Rip woke Lucy up the next morning well before the sun had risen.
"Let's go Lucy."
"Go where? It's nighttime."
Rip nearly rolled his eyes. "If you want to go to that party you're going to saddle all the horses this morning and clean the stalls before you finish your school work."
She groaned rolling to the other side of her small bed before Rip pulled the covers back making her sit upright as the cold hit her.
Lucy forced herself to get up hoping that Ella would thank her for all of this later. She got changed quietly and didn't say much to Rip as they drove down. He got his own day organised, leaving Lucy to saddle the horses for all the cowboys.
Jimmy came outside to saddle the horses but saw the doors already opened and a few saddles with Rip's truck next to it. 'God dammit'. He thought, he still didn't have a watch but he was certain he wasn't late.
"Morning Rip." Jimmy said not too enthusiastically, ready for a grilling.
"Jimmy." Rip greeted him with a curt nod. "Lucy is saddling the horses today and cleaning the stalls. You can go back to the bunkhouse for a bit."
"I can help her." He said surprised.
"No." Rip told him offering no further information.
Rip got a shovel and wheelbarrow organised next to the stall ready while Lucy finished the final saddle.
"You're gonna clean all these out and out new hay in each."
"Literally scooping shit." Lucy muttered. Rip heard but ignored her.
She took off her outer layers before grabbing the shovel. She could hear the cowboys chatting outside about their day and making fun of one another.
"You're gonna finish that Lucy and then go home and finish your school work."
Lucy just nodded still feeling a bit sorry for herself after yesterday. She felt like she had been working for hours when she finished and her arms were aching. She was hungry and tired as she got rid of the last wheelbarrow before throwing fresh hay in each stall and locking them.
The sun had come out and was warm against her now sweaty skin. She found a tap turning it on to splash her face, running her hands through her hair before deciding to walk to the lodge to find some food before going to the cabin.
She closed the door quietly. Before turning around to see a woman standing there in an oversized t shirt. "Who are you?" Lucy asked.
"Who are you?" The woman asked in return.
Lucy was about to answer when John walked in. "What are you doing here Lucy?"
"Uh. I was looking for some food before going but I can go."
"Help yourself." He said making himself a coffee, not wanting her to run away but also not wanting to deal with the current situation he found himself in.
The woman looked between the pair before speaking up. "If anyone could take me back to town that would be great."
"You didn't say who you were." Lucy said grabbing a banana.
"Neither did you."
"Lucy. And you are?"
"This is my granddaughter, Lucy. Lucy this is my.. Summer."
"So you're John's girlfriend?" She asked with a smirk, looking her up and down.
"Is that an issue?" Summer asked in a condescending tone.
"Only that you're like my Mom's age." She said with a shrug before looking at John. "Does my Mom know?"
"Does your Mom know what?" Beth said coming through to the kitchen from the other side of the lodge. "I was looking for you at the pen." Beth finished before noticing someone else in the room.
"Who the fuck are you?" She asked looking at the woman similar age to herself standing in one of her Dad's shirt.
"Now this is just great." John muttered. "Beth this is Summer, Summer this is my daughter Beth."
"Dad, if you're going to hire a hooker. Let me get you a good one at least." She said making Lucy nearly choke on her banana.
"Jesus Christ Beth. She's not a hooker. Don't you both have places to be." He told them.
Lucy held up her hands to say she was going, Beth followed behind with one last glare back at both of them.
"What time is the party?" Beth asked Lucy.
"7pm I think."Beth nodded.
"Are you saying I can go? Lucy asked tentatively.
"You haven't done what I told you needed to be done but if it is and Rip says so then you can go, yes."
Beth opened the driver's door telling Lucy to get in before driving up to the cabin. She left Lucy to her own devices to get her school work done. Lucy came down in another jumper after realising she had left her jumper and jacket at the stables.
"You're not painting in that. Where is the one you normally wear?" Beth said watching Lucy open the paints.
"I left it at the stables."
Beth went upstairs before coming back and throwing an old college sweater at her. "Wear that. I don't want you to ruin another jumper."
Lucy changed before going outside and dragging the outdoor table and chair to the front of the cabin so she could paint in the sunshine. Beth sat outside reading on the porch swing.
She mixed the colours matching them as best she could to what she saw, deciding to also incorporate Beth who sat still while she finished the last half. She sat back in the chair closing her eyes once she was done.
The art teachers instructions for their next assessment replayed in her mind. 'Any design I want', she thought about what would look good in two tones. She had an idea before asking Beth if she thought it would be possible.
"You just have to ask them kid."
"Well I'm done. Do I call Dad now?" She said with a yawn. Beth called Rip for her who said he was down at the pen with some cattle and the horses.
"Ride down to the pen and I'll see you at 4pm."
She put her stuff away before finding Rip at the pen. "Finished your school work?"
"Uh huh."
"Good. Sit up here." He said patting the fence next to him. "You can go to the party tonight, but you're coming home. There will be no drinking at all you hear me. If something happens, a fight, complaint, sheriff, you call us, Beth or me to get you. I don't want any word of misbehaving." He said holding a finger out to her.
"Ok."
They fell in to a comfortable silence for a while until Lucy got bored and hopped in to the pen where the cowboys were practicing their roping.
"Oi. What are you doing?" Rip asked surprised.
