in the safe deposit box.

There were a lot of things she was missing about home, like the trips to the border towns she would take with her mother and her sisters. The jewelry box that held her treasures was still sitting on the dresser at her parents' home. She loved the way silver looked against her tawny skin. The time up in the mountains had deepened the tone of her complexion, and she'd stay that way through the winter.

She and Ryan said little during the drive. Her mother and sisters were prone to chattering but she and her father had been the silent ones. An unspoken truce had been established between her and Ryan and neither was eager to break it. She sat and enjoyed the scenery—even though it was mostly cattle grazing in pastures.

He pulled up behind the store which was not just hardware, but all sorts of equipment and supplies. "C'mon," he told her, "I've got a list and could use your help filling it. If you want to go shopping afterwards that's fine with me. I'll grab a bit to eat while I wait for you."

When she first had come to the Yellowstone, she'd developed a habit of studying every vehicle within sight, she had not yet allowed herself to feel at ease and safe. At last she'd allowed herself to relax and not be so on edge. After all, he was back in Texas and not likely to come to Montana, she reasoned. It was nice not to be on edge all the time, she was tired of being afraid.

She went through the store, more like a warehouse she thought, with Ryan. Dividing the list and each taking half would enable them to finish more quickly, so she took her half and began going through the store, pulling the items they needed from the shelves.

She helped him check out the supplies and they divided their haul into boxes that she was able to handle. It would take a few trips to get the truck loaded up, and they were laughing and kidding each other when she saw it.

She remembered how proud he'd been of his new truck. He'd had to special order the paint job, no Dodge Ram came in yellow, but he was willing to pay extra to have it. He'd had double black pin stripes painted on the hood, and he'd ordered the rack of lights that went on the top of the cab. It was meant to be impressive, but it was gaudy—something out of MTV's "Pimp My Ride".

He'd expected her to be pleased but in those days she hid her embarrassment and told him how beautiful it was. It wasn't unusual for someone to have an unusual paint job, or extra lights on top of the cab. She hated having to ride in it with him but since they were going to be married she told herself that she would get used to it. Outrageous looking trucks were more the exception than the rule, but his wasn't the only one in Texas.

She held her breath, it couldn't be him, could it? How did he figure out that she was in Montana? She should have stuck around and gone to court, but battered women rarely received justice. She had wanted to get out of Texas and get away from him as quickly as she could. If she'd lost at trial she didn't know what she would have done.

She turned around and hurried back into the store to find Ryan. Sure, she had no proof it was her ex but the truck was so unusual and she didn't know if anyone else had one like it.

"What are you doing?" asked Ryan, "You're supposed to be carrying boxes to the truck, but he saw how pale she suddenly looked. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's my ex, I saw his truck. I can't remember the license number, but it's got Texas plates. I'm scared, Ryan, how did he find me? I can't think of anyone who would have told him where I was, the only ones who know are my family and they wouldn't tell. How did he find me? What's he doing in Montana?"

"I don't know, babe, but if has he money he could have hired a private dick. Don't panic, not yet. I'm a livestock officer, and that's good as a cop around here. We'll have a couple of the clerks help us carry the boxes out, he may not know you're with the Yellowstone, it just may be a coincidence that he's here."

"No, it's not, and he may know," she said, her voice grim.

"Well, if he tries to trespass on the ranch he won't get very far. Maybe he's cocky and that will work against him. He may try to get at you, but he won't be able to. You're safe, Amy, you don't need to worry."

The clerks helped them carry out the boxes and just as they finished she heard him call her name.

"Anicka, get over here, now. What the hell do you think you're doing? Get your ass in the truck."

Ryan did not know who "Anicka" was until he saw the look on her face. He held up his livestock badge and pulled out his gun and walked towards the stranger.

"I don't know who the hell you are, mister, but if I were you I'd turn around and walk away." Ryan sounded cool even though his temper was boiling. How dare this stranger accost her?

"You're just the cow police," the stranger replied, sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm as good as the police here. I'm giving you a chance to walk away. If you even try to lay a finger on her I'll shoot you." The look in his eyes let the stranger know he meant it.

"All right, all right, but you and I are going to have a talk, Anicka," he told her, and she did not like the menace in his voice. He turned and walked away, and she began shaking and could not stop.