Chapter 3: The Yellowstone
*****A Few Hours Later*****
As they drove up to the Yellowstone Rance, both girls were awestruck. The main house was like a log cabin but mansion size. Okay, so it wasn't mansion size by L.A. standards but for Sunnydale, it was definitely huge.
"It's beautiful!" Dawn gushed.
"It really is," Buffy added.
John gave them a pleased look as they got out of the truck.
"Let's get your stuff in our guest room," John said.
"Your house is wonderful," Buffy said.
"My grandfather built it, which would be your great-great grandfather," he said. "Of course, it was added on and updated over the years."
"That's so cool!" Dawn gushed. "So much history!"
The girls put their stuff in a bedroom at the top of the stairs and then were led to the stables where they were introduced to a man named Lloyd. He was smaller than the other men with gray hair and a gray mustache. His warm smile made both girls like him instantly.
"Lloyd's worked here pretty much as long as I've been an adult," John added.
"That's a long time," Dawn added.
"Dawn!" Buffy scolded.
"What? He knows how old he is," Dawn defended. "It's not like we can pretend he's young when his oldest son was forty."
Lloyd laughed. "They got you there," he said. "Come on, girls, and we'll pick you out a nice horse."
Dawn found one right away, but most of the ones Lloyd showed to Buffy seemed too skittish. Buffy, of course, knew it was because they sensed she was a predator. Then she saw it. The most beautiful black horse with some white on its face. It looked majestic with its black shiny coat, and for Buffy, it was love at first sight.
"This horse," Buffy said. "This is the one."
"This is Devil's Own," Lloyd said. "No one but Kayce can ride him. He was Lee's horse, and he is the orneriest, meanest horse on the ranch. Your granddad would skin me alive if I let you get on this one."
The curious horse approached, keeping its eyes locked on Buffy.
"Hello, you, beautiful boy," Buffy said as she reached out her hand and petted its nose. It seemed to lean into her caress, so she rubbed her hand along its jaw.
Lloyd was surprised as the horse normally wouldn't let anyone near it. Most of the time, they let it run around without a rider for exercise since Lee died as Kayce never visited.
John came into the barn to see what the hold-up was as Rip was already taking Dawn around the pen in her gentle horse. When he saw which horse Buffy was petting, he shook his head. "No, Buffy. That horse is too mean. I won't even get on it. Lee was the only one who could, and it still threw him off a half dozen times before he broke it," he shared.
"But he is so beautiful," Buffy said. "The other horses are afraid of me. He isn't. He's the only one I can ride."
"What do you mean? Why would any of the horses be afraid of you?" he asked, giving Lloyd a questioning glance.
His highest-ranking ranch hand shrugged. "They're just skittish today. Strange woman. Not used to a fruity Californian, I guess," he said, winking at Buffy.
"Please, let me try," Buffy asked her grandfather.
"We can just take her to the pen," Lloyd said. "Let her walk him around. He probably won't even let her get him on him."
John knew that was probably true and would settle the matter. "Alright," he said, relenting. Buffy hugged him in happiness, and he hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed when the horse inevitably rejected her.
Lloyd taught her how to saddle the horse, and he helped her guide it out of the large barn. She saw Dawn riding slowing in a circle with Rip guiding the horse. Her horse was tan colored with a white tail and mane.
"Look, Buffy! I'm riding a horse! Isn't it awesome?" she asked.
Buffy waved. "You look like a natural," she said.
Rip gave her instructions on how to stop the horse and how to go at a trot.
"Okay, I'm going to let go of her harness, so you can ride her without me guiding her," Rip said.
He moved away, and Dawn remembered what he said to get her horse moving.
"What's that horses name?" Buffy asked.
"Lucky Girl," Rip said. "She had a rare, breached birth, and she came out it without any deficits."
"What's that?" Buffy asked.
"Feet first instead of head," John explained.
