Her scream echoing throughout the lodge, leaking through the open window of her bedroom. Rip was on his way to the barn to check on the horses when his ears caught the agonizing sound he instantly recognized. Lloyd was not far behind from him when he heard it too.
"Is that?" the old man asked.
"Yes, that's her", Rip affirmed.
The worry bubbling in his chest for the woman who owns his heart. It's only been a few days since she returned to the ranch. It took a few more to lose her oldest brother.
Their first encounter after a few years was eventful and a bit hurtful. It was his mistake, he supposed, asking her out that way. He should have known better to time it right when it comes to her. She's not like any other woman, not that he has many experience in that department. He's not one to ask anyone out. There's only her.
He had not spoken to her since that morning. He didn't want to poke her too much. Her being back has nothing to do with him or her home. He knows why her father asked her to come back. The ranch is on its fight for its life and John Dutton needed his soldiers. He needed his most loyal one, the fiercest.
Rip has no idea what kind of web Beth is weaving to entrap her preys. He never asked about her work but he knows her methods are not any less dangerous than the ones he is familiar with. Hell, she kills companies for a living and that is saying something.
Hearing the sound of her screams just reminded him of the woman beneath the thick armor she wears every day. Beth is more than a soldier. Beth is more than a company killer. She is a fragile soul with so much love in her heart wrapped in a trauma so big she carries it with her everywhere she goes.
"What do you think happened?" Lloyd asked him, equally worried for the girl he watched grew up in the ranch.
Everyone in the ranch knows about them. It is an unspoken truth. He bet that John knows about it too but no one dares to confirm it.
"I have no fucking idea but whatever it is…it runs deeper than vultures trying to eat this place. That's for sure", he answered.
The old man sighed.
"After all these years, her wounds never heal. I just wish that I get to live to see the day when she finally finds peace and true happiness", Lloyd mused.
Rip knows the old man adores Beth. He adores the entire Dutton family but he likes Beth most of all. He has seen her grow up into the woman that she is now. She may be the princess of the ranch but she never acted like it. She hangs out with everyone, bonded with them like a cowboy with the exception of her riding a horse. That is a big exception because Beth would never ride a horse after what happened to her mother, one she never forgives herself for.
"Come on, let's check on the horses and call it a night", he said.
In the morning, he caught a glimpse of Beth on the porch. Her eyes are glassy as she smokes her thoughts away. There is no doubt she is plotting in that brilliant head of hers. She always does that when she got that look on her face.
Then, John Dutton arrived looking equally pissed. Rip watched as the two disappeared inside the lodge. A few minutes more and Beth re-emerged with a broken look on her face.
Now, he's even more worried.
Beth fled from the lodge and headed straight to the barn, no doubt to hide. Rip's feet moved on its own and followed her.
He found her there going through her cigarette like her life depends on it while tears fell from her eyes. Whatever happened between her and her father, it must have been big because no one gets under her skin like John Dutton.
"Hey", he greeted so he would not startle her.
Instead of hiding the fact that she's crying, she just looked at him and then away. He sat in front of her and studied her. Her hands are trembling and he knows it's only a matter of time before she blows.
"He will never forgive me, won't he?" she finally spoke.
He did not need to hear more. He knows what she meant. It's her mother. Since that day, she has blamed herself. She said her mother did too and then her father. He never heard his boss express that but Beth is convinced that he does blame her.
"Your father loves you, Beth",
"It's not enough. It's not the same thing. I killed her and he will never forgive me for it. No matter what I do. No matter how hard I fight for this fucking place, it will never be enough of a penance. He will never forgive me for as long as he breathes. That's just a fact", she insisted.
Rip's heart breaks seeing her this way. She is a force of nature but when she falls apart, she falls hard to the ground.
"Why don't we go somewhere? Some place nice to cool your head off, yeah? Later on, you and your father can talk things out with cooler heads", he suggested.
Beth smiled at him, her fingers grazed his face.
"You're too good for me, Rip, always have been. I do not fucking deserve you. You should stay away from me, Rip. I told you. It's the people that I love that die…never me", she replied.
"No, darling. Don't think so little of you. I ain't blind and I know you. I see you, baby, and you deserve to be loved", he said.
More tears flowed from her eyes before she crushed her cigarette with the sole of her shoes and composed herself. She's good at that, wearing a mask, pretending that she's not wounded inside to fool the world.
"Thank you for the offer, Rip, but I got a job to do. Apparently, ruining lives is the only thing I'm good at. You should get on with your day. Thank you for staying here with me. It meant a lot", she said before leaving him in the barn.
He did not see Beth for a full day after that and it seems he's not the only one who is looking.
John stood by the porch of his lodge, eyes wandering towards the driveway and then to his phone. Rip casually made his way there to check on his boss.
"Something you need, sir?"
"Have you seen Beth?" John asked him back.
Rip sighed. "Yes, sir, I did…this morning. I saw her hiding in the barn",
"In the barn? What was she doing in the barn?" the concept of her being there is odd considering her history with horses.
