Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

An Unexpected Wedding

He would be there in two days, but it felt like two weeks, time seemed to drag. She did everything she could to keep busy. She made a trip to town and had her hair cut off to the middle of her back. It surprised her how much lighter her head felt without the excess hair. She went through her closet and discarded one dress after another until she settled on a blue calico dress that she had found in a thrift store to wear when she saw him.

She cleaned the guest house and put fresh sheets on the bed. If it had been anyone but Travis, she would have added fresh flowers but settled for putting a half rack of beer in the fridge.

The morning he was due to arrive she woke up early and took a shower and washed her hair. It was a welcome treat to be able to dry her hair in half the time it would have taken before she cut it, she even took a curling iron and curled it around her face.

She never wore much makeup, so she only added a little, she wanted to look the way Travis was used to seeing her. Looking in the mirror comforted her; she was looking at the image of the woman he loved.

"Hey sexy," Katie called out, "Look at you in your dress and new boots. If Travis doesn't like what he sees, I'll take you to the Yellowstone bunkhouse to check out the new hands. We'll be the Dutton twins again and go out and give the world a treat."

Coralee's eyes teared a little, she appreciated what Katie was trying to do. She hugged her sister then went downstairs to help her mother, doing anything she could to keep busy and keep her mind off him.

There was a porch swing that had been there so long that no one knew for sure who had hung it. She sat down and began pushing herself gently back and forth while keeping an eye on the road, hoping that she could will him to appear.

The sky was as clear and blue as the dress she was wearing. At least they'd have some decent weather, she thought. She could hear roosters crowing and wondered if she'd remembered to feed them, but she probably had in her frantic efforts to control her nerves.

She heard it first, the sound of a truck with powerful engines designed to tow trailers hauling horses and livestock. Then she saw the cab of the black truck he favored with the Bosque Ranch logo. He pulled up and parked the truck, the engine humming for a moment as he turned it off.

He stepped out and looked at her and smiled, his blue eyes glowing against his deeply tanned  face. She rose out of the porch swing and ran into his arms, holding him tightly as if she could make up for the time they'd spent apart.

Gemma Dutton stood in the window, watching, as Travis held her daughter, almost bending her over backwards as he kissed her. There was something possessive in his embrace, as if he had placed a claim on her like miners staked claims in the old days. It both comforted and disturbed her, she did not trust Travis but his love for her daughter was plain to see.

She stepped outside, not caring that she interrupted the couple's reunion. "Hello Travis," she said, "I'm glad to see you made it."

"Thank you, ma'am." He was unfailingly polite to her and her husband. At least their children would grow up with manners, Travis was Texan and southern and that was a part of the culture. He was probably better mannered than her own children, but none of that would matter if he didn't treat Coralee the way she deserved.

"Are you hungry?" Gemma asked, "Lunch is on the table, Coralee can show you to the guest house and you can wash up. Come to the main house when you're ready."

"Come on Travis," Coralee said, "I'll show you where it is, it's simple but nice. When you have as many in your family as we have there's always a need for a place to put them."

The guest house was one large room with a double bed in the corner. There was also a small kitchenette with cupboards filled with utensils. The bathroom had a shower, sink, and toilet, another amenity that made it homey.