After they finished dinner, Tate begged to stay the night. Kayce looked like he was thinking about allowing it. But Monica said no and they took him back to the ranch with them. Jamie guessed they were still nervous to be away from Tate after he'd been kidnapped not so very long ago. The entire family had been through the ringer over the last few years. But Kayce and Monica took the brunt of it when their personal tragedy added to the ongoing drama that came with being part of the Dutton family. Jamie didn't blame them for keeping their boy close. And aside from his desire not to disappoint his father, what happened to Tate was the other reason he was reluctant to publicly claim his young son.

Jamie glanced at Rachel as she pulled a dinner plate from the soapy water, rinsing it before she handed it over so he could dry and stack it back in the cupboard. He wondered if she had any idea what she signed up for when she hunted down her long lost half brother. And he cringed at the possibility of something bad happening to her or Dakota because of her affiliation with him or his family.

Unaware of the dark thoughts circling his mind, Rachel smiled at him as she handed over another dish. Her face lit up as she turned her attention back to the scene outside the window. Dakota was outside playing with Jamie's son on a blanket in the grass. She was lying on her back, letting the little one climb all over her. The baby kept climbing up and rolling off the other side of her body into the soft grass. Both of them were laughing and squealing.

"Sometimes I feel guilty for not giving her a sibling," Rachel said with another soft smile. Her ex wasn't exactly father of the year. But she'd still tried for another baby after she had Dakota. She thought Daniel would be happy once she gave him the son he wanted. When her baby died inside her, what little goodness was left inside her husband seemed to die with it. She decided she didn't want to try again after that. Rachel never considered that she might someday be at a place in her life where she would be able to have a baby with someone else. Someone who might not beat her while she was pregnant and then beat her for losing the baby.

"There's still plenty of time," Jamie teased, laughing at the look Rachel threw in his direction. He guessed it was a little early to start talking about babies. And he wondered if he was rushing things with her. They'd only had their first date two days ago. And now she was washing dishes in his kitchen. After dinner with his family. The funny thing was it didn't feel rushed. It felt natural. Being with Rachel put him at ease.

Once the dinner mess was cleaned up, they headed outside so Jamie could show Rachel around his property. Dakota bopped along behind them, refusing to hand the baby off even though he kept pulling at her long ponytail and making her squeal. Jamie let her hang onto the boy until she started climbing onto the four wheeler with his son in her lap. Swooping in, he lifted the boy into his arms.

"You have to be five years old to ride on a four wheeler," he told her. "...it's state law." Dakota nodded, looking terrified that she almost broke a law that Rachel was quite certain didn't exist. She held in her laughter until Dakota rode away.

"State law huh?," she teased. Jamie laughed, shifting his son to one arm so he could use the other to pull Rachel in for a kiss.

"Another little known state law is if you do the dishes at a man's house you have to agree to be his girlfriend," he told her.

"I guess I better agree then, I don't want to go back to jail," Rachel replied with a giggle. She smiled as he pressed another kiss to her lips.

They wandered the property, enjoying the colors of the sunset while Dakota got her fill of riding the four wheeler around and around the barns. When the mosquitoes started coming out, they headed back inside. Jamie got his son changed and they nestled down onto the couch to watch a movie of Dakota's choosing while Jamie fed the boy a bottle. Before long, Jamie's son was fast asleep against his chest. Dakota passed out a few minutes later, stretched out on the couch with her head on Rachel's lap. Jamie turned the volume on the movie down and wrapped his arm around Rachel. He figured they ought to get both the kids and themselves to bed. But he wasn't in a hurry to end the peaceful moment they were having.

With his arm around Rachel, he kissed her cheek and tugged her so she could lean into him and relax. One of her hands interlocked with his as the other stroked lazily up and down the length of his thigh.

"Would you mind if I asked you a personal question?," Rachel asked. Jamie squeezed her hand gently.

"Sure," he agreed, finding he was only slightly nervous about what she was going to ask him. Instead of sweating bullets like he normally would be if a woman wanted to question him.

"What's going on between you and Beth?"

Rachel already determined that Beth could be dramatic. But the deep seeded hatred she seemed to have for her own brother had to stem from somewhere. And her fear of what it might be was the only thing holding Rachel back from giving in completely to her feelings for Jamie. She couldn't imagine hating her own sibling. No matter what they did. And she was worried that Jamie had done something truly evil to make his own sister hold such resentment towards him.

Jamie sighed heavily. And he seriously considered telling Rachel that Beth the issue between him and Beth was that she was a genuine psycho. Or that he had no idea what her problem was. But he didn't want to lie. And with how close the two of them were getting, he knew that Beth might eventually tell Rachel the reason behind her hatred towards him. And it would be better if Rachel heard it from him.

"When she was sixteen, Beth got pregnant. She didn't want dad to find out. So she asked me to take her to get an abortion. I knew if we went to the planned parenthood in Bozeman, people would find out. So I took her to the clinic on the reservation." Jamie paused, feeling an enormous swell of guilt. He never should have taken her there. Or to any clinic. He should have told their father on her. She was sixteen and scared and she came to him for help. "They sterilized her as part of the abortion. She'll never be able to have children."

"Oh my god," Rachel gasped, turning her head and looking at him with wide blue eyes. "You got her pregnant?"

"What the fuck," Jamie hissed, nearly waking the small child in his arms. "NO! That's disgusting! Rip got her pregnant. I just drove her to the clinic." The relief on Rachel's face quickly gave way to confusion.

"What the hell is she mad at you for then?," Rachel asked. "Twenty years later, she still hates you because you drove her to the clinic when she asked to go there?"

"Yep," Jamie admitted, trying not to smile when Rachel shook her head in disbelief.

He was so used to bearing the blame for what Beth did that hearing Rachel phrase the situation like that felt strange. He did feel that he was wrong in what he did. But that didn't give Beth the right to put it all on him. She got herself pregnant. She decided to get rid of the baby. He should have stopped her. And he didn't. But now he wasn't sure if that gave her the right to rain abuse and blame down on him for the rest of their lives. He was just sort of used to being the family scapegoat.

"Please don't say anything to Rip about it," Jamie requested. "I don't think he knows."

"I won't," Rachel promised. She tilted her head, pressing a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. "I appreciate you telling me the truth. I'm sure it's not something you like talking about."

"Thank you for listening," he replied, pulling Rachel closer to him.

It had been a long time since anyone really listened to him. Or took his side. Especially against Beth. Even when he was clearly in the right, their father always took her side. Always. And Jamie was starting to wonder how Rachel's presence was going to tip the scales. She was Rip's sister. And his girlfriend. Officially. As of an hour ago. That put her in a unique position. And Jamie found himself hoping she might be the key to knitting his family back together.