"She was…crying. She was smoking and crying, sir. Your daughter is not one to show that to the world so she chose the barn to do that", Rip answered.
He stared at his boss who looked downright guilty. Words are a powerful weapon. It's sharper than swords and John Dutton sure knows how to use it.
"I screwed up, Rip. I shouldn't have said that to her. I…" John inhaled deeply. "No matter what she did, I shouldn't have said those words to her",
Rip nodded in agreement.
"I know it ain't my place but I thought I should just let you know. She has never forgiven herself, sir. I know Lee and Kayce repeatedly told her it was not her fault but she never believed that. She is also convinced that you hate her for it",
John frowned.
"That's why she's working hard for you. She called it her penance and one day, she hopes that you will forgive her for it. Thought you should know that, sir", he shared.
John pondered on that for a moment before nodding towards him. "Thank you, Rip",
"Goodnight, sir", he said before returning to his house.
John stayed up all night waiting for his only daughter. He didn't stop calling her until she became unreachable. Her phone probably died.
It was already nearing four in the morning when he heard the door followed by the sound of his daughter's heels on the floor.
"Beth?" he called as he's walking to greet her.
He found her holding the wall for support. The smell of liquor hitting his nose even from a distance. It is safe to say that she's incredibly drunk, she cannot even continue walking straight.
Damn, did his daughter drive herself back to the ranch like this?
"Come on, let's get you to your room", he said and supported his daughter to get her to room.
She's murmuring something he cannot understand but his main focus right now is getting to her room without the two of them falling onto the floor. Once he was able to put her to bed, he worked on removing her heels to make her comfortable as best he could.
He knows his daughter is prone to drinking but she never really likes to show him the aftermath of it. When she wants to get wasted, she does it outside the ranch and comes home when he's not there to see it.
"I'm sorry, Daddy", he finally hear her say.
"It's alright, honey. You go to sleep now",
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry I took her from you. If I could bring her back, I would. If I could trade places with her, I would. I am really sorry, Daddy. It's beyond my abilities to do that for you", Beth inhaled deeply. "…but I promise to protect this ranch from your enemies. That I can do for you. That I can do…"
Rip's words echoed in his brain. After all these years, his daughter has not forgiven herself and like an idiot, he rubbed it onto her face.
"No, baby. It is I who should be sorry. It was not your fault. It was never your fault and I am sorry that I made you feel that I was blaming you. I am so sorry, sweetheart", but she's already asleep, unable to hear his apologies.
In the morning, Beth woke up with a splitting headache. She cannot remember how much she drank last night or how she was able to return home. She does not remember how she got in her room either.
She searched her drawer for some aspirin before hitting the shower. There is a lot to do and if she's going to fight for the ranch, she needs to be on top of her game.
It did not take long for her to put herself together. No one would have guessed that yesterday, she was crumbling to pieces.
She settled in the living room with her laptop and started shortening the stocks to cause some rattle. If she's going to make some noise, it's the best way to do it.
She did not hear her father came in the house, watching her from the door. She's too busy fighting their enemies in a playing field she mastered. Law is not her area and Kayce was the soldier. Business and money…that she can play with.
"Hey, honey", she stiffened at the sound of her father's voice. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
John noticed how his presence put his daughter in alarm. God, he really did mess up.
"I had coffee, Daddy", she answered without looking at him.
"What are you doing?" he tried to initiate a conversation though it is not his forte.
"…being part of the solution like you asked. You will be pleased to know that I just bombed Dan Jenkins' stocks so if you encounter him along the way, make sure he knows I'm the one who did it. I'd like to know his reaction", she replied.
John winced at his own words being thrown back to him. He knows Beth did not mean anything bad about it. She's being her usual self, unafraid to say things that comes to her mind. Still, he felt the sting of what his words had done to his daughter.
"…about yesterday…"
"It's alright, Daddy. We don't need to talk about it. I got the message. Now, I need you to take a look at this interesting combination", she cut him off.
He walked towards her and she showed him her computer screen.
"It's something you don't see every day, huh",
It's a picture of Dan Jenkins and Rainwater shaking hands. The two entered into a deal of building hotel and casino on Dan Jenkins' purchased land.
"He just does not give up", he muttered.
"No, he does not and he also seemed desperate enough because Rainwater just played him and he still got that smile on his face", Beth chuckled. "Rainwater is going to annex that land to be part of the reservation", his daughter mused.
Sounds like Rainwater alright.
"What are we going to do about this?" he asked.
Beth hummed for a moment.
"There are ways to halt it, delay it, but stopping it permanently, I am yet to come up with a plan. That's not what worries me, Dad",
"What is, honey?" he asked again.
"A lot of people are not going to be happy about this, Daddy. I worry about the people this deal is going to bring into the mix. This is going to be a fucking bloodbath", Beth answered.
John stared at the picture and he can only agree with his daughter. Those two did not know what kind of trouble they just started.