Chapter 5: Buffy to the Rescue

*****A Few Days Later*****

Buffy was still not bored at the Yellowstone Ranch. The food was plentiful, the views spectacular, and the work was just hard enough to keep her from being restless.

Rip was more than impressed with his daughter's energy level. He watched her help the hands unload bales of hay. Of course, one of the men were grabbing one end, but it was clear that his daughter was doing her part.

"Ryan thinks your daughter may be stronger than him," Lloyd remarked, watching the pair toss the hay off the trailer.

"She's just a little bit of a thing, but she has grit," Rip said, his pride evident. Buffy refused to muck stalls, but she embraced everything else they did on the ranch. She was damn impressive and not at all what he figured teenager girls were like, especially not like teenagers from California.

"And I thought nothing good could come out of California," Lloyd said, grinning.

Buffy turned and glared at him.

"How did she hear me, Rip? I swear the girl's got ears like a bat!" he remarked.

"I do not have ears like a bat!" Buffy said, giving him a dark look. "Bats have Buffy ears!" Then she grinned and stuck out her tongue.

"Buffy, if you want to go shopping in town, come on," John called out. Beth had to return to work in Salt Lake City, but she had grudgingly agreed to a shopping trip with her daughter first. John didn't trust her alone with Buffy as the two women were both hotheads. Nerves of steel was an understatement. Buffy showed hers just the day before when a rattlesnake poked its head out behind a tree, hissing. She didn't even blink.

"Oh, yes! Shoes!" she exclaimed, throwing the last bale of hay a bit too enthusiastically. It overshot the pile, and everyone looked at her in various degrees of shock.

"How the hell did you do that?" Ryan asked. He was the cutest of her grandfather's cowboys with an easy, appealing smile.

Buffy winced. Great. She totally sucked at being secret-identity girl. "I guess the adrenaline and excitement of shopping just gave me some extra umph," she said, trying to sound casual.

"Damn, girl. Remind me not to piss you off!" Ryan exclaimed with a grin.

Buffy took off her gloves and easily used one hand to propel herself over the fence.

Rip couldn't resist putting his arm around her shoulders and hugging her. "My girl is amazing in so many ways!" he said, grinning down at her.

Buffy couldn't help but feel joyful when her father praised her and smiled with pride. Hank, her adopted father, had always loved her. He treated her like a princess most of her life. However, after she got expelled and her parents moved, he kept putting distance between them. He blew off her sixteenth birthday, and he hadn't called her before she left to confirm she spend the summer with him. Rip was as different from Hank as he could possibly be. There was a strength in him that Hank didn't have, and she wasn't talking about just the physical. When she looked at Rip, she could tell that he knew about loss and sacrifice.

"Have fun shopping," he said. "Don't let Beth piss you off too much. She's a contrary creature, but I do love her. I hope one day you will, too."

Buffy couldn't help but smile at him. She didn't know their full story, but she knew the connection between the pair was tangible. To call Beth a contrary creature was putting it mildly. Nearly every dinner she managed to piss off someone and then storm away from the table. Sometimes, she reminded Buffy strongly of Cordelia Chase.

"So, are we just going to the nearby town or are we going to a big city?" Buffy asked after she got in the backseat of her grandfather's huge truck. It had an extended cab, which Buffy had never actually ridden in before this summer. They weren't very common in her part of California.

"This is Montana," Beth said with a snort. "There are no big cities."

John laughed as he started the car. "Montana is the fourth largest state in American land wise, but the seventh least populated," he said. "There's just over one million people in the entire state, but over one hundred and forty-five thousand miles of land, which is only eighteen thousand less than California."

"The difference is that the weather in California doesn't deter people from living there," Beth said. "The winters here are long and brutal. I'm only in Salt Lake, which has its own winters, but it's still an improvement."

"So where are we going then?" Buffy asked.

"Bozeman. It has a population of just a bit over fifty thousand," John said, smiling at Buffy in his rearview window.

"It also has the closest decent clothing stores," Beth said. "Nothing compared to what you'd find in Los Angeles or New York City, of course."

"That's okay. I'm not nearly as stuck up as I was when I lived in L.A.," Buffy said with a shrug.