Buffy looked sheepish. "Oh, yeah, I knew that," she said. Her mother had mentioned that when a cousin of theirs had given birth that way.
Dawn did a good job going around the pen several times and then pulled back on the reins, stopping the horse. "This is so fun!" she proclaimed. "I feel dizzy, though, going in circles."
"Well, why don't you come down, and we'll let Buffy have a bit of time with her horse," John said. "After lunch, we can try for a ride and show you more of the ranch by horseback."
Dawn was helped off the horse by Rip. Lloyd opened the gate, and Dawn and Rip came out with their horse. Then Lloyd walked alongside Buffy as she led her stallion into the pen. Once the gate was shut, Buffy turned and began petting the horse's neck and talking to it in a soft murmur.
John watched carefully, but the horse did not seem to resent her touch. In fact, he leaned into it.
"Go around the pen with her once," Lloyd suggested. "Let's see if he will follow you or try to pull away."
This was a real test because normally only a seasoned ranch hand would get very far with this horse, which is why they hadn't ridden him since Lee passed away.
"Buffy's horse is so big," Dawn said. "She looks tiny."
"This was Lee's horse. He's a beast, and he won't let anyone ride him," John said. "Kayce probably could because there's not a horse alive that Kayce can't ride."
"Buffy's kind of a savant at anything physical," Dawn shared.
"What do you mean?" John said.
"Well, you know how Beethoven sat at piano and could just play?" she asked. John nodded. "Buffy is like that with pretty much anything physical. If she's shown any fighting form once, she can learn it immediately. Any weapons, she just instinctively knows how to do things. She's a lot tougher and more gifted that she looks, so don't be surprised if she makes that horse her bitch. Excuse my language."
John just grinned, finding Buffy's sister more and more amusing. In fact, her forthright manner reminded John a lot of his late wife.
Five minutes later, though, Dawn's prediction proved accurate as Buffy grew bored walking the horse and stopped, speaking to the horse while stroking its face. Then John watched in surprise when she practically launched herself on top of the horse.
"Careful, Buffy. Go easy," he said, feeling anxious. She was so small, and the horse could throw her, causing serious injury. However, the horse surprised everyone.
"Well, I'll be damned," Lloyd said as Devil's Own walked in an easy canter around the pen as docile as a young filly.
"She's a natural," Rip observed.
Buffy grew bored with the slow trot and leaned down. "Can you go any faster?" she asked the horse.
"You just squeeze it a bit with your heels," Lloyd called out.
Buffy did that, and the horse picked up the pace. Grinning, Buffy leaned down and the horse went even faster.
Finally, she rose up and pulled a bit on the reins, and he slowed back down.
"This is so cool," Buffy said as she stopped at the gate in front of her grandfather, who was smiling at her in pride.
Before Rip could get inside the pen to help her off the horse, she'd already thrown herself off the horse like an Olympian, and he chuckled. What a spitfire!
"That was really fun!" Buffy gushed.
"Can't say that I have ever seen such a feat," Lloyd remarked, impressed.
"You are clearly a natural horse woman," John told her.
"Told you," Dawn said, looking smug.
"Come on," Rip said. "I'll show you girls how to brush the horses."
"Cook should have lunch ready soon, so come in the house when you're done," John told them.
The girls enjoyed the rest of the day immensely. First, brushing their horse, which Buffy found almost therapeutic. Then the delicious lunch.
"I can't believe you have all this food!" Dawn gushed. There was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, and mac-n-cheese. Then dessert.
"Gator loves to cook a lot, and much of the time it's wasted since my children rarely finish a meal," he said.
"Well, tell Gator that if he's single, I'm open to marriage!" Buffy said with a grin.
John chuckled. "I will not tell him that," he said. "Cooking is his job—one I pay him very well to do."
"Man, your kids were very lucky," Dawn said. "These mashed potatoes are next level."
For John, a simple lunch became a time of real joy.
