He took her hands, "I'm sorry, I should have told you, I guess I have too much on my mind."
"No more surprises, okay? I can deal with things, just remember to tell me."
He could tell by the look on her face that she meant it and he wanted to smile but didn't. He'd underestimated her and would have to be careful not to do it in the future.
"How much trouble am I in?" This time he couldn't suppress the smile, "You haven't spoken more than two words since we came back from the courthouse. You've been acting like you went to a funeral, not like a newlywed bride. Am I going to wind up having to sleep on the couch tonight?"
"I am mad at you, Travis. I feel like you tricked me into marrying you, but I don't want this to be the way we begin our marriage. You can't just take control and make all the decisions—believe me, I know what a control freak you are. If it's business, that's one thing, but you can't take control of our marriage or me. I know you're older but give me a little credit. If you'd just talked to me instead of springing your shotgun marriage on me, it would have been different."
"Sweetheart, it wasn't a shotgun marriage," he objected but she held up her hand.
"It felt that way, it felt like a surprise attack. You didn't even tell me you were planning this, or why. All you needed to do was tell me what was going on, but you didn't."
"Well, now that you know how I am, are you sorry you married me?"
"I had a crush on you when I was twelve and wanted to marry you when I grew up. Maybe that twelve-year-old girl still wants to marry you. No, I'm not sorry." But we have issues, she thought.
"You know," he said, shaking his head, "I remember seeing you at John's when you were twelve. I hadn't seen you in a few years and you were blossoming into a lovely young lady. You were practicing your barrel racing, and you took a turn too sharp and fell off your horse. You yelled "shit" and everyone started laughing. It was funny, the way you didn't bother to apologize, you just got back on your horse. I remember thinking how gutsy you were, and wondered what you'd be like when you grew up. Now I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew!"
"You mean you hope you weren't deceived by the blond hair and blue eyes?" She went to him and sat on his lap.
He reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, then unzipped the dress she'd married him in. "You're festy and you've got a lot of guts. I like the way you speak your mind." He pulled off her dress and laid it on the bed, "I'm going to have to watch my p's and q's around you, I bet you'll do your best to keep me honest."
"Ha!" she laughed, "But you're right, I'll do my best, but you have to do the rest."
He unhooked her bra and removed it, "I must say, Mrs. Wheatley, I do prefer you with your clothes off."
She put her arms around his neck, "Why don't you take off yours?"
When they returned to the house the next morning, they found that Gemma had prepared a feast. Bacon, ham, eggs, waffles, pancakes, and a large bowl of strawberries sat on the table. At least her mother hadn't broken out the good china and the silver, but breakfast looked good. Gemma had also prepared a bag of sandwiches and a large thermos of coffee to take with them so they wouldn't have to stop to eat, or resort to eating at a restaurant.
Her father was going to his office late so he could see them off. All but one of her brothers and sisters were there to congratulate them. They had to endure the hugs and good wishes she had hoped to avoid. She wanted little fuss over this marriage, but it seemed that her mother had foiled her and made it a family affair.
She helped Travis load the horses, and with a final wave to her family they climbed into the truck and backed out of the driveway and were off.
"Do you want to go say goodbye to your uncle?" Travis asked her.
"No, I've had enough of family for a while. We just saw him yesterday at the wedding and the lunch afterwards."
"I think you need to go see him," he said and handed her an envelope, "He asked me to give you this."
She opened it and found he had given her a check for five thousand dollars. "What!" she exclaimed, "Did you see this?"
"He knew you wouldn't have income for a while, and that you wouldn't want to ask me for money. When we get to Texas you can open a bank account and deposit it there. He wanted you to have it, so you'd have some money of your own."
"I can't accept this; I need to give it back. This was really kind, and generous, but he shouldn't have done it."
"Why don't you just accept it in the spirit it was given and tell him 'Thank you.' When you start earning your own money again you can pay him back. You know your uncle loves you and would do anything for you."
The inhabitants of the bunkhouse came out to greet her, with no cake, or gifts, only themselves, which is what she wanted. She got congratulations and hugs amid promises that she would visit soon and not desert them. She wondered what would be different the next time she returned, would everything be the same or would it change as her life had?
"Come on, sweetheart," Travis said, "Say goodbye to your uncle and then we've got to go. We should have been in the road an hour ago."
