Kayce dropped the family back at ranch rather than their cabin in the early hours of the morning.
"This isn't our house." Lucy said tiredly.
"I know." Beth said leading her to her old bedroom. Kayce helping Rip in. "We'll just stay here for a few nights."
"Thanks Kayce." Rip said at the door before he left and got himself to bed with a groan. "I'm fine, Lu." He said seeing her worry.
Beth gently lay down on the other side of the bed.
"I'll just go and take the couch out there." Lucy said grabbing a blanket.
"It's big enough for us all." Beth said patting the middle of the bed. Rip already asleep.
Lucy carefully climbed over Beth, lying in the middle of the two. "Come here." Beth said opening her arm for Lucy to tuck in to her side. She winced as Lucy rest her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry honey."
"Mmm it's ok." Lucy said as she succumbed to the land of sleep. Beth lay there listening to the breathing of Lucy and Rip, waiting for sleep herself.
John came down the stairs in the morning and passed Beth's old bedroom to find the three asleep in there. Kayce and his family at the breakfast table.
"How were they?" John asked Kayce.
"They'll be fine. Lucy was the most worried." Kayce told him before leaving for work while the other three finished their breakfast.
"Come on Tate. We're going out for the day." Monica told him.
"Bye Grandpa." He said leaving with Monica.
Lucy woke to different voices before remembering last nights events. Beth and Rip still sleeping either side of her, she got up looking for some food.
"This place is enormous." She said to herself trying to find the kitchen.
"Do you need something?" John asked watching her walk around.
"Oh. I was just looking for the kitchen." She said with a fright.
"Through there. Ask Gator for what you want." John said approaching her. "I'm John, Beth's Dad. We haven't met properly." He stuck out his hand.
Lucy looked at him. "I know who you are. And we have met before." She told him shoving her hands in her pockets before leaving him standing there.
"Just like Beth." He muttered going out on to the porch.
"Uh.. hello?" Lucy said finding the kitchen. Gator turned around to see a young girl that looked like Beth standing there. "I'm Lucy."
"You must be Beth's daughter. I'm Gator."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you. So I was hoping I could make some toast? And I think my Mom will probably want a smoothie."
"I'll get right on it for you, Miss."
Lucy looked at him confused. "I can do it. If you show me where things are."
"What kind of smoothie do you want to make?" Gator asked before he got everything out for her.
"Ah well. She likes ice cream, and berries and bananas?"
Gator nodded getting everything out. "You want one too Gator?" Lucy asked.
"No thanks Miss."
"Call me Lucy." She told him as she put the ingredients in the blender before putting her toast in the toaster.
"Don't forget the lid." Gator said passing the blender lid.
"Yeah that could have been a real shitshow." Lucy said grinning.
Beth woke up to a blender and a splitting headache. She looked to the other side of the bed only to find Rip there asleep. She wasn't too worried, she knew Lucy was, whilst perfectly capable of finding trouble, she was also capable of getting herself out of it.
She looked at herself in the mirror picking up her old makeup to cover her face before deciding against it. She kissed Rip's forehead before going downstairs.
"Oh good, made you this." Lucy said putting the smoothie in her hand, her other hand holding a slice of toast. "I saw your dad earlier." She said taking a bite.
"Oh yeah. How did that go?"
"Well. Not well. But could have been worse." She said with a shrug. "Heard him mutter that I was like you. Just because I didn't shake his hand."
Beth scoffed. "That would have done it."
"Sorry for calling you Mom." Lucy said rubbing the back of her neck feeling awkward.
"Why? You would only have to say that if I wasn't your Mom."
Lucy nodded. "I didn't know if it would bother you."
"No." Beth said watching two cars pull up. "You stay here, Luce." She told her going on to the porch.
Lucy watched from the kitchen window Beth and John talk to people she didn't know. "Do you know then Gator?"
"That's Mr Rainwater and Mo but I don't know the other man." Gator told her.
Lucy figured that she would eventually find out what was going on. She went back to the room they had stayed in last night to see if Rip was awake and they could go back to their own house.
"Hey kid." He said sitting up holding his wounds.
"Hey."
"I thought you were going to stay in the truck."
Lucy nodded. She knew she was probably about to cop a lecture. "I know."
"I'm not going to yell Lucy but there are times when Beth and I tell you to do things. You do them. Otherwise you'll get hurt."
Lucy felt her own anger rising. "What. So it's normal to get shot and beaten or whatever they did to Beth?"
