Baby

11

Baby never got a chance to really know her mother, there were no memories of her, and if it wasn't for the few pictures in the house, she might not even know the woman at all. She passed away when Baby was only two years old in a freak accident on the ranch, and her family rarely talks about her, especially Beth. A small sigh emitted from her nose as she looked at the small framed picture on her nightstand, one of her when she was two, being held by her mother, the two of them looking at the camera. There was a small rattle in her hand, and the picture was taken right before it was in her mouth, making it seem as if she was giving them a big smile with her small teeth. Baby picked up the frame, using the sleeve of her black Carhartt to clean off what little dust was there, wondering if she would be proud.

She placed the frame back in it's original place, walking over to the hat rack and grabbing the only one there before walking out of her room completely. As she was about to walk down the stairs, she paused when her father's bedroom door opened, the young woman raising an eyebrow at Governor Lynelle Perry, who stopped in her own tracks at the sight of John's youngest.

". . Baby" she smiled, looking at her

Her eyebrow was still raised, blinking for a moment, causing Governor Perry's smile to slowly fall,

"Miss Dutton" she said

A small and forced smile formed on her lips, shaking her head slightly as she walked down the stairs without a word, causing a sigh to emit from the older woman.

"Bethy is gonna have a field day with this one" Baby muttered as she walked out of the house, placing her hat on her head

The older sister was sitting in the trough, a bottle of wine in her hand, Baby instantly making her way over to her,

"You gonna try and talk me into going inside?" She asked, watching as Baby climbed the fence of the paddock, sitting next to her

"When I was six, I learned that talking you into some things takes great effort, of which I lack today" honesty in her voice "I just wanted to give you a small warning"

"Which is?" taking a drink of the wine from the bottle

The engine if a car turned on as Governor Perry walked out of the house, the Dutton girls turning their heads toward her, watching as made her way down the path.

"Which is that" Baby replied

The Lady Governor pushed for a moment, smiling as she began to make her way over to the two. But their blank stares caused her to slow down her pace, her smile falling as she stopped herself from approaching further. She looked at them for a moment, turning around and walking toward the car that was waiting for her, the two of them watching as the driver exited, opening the back door for her and allowing the woman to climb inside. As soon as he was back behind the wheel, the car drove off,

"What the fuck do you want?" Beth asked as Rip approach

"You need to go in the house" he replied, looking down at her

"The last thing I need is you telling me what I need" shaking her head slightly

"Beth, it weren't a question" shrugging off his jacket "hey. I'm one of two things you can't out-wrestle here" holding it open, offering it to her

"Don't bet on that" looking up at him

"All right" holding out a hand "come on"

". . No" standing up from the water, bottle still in her hand "everyone suffers today" stepping out "including you"

Beth walked over to the house with nothing on, keeping the bottle in her hand as Rip watched her, another low sigh emitting from Baby.

"It's a hard day for the family, Rip" she informed, watching as her sister walked inside the house "it's the day we lost our mother. I was the only one who didn't get a chance to know her. Everyone has their own way of working through their pain"

∆

It was rare for the ranch to not have much work to do. When there wasn't, the wranglers would take advantage of it. Baby sat on the fence of the paddock, smiling and laughing at the friendly roping contest, she enjoyed watching them, always wanting to see which one would come out on top. Only this time, it was two female drifters,

"You gonna give it a try, Baby?" Beth asked, looking up at her

"Nah, I'll let them have their fun" she replied

There were a lot of things she was good at, being that there were a lot of years on the ranch under her belt, she knew the ins and outs of the ranch and what was best for it, something John was proud of. Out of all of his children, the youngest was the one who loved the ranch the most. She was working every single day, and if she had to be honest, she didn't want it any other way. Ryan came up next to her on his horse,

"You're getting beat by women" she pointed out

"I'm a little distracted today" he smirked, winking at her

". . Chet-chet!" A smirk on her own lips

A yelp emitted from him when his horse suddenly broke our into a run, barely keeping his hold on the reins to keep himself in the saddle, laughter emitting from the others.

"You asshole!" Ryan exclaimed

Her laughter increased at his words, the wrangler settling his horse, knowing he couldn't be angry with her. In fact, he let out a chuckle as well.

X

"Jamie, what the fuck?!" Baby exclaimed, running into the stables

She had been walking back to the house before she heard Jamie and Beth arguing in the barn, the young woman kneeling down next to her sister, who was holding onto the side of her face as she pushed herself up, laughing as she walked out.

"How's that for a man?" He asked, looking at them

"A real man would have walked away!" Baby snapped, standing straight and walking to him "what the fuck is wrong with you?" shoving him back "you have no right to be hitting her like that! If Daddy found out --"

"For once, will you shut the fuck up?!" He snapped

He grabbed the collar of her Carhartt, slamming her back again the wall, a grunt emitting from her at the impact, looking at Jamie with widened eyes,

"I am so fucking tired of hearing your goddamned mouth day in and day out" glaring at her "everyone knows you're his favorite but you've done nothing for this ranch. All you are is a spoiled little brat--" the young woman gasping when his hand shot to her neck "who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth with everyone wrapped around her finger. I bust my ass off every day for this place, and what do you do? You sit in your room, writing your little fantasy books that constantly distract your mind from the real fucking world!"

Jamie was suddenly tackled to the ground, Baby falling to the floor as well, gasping and coughing as she placed a hand to her neck. Grunts filled the air, causing her to look up, watching as Ryan stood Jamie up and roughly pinned him against the wall, his bottom lip busted as he looked at the ranch hand with fear in his eyes,

"You listen good" Ryan said "you lay a hand on her again, I will kill you myself. Understand? I don't care if it gets me kicked off this ranch, you do not touch her again!"

To prove his point, the ranch hand threw a hard punch to his cheek, a grunt emitting from Jamie as he was forced to stay on his feet before being shoved to the door. Jamie stumbled for a moment, catching his footing and turning around with a glare, which soften when Ryan instantly went toward Baby, gently lifting her chin and removing her hand, seeing a redness that was going to turn into a bruise. Her arms instantly wrapped around him, which knocked him to the floor, but he wrapped his arms around her in return, feeling her body shake. In adrenaline or fear, he didn't know. But he didn't want to see it again. Jamie looked to the ground, turning around and walking out of the stables without another word.