Daughter of Yellowstone

s1 e7: A Monster Is Among Us

"You and me goin' fishin' in the dark, lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars" I sing alongside the radio. Mr Dutton is beside me in a white button suit quietly tapping his fingers to the beat. I sat in the passenger's seat wearing a dark green dress that Daddy had bought me for special occasions. Mr Dutton found out what happened to Miss Monica while I was there and talked to Daddy about taking me alongside him to the Livestock dinner thingy. I'm not too sure what it's about, but daddy told me to be on my best behavior which I always am.

Wordlessly, both Mr Dutton and my eyes stare at the people in the field, stupidly-might I add. "Ooh, they're gonna get their butts kicked," I say under my breath. My eyes widen at the sight of a bear, not even 100 feet away eating on something. Mr Dutton puts his arm across my chest as he screeches the truck to a stop right behind the tour bus. "The fuck?" Mr Dutton asks, ripping his sunglasses off and hopping out of the truck while grabbing his rifle. I unbuckle from my seat and roll the window down. I lean out the window, crossing my arms against the truck door.

He quickly makes his way over to the tourists and their tour guide. "Hey. Hey! HEY!" He calls their attention over to where he is approaching. He keeps telling them to get back, "Get back before that thing eats somebody." I scoff as the tour guide responds to him, "It seems friendly." "Well it's not, now get back." The woman quickly disregards him and I pray for her safety for defying Mr Dutton's rules. "You see that fence? That's mine. That fucking fence down there? That's mine too. Everything this side of that mountain, all the way over to here, that's mine too. You're trespassing." "Damn right," I murmur to myself, snapping my fingers. I guess the tourists didn't like that response because one of the men goes off in his language. I see Mr Dutton keep his eye on the bear while talking back and forth to the tour guide. "They don't believe you," says the tour guide. "What?" Mr Dutton asks. "What's he sayin?" he asks. "Says that its wrong for one man to own all this. He says that you should share it with all the people." I laugh heartily as Mr Dutton lifts the rifle in the air and shoots it a few times to scare everyone. The tourists take off and scream, running back to their tour bus. I wave to a few people when they see me in the truck, smiling.

As he gets back in the truck, I look over to him. "Well that was dramatic." He chuckles before buckling back up, "Yes it was, honey. Now sit back down and buckle up. Roll up the window, so you don't mess up your hair." I nod before doing what I was told and turning the music back up as we drive to town."

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At the livestock association dinner, I'm sat in a middle table watching Mr Dutton take the stand at the front on stage. "Since 1886, every Dutton who died is buried 300 yards from my back porch. From my great-great grandfather, to my wife, and to my eldest son." I bow my head at the mention of Mr Lee. I still miss him and something I think about him when I'm runnin' around the farm doin nothin. " When a tree grows on my ranch, I know exactly what fed it. And its the best we can hope for because theres nothin we can do worth that today. Ranching is the only business where the goal is to break even . Survive another season. Last long enough for your children to continue the cycle, and maybe, just maybe the land is still theirs when another tree sprouts."

I bow my head as he begins the prayer. I think about my daddy and how he works hard, yet he doesn't own a farm, he just kinda works on it. I hope I'll be able to make him proud some day when I get to workin'. The crowd all responds Amen and the dinner starts. I clap for Mr Dutton as he makes his way to our table, mingling with the other guests. I'm absolutely starving, so he leans over and helps cut my steak for me. We eat together in silence till i start pointing out my favorite dresses the women are wearing as they walk around together. Mr Dutton plays along and he comments on what's pretty too. We settle down and I'm still pickin my food when I notice him glance around the table at the other name tags. I guess they were too busy, but I still felt really bad.