Finding Her Center.
Meaner than Evil extra
Beth purposefully strode through the lodge as she left her dinner sitting at the table. She had almost made it quietly through the meal before her father asked about her day. What was he trying to do anyway? They didn't ask about each other's days, at least not before he had made the ridiculous "no business at the dinner table" rule. Now he was trying to act like the big, happy family in front of the school teacher. Well, she was done with acting.
She had gotten fired today. And she was pissed. Finally reaching the front door, Beth threw it open and stepped out into the fresh air. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to cool the fire burning in her blood. Fired. The word just kept pulsing through her and it made her hotter with every breath. She needed to scream. And she needed to calm down. She needed to ease the tension straining her every muscle. She needed Rip.
Stepping down from the porch, the head-strong woman turned toward the barn and bunkhouse and set off to find her center. With any luck, he would still be with the other cowboys finishing up this or that. She didn't think she'd be able to make it all the way to his house before she burst, if he was already there.
Beth looked into the barn and spotted the familiar old wrangler who had made the Yellowstone his home when she was just a girl. "Evening Lloyd. Is Rip still around or has he headed home already?"
Lloyd ducked under the reins of the horse he was brushing down and tipped his hat in Beth's direction. "G'evenin Miss Beth. Rip's still over in the arena, tryin' ta school Jimmy on the right way to use a rope, if ya know what I mean. That boy still needs all the help he can git, I'm afraid." He chuckled fondly at the mention of the misfit favor now employed by the ranch."
Beth smiled indulgently and nodded her thanks before she turned toward the arena. Now she was torn between being thankful that Rip was still close and being agitated that he was probably not quite ready to call it a day.
Walking up to the fenced in arena, she immediately spotted her cowboy comfortably sitting his saddle and ribbing the young ranch-hand on yet another missed lasso. Kolby and Teeter watched from the side and a few of the other wranglers practiced their own roping skills on the other side. Beth climbed up onto the fence with one leg thrown over to steady herself. She pulled her other leg over and adjusted her dress to comfortably wait to be noticed. She smiled as she watched Rip wind up his rope, slowly trotting his horse in a circle around Jimmy. She was so intently watching his every move that she didn't see the wrangler approach on her left until he was close enough to clear his throat.
"Hi-ya there cowgirl." Walker strutted his horse up right next to Beth, brushing her leg as he pulled to a stop. "It sure has been awhile." He looked directly into her eyes with the same solemn expression he used for everything.
Beth glanced at the man briefly before she turned back to watch Rip. She acknowledged his greeting with a curt nod before she answered, "Thought you had found your way outta here."
She was agitated to see the whining cowboy again. She didn't often admit mistakes and this was one she would have liked to forget. In a moment of weakness, coming off a small spat with Rip, she had taken from the man what she thought would make her feel something. She was wrong. She had felt nothing, except for regret. She would have been happier to never see him again.
It seemed he did not share in her regret. He walked his horse into her line of sight again. "Yea, well guess this brand has further reaching irons than I reckoned. Got my ass dragged right back here. What about you? You haven't found a way to get un-stuck either."
Beth looked past Walker again and softened when Rip finally turned towards her. He acknowledged her presence with a single nod before he was right back to berating the wayward kid under his wing. She smiled and shook her head. Looking at Walker she said, "Sometimes being stuck isn't as bad as you think it is at first. Sometimes, it's the best thing for you."
"Maybe you can remind me it's not that bad later, once we're done with cowboy school over there." He gestured in the direction behind him, where Rip and Jimmy had just finished up.
Beth watched with a gleam in her eye as Rip sauntered up to the fence, atop his horse. He expertly guided his horse in between that of Walker and Beth and stopped right beside Beth. Neither bothered to correct Walker as Beth addressed her tall, dark, and handsome. "Hey baby, you ready to take me home yet?"
Rip held the horse's reins in his right hand as he held out his left for Beth to take. She didn't hesitate to throw her leg over the horse and climb on facing the man, straddling his legs. Leaning in, she angled her head so as not to bump his cowboy hat and pressed her lips to his. She sighed when his lips parted to accept the quick pass of her tongue and actually giggled when he nudged the horse to start walking toward the gate.
"Walker. Git the gate for me, will ya? My hands are full." Rip winked at Beth as he got his dig in at the lesser man. He brought his hand up to cup her face, "Let's go home darlin." He kissed her once more and angled the horse toward the barn. He would have Lloyd un-tack for him. If there was one thing he was good at, it was reading Beth and he could tell she needed his undivided attention. It wasn't very often that she would seek him out in front of the other hands so he knew something had to be off with her.
Once in the barn, he helped her slide down from the saddle before he dismounted. Handing his reins to his old friend, he silently requested that he finish up for him. With a silent nod back, Lloyd led the horse down the barn alley and Rip threw an arm across Beth's shoulders. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, Beth released a relieved sigh, "God, I needed you baby."
Rip's chest swelled a little at her admission and he tightened his hold on her as he led her out towards his place. As they started across the field, they separated to hold hands.
From the barn, Walker watched the pair with a clenched jaw. There was nothing worse than being bested by another cowboy and it was even worse when that cowboy was the man that had basically snowed you into giving up your life for a fucking brand that wasn't even his. He didn't think he had ever disliked a man more than he disliked Rip Wheeler.
Turning from the scene, he was mildly curious as to where exactly Rip was calling home these days as he knew he was no longer sleeping in the bunkhouse. Maybe that was the reason the farmer's daughter turned to the mean brute anyway. Walker would find a way back into her good graces, if for no other reason than to piss Rip off.
Walking across the field, Beth found peace in her boyfriend's hand. Their fingers had become intertwined as they went and he shortened his stride so that she could comfortably keep up. He always did that for her. Her heart swelled a little as she thought about the small allowances he made to show her his love. He had been doing it since they were kids. From carrying her school bag up the lane once she got off the bus to rescuing her from hired thugs, he had always been there for her. Slowly saving her, one day at a time.
God she loved him. She needed to get better at telling him.
"Hey, Rip?" She squeezed his hand, waiting for him to look down at her.
"Yea, Beth."
She stopped in the field, just short of the gate to his home. Pulling him around to face her, she slowly slid her arms up around his neck and looked into his warm eyes. "I love you, baby."
Rip gave Beth his small one sided smile but his eyes lit up. Clasping his hands together at the base of her back, he pulled her more snuggly into his embrace.
"I know you do darlin. But is nice to hear it every now and then. Kiss me woman."
They chuckled softly together before she obliged him. Their lips met softly under the brim of his hat. Caressing each other in a move they had been practicing since they were kids. Still, it never got old. Kissing this man was like kissing him for the first time. She still felt a little nervous doing it and she still got butterflies low in her belly at the first feel of his breath mingling with hers.
With a contented sigh, Beth pulled back to resume their trek to the house. As he once again grasped her hand, she decided it was time to fill him in on her day. He would reassure her, she knew. Make her feel better, he always did. She would get another job. And she would love her cowboy.
There it was. Her center.