Lucy lent her bike against the barn door before sliding it open to see Betty. She was much bigger than when she first started coming down to feed her and Lucy knew the cowboys had been practicing their roping on her.
She looked in the stall looking at Betty's dark brown eyes before patting Rip's horse. Lucy put her camera down before getting the feed for Betty. She threw it in to the stable, leaning over to scratch Betty behind the ears, the tips of her toes barely touching the ground.
Lucy could hear the wranglers in the bunkhouse and see the lights on at the lodge in the living room where John was most likely doing something. She couldn't make out what the wranglers were doing but her ears pricked up when she realised that all of a sudden she couldn't hear anything. The next thing she knew was the bunkhouse door being flung open and hitting the wall and men yelling.
"You just don't quit Fred!" She heard someone yell. Lucy listened to the men arguing mixed in with Teeter trying to cut it out. She didn't want to make herself known but knew if her Dad found out about her being near Fred without him he wouldn't be happy.
The voices quietened down again, she didn't want to stick her head outside in case they were out there and saw her. It wouldn't surprise her that Rip would be called if one of the cowboys realised she was down at the stables alone. She turned her attention back to Betty and spoke softly to her.
"Mom said I can have Ella stay on the weekend after basketball. I'm sure she'll love to come and give you a scratch." Lucy whispered.
Betty didn't show any interest in what Lucy was saying. Lucy nearly jumped hearing the loudest crack she had ever heard, she couldn't help but think it was a gunshot. She felt like her ears were ringing a bit from the noise as the horses and Betty made their own distressed noises.
At the lodge John was putting away his paperwork for the ranch when he heard a gunshot from down near the pen and bunkhouse. Kayce had stopped by the lodge to have a drink and chat with his dad when they heard it.
"What the fuck was that." He muttered, John went to grab his hat and go outside but Kayce was already ahead of him.
He flicked on the porch light as he stood and looked to where the sound came from. Kayce could see the bunkhouse light on but couldn't see any of the wranglers outside or anyone else out. He considered going down to make sure everything was ok but decided against it, it wasn't like they never fired guns on the ranch and they were only ever used for good reason.
"Don't know." Kayce told John when he got inside. "Couldn't see a thing and it's all quiet out there."
Lucy did her best to calm the horses down and herself. She went to grab her phone out of her pocket to call Rip, she wanted him to come and get her. She quickly realised that it wasn't in her pocket and that she hadn't even brought it down from home.
"Ok." She said with a sigh thinking about what to do next. Lucy could hear footsteps on the gravel but they were sliding, stumbling around rather than clear footsteps, heading in her direction. The stable door rattled before Lucy saw a shadow and then Walker come around the corner. She didn't realise she was holding her breath.
"What? What's going on?" Lucy asked alarmed.
Walker was holding on to his shoulder where the bullet had grazed him, when he heard Lucy's voice.
"You should go." He told her.
"Why?" Lucy asked.
"You've got to go." He said hissing from the pain.
"Have you been shot?"
Walker shook his head. The girl was just like her mother. Relentless when is came to getting the information she wanted to know.
"Grazed." He told her. Both looked towards the door hearing another set of footsteps. "Kid. Go." Walker told her again.
Lucy felt like her feet had been superglued to the ground, willing herself to just run to the lodge but then she saw Fred's large frame in the doorway.
"Come here, Walker." He growled moving towards him as Walker tried to move away, groaning as he did so.
Walker wasn't quick enough before Fred caught up to him and punched him in the jaw, Lucy hearing the unmistakable crack as it broke. She winced too frightened to make a sound. Walker spat out the blood in his mouth, trying to get a punch back in return.
Lucy watched the two men continue to fight before making a move for the door.
"Hey!" She called out hoping someone would hear her. "HEY!" She screamed louder before seeing the bunkhouse door open. She waved her arms madly before seeing Colby, Jake and Lloyd come running. She turned and saw Fred was now standing over Walker who was bloody and coughing.
"Stop it!" She yelled at him, unsure where the surge of confidence had come from. It had no effect on Fred who landed a kick straight to Walker's ribs.
"Leave him alone!" She said louder, moving to grab his arm. As she did he lashed out, swinging his arm backwards, connecting with the side of her head.
Lucy felt a searing pain in the side of her head before she hit the ground.
Jake reached the stables first seeing both Lucy and Walker on the ground and Fred still standing over Walker. Colby and Lloyd coming in close behind him.