"I gotta project for art again and want to take a photo of them so I can then use it."
"It's dangerous in there."
"But I want to be close."
Rip shook his head. He hopped off the fence to stand next to her to protect her from everyone if something went wrong.
"You know John has a lady friend." Lucy said taking photos.
"That's probably none of your business." He told her shaking his head.
"Probably. Mom said she was a hooker."
"Sounds like something she would say." He said watching the horses, in a split second everything changed.
Ethan missed the cows hind legs with the rope and Jake didn't have a good enough handle on both his horse and the cow.
The cow pulled Jake off his own horse before he quickly let go covering his head.
"Fucking hell!" Lloyd yelled from the other side of the fence seeing what was unfolding. The cow was trying to shake the rope off it's head in the pen, heading in the direction of Lucy and Rip, bucking wildly.
Rip instinctively grabbed Lucy pulling her in to his chest and turning around at the last second before the cow changed path just missing them. Lloyd jumped in the pen with another rope yelling at Ethan to sort his shit out.
Rip turned back to see that Lloyd had got it under control before he looked down at Lucy.
"You all right?" He asked holding her shoulders.
She nodded quickly having got a fright before wrapping her arms around him.
"You're all right." He reassured her rubbing her back.
Lucy didn't let go of him until she felt her heart calm down. Rip waited until she climbed on to the other side of the fence before laying in to Ethan and Jake.
"Are you idiots trying to kill yourselves? What were you playing at. Get your damn shit together and you both are going to stay here and practice on the dummy until the sun goes down!"
Kayce came out of the stables hearing Rip lose his shit, to see what happened. Monica, his wife staying further back.
"Lucy. You good?" He asked approaching her.
"Uh yeah. I don't really know what happened but Dad pulled me out of the way." She told him.
"Come on, I'll take you home." He said before checking that was ok with Rip who thanked him. "My wife, Monica is over there." Kayce told her nodding in Monica's direction.
Lucy held up her hand to wave.
"You must be Lucy." Monica said. "You look so much like Beth." She commented.
"So I hear." Lucy said with a genuine smile. "I never asked Kayce, do you live here too?"
"No. We live out on the res with our boy. Your cousin." Kayce told her
"Where is he?"
"We're going to pick him up from school. He's 12." Monica told her.
Kayce and Monica dropped her off at the cabin before leaving. Lucy wondered why Beth never spoke about Monica and her new found cousin but she was going to find out.
Beth was surprised to hear the door open before lighter footsteps came down the hallway. She stuck her head out of her bedroom to see Lucy.
"You're back early."
"Kayce and Monica dropped me back."
"Ok. Why are you so quiet? What happened?"
"How do you always know?"
Beth raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. "I was in the pen with Dad, taking photos for my assignment and then something happened with the cow and horses and Dad had to pull me out of the way."
"What. What did Rip do?"
Lucy shrugged. "Yelled at Ethan and Jake."
"Are you hurt?"
"No." She told her. "Dad already asked. But I'm tired and Dad said I can go to the party."
"Go have a lie down in your room. I'll wake you before you need to go." Beth told her going down the stairs
"Do you think we can talk for a bit first?" Lucy asked to Beth's turned back.
She stopped on the stairs, freezing up. She turned on the spot before going back up the stairs to Lucy's room.
They hadn't changed the spare bedroom from just that, in to a teenage girls room. It still had a single bed and chair in the corner with a bedside table and lamp on it. The only thing that indicated it might have been more than a guest bedroom was the school books and bag in one corner and book on the bedside table.
Lucy pulled back the blankets before covering herself up to her chin. Beth sat at the foot of the bed.
"Monica is cool. I like her." Lucy said.
"She is." Beth said.
"Why don't they live here? And they have a son."
"They do. His name is Tate, he's a bit younger than you." Beth took a breath, unsure how to explain to her why they don't live at the ranch. "We all have a history with this place, good and bad aspects. Their reasoning is their's for not living here. It is what they feel is right for them and their family. It's their choice if they tell you Luce."
Lucy kept asking Beth questions until sleep overcame her. Beth continued to sit on the end of Lucy's bed until Rip came home.
He noticed how quiet the house was, first going upstairs. He found Beth sitting on the end of Lucy's bed watching her sleep.
"What are you doing honey?" He asked leaning against the doorframe.
"Just watching her." She whispered. "We should decorate her room."
Rip rubbed his brow. "Whatever you want, dear."
She went to make a comment about his choice in words before really looking at his tired face. She stood from the end of Lucy's bed leaving a kiss on her temple. Lucy moved, rolling towards the side of the bed that Beth was standing on after the action, before re-settling.
Rip grabbed a beer from the fridge and one for Beth, sitting out on the porch.
"I'll take her tonight." Beth told him.
He shook his head. "No I will. I told her to call us if anything happens. I don't want to hear of any trouble."
"I'm certain that she's still feeling a bit sorry for herself. She's worried she'll piss us off."
"Honey, most people worry they'll piss you off."
Beth had a mouthful of beer before talking. "Monica and Kayce brought her home."
Rip nodded. "I thought she was going to get run down by a cow today. Ethan and Jake fucked up while roping and the cow nearly got her. It was so goddamn close, she didn't realise until after I grabbed her."
"She's fine Rip."
"Yeah well, this time she is." He said finishing his beer, looking over the mountains.