Chapter Text
Coralee should have been looking forward to her wedding, instead, she was growing more agitated. She kicked Elena out of the kitchen and cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner, any meal was prepared by her hands.
When she wasn't cooking, she was on her horses, seeking relief in the arena. Though against the Mexican honeymoon, Travis wanted to get her away from anything ranch, or anything horse, but most of all, anything Katie.
She'd fixed the most elaborate breakfast of all, a Dutch apple pancake and mesquite smoked bacon. She made a fresh pitcher of orange juice and a pot of coffee, using the recipe that Gemma Dutton had finally given to her.
The breakfast was delicious, but Coralee's face had a haggard look, she had been this way since she'd heard of Katie's wedding. Katie had called her a couple of days ago, demanding congratulations from her, which she had refused.
"Call her back," Travis urged, "Give her the congratulations she thinks she has coming, but don't hold back on how you feel. Tell her she is welcome to come to your wedding, both her and her husband. It will only be for one day then we are flying to Mexico where there will be no Katie to spoil your mood. We won't be going back to the Yellowstone when we return, we'll come straight here. Then, in a month, we'll be back on the road for the sales and the horse shows."
She poured herself a cup of coffee, and for a moment she almost burst into tears—then stopped herself. "I'm in mourning for the sister I once had," she explained to him, "Once we shared almost everything. Her running into Bob was Kismet, I think. Ryan will always be a cowboy because he loves it, but Bob rides the rodeo. He has more money than Ryan will ever see. Ryan was a way to pass the time and what she did was cruel. I hope living on Bob's ranch in Oklahoma will compensate for what she did to a perfectly nice man who loved her."
He hadn't expected words like that to come out of his wife's mouth, but he knew what she said was true. He'd never really known Katie, she had just been a fixture in her sister's life. Now he was glad he could take Coralee away from her.
He had a surprise for her but now was not the right time. He suspected that Trixie was pregnant and that Hickory had managed to cover her when no one was looking. In about ten months he expected that the little palomino would deliver a foal. In the meantime, he had separated the stallion from the two mares. They could continue to show Trixie for a few months, but when she became bulky, he would give her a rest and let her finish her pregnancy in peace.
"Do you want me to help you clean up?" he asked, and she smiled.
"Well, you don't make that offer very often, but no, I'll take care of it. Hickory will enjoy the chance to munch a little more hay; funny, cooking helped calm me down. I guess I missed it."
"I'm sure Elena appreciated the break. I'll meet you in the arena, I want to watch you go through your routine. After lunch, we'll work Sadie, don't want to let the horses get too lazy before we leave."
They left on a sunny day the week before the wedding. Coralee wanted to divide the twenty-hour drive into two segments, but Travis wanted to do it in one shot and overruled her. It was the way he liked to do things and he would do it whether she wanted to or not.
They pulled a smaller-sized trailer, Matt would bring back Best Boy and another horse that John Dutton wanted to sell. Katie would be pissed that she was taking her horse back, but she had left him in a trailer on the roadside—that was unforgivable. Katie could complain all she wanted, and let her husband buy her a new horse.
She didn't like the twenty-hour drive, but Travis was the best driver she knew. Whenever she wanted to stop, that was what they did, whether it was for a bathroom break, a meal, or just to stretch her legs. She'd learned long ago how to sleep in a car, and she and Matt would trade places when she got tired and wanted to sleep.
They pulled into the Yellowstone in time for dinner. Matt was put up in the bunkhouse, and Travis and Coralee took her old room. They washed up and went downstairs and took their place at the table, by some stroke of luck Bob and Katie were not there. They would until after the wedding, then they would head to Oklahoma and the ranch Bob owned.
Coralee breathed an audible sigh of relief. She would have to deal with Katie, but her mother was coming tomorrow to oversee the preparations and that would make things easier. She didn't want to hate her sister, they had grown up together, learned to ride and compete together, and even lost their virginities on the same day to two brothers. She couldn't imagine life without her, yet Katie was deliberately pushing her away and she didn't understand why.
After dinner, the adults sat in the sitting room in front of the fire drinking whisky and bourbon. Beth did not deign to join them, as usual, but Rip and Travis were friends, and both were wise to the ways of his wife. Monica took Carter and Tate to another room and let them watch a movie before going up to bed herself.
"Well, Coralee," said John, "Are you having pre-wedding jitters?"
"Yes, I am," she replied, "Last time everything happened so fast that I didn't have time to think, and it was family only. There are going to be a lot more people this time, this feels more like a wedding, a real wedding, and maybe it is."
"She won't even let me see her dress," joked Travis, "insists that I'm going to be surprised like I'm not surprised by anything she does."
"Well, Gemma's been back and forth getting things ready. This wedding is more to her taste than the last one." John took a sip of his bourbon.
"Has Mom seen Katie since she gave her the news? I think she has a lot of nerve staying in the bunkhouse, how can she do that to Ryan?" The tears that were so ready to form these days started flowing from her eyes. "Sorry," she muttered.
Travis squeezed her shoulders. "Your mother is coming tomorrow, the three of you can talk things out. I don't want this hanging over your head."