As they drove, Buffy shared some of her childhood stories growing up in Los Angeles. Beth managed to keep her normal catty comments to herself, so Buffy suspected her grandfather had threatened her in some way before the car ride. Buffy wondered what kind of threat would curtail her caustic mother.

What Buffy didn't know was that Beth loved no one the way she loved her father. He was, for the most part, her entire world as she was definitely Daddy's little girl and had been her entire life. When she was younger, she believed the sun and moon rose and set with him. After her mother died, he was all that she had. Although she hated the ranch with every fiber of her being, she would defend it, and her father, to her last breath. He had told her to behave and show his only granddaughter a good time. She promised she would. There was no need for threats.

*****Many Hours Later****

John had been a rancher his entire life, so he was used to long days and pushing his body to the max. However, shopping with his granddaughter was an entire new and harrowing experience. Her joy was infectious, so he could not say no to her when she dragged them to five different shoe stores. How there were so many shoes stores so close together was beyond his understanding. His daughter was vastly amused, and helped Buffy buy three different pairs of boots, two pairs of running shoes, and three sandals and one glittering pair of high heels to match a dress.

Then they stopped for a quick lunch, so he was able to rest his tired bones.

Of course, fuel just seemed to energize his granddaughter, who then tried on two dozen different items while Beth approved or disapproved. Luckily, there was a chair in the store that he could sit in while she modeled her selections.

Buffy was happy to quickly realize that her bio-Mom had excellent taste just as her mom did. Unlike her mom, however, Beth encouraged her to keep clothes Joyce would have vetoed. It amused Buffy to see how less conservative Beth was in her selections while John simply said, "You're beautiful," with every choice.

It was nearly six when they were done, and Buffy's belly was growling.

"Looks like someone needs to eat again," John observed with a smile. "There's a really nice restaurant a few blocks over." He put her bags in the open backseat of the truck.

"You know Mom sent me some money," Buffy said. "I can pay for dinner."

"Keep your money, sweetheart," John said. "We've missed a hell of a lot of birthdays and Christmases."

"Besides, I am—as they say—loaded," Beth said with a smirk.

Her grandfather drove them to a very nice restaurant—the kind Buffy had not been in since living in Los Angeles. Her grandfather ordered an appetizer of mushrooms stuffed with cheese and crabmeat.

Buffy was happy to eat the bread while she waited for the food.

Her grandfather shared with Beth some of the activities of people they knew but Buffy didn't. While they chatted, Buffy entertained herself looking at the various guests. Nearly all the men wore hats of some kind, mostly cowboy hats. Buffy was amused as she thought of the look on Cordelia's face if she could see them.

Finally, the food arrived, and Buffy dug in.

Beth watched her eat for a few minutes, and then shook her head. "You better learn to curb that gusto at the dinner table. Eventually, your metabolism will slow down, and you'll be fat," she warned.

Buffy grinned. "Nah. My metabolism will never slow down, but I don't care too much about that kind of thing," she said.

"That's good sweetheart," John said. "You shouldn't, either. Men like women with some meat on their bones anyway, and you're too skinny."

"I know, but I try to eat, as you can see!" Buffy proclaimed as she took a big bite. "Besides, I don't worry too much about the future."

"Why's that?" John said.

Buffy shrugged. "Tomorrow, I could be dead," she said.

Even Beth was a bit shocked at her fatalistic attitude.

John chuckled, deciding she was joking. "I hope not," he said.

"What do you do exactly?" Buffy asked, turning toward Beth.

"I'm a financial manager. I have an MBA, and I advise my boss on which companies to buy and sell, or where to invest," Beth said. "I am very good at making wealthy people wealthier, and I've built quite a portfolio for myself."

Buffy nodded, not particularly impressed with a job that did nothing to make the world better in anyway.

"What does your mother do?" Beth asked.

"Oh, she owns and operates an art gallery," Buffy said, smiling. "She's got quite an eye for antiques and artists who will be popular."

"My wife would've loved her," John said. "Your grandmother loved antiques and art shows. She dragged me to more than one."

An attractive brunette, who appeared a bit older than her adopted mother, stopped at the table.

"Hello, John. How are you doing?" she asked, giving Buffy's grandfather a warm smile.

