Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Wichita

The problems began in Wichita.

Things seemed to start well. She contacted the local Planned Parenthood and since there had been a cancellation, she got in right away. She found out what she already knew, yes, she was pregnant. She submitted to an exam, which she'd hoped to skip, and the results were that she was approximately six weeks pregnant. She was healthy and was doing all the right things. She did not tell them about wanting the tequila shot.

They could not do an ultrasound that day and asked if she would like to schedule an appointment? No, she told them, my husband and I are on the road, and I won't be able to take care of that until we get home. When they asked when that would be, she shrugged her shoulders.

She got back to the fairgrounds and found that all was not well. Travis did not even ask how it went, he took her into the truck and closed the doors so no one could hear them.

"A horse has disappeared," he told her, "They think there may be a ring of horse thieves working the show. Be extra careful, okay? Tell me, if you saw the person who took Coronado would you recognize them?"

"In my dreams," she said, her voice grim and flat, "I'd recognize him anywhere. I want to catch that bastard, more than anything. It breaks my heart that they got away with what they did."

"Well, keep an eye out for him, but if you see him, don't try anything, come get me, or Matt. We don't want to alert them and have them get away." He took hold of her arm, "Promise me, Coralee."

"Yes, I promise, personally I'd like to shoot that asshole." Tears came to her eyes at the memory of her lost horse.

"Well, you can't, but having them arrested will be the next best thing. Oh, by the way, how did the appointment go?"

"I'm pregnant," she said and grinned.

She began making the rounds of the stalls, looking for familiar faces or ones who looked like they didn't belong. It would be easier for thieves to operate in the confusion of the shows, it had certainly worked that way when Coronado was stolen.

Now it was relatively quiet as people came and went as they practiced in the arena. It was different from the almost circus-like atmosphere of the shows. The thieves would be lying low now, checking out the horses they'd be interested in and checking the security. She had been shocked at how easy it had been for someone to steal Coronado, she hadn't even suspected who she was handing her horse over to.

She wanted to find him, if he was here working the show chances are he wouldn't be doing it alone. As she walked, she imagined horse thieves lurking in hidden corners, waiting for their chance to grab horses from unexpecting owners.

Then, she saw him, it was only a fleeting glimpse so she couldn't be sure, but she thought she recognized the blond hair, the handsome face with the two days growth of beard dusting his cheeks.

He looked at her with his insolent blue eyes, then smiled and winked. She froze, not knowing what to do, remembering Travis's words, "don't do anything".

She took a deep breath, she wanted to turn and run, but she smiled back and continued down the aisle and out of the barn. She walked away, keeping at a deliberate pace until she found a small recess hidden between two buildings and broke down and started sobbing.

It was him, there was no doubt. She remembered how he had smiled at her as he took her horse. She had been naïve, she hadn't thought that someone would steal horses from a horse show, but somehow, they had managed it.

She wanted to run but did not want to look conspicuous in case someone was watching. She set off, walking at a fast pace until she reached the barn where they had quartered their horses for the show. She looked for Travis, but couldn't see him, so she asked the first hand she found if they knew where he was.