"No. You live on a ranch Lu. There are lots of things here that can hurt you ok. And it's my job to keep you safe. I've stuffed it up once and that's enough."
Beth stood in the doorway listening in before going in the room. She looked over Rip before sitting down.
"Who were the people?"
"Which people Lucy?" Rip asked.
"The ones talking to John." She said looking at Beth.
"No one for you to worry about." She said not making eye contact, instead in her own thoughts.
"Why are you all acting like nothing happened. Look at you both! You nearly died!" Lucy said frustration coming out from being told to behave and then not told the full story of who people were. She got off the bed and left.
"What the fuck." Rip muttered.
"Honey, I think this is our second parenting fuck up." Beth said getting up. "I think I'm going to go deal with that before god knows what happens."
"I'll come." Rip said getting out of bed with a grimace before Beth could say otherwise.
Lucy walked out of the lodge and saw Ryan about to take the saddle off the horse.
"Ryan! Leave it on will ya? I'm going for a ride" She yelled out catching up to him.
"Ah. Does Rip know? He will kill me if he doesn't."
"Yeah yeah." She lied knowing she would be definitely in for a lecture. "He said it was fine as long as someone else saddled it." She felt like Pinocchio saying that.
"Alright. Well see ya. Come get us when you're done." Ryan said leaving her there with the horse.
Lucy got on the horse and went out towards the forest.
Rip watched, pointing Lucy out on the horse to Beth.
"What is she doing?" Beth said more than asked. She watched Lucy sit in the saddle lying forward on the horses neck cuddling it as it walked along the grass slowly.
"I told her to not ride without me." Rip said going down the stairs.
Lucy rest her head against the horses neck and decided to let the tears fall. "What is wrong with me. I never use to be like this!" She said to no one in particular.
Rip didn't want to spook the horse by yelling at Lucy whilst she was in the saddle.
The horse stopped to graze on the grass. This gave Rip enough time to catch up.
"Lucy. Get off the horse. We're having a chat."
She looked at him with red eyes and nodded in defeat. It was a reaction Rip didn't expect, he thought she was going to argue with him more. Lucy sat up in the saddle, turning the horse around back to the stable while Rip walked back to Beth.
"Well?" Beth asked.
"She didn't say anything. I told her to get off and we'd have a chat." He told her sitting down on the porch. "She's been crying. I didn't know what to say when I saw her. You never cried, did you?"
Beth shook her head. "Never in front of anyone. She's 15, she's gonna cry. Probably a lot. You're going to have to deal with it."
Lucy tied the horse up before waving at Ryan and heading to the porch.
"What's gotten in to you Lucy?" Rip asked.
"Me? Why are you both acting like nothing happened? I watched you both nearly die!" She said raising her voice.
Rip went to say something before Beth intervened. "But we didn't. And we are ok. Rip got rid of the threat so you don't need to worry."
"How can you say that! He just told me I could get hurt just because I live here!"
"I think you're just scared at the moment Lu. That's fine." Beth said calmly trying to defuse the situation. She was trying to adapt to suddenly being a parent with a child that she really didn't know all that well. A parent to a child who had a million thoughts and emotions going through her but mostly a child that Beth came to realise was the better parts of herself and Rip.
"Of course I was!" Lucy said still angry.
"Come here. I'm not going to hurt you." Beth said holding a hand out. Lucy tentatively moved closer before Beth stood and gave her a hug. Lucy hung on to Beth like she was going to be ripped from her grasp.
"We are all fine." Beth said rubbing her back.
"Bur there were gunshots and dead men. The dead men when I close my eyes are there." Lucy said into her shoulder. Beth looked at Rip worried.
"There just that Lucy. Dead. Not coming back all right." Rip told her.
"I'm sorry for storming off and getting on the horse. I lied to Ryan and said you told me I could." She blurted out.
"Good to know you can't lie to us Lucy." Rip said smirking.
"Can we go back to our house?" She asked.
"Not yet. Rip needs to be able to do the stairs first." Beth said.
"But I have school tomorrow."
"I'll take you home so you can get ready and then I'll drop you at school like normal."
Lucy nodded wiping her eyes before going inside to find a tv to watch.
"Baby. That girl is all of our best parts, so you know." Beth started. "I want her to have all the emotions I hold from showing. So you better get use to her crying and stomping around."
"Darling, you already do enough stomping for the whole damn valley." He told her.
