Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Always My Home

The branding was finished, and the heifers, cows, steers, and bulls were separated and moved to fall pastures. The work was not finished, but on a ranch work was never finished, they were just having a breather for right now. It was allowed to feel a sense of accomplishment for what had been done.

Travis knew he should be heading back to Texas. Matt had taken one of the trucks and returned with the horses and some of the crew, but Travis could not bring himself to leave because of Coralee.

She was sleeping well, and had ceased having nightmares; she slept through the night without waking. She was no longer tightly wound, but relaxed, healthy, and at peace and Travis hated to disturb that. They'd visited her parents once or twice, but she preferred to remain on the Yellowstone so that was where they stayed.

"If my parents want to see me, let them come here." Yellowstone was a refuge she seemed reluctant to leave. She would wake up in the morning, saddle her horse, and ride to the hot springs and soak. When she was ready, she would dress and ride back to the house, eat breakfast, and take a shower. Travis started going with her, it was quiet and peaceful at the springs, only the sound of the water and the birds disturbed the silence.

"Travis, I want to stay here until the first snowfall, do you mind?" she asked, knowing that his answer would be "no". The Yellowstone had healed her, had made her well, and it was getting harder and harder to convince herself that it was time to leave.

"We can't, baby, I'll give you another week, but then we're gone. There's shows and sales that we've got to hit, I don't want to find myself driving in the snow, you know I hate it."

She knew. Travis was a Texas boy and he despised the Montana winters. The weather in Texas could be unpredictable, an occasional snow, torrential rains, winds, and the dreaded tornados, but it could also be balmy and mild. She had things to do there, get the greenhouse built, get the solar panels up so they could go off-grid, and she wanted to increase the number of chickens so she'd have more eggs and birds to sell. They'd been training the puppy, but she needed to take her to a professional trainer, German shepherds needed mental stimulation. They were smart dogs and could get in trouble if they got too bored.

"A week then," she agreed, "Thank you for bringing me here, it was what I needed. The bad memories are still there but I'm at peace with them. I don't think I could have come so far if I'd been on the road. Being around my family has helped make me better."

Travis took her in his arms and kissed her. "It broke my heart to see you so sad. I felt helpless and I didn't know what to do. Seeing you now, I know I made the right decision. I know you need time to get used to Texas, and you will. It's important that we leave soon, there are fall fairs going on in a lot of the country and they all have horse shows and sales. I know we rushed into marriage, but I believe in us, and I love you."

"Me too," she answered, "I'm never happier than when I'm with you. I know it's going to take years for Mom to realize you're the right person for me, thank god Dad's come around."

It wouldn't take much to load up the truck and leave, so the crew spent the last week enjoying what the ranch had to offer. Life on the road suited them, it was their livelihood. Competing never got stale, they loved showing off for the crowd, cowboying was either in your blood or not.

Autumn was coming, and Coralee could smell it in the air. The leaves at the tops of the trees started turning and Travis was eager to get back on the road. She wanted to stay but she was wise enough to not try to convince him.

She hated taking the puppy away from Tate, he'd grown fond of her, but they were taking her with them. There were kennels and breeders around, German shepherds made good ranch dogs. Maybe they weren't good for hunting dogs, but even Shelly, puppy though she was, would alert them to strangers in her high-pitched puppy barks.