Travis didn't like to share driving, but he would make an exception for Matt, whom he trusted. He had an expensive truck and trailer full of expensive horses and he preferred to take no chances. The drive to the Yellowstone was a little over twenty hours and he was sure he could make it but every time he looked at his wife he was tempted to go into the sleeper cab so he could make love to her.
Finally lust and fatigue won out over machismo, and he turned the wheel over to Matt so he could enjoy some love making and a short nap. Matt said nothing but grinned.
"Don't say it, Matt," Travis warned him, and he laughed.
I'm not saying anything," he replied.
"Come on sleepyhead," said Travis to his wife, for she was half asleep when they pulled into the rest stop to switch drivers. "You can barely keep your eyes open so we'll go into the sleeper cab for a while so we both can get some rest."
Matt laughed as Travis had to convince her to move, she was more asleep than either thought. When he finally got her into the cab she curled up next to Travis as Matt steered the truck onto the road, not even fighting him as he pulled off her clothes.
Four hours later he was wakened by the beeping of the alarm on his watch. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Matt.
"Is there a rest area or truck stop where you can pull over? I want to get back behind the wheel, you don't know the roads around here like I do." He paused waiting for Matt to respond.
"Yeah," Matt replied, "There's a truck stop ahead, I'm hungry what about you?"
"Starving," Travis answered him as he looked at Anicka sleeping peacefully, "Let everyone know that we're gonna get something to eat. Tell them if they snooze, they won't eat until we get to the Yellowstone."
"Come on," he said to Anicka as he gently shook her awake, "Time to get up and get dressed, we'll be at the Yellowstone in a few hours. Are you hungry?"
Her answer was to twist her arms around his neck, but he laughed and freed himself. "Oh no, no time for that right now, sweetheart, that will have to wait until tonight. John is going to put us up in the miner's cabin, so we'll have some privacy. Get dressed, we're going to a truck stop that has some pretty good food if I remember correctly. Vamanos!"
They reached the Yellowstone about four hours later and the hands began to unload the horses and tack. Anicka wondered if the wranglers would be returning soon, she wanted to show off her ring to Teeter and Laramie.
She wasn't one to just wait around, she helped. She hated to see the horses left in the trailer although Travis had told her more than once they safer there and less likely to injure themselves. Helping had earned her the respect of Travis's crew, and she was accepted more and more as one of their own.
The horses were unloaded in a large enough pen where they could stretch their legs a little. At night they would return to the trailer for their safety—the coyotes, bears, and the occasional cougar could pose a danger.
Rip had returned, alone, and helped Travis oversee the unloading of the horses. Now that they were finished they had stood around shooting the breeze until Travis noticed Anicka standing by herself.
He came over to her side, saying, "Excuse me young lady, there's something we need to do," and took her arm.
"What?" she asked then noticed where Travis was taking her, the barn where it had happened. "No," she said, trying to pull away, "I don't want to…"
"You need to face this," he told her, "Otherwise your fears and nightmares may haunt you forever."
He tried to steer her into the barn where she had had the confrontation with her ex, but she fought him. "No, I'm not going in there," she told him. She hadn't been back to the Yellowstone since it happened. She closed her eyes, wanting to hide against his shoulder, but he would not let her.
"Look," he commanded, "You see, there's nothing here. Rip took care of him and got rid of the body, there's nothing left to find."
She did as he told her, then noticed there was a tiny, reddish-brown stain on the wall. "Did I do that?" she asked.
Travis took a closer look. "I don't know," he said, "It may be from the pitchfork. I'll tell Rip and he'll make sure this and anything else they missed is gone. What you need to remember, Anicka, is that you are allowed to defend yourself under the law. Montana does not take kindly to men who endanger women, neither does Texas. You were defending yourself, remember that."
"But, I killed someone…" she started to say but he cut her off.
"Maybe, maybe not. You may have just hurt him, maybe Rip finished him off, did you consider that? And there's no body, Rip took care of that. They won't find his truck either, so you're safe, okay? Okay?"
She nodded and put her arms around his waist and lay her head against his chest. His hands stroked her short hair then bent his face down to kiss her.
"I love you," he whispered, "Don't forget that, I will always keep you safe."
They left the barn arm in arm and were greeted by the site of the returning wranglers. Anicka spotted Teeter and Laramie's blond heads and waved then ran over to greet them. The girls put their arms around each other, laughing and squealing, it had been too long.
Travis watched as Anicka followed Teeter and Laramie into the barn, then turned to see Rip was watching.
"How did she take it?" Rip asked him, "is she okay?"
"I think so, but I don't know," Travis replied, "She spotted some blood stains you missed and that kind of upset her but I think she'll be all right. We'll be on the road and doing shows, so she won't have much time for brooding. I'm registering her as "Amy Wheatley" for now. She probably won't win anything, but if she does I'll have her write 'for deposit only' on the check and that should take care of it."
"Is she showing for the first time?" Rip asked and Travis nodded.
"Yes, I think she's ready. Matt and I worked her pretty hard and I hired a trainer. She's a natural on a horse, I hadn't expected that. Next season she ought to do much better. Giving her something to do has been a big help at keeping her out of her head. She'll be okay, I think," he said slowly, "And if not, I'll find her a therapist."
"I thought that you didn't put much stock in things like that." Rip was surprised at what he heard.