Afterwards, he took them for a walk down to the bunkhouses since Buffy was curious, and she met a few more of the ranch hands, who were excited to meet Lee's daughter.
One in particular was quite cute. "So how long has Ryan worked for you?" Buffy asked, trying to sound casual.
"Don't even think about it," John said. "He's a decade older than you."
"That's a lot younger than one of my exes," Buffy said with a cheeky grin.
"This is a large ranch," John told her. "A lot of area to bury his body if he goes near you. Keep that in mind."
Buffy couldn't tell for sure if he was joking or not, so she just laughed. "Fine. Don't let me have any fun," she said.
"Let's go see the rest of the ranch on horseback," he suggested. "That'll be fun."
"Sure," Buffy said, excited to ride Devils Own some more.
Dawn was equally happy to ride, and they saddled their horses again, remembering what they were shown.
Rip watched with John as Lloyd got John's horse ready. "The girls are naturals. I haven't come across grown men who could be taught something just once and remember, especially the teenager," he commented. "It's damn impressive."
"It really is," John said. "Buffy thinks Dawn is Lee's too. We got her DNA tested also."
"I would not be surprised. She's got his wit and natural abilities," he said.
"She reads ancient Sumerian and Latin," John shared.
"So some things clearly come from her mother," Rip said with a grin.
"Okay, we're ready," Buffy said, leading her horse, who seemed eager, butting her gently with his nose.
They got on their horses and rode the land for an hour, and Buffy could not believe how large Yellowstone really was.
"It's the largest privately owned ranch in the country, over 2,000 miles," John said with pride.
"Really?" Buffy asked in awe as she looked down from the incline they were paused at that overlooked a huge expanse of the land.
"That's bigger than the state of Rhode Island," Dawn stated.
"Closer to the state of Delaware," John replied.
Rip was a bit behind them in case they ran into trouble, or the girls had an accident. He had the satellite phone. John would never again allow someone to be harmed without the ability to call for immediate assistance. His wife would be alive today if they had such things twenty years ago.
Luckily, their afternoon was without incident, and both girls enjoyed their time immensely.
"We better get some stretching in, or we'll be very sore," Buffy told Dawn.
"A hot bath will help, too," John suggested. "My bathroom has a jacuzzi tub that you both are welcome to use."
"Thanks!" Buffy said, hugging him. "I will definitely take you up on that."
They went inside and changed out of their jeans, and Buffy had Dawn doing some stretches. Of course, that was not enough for Buffy, and she naturally began doing some of her Tai Chi that Angel taught her. Dawn had no interest in doing it right then as she was exhausted and sat down next to John on the sofa.
John was riveted by his granddaughter, who was in the living room moving in ways he had never seen anyone move before. "What is she doing?" he asked.
"Tai Chi," Dawn answered. "Her ex, Angel, taught it to her. It relaxes her. She's taught me some, but I'm too tired."
"She's stunning," John commented.
"I told you," Dawn said.
They were so busy watching Buffy that they didn't see Jaime or Beth arrive. Buffy wasn't facing her grandfather, so she wasn't aware of how big the audience was even though she knew they were there.
Beth was so startled by Buffy's actions that she had no snide remark while Jamie watched in fascination.
It took the arrival of Kayce with Tate to break up the spell.
"What is she doing? I want to do it!" Tate announced, running toward her.
Buffy turned at the younger sounding voice and realized her entire family had arrived. "Oh, sorry, guys. I got caught up," she said.
"That was beautiful, honey," John said.
"Hi, I'm Tate," Tate said.
"Hi, Tate. I'm Buffy, your cousin," Buffy said, smiling down at the adorable little boy.
"Can you teach me to do what you were doing?" he asked.
"It's called Tai Chi," Buffy said. "I can show you some movements." She proceeded to show him, and his dad joined them, wanting to learn, so he could teach Tate later.
Beth sat down next to her dad on the sofa, saying hello to Dawn. "How's the day been?" she asked.
