Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

The Storm

They had a morning ritual that Coralee cherished. Travis always woke before she did, so he would watch her as she slept. Eventually, her eyes would open, she would look at him and smile, and he'd take her in his arms and kiss her, then they would make love. After that, they would shower together, sometimes things getting a little out of control, and then would go down to the breakfast that Elena had prepared.

Every day began this way, and she loved it. The time would come when this routine would fade away and they would lose something precious that they used to share.

They always rode together to the barn, him driving and steering the ATV. After that they would part ways, she would go to the arena to train with the instructor that he had brought in and he would get on his horse and survey the ranch.

He had put Coralee's name on the business and the ranch, but he had not yet told her. She now owned fifty percent of what he owned, but she owned one hundred percent of him. He had had one bad marriage when he was younger, but he knew that this time he married the right one. He wanted to share everything with her.

Katie's arrival had complicated things. At first, she had been a lifeline for Coralee, but things had changed. Coralee was getting back on her feet now, and no longer needed her sister but was reluctant to see her go. Katie was a link to her family, and for that reason, she wasn't ready to have her leave.

Travis was beginning to suspect that Katie was causing trouble. He had asked Coralee to stay away from the bunkhouse, but Katie was encouraging her to join the wranglers. He also suspected that Katie didn't like him, something that hadn't been apparent at first. It was just a suspicion, and not an obvious one, but he had a feeling that Katie would be more than happy to have Coralee leave him and return home.

He had other things to worry about at the moment. The weather report indicated that there was a storm on the way, but it was not clear when and if it would reach the ranch. In the meantime, he was making sure that if the road washed out it could be repaired. He had the equipment to rebuild the road as well as a fire tanker to put out fires that might occur if drought conditions dried out the fragile grass and trees.

"Well, Coralee, Ryan's going to be here in two days, are you coming back with us?" Katie was removing her boots, and rubbing her sore feet. It had been a long day.

"No, I'm not, why would I want to leave my husband? Why can't you see I'm happy I have a husband who loves me." It upset Coralee to hear her sister even suggest that she should want to leave.

"You're a prize, Coralee, a beautiful young wife that he leads around by the nose. He doesn't care what you think or what you want. I even heard him telling you that you should remove your implant because he wants you to get pregnant." Katie hoped that she had scored a point.

"Of course he wants kids," Coralee protested, "He's forty, but I'm only twenty-four and I'm not ready and he knows it. He's hoping he can convince me, that's all, but it's not going to happen until I'm ready."

"Well, what about him not wanting you in the bunkhouse? I mean, where else are there people on the ranch who are your age? I mean, you're out in the middle of nowhere and the only people you're allowed to talk to are him and that bitch Elena. He practically keeps you prisoner here, he certainly has you isolated."

That stung, she did feel the isolation. In Montana, she had been surrounded by family and friends and never felt alone. She also had been in and out of the bunkhouse since was about twelve and had received a lot of tips about riding and cutting from the wranglers.

Katie wasn't entirely wrong about Travis, he could be jealous, possessive, demanding, and just plain stubborn. At the same time, he was loving, sweet, funny, kind, and generous. She didn't like the way he was dictating to her, but that was something that could be negotiated. So far, their marriage suited them both, but things weren't perfect. Were they ever?