"What the fuck Fred!" Lloyd said pushing past to get to Lucy.
"Colby. Tie him up. Jake check Walker is breathing." Lloyd told them.
Jake and Colby couldn't help but think it was almost like Fred was in a trance just standing there while they grabbed the zip ties for his ankles and hands. Jake checked on Walker who was just breathing shallowly.
Lloyd looked over Lucy noticing some blood from where she landed and a mark from where she was hit. Given what they had walked in to he knew it was Fred who had struck her.
"You've done it now Fred. Hitting a kid for damn sake! And Rip's kid of them all." Lloyd told him shaking his head. "You're on your own now."
"Fuck you all." Fred spat back.
"Colby get the others." Lloyd told him, waiting for a few of the other boys to help.
He returned with Jimmy and Ryan who couldn't believe what they were looking at.
"Is she ok?" Jimmy asked as Lloyd helped a groggy Lucy sit up.
"Jimmy, help Walker to the lodge. Ryan, Jake and Colby, you get that sack of shit to the lodge as well." Lloyd gave out orders before helping Lucy to her feet. He felt her knees buckle before deciding to pick her up. He went ahead of the rest.
The trio of cowboys looked at each other working out the best way to get Fred to the lodge. They each knew cutting the cable ties around his legs wasn't an option because Fred could probably over power them. They opted to drag him to the lodge while he complained.
Lloyd gently kicked at the door that led to the lounge room of the lodge.
John turned hearing a thump that didn't stop against the glass door. "Bloody hell!" He said getting Kayce's attention noticing Lucy in Lloyd's arms. He pulled the door open, letting them inside.
"What happened?" Kayce asked as Lloyd helped her on the couch.
"I don't really know. Fred was fighting with Walker, think he grazed him with the gun and then went after him. I think he must have knocked Lucy over." Lloyd started. "Walker is outside and Fred is tied up." He said moving to go outside.
"Call Beth and Rip." John told Kayce who was already pulling out his phone.
"Dad is gonna be so mad." Lucy said holding her head.
"Don't worry about that, Lucy. Let me look at your head." He told her seeing some blood.
"It's fine." She said trying to move away. John wasn't going to push her, he knew that wouldn't work.
"Watch her." John told Kayce before going outside. Kayce opted to call Rip rather than Beth, unsure how either would react he preferred the thought of Rip at least until he arrived.
"You and Beth need to come up to the lodge."
"Why?"
"Just get here."
"What's happened? Lucy was at the stables, has something happened?" Rip asked at the other end of the line.
Beth looked up hearing Rip's voice change and Lucy's name. He hung up the phone before grabbing his keys, jacket and hat.
"Where are you going?"
"Somethings happened. I don't know what yet but Kayce wouldn't say if it was Lucy."
"The fuck!" She said getting up from where she sat to get in the car. Rip spun the wheels in reverse before speeding to the lodge as fast as he could.
When they arrived Rip got out to find a few cowboys standing around, John looking at Walker and Fred in cable ties.
"She's inside with Kayce." John said not looking up. Beth didn't wait a second longer going inside to see if Lucy was hurt.
All Rip could see was red. "If either of you fuckers have hurt my daughter, it'll be your life you pay with. You hear me! Your fucking life." He yelled pointing a finger at both men. He stomped up the stairs to find Beth with a hand over her mouth sitting in the armchair across from the sofa, Kayce passing her a glass of water.
It wasn't long before Rip was by Lucy's side. He was relieved that she was awake before he noticed the dirt on her, blood in her hair and what looked like a bruise beginning to form on the side of her head.
"Lu. Sweetheart, let me look at you." Rip told her.
"I'm fine. My head hurts but I'm ok." She told Rip, avoiding eye contact.
Beth moved to the other side of the couch. "I know it hurts but let Rip look."
"I don't want to get in to trouble, I was scared." She said as her voice cracked. Kayce took that as he cue to leave.
Rip knelt down in front of her. "Sweetheart. I just need to make sure you're ok. You're not in trouble." He told her.
Lucy moved to sit up with Beth and Rip helping her from either side. She felt her head spin and vision blur slightly before settling.
"You ok?" Rip asked, watching her face. She gave him the thumbs up before he had a look at her head.
