Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Ryan--Aftermath

Travis was angry, an emotion he didn't like to indulge, but Katie's return had upset Coralee and he resented what it was doing to his wife.

Coralee had a warm loving nature and he loved that about her, but she was taking Katie's situation to heart—she wanted, no thought she needed, to fix things for her sister. She couldn't bear to see Katie so unhappy even though she had brought it on herself, or so Travis thought.

Travis discouraged relations between his employees. Some of his best team riders were couples, but for the most part, it worked best when his crew didn't fraternize. He didn't care what John Dutton's wranglers were doing but when Ryan had hooked up with his wife's sister, he had a feeling there was going to be trouble.

Ryan Bohen had worked for the Yellowstone for a long time. He was a good hand and would be a logical successor to Rip Wheeler if the ranch manager ever decided to retire. He'd grown up on a ranch but had no idea what it meant to work on a ranch like the Yellowstone. He'd been young and green when he was hired, but so had many of the other hands. To work for the Yellowstone you had to learn how to work there, and Ryan had worked for them long enough to be practically indispensable.

He had to give Coralee credit; she was angry at the way her sister expected to impose herself on the crew without considering the effect it would have on Ryan. She wanted to speak to John about it, but Travis told her to hold back. John was wise and would make no rash decision no matter how hard Katie begged. Ryan was valuable and he would not dismiss the possible consequences of bringing his niece into the crew.

Coralee was supposed to be packing, but she was spending more time pacing around the room. She was sorry about what happened to Katie and surprised at how things had turned out with Bob. She thought the marriage was rushed but she and Travis had married impulsively, and it had turned out well. For now, they'd decided to celebrate both anniversaries until they made up their minds as to which they would stick with.

She was disappointed with Bob, but that's how it could go with cowboys, still, she wondered why they had married in the first place. There were no obvious advantages to it unless Katie had developed a case of jealousy over her younger sister being married before her. That didn't seem likely, her sister had enjoyed being single, why change things when she and Bob could have just traveled together?

Katie was having a hard time convincing her uncle that she would be a good addition to the bunkhouse. He disagreed; he was not about to risk losing a valued hand because of his niece's impulsive behavior. If Katie had not been serious about Ryan she should not have stayed with him, nor left him so abruptly. She had upset Ryan when she disappeared without a trace and let no one know where she was going.

"Please, Uncle John, please let me work here, you won't be sorry. You know I'll work hard, I won't disappoint you." Katie was begging which she felt she should not need to do.

Rip chose this moment to walk into her uncle's office. "I'm sorry Katie," he said, "I won't take a chance on you affecting Ryan's work. There's a reason why we discourage relationships between the ranch hands it can become too much of a distraction. We've seen it happen before, I don't even like having female wranglers."

He looked at his employer, then looked at Katie. "I can ask Ryan how he feels about it, but if he says no that's the end of it and I wouldn't blame him. That's the best that I can do."

"Why don't you go home?" John Dutton asked his niece, "You need to regroup, catch your breath. You made a mistake, you're not the first one to have made a bad marriage in haste."

"You've got to be kidding, Uncle John," she replied, "Do you think I want to face my mom and admit what a mess I've made of my life? I'd never hear the end of it."