Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain | Ryan || Yellowstone

Chapter 5

I rode a horse that wasn't being used today. I left the white horse in the stables. No matter how beautiful it was, I couldn't bring myself to ride it. 

I pulled up next to Rip as we bolted through the clearing, the rest of the wranglers with us. A helicopter swung wide as they followed us as we ran behind the cattle.

"We got stragglers in the trees," Rip said, and I looked to where he pointed.

I gripped the reigns as the horse beneath me thundered over the grass. It was a fine horse. To be honest, it was nicer than my horse. Or was, now that Ryan sold it.

I shook the thought out of my mind, pushing back the anger threatening to grow as Rip took Jimmy into the trees.

Not five seconds later, I looked back to see Jimmy on the ground and Rip yelling at him.

His horse began to move past me, but I reached out and gripped the reigns, and led him back to Jimmy.

"Get a hold of the reign before you take the rope off, alright Jimmy?" I said as he stood and wiped the dust and grass off him.

He nodded and walked towards me.

I scoffed, "At least you're starting to walk like a cowboy."

He looked up at me, his eyes wide. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Nobody is, Jimmy." I sighed and shook my head. "It's gotta be cut into you."

He nodded and took the reigns.

"Where's your hat?" I asked him. He only shrugged. "Well, find it. Don't come back without it. They'll never let you live it down." 

I turned back to follow the rest of the wranglers as Jimmy searched the field for his straw hat.

_____

"All right, here we go. We got Walsh Ranch, yellow ear tags. And Bar-3 ranch, we got blue tags and brandin'." I leaned forward over the beams of the pen to get a better look at the tags on the cattle. "Then the Parker ranch, we got..." 

Rip nodded but looked past the pens. I followed where he was looking.

It was Jimmy, riding back with a calf slung over his saddle with him.

"Well, look who decided to show up." Rip stalked over to him with his hands on his hips. "You have a nice ride, Jimmy? Open the gate, Fred."

I looked back to the pen. There was a cow, making circles in the dirt and mooing in distress.

"Wonder which one's his mama?" Jimmy asked with a slight smile, nodding at the distressed cow.

"Gee, I fսcking wonder, Jimmy." Rip scoffed as he looked back at the pen. "Put it in the pen."

I gave Rip a look that he chose to ignore and he only waved his hand at me.

_____

Supper was short-lived. Rip pulled Lloyd and I out of the bunkhouse and onto the porch.

"Fred's goin' to the train station tonight," Rip said.

I nodded and leaned on the railing.

Lloyd looked at me. "You've gotten into it with him."

I snorted. "Who hasn't?"

"What I'm sayin'," Lloyd said, "Is that you should be the one to take him."

"I could do that."

Rip nodded. "Take him tonight."

"Yep," I said and went back into the bunkhouse for supper. I sat next to Fred, who drank his beer and ate his food like nothing was wrong.

As soon as I was done, I put my dish in the sink and turned to face Fred.

"Pack up."

He turned to me with a brow raised. "What?"

Every wrangler looked at me, too. "I said pack up, you're leaving the ranch."

He looked around him at the other wranglers, astonished and looking for someone to stand up for him, but no one did.

He stood from his chair quickly, and it toppled to the ground in a crash. "Fuck this ranch," He said as he walked up to me and got in my face. "Fuck John Dutton and fuck you."

I didn't lean away but held my ground.

I saw Ryan