"Mama, I'm gonna -." Lucy said trying to stand, pushing Rip away to move towards the bathroom. She stumbled across the living room. Beth hot on her heels before she threw up on the tiles of the bathroom, not making it to the toilet.
"Just stop Lucy." Beth said rubbing her back. Rip grabbed a bucket and some more water before helping her back to the sofa.
"I'll sort it." He told Beth leaving to clean the vomit.
"Why was I even sick!"
"You've hit your head. Probably got a concussion." Beth told her. "Do you know what happened?"
"I think so. There was yelling and I think Fred tried to shoot Walker. With a gun. Like what Dad has. And then Walker came to the stables and he told me to go but Fred came and I yelled out and cowboys were coming but Fred was punching and kicking Walker. He just didn't stop Mom."
"Calm down." Beth told her while Rip listened from across the room.
"I couldn't let him keep going. He was going to kill him Mom. So I yelled at him to stop but he didn't so I touched his arm and I think he hit me then because my head hurt and then Lloyd was there."
Neither Beth or Lucy realised that John was standing behind them in the doorway listening to what Lucy had said.
"I'm going to deal with it." Rip told them, Beth could see how angry he was despite trying to hide it.
"Walker will live." John said loud enough for Lucy and Beth to hear as Rip passed him.
"What's gonna happen?" Lucy asked, looking in to Beth's eyes.
"We're going to wait for Rip and go home." Beth knew that was not what Lucy meant.
"Mom."
"Well my Daddy is probably going to fire someone and your Daddy, baby I have no idea what he's going to do. You don't worry about that." Beth told her, pulling her close to her chest.
"My head still hurts a bit." Beth relaxed her grip hearing that.
Rip went down the porch steps with John to find Fred still sitting tied up in the dirt with Kayce and Lloyd.
"I didn't know she was there Rip."
"Bullshit." Rip said kicking Fred in the ribs. "She was screaming at you to stop fighting. My kid was screaming at you and you hit her. In the fucking head Fred."
Lloyd in all his years had never seen Rip this angry, Kayce couldn't recall a time either. John stood back letting Rip have his moment.
"I told you no fighting Fred but you can't follow even the simplest of rules." Rip said, walking away for a second.
"Fred. I barely know you." John started. "But that's my granddaughter you hit. You may as well have shot me doing that. You've been warned already."
John turned to Lloyd. "Pack his shit Lloyd and take him to the train station."
"What? You're not going to kill me." Fred said.
"No. You'll go to the train station and never come back." Rip said from behind John. "You're a piece of shit Fred." He finished before turning his back to go inside. He could hear Kayce pull Fred to his feet and put him in the truck while Lloyd left to get Fred's belongings.
John didn't follow, opting to remain outside. Rip tried to catch his breath before going inside not wanting to frighten Lucy, he knew Beth had him read like a book and knew what he was thinking.
"Let's go home." Rip announced, Beth turned her head from where she sat.
"Come on baby." Beth said getting to her feet with Lucy.
"My head is pounding!" Lucy complained reaching to grab it with one hand.
"Can you walk?" Beth asked, before she could get an answer Rip was there picking her up, one arm under her legs and one behind her back. Lucy turned in to his chest and he could hear sniffles and knew she was crying.
Rip managed to open the back seat door to the truck. "Beth, maybe you sit with her." He suggested before Beth climbed in the back. He put Lucy in beside her before getting in the drivers seat.
"You're going to go straight to bed when we're home." Beth whispered to her.
Rip parked the car outside their cabin where all the lights were still on. Beth helped her out of the car and up to her room, leaving her to get changed.
Downstairs she found Rip knocking back a whisky before pouring another.
"He's gone?"
"Train station." Rip said finishing it before putting the bottle away.
"I want her home tomorrow."
Rip could tell Beth had been afraid tonight and he knew she was going to keep Lucy close for a while now.
He nodded before turning some of the lights off downstairs.
"Mom?" Lucy called softly from the landing getting both Rip and Beth's attention.
"What is it baby?"
"I don't think I want to be alone in my room." She said biting her lip.
Beth looked over her shoulder at Rip before telling Lucy she would stay with her in her room.
Lucy was quick to turn in to Beth's chest before closing her eyes, Beth was surprised by Lucy, holding her close. Rip turned off the light making his way to their bedroom.
"He's not gonna come back right?"
"No. Your Dad's made sure of that." Beth told her feeling a tear slide down on to her chest.