Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

On the Road

The girls tried to sneak out of the lodge without eating breakfast the next day, but Uncle John caught them at the door. "Oh no you don't," he told them and herded them into the dining room saying, "You know you can't leave without eating breakfast. Gator made bacon, and waffles with strawberries. If you don't sit down at the table and start eating, you'll hurt his feelings."

"But Uncle John," Katie protested, "We're not hungry, we're still full from last night's dinner."

"Doesn't matter," said their uncle, "Gator's almost family, you know that. He takes it personally when someone doesn't want to eat." He held the door open and the girls entered the dining room.

Despite their lack of hunger or appetite, their mouths began to water when the smell of the stacks of steaming golden waffles hit their noses. A platter held strips of thick, hickory smoked bacon, and huge carafes of orange juice and coffee sat waiting for them.

"Oh, what the hell," said Coralee as she and Katie sat down. They could not resist the waffles, Gator's secret recipe, and stacked some on their plates, swimming with butter and strawberries. Kayce's son Tate and his wife Monica joined them, Tate begging for one more waffle than his mom put on his plate.

They were grateful for the coffee, they needed the caffeine to accompany the heavy breakfast. Eating had been worth it, even if their stomachs felt like they would burst. It was almost a nine-hour drive to Cheyenne and they hoped to drive straight through and not stop on the way to do anything other than refresh themselves and walk the horses.

Except for Beth, the family was there to see them off. They got bear hugs from Rip, Kayce, and John, even Tate gave the girls shy hugs though he was uneasy around girls.

"Stay out of trouble," Uncle John warned but Rip added, "Stay out of the kind of trouble that gets you in trouble, that doesn't mean don't have fun."

Coralee did a last-minute check on the horses, making sure they were securely tied and the stall mats fastened. The horses had their breakfast and would have water breaks when they stopped.

Katie liked rock and roll, and Coralee preferred country so they took turns switching stations on the truck's radio. It was a good day for driving, cool but not cold and the sun was out. The further they drifted away from Montana the more the traffic thinned. The lack of traffic on the road promised an easy drive.

"Do you think he's going to be in Cheyenne?" Katie was tired of the silence, she didn't need to say who "he" was, both girls knew.

"I hope not," Coralee replied, "it wasn't on his list of places where he'd be. I don't want to have to worry about him watching me compete in my first pro event. I don't think I'm going to get lucky when it comes to Vegas though, he's supposed to be there. I know he likes Las Vegas if he doesn't have to spend a lot of time there."

"Well, he's not supposed to be in Albuquerque or Missoula, is he? He's been good to us, especially you, you could be a little grateful."

"Well, he's not pursuing you, now is he? I'm beginning to feel like I owe him and I don't like it."

"Well, you do so you have to square yourself with that. You two suit each other, you're a lot alike. If it were anyone else besides Travis you wouldn't be talking this way. So, he was generous with you, so what? He's in love with you, I bet he's been waiting for his chance and he decided to take it. Face it, you've had a crush on him for a long time, and you felt safe because you thought he wasn't interested. Now that he is you're acting like a scared rabbit. Coralee, this is my advice, marry that damn cowboy, I don't think you'll regret it."

"Shut up, Katie, if you think he's all that great why don't you marry him?"

"I'm not the one sleeping with him, little sister, and I don't think you would be if you didn't like him. And if you aren't interested, why are you sleeping with him?"