"Great," he said. "The girls rode horses. They're naturals. Buffy tamed Lee's horse."
"Seriously?" Beth asked, surprised.
John nodded. "The horse was following her like a puppy. It was love at first sight for both of them," he said. He glanced over at Dawn. "Dawn did very well, too."
"It was fun," Dawn enthused. "The Yellowstone is beautiful."
"I'm glad you had a good time," Beth said, surprised that she meant it. She rarely went out of her way to be nice to others, and she had no real experience with teenagers. However, both her niece and her niece's sister were likeable. They weren't stupid, and Beth had no patience for idiots.
"Girls, dinner will be ready in ten minutes," John told them after seeing Gator's signal from the dining room doorway.
"Great," Dawn said.
"So you have time to change," John told her.
Dawn looked down at the comfortable clothes she had. "Why would I change? I just did," she said.
"Dad likes everyone to dress up for dinner. A bit more format," Beth explained.
"Oh," Dawn said. "Sure."
Buffy seemed to not be listening, but she proved otherwise by ending her movements and turning to face them. "I'll see you in a bit, Tate."
She went to change while Tate followed his father into the dining room. His siblings and father joined them at the table.
"So how did everything go today?" Kayce asked. "Buffy seems pretty damn impressive."
"She's awesome!" Tate enthused.
"Well, Dawn told me she was something of a savant with anything physical—like Beethoven with music," John shared.
"Really?" Beth asked, intrigued. "What do you think she meant?"
"She told me that when Buffy insisted that she ride Lee's horse," John revealed.
All three of his children looked at him with various degrees of surprise and dismay.
"Dad, the liability if he maims her," Jaime said.
"She could get killed!" Beth yelled.
"That is not a good idea," Kayce added in agreement.
"Well, it's done," John said. "The horse acted like a puppy in love, following her around the pen. Then she got on the beast without assistance and rode him like she was born to be a horsewoman. Then got off him the same way. After lunch, we rode around the property, and she didn't have a bit of problems with him. It was the most amazing thing Rip and I have ever seen. Lloyd, too."
"Damn," Kayce muttered.
"I don't like it," Beth said. "She could get really hurt if he gets startled. She has no idea what to do."
"Rip had the phone in case something happened," John assured her.
"So what exactly did Dawn say?" Jaime asked.
"I was expressing my concern about her getting on the horse, and she told me that she was a savant with anything physical. Like how Beethoven could just play the piano, Buffy could do that with anything physical. If she's shown any fighting form one time, she can master it. Instinctively knows how to use any weapon. Then told me not to be surprised when she made the horse her bitch," he shared, smiling at the memory.
Beth chuckled. "And she made the horse her bitch," she remarked.
"Bitch is a bad word," Tate told them. "You're not supposed to say that word."
"That's exactly right, Tate," Kayce said. "You and I clearly have to set the good examples in this family."
Tate grinned.
"Sorry, Tate," John said. "Dawn apologized for using the bad word immediately after she did so. However, I must point out, though, that she was right about Buffy. The horse gave her zero problems."
"I can't say that I have ever met anyone from her generation who knows Tai Chi," Kayce said. "At least not female."
"Her ex-boyfriend taught her," John said.
"You have turned into such a gossip," Beth teased, grinning.
"Hey, I can't help it if Dawn is chatty," John shared.
"Tate, why don't you tell Dad what you've been up to?" Kayce suggested, not wanting the girls to come in and hear them gossiping about them.
Tate started doing just that, and John was laughing at his tale when the girls joined them.
The two seats to his left were left open to him. Buffy took the first seat while Dawn took the next.
"What's on the menu for tonight?" Buffy asked.
"Steak," John said.
"Really? I rarely get to eat that," Buffy said excitedly.
John and the other adults watched her tear into her steak with gusto.
Beth just shook her head, eating her salad. "Enjoy that high metabolism while it lasts," she said.
"I will," Buffy said, giving her a cheeky grin as she took another bite.
