Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Oblivion

Travis seemed unsuspecting, if not oblivious, to her plans for that night. He was jovial, and affectionate, talking about his day and asking about her ride and did the puppy keep up?

He was in a loving mood, grabbing her and kissing her. He told her how beautiful she was and how marrying her had made him luckiest man in the world. She enjoyed hearing this and returned his affection, but she was starting to feel guilty. How could she do what she was planning to the man who loved her so much?

The Yellowstone, that was why. If you were a Dutton, you were tied to it. The ranch came first, always. Travis didn't understand this. It wasn't that the Duttons owned the land, the land owned them. Seven generations of the family owed their existence to it, some had paid with their blood. As long as there were Duttons there would be a Yellowstone, and if necessary, they would die to defend it.

Travis seemed to linger over their lovemaking that night. For once she wished he would hurry a little, she needed to get going but she loved to rest in his arms. At last, he finished and rolled over, pulling her to him. He had tired himself and would fall asleep, then nothing would wake him for hours.

She lay still until she was sure his breathing was steady, indicating that he had fallen into a deep sleep. She disentangled herself from him and slid out of bed. She took her clothes and coat from the closet and got dressed, then took her suitcase and closed the bedroom door behind her.

She turned off the door alarm, then reset it as she left. Now free of the house she headed to where they kept the ATVs and started hers, hoping that the sound would not wake him up.

It was eerily quiet until the sound of the ATV broke the silence. She wanted to gun the motor, but she kept it at a steady speed until she reached the garage where her truck was parked. She looked around, afraid that she might see light coming from the windows of the bunkhouse, but they stayed dark.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then put her suitcase in her truck, got in, and started it. The engine purred even though the truck was older, and she backed it out of the garage, hit the driveway, and began to follow it out of the ranch.

She was the only one on the highway, the only vehicle whose headlights broke through the dark of the Texas night. It was creepy, driving alone down the deserted highway, she would have been grateful for one other car, but she continued down the road alone.

Three hours of this, she told herself, and maybe not even that as I get closer to Fort Worth. Maybe it's better this way. If no one sees me, then no one can tell Travis. Maybe it's a good sign that I'm alone on this highway,

Now that she was away from the ranch, she turned on the radio. The sound of the DJ's voice and the music playing helped her feel like she was not abandoned. She stopped at a gas station to buy a fresh bottle of water and use the restroom. After that she began to see cars on the road, going back and forth on the highway. She was no longer the lone traveler on the road.

She saw the lights of Fort Worth before she reached the outskirts of the city.  She felt a sense of relief as she followed the signs that directed her to the Fort Worth International Airport.

Fatigue was setting in, she'd had no sleep and she could feel it. Her flight was at five-thirty, and she had to check in two hours before that. She'd upgrade her ticket to first class if she could and catch a few hours' sleep on the plane. When she got to Bozeman she'd check into a hotel and get a little more sleep if she could. Right now her main concern was that there would be no place at the airport where she could get something to eat.

She parked her truck at the pay lot and took the shuttle to the airport. Because of the early hour, there was no line for airport security, and she passed through with no problem. There was only the wait to deal with and the struggle to stay awake.