Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

The Ranch

I know, the picture is of an Arabian, not a quarter horse, but I like it!

When she woke the next morning, he was standing next to the bed, holding two cups of coffee. She turned around and noticed that it was nine o'clock, touched that he had let her sleep in. She wondered why, Travis was usually up with, no, before, the sun. He didn't believe in wasting the day, and for that matter, neither did she.

"Here sweetheart," he said and handed her a cup of coffee, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she admitted, "And embarrassed, I can't believe I started crying like a five-year-old." She put her hand on his waist and leaned her head against him, "That's not who I am."

"That's why I let you sleep in, I felt bad for you but didn't know how I could help. You haven't been getting enough sleep, but you never complained. Lack of sleep caught up with you. I've finished business here; how would you like to see your new home?"

"Could we? I feel like I need a break from traveling, even if it is only for a little while. My body is telling me I need a rest."

"All right, we'll take a break. I've got some business to take care of then we'll leave. Move over."

She scooted over and he sat next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He kissed the top of her head and then asked, "When was the last time you talked to your mom or your sister?"

"The day we left after our wedding, I guess. That's the last time I talked to any of my family."

"Why don't you call them tonight after dinner? I'm sorry, I should have thought about how the suddenness of all this has been affecting you."

"How long will it take to get to the ranch?" she asked.

"Well," he said, "It's about five hours to Lubbock, and then a few hours after that, we should be there by dinner time. I've called the housekeeper and she'll have dinner ready by six, but she'll wait for us if it's later."

"Housekeeper? Mom never had one of those, she had three daughters to help with the household chores. She taught us to cook, clean, do laundry, all those things I hate, except for cooking. I'm glad she taught us to take care of ourselves, even my brothers can cook and do laundry."

"Do you want me to get rid of her?"

"No! It'll be nice to have someone to talk to when you're gone. I just hope she doesn't think I'm lazy when I'm willing to let her do all that stuff."

"Well, I'm sure she'd appreciate some help. Don't worry, I plan on keeping you busy taking care of me," he laughed, "Elena is a nice lady, and she keeps a spotless house. She doesn't even complain about cleaning up after me. Her husband Raul helps manage things I'm when I'm gone. They both ride and are excellent horsemen. Why don't you take your shower, and we'll get breakfast? After we're done, we'll hit the road, it's going to be a long day."

Texas seemed to go on forever. The landscape seemed monotonous, low rolling hills, occasional thickets of scrubby trees, And brown, everywhere the color brown, everything seemed to be brown.

She pulled back from staring out the window sank back in her seat and sighed. Travis looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's too brown, and there's no mountains. I'm used to rivers and mountains and forests. Here there's brown as far as the eye can see. It's like it's another world and Montana doesn't even exist."

"It's beautiful in its own way, darlin', just not what you're used to. You've lived in Montana your whole life, this is where I grew up. Just wait, I'll take you to the hill country sometime and we'll go camping and fishing—you do know how to fish, right?"