Bonnie had never gotten along with her father. Bart Haskell was a Montana rancher of the old school. Strict, strong-willed, and controlling, he made life hard for both his ranch hands and his family. Bonnie's mother couldn't take it and had run off with one of the ranch hands, when Bonnie was seven. Bart became embittered and didn't trust anyone too much, after that. He considered all women as scheming, immoral, treacherous creatures and Bonnie was no exception to that view, since she was a member of that perverse race as well as the child of his betrayer. The pity was that Bonnie was much more like Bart than her mother, but he could never see it. After her mother left, they seemed to be at constant loggerheads over everything. Then Bonnie hit adolescence and things only got worse. In High School, Bonnie ran with a fast crowd. By the time, she was seventeen, she was pregnant, had quit school, and fled Montana by hitch-hiking across the country. She wound up in Kansas City. Realizing that she was unprepared for motherhood, Bonnie gave up her baby for adoption. It was a decision that troubled her the rest of her life, but she still believed that she did what was best for the baby at the time. Even so.... She wasted a couple of years going from one dead-end job to another, mostly as a waitress or maid. When she was hired by a hospital's janitorial department, her life changed. Watching the doctors, nurses, and technicians convinced her that she wanted to work in the medical field. Bonnie got her GED and enrolled in a nursing program at college. She drove herself as hard as her father had driven himself to reach her goal. Bonnie got her R.N. degree, then put in more years of work and school to eventually become a Licensed Nurse Practitioner. The last three years, she had been employed by a family practice in St. Joseph, Missouri. Bonnie remained single. She wasn't against the idea of a relationship or even marriage, there just had not seemed to be enough time to juggle career and school for such. That's when she got the "boys," her two German Shepherds. They helped ease the loneliness. Bonnie had left Montana without ever speaking to her father, but she had kept in infrequent contact with one of her brothers over the years. A few weeks ago, Hank had informed her that their father was dying from cancer. It was spreading fast and the doctors thought Bart only had a month or so to live. Hank pleaded with Bonnie to come back and make peace with her father. Hank thought Bart wanted to see her but wouldn't allow anyone to let her know about his condition. After a couple of weeks of intense inner struggle, Bonnie decided to return. She had too much anger between herself and her father--too much to leave unresolved between them. Perhaps, it was time to allow healing to begin--before it was too late. Reluctantly, she packed her bags and the Boys in her Forester and headed toward Montana. Fourteen years, it had been since she last traveled this old dirt road, headed in the opposite direction. Now, she had topped the last rise. Beyond and below her, the ranch buildings spread out. Bonnie stopped the car and let the Boys out to take a break. She got out, too, needing to gather herself before facing her father. So many mixed feelings overwhelmed her--anger, grief, sadness, regret--and hope. Credits: Bryce 5.5. Bonnie figure: DAZ A3 Realistic; "Sibyl for A3" by JRey; skin texture is "Claire" by Lady Rhi; her hair is ali's "005 hair;" and her clothing is DAZ's "Aiko 3.0 Clothing Pack (Upgrade from V3 & SP Clothing Pack);" her boots are "Shadowdancer." Dog figures: "Oscar" by Traveler. Vehicle: "Subaru Forester" from Archidom.net, but totally retextured by me and interior added. Grasses: "RDNA Grasslands" series by Modualz and Traveler (RDNA). Terrain: created in Bryce 5.5 from a DEM of the Bozeman area; texture created by Brian Smith. Sky: Created by me in Bryce 5.5.