"Very well, ma'am," John said, returning her smile. "Buffy, this is our state's governor, Governor Perry. She's a good friend of mine." He avoided explaining exactly who Buffy was since the diner was full.

"Hi," Buffy said, feeling nervous. "I've never met a governor before."

"Well, this is a small state," Beth said. "It's not that much of an honor because the woman is a slut."

"Beth!" John said, looking more than a little embarrassed.

"Ignore her. She can't help but be a bitch to everyone. Even me, her own daughter that she thought she aborted but instead was adopted out," Buffy said, knowing her words would do more to silent Beth. The smile she flashed at Beth showed that she was not bothered by Beth's attitude. However, she was a bit taken aback that she would be so blatantly rude to the governor of a state.

"Wow, a granddaughter, John. I'm happy for you," she said. "Call me, so we can have lunch and catch up."

The woman made a tactful retreat.

"Beth, how could you be so rude?" John asked without raising his voice.

"Me? Buffy called me a rude bitch," Beth said, glaring at her daughter. She wasn't really angry, though. In fact, her daughter's brazenness was something Beth admired.

"That's 'cause you were insulting the governor, Beth. The governor!" Buffy said. "It's like you were raised by wolves or something."

John fought the grin that threatened at Buffy's words. "She's not exactly wrong here, Beth. You were not just rude, but you were insulting. You don't even know the woman."

"She's sleeping with my father," Beth said. "I know that much."

"Really, Gramps? You gonna be the first gentleman?" Buffy asked, grinning.

"No, sweetheart, I'm not ever going to remarry," John said.

Buffy gave Beth a confused look. "So, it bothers you that your dad still has a sex life? Shouldn't that make you happy? He's been single a long time. Do you expect him to be a monk? Are you a monk? We know you're not a virgin," Buffy said.

"Are you?" Beth replied without missing a beat. The little smartass wasn't going to win this one.

"How about we stop talking about sex lives? It's not appropriate, and, frankly, I just don't want to know everything about either one of you," John said. "Nor do we need to be discussing my own!" He raised his hand for the waiter. "Here's my card. Can you close out our bill?"

"Of course, sir," the server said.

They were silent as they left the restaurant. It was not yet dark as they left the restaurant. John handed the valet ticket to the valet guy, and Buffy heard signs of a fight in a nearby alley. Unable to ignore it, she said, "I'll be right back!" Before they could say anything, Buffy took off.

When she got to the alley, she saw two cowboys trying to pull off the woman's clothes.

"Hey! Stop it!" she exclaimed as she ran toward them. She pulled the first guy off the woman, and then she kicked the other guy in the knee, careful to hold back most of her power. It was enough to cause the man to cry out and fall down, freeing the woman completely.

"Are you okay?" she asked the woman.

"I-I think so," she said. "They were going to rape me!"

Buffy realized the dark-haired woman was Native American, but then the first man she pulled off the woman got to his feet.

"You're going to regret that, girl!" he snarled.

"I don't think so," Buffy said, facing him. The guy with the newly injured knee tried to grab the girl again, so Buffy slugged him, knocking him out cold. Then she turned just in time to grab the fist that was swinging toward her face. She pushed him back. "What? You don't like it when a girl is stronger than you?" For some reason, she couldn't resist squeezing his hand until she felt a bone crack, and he cried out in pain.

"Buffy!" her grandfather called from the alley.

He had his weapon drawn, but Buffy didn't need help. With one well-placed left hook, she knocked him out cold.

"We're fine, Gramps, but you need to call the police. These guys were trying to rape that woman," Buffy said, gesturing to the woman, who was holding her shirt closed.

"She saved me," the woman said to her grandfather.

When John pulled out zip ties and bound the closest guy's arms behind his back, Buffy was surprised. "So, you just carry those around?" Buffy asked.

"You remember that job I have as head of the Livestock Agency? It gives me authority to arrest and detain," John explained.

"Oh, so that's why you have a gun?" Buffy asked. "I was beginning to think this was the Wild West or something."

"What the hell is going on?" Beth demanded as she stood at the mouth of the alley.

"Call 9-1-1," her father said. "These two guys tried to rape that woman before Buffy stopped them."

Beth made the call. However, she couldn't help but think about the phone call she overheard Buffy have with her mother.

Who the hell was her daughter?

*****Chapter End*****

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