The men all laughed, amused by Buffy.
"I wouldn't think someone as tiny as you would eat so much," Jamie observed.
"I burn it off," Buffy said.
"Yes, Dad said your sister told him that you were gifted with the physical," Kayce remarked.
She glanced at Dawn, who shrugged.
"I guess so. I used to ice skate and take gymnastics when I was a kid," she said. "I did cheerleading my freshmen year of high school, and then I got into martial arts and other things like that."
"Like Tai Chi," Kayce added.
Buffy grinned. "Yes," she said. "Not very girly, but I like it. Keeps me in shape."
"Tomorrow, we'll show you how to rope cattle," John said. "I bet you'll find that fun."
"What do you rope them into doing?" Dawn asked with wide eye innocence.
John started to explain when she grinned, and he realized that she was teasing him. "You are the mischievous one, aren't you?" John asked.
"That's the nice way of putting it. I use the word brat," Buffy said with a smirk.
The family laughed. Everyone had a good time, and John felt peace like he had never felt before.
*****The Next Day*****
John was happy that Kayce decided to join them, wanting to see Buffy ride Devils Own for himself. The horse had tossed Lee more than once before he had broken it.
First, though, Kayce showed the girls how to rope, practicing on a fence post.
Just like her sister warned, Buffy was shown it one time, and she could do it as well as Kayce. A few hands as well as Lloyd and Rip witnessed her accomplishment and clapped.
"Beginner's luck," Kayce remarked. Then she proceeded to do it five times in a row without once missing the post.
"I can't wait to see how she does on a moving target," Lloyd said.
"Well, move and I'll show you," Buffy suggested.
The ranch hands thought that was a splendid idea and jumped into the pen. There were three of them and Lloyd. Of course, Buffy roped a moving Ryan, who grinned while the others whistled and clapped.
John was both impressed and annoyed with her roping of Ryan. "Okay, that's enough. Let's let Dawn have a turn," he said.
Dawn watched Lloyd's movement carefully and tried it. She missed. However, she got it on her third try, and everyone cheered.
"That's great, Dawn," John cheered. Although she didn't have Buffy's level of skill, she was still a natural. Neither girl had ever been around horses, which made their quick study all the more impressive.
It was another great day for all of them as Kayce was able to see firsthand just how well Buffy rode Lee's diabolical horse. He went home and told his wife all about it.
On the third day, they were having lunch with just the three of them as Kayce wasn't with them, and Dawn was telling him a story about Buffy's attempt to teach her how to ice skate when she was younger. Then Jamie arrived, interrupting.
"Hey, Jamie," Buffy said, greeting him with a warm smile.
Jamie never felt so welcomed in his own home as he did by his niece, and it meant a lot to him. For the first time in many years, he felt like his family was a real family again.
"I have news," he said, pulling an envelope out and handing it to his father. "The DNA results are in."
John opened the letter and read the results. No surprise that Buffy was related to him. However, he was stunned to see that Dawn was also, and he glanced at her. He had become exceedingly fond of her quick wit and natural enthusiasm. To know that she, too, was Lee's daughter filled his eyes with tears, and he put his hand to eyes.
"What does it say?" Buffy asked.
Unable to speak, John handed it to her.
Buffy read it and grinned. "It's just what I thought. Dawn is Lee's daughter, too," Buffy said, handing it to Dawn to read.
Dawn read it, feeling excited. Now she would be welcomed like one of them, too. Of course, they had been very nice to her, but she wanted to be a Dutton.
"Does that mean I can call you Grandpa, too?" Dawn asked.
John stood up and held out his arms. "I really hope that you do," he said.
She got up and hugged him.
Dawn felt safe in his arms like she did with Buffy. He was old, yet she still felt safe.
It was weird but nice.
"Welcome to the family," Jamie said.
Then he, too, hugged her.
Dawn wondered how long she should wait before asking if she could change her name to Dawn Dutton.
*****Chapter End*****