"Well," he answered, "I don't, but if it will help here, that's the next step. She didn't have a rough upbringing like we did, I think she's still overwhelmed by what happened."
"Try to reassure her. I took her ex's truck to a junkyard in Wyoming and paid them to crush it. It's out of state by now, maybe even been melted down. There's nothing left to trace," Rip told him.
"Rip," he hesitated for a moment, "This talk about the train station, is it for real?"
Rip clapped his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Amigo," he said, "You don't want to know."
Gator cooked up a mess of burgers with fries on the side for dinner that night. There was also corn on the cob with jalapeno butter. The wranglers and Travis's crew sat down at a table improvised of plywood and sawhorses, covered with a vinyl tablecloth. For those who didn't want beer, there was iced tea or maybe a can of coke from an ice filled cooler.
John Dutton joined them, along with Kayce, Monica, and Tate. Rip was there, but as usual, Beth did not deign to join them. That was just fine with Anicka, she disliked Beth and felt sorry for Rip. She wondered again what he saw in her. Rip was a rough man and didn't seem like what she imagined was Beth's type.
Gator would set up the barbeque so that he could have an early dinner ready for the next day. Travis and his crew would get up early so they could hit the road before the traffic grew heavy. Travis would be anxious and ready to go, Anicka hoped that he would at least be willing to sit down for one of Gator's breakfasts.
After dinner they adjourned to the bunkhouse where Rip and Travis took turns swapping whoppers. Anicka did not know how any of their stories were true or if they were just trying to outdo each other. Jake and Ethan joined in, they had known Travis for years and she felt a little resentful, she felt like a newcomer, no, an outsider.
To occupy her time she played hold 'em with Ryan, Kolby, and a couple members of Travis's team. Evidently Travis had not warned them she cheated at cards. She tried to hold back, cheating only a little and then mostly against Kolby and Ryan just because they acted cocky, as if she couldn't play well because she was a girl.
Tate had wondered over to see how the game was going, and although he wasn't playing she taught him a trick or two. She had learned to cheat from the best, her brother Benito, and she'd picked up a few extra tricks on her own.
At last she grew bored and threw her last hand down the table. She scooped up her winnings, saying, "I may be back, but I need some fresh air." Ryan followed not only her example but followed her as she went outdoors.
She walked over the corrals, looking back to see if he followed her—he had. She turned around and asked, "Ryan, what do you think you're doing? I've married Travis and he's given me a good life. I'm happy, doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"What are you doing? He's old enough to be your father, how can that possibly work out?" Ryan was being insistent, and she wished he would stop. She was afraid he'd try to kiss her, and she didn't want him to, especially since Travis might see.
"Well, when I get older I'll still look a lot younger than him. He still flirts, but not like he used to, or so I'm told. We get along well, we're happy, can't you see that?"
"I should never have let you go," said Ryan, "As soon as he came between us I should have done something, but I didn't."
"Well, whatever we had is over, and I'm not going to jeopardize my marriage. There are plenty of girls out there, Ryan, find one you can have, not one you covet." She turned around and went back to the bunkhouse. She didn't know if Ryan was going to follow her, she didn't care.
"Travis, I'm tired, I'm going to bed. I don't care if you stay up, I just need to know how to get to the miner's cabin." She yawned and stretched to make her point. Travis could come to bed when he liked, he hadn't seen Rip or John Dutton in a while and she didn't begrudge the time he might want to spend with them. She wasn't really the jealous, but her husband was. Either he'd insist on going with her, or he'd stay up to chat a little longer.
"That sounds like a good idea, hon, it's been a long day." He looked around the table, ignoring the knowing looks some of the hands were giving each other. He was very much in love with his young wife, and everyone knew it.
They got on the ATV and drove to the miner's cabin under a blue velvet sky full of stars. Tomorrow would be a nice day, and wranglers were looking forward to the show Travis and his crew would put on. It didn't matter that it was a dress rehearsal, they would get to enjoy for free a show that others would have to pay for.
But that was tomorrow. Travis slung Anicka over his shoulder and carried her into the cabin, a sign of what was to come.
He set her down and took off his hat then sat on the bed to take off his boots. "Come here," he told Anicka and she came and stood in front of him, "Strip for me, baby," he said.
"Well, I need to get rid of these, first," she said and pulled off her boots and socks. Then she began to slowly remove first her shirt, then her bra. She was feeling less self-conscious, she was slowly re-gaining the weight she'd lost and no longer felt insecure about her body.
The shirt and bra fell on the floor, then she unfastened her jeans and slid them down her tan legs. The thongs she had taken to wearing for Travis—she hated them but liked the way they aroused him—followed, and she stepped out of her clothes.
He took her hands and pulled her to him, then pushed her onto the bed. He began to kiss her, and put his hands on her breasts, liking the way they felt.
"You've got tits again, baby," he said, meaning to tease, but he had more than that on his mind. He put his mouth on one breast, teasing the nipple with his tongue then biting gently. When he heard her moan he switched breasts, then took her hand and put it on his erect dick
Neither were in the mood to wait, so he slid into her and began to move. Each held the other tightly, wanting to prolong their lovemaking but they were tired, and it had been a long day. He collapsed on top of her, saying, "Sorry, I'm more tired than I thought I was."
"I'm tired, too," she whispered in his ear, "Tell me, old man, a you going to have to get some Viagra to keep up with me?"
He slapped her playfully, "I hope not, kid, I'm not that old, I hope!"