Jamie and Kayce had come out to see her and gave her a hug. Rip was nowhere to be seen, but that was Rip, work was all because her uncle needed it that way.
John Dutton put his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. "We're going to miss you, honey, the Yellowstone won't be the same without you.
Her eyes teared up, "Oh, I'm going to miss all of you so much! Thank you for the present, Uncle John, but you shouldn't have. I know how things go around here and..."
"Stop," he told her, "When you get some extra cash built up you can pay me back. It's gonna take time for you to settle in and then you're going to have to devote yourself to training so you can start competing again. Travis and I see the potential in you, I want you to devote yourself to becoming the best you can be. Who knows," he laughed, "Someday I may be asking you for money!"
She and Travis got into the truck and pulled out onto the road that led to the ranch. She looked out the window, watching as the hands got back to work, as if their day had never stopped for her.
Travis put on Shane Smith and the Saints, knowing she liked that CD and needed something to soothe her.
"Don't start crying now," he told her, "This isn't the end of your life, you're making a new start. Maybe this is the beginning of your growing up, it happens to all of us at one point or another. Maybe you were your parents' baby for too long and that makes it harder."
"I'm going to miss everyone, you know? The Yellowstone has been my second home for all my life. I remember every hand that has ever worked there. I'm going to miss my mom and dad and my siblings, we're close, you know? I've never left home, except to compete, everything I know is right here in Paradise Valley. Now I'm leaving it, and I don't know how I should feel."
He reached out and took her hand. "Look at it this way, you're about to embark on an adventure with a husband who loves you and will do everything he can to help. Sometimes you need to lose something to gain something else. We have a long drive ahead of us so make yourself comfortable and relax."
"That's all I can do. I had too much sex and too little sleep last night. Are you sure you're going to be able to drive?"
"No such thing as too much sex, sweetheart." He patted her knee, "I'm used to driving, sleep has nothing to do with it. I've got two men waiting for me in Phoenix with some horses I've got to take to Fort Worth. I'm the only one I trust driving my truck and trailer, especially if I'm carrying horses."
"Um hmm, just be careful, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. Truck, trailer, horses are replaceable, you aren't."
It was getting late, he needed to stop for a while, even if it only meant stopping at a truck or rest stop. She'd learned years ago how stubborn Travis was, so it wouldn't do any good to say anything. Which wasn't good when she thought about it.
She'd woken up for the second time. He didn't ask, but she poured him some coffee. Caffeine was no substitute for sleep, but she wanted to get some into him. Damn you, she thought, stubborn is okay but how far are you prepared to take it?
She began to watch the road and him. It was a good thing that they had the little highway to themselves. Suddenly, for no reason he swerved to the right, but corrected himself just in time. She looked at him, but he stared into the night, watching the road.
She was grateful she was awake later when she saw his head drop. He swerved, almost leaving half of the truck on the road and half to the side.
She grabbed his arm and shook it, "Travis," she yelled, "Watch it." She was freaking but she knew she had to hold it together for both of them.
He opened his eyes and seeing what he had done he pulled off to the side of the road.
She didn't wait for him to say anything, "Get out of the cab and walk. I'll check the horses, they're probably okay just shaken." She could hear Coronado stomping, something he did when the world upset him.
Travis said nothing but got out of the truck. Now that she knew he was all right the horses were her immediate concern. She unlocked the trailer then flicked on the small flashlight she had shoved in her pocket.
Horses could be fragile, not all were bombproof like Best Boy. She approached slowly and spoke to them in soothing tones. She looked them over, they'd probably been asleep when it happened and they looked okay for now. She'd like to walk them but it wasn't the best time.
Travis was standing at the trailer door, waiting for her. "How do they look?" he said as she locked the trailer.
"Well, shaken up, but the worst you did was drive off the side of a level road. I think they're okay for now. It's you I'm worried about. I know you don't like to let anyone drive your rig and I don't blame you, but you've got to lose the machismo and admit to being human. I don't want to drive a big rig like this but if I must, I can."
"I'm all right now," he started to say but she interrupted him.
"Look, I think you need to get a couple of hours rest. I don't know how far we are from one but let's find a truck stop, or a rest stop, so you can get a little sleep. You owe me this, I know things could have been worse but I'm only twenty-four and I'm too young to die."