The truth was that she wanted to excuse herself and go to the bunkhouse and see her friends. She was not their boss, she was just a Dutton, and she had spent many happy hours in their company. She loved Teeter, Laramie, Walker, Colby, and Ryan. She had known the Dutton hands all the years she had spent on the ranch. She'd worked with them, drank with them, played with them. Right now she wanted to share the anticipation of her upcoming wedding, but she couldn't. She couldn't trust Katie.
Even with the naps she'd taken, she was tired. She loved road trips, but they tended to drain her energy. She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to bed, y'all. I'm too tired to stay up anymore. I'll see you at breakfast. Rip, I'd like to help out tomorrow if that's all right with you."
"Sure honey," he answered her, "We can always use extra hands, especially when they're free."
Travis held out his arms and she went to him and embraced him. "I'm going to stay up for a while and talk shop," he said, "Get your beauty sleep." They kissed and she smiled at him, and the smile was all she needed to say.
She didn't know when Travis came to bed, but she knew that he woke her to make love. The fire was still there, they hadn't been married that long, but sex was frequent and satisfying.
It was like the old days, only with new additions. Gator served them breakfast: eggs, bacon, biscuits, fried potatoes, plus orange juice and lots of coffee. After breakfast, they went to the barn and saddled their horses.
Best Boy was still in his stall, so she grabbed him and put her saddle on his back. She was leading him out of the barn when Katie appeared.
"What are you doing with my horse?" Katie reached out to take the reins from Coralee, but she held them out of her sister's reach.
"He's not your horse anymore, you left him overnight in a trailer along the roadside, he could have been stolen, or injured. He was my horse first and I'm taking him back." She glared at her sister, unwilling to back down. "Ride one of the ranch's horses, you're not riding him."
Fortunately, Rip stepped in before bloodshed ensued. "You'd think you two were eight years old instead of young ladies in your twenties. We don't have time for this bullsh*t, we've got to get to work. Now, what's the problem? Katie, you first."
"She's trying to ride my horse." Katie glared at her sister.
"You left him," Coralee repeated, "you put him in danger, you might not even have a horse if someone from the ranch hadn't recognized your truck. He was my horse first and I'm taking him back."
Rip sighed, this was going nowhere fast. "We'll have to resolve this later, Katie, you ride Beth's horse, she's at work. Now, get your ass in gear and get saddled. We don't have time for this."
Travis came into the barn leading his horse, "What the hell is going on, you two? We don't have time for this. Coralee, come with me."
The girls listened to Rip out of habit, next to their uncle he was the authority on the ranch, they had been raised to respect it. Coralee followed Travis out of the barn and joined the wranglers as they headed to the pasture.
It was a repeat of a situation that had happened many times and many years before. She followed Travis's lead, he was good at herding the cattle and would yell at her, "Coralee, get on that cow and bring it back into the herd, now!" She'd take off after the cow and move it back to the herd.
She loved this almost as much as she loved to ride and show horses. This was not showing off, this was work but work that ran in her blood. There were nights when she had dreams of working cows and hated to wake up to find herself in bed.
At noon, Gator appeared, bringing lunch, a tall woman following him. "Mama" Coralee called out and she and Katie ran to greet their mother, almost knocking her over in the process. Gemma embraced her daughters, their animosity temporarily forgotten. She kissed each of them, she knew she missed them but seeing them brought it home.
"I got married, Mama," Katie held up the hand that wore the diamond ring, bigger than her sister's, "He works the rodeo, he's a roper."
Gemma was not impressed by the ring, or by her daughter's announcement. Travis had put Coralee through a whirlwind courtship, but they had known each other for years. She had always thought that Travis was a little too interested in her daughter, but he took good care of her and made sure she lacked for nothing.
Travis and Bob came riding up to see what was going on. Gemma cast a cool look at Bob, taking his measure and wondering what he had to offer her. Travis got off his horse and greeted Gemma, "Hi Mom," he said in a light tone and kissed her. Things were feeling too tense.
"I'll talk to you girls tonight," she said, "You need to get back to work."
"There's nothing to talk about, Mom," Coralee said, "Katie either wants to make peace with me or she doesn't. I want my sister back. but I won't put up with her abuse, it's up to her. And I'm taking my horse back, let her husband get her a new one."
She and Travis were getting ready for bed when the knock came on the door. Before she even opened it Travis said, "I'll get it, we know how it is."
Katie came into the room. "Coralee, I'm sorry," she held her arms out her arms and Coralee put her arms around her waist. "I'm so sorry," said Katie, "I don't know what came over me, I've been missing you so much that I got lost. It's so hard having you gone that it makes me crazy, I miss my other half."
"Shh-shh," said Coralee, "What's in the past is in the past. I wish I could help you with the mess you've made of your life, but you're going to have to clean it up. You've hurt Ryan, he cared for you, a lot. And I think you've made a mistake, a big one, with your marriage, but it might be all right if you're lucky.
"Come to my wedding as a guest but stay out of Ryan's way, you owe him that much. Show me that you want to be my sister, and all is forgiven. I don't want bad blood between us, I want it to be the way it was before. You'll always be my big sister, you know?"
They hugged and Katie left the room. Travis came back and asked, "How did it go?"
"I think she feels bad. I don't understand what happened but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones if things change. She's my sister, I don't want to hate her."
"Come here," said Travis, "Let me give you something else to think about. We get married in two days, I'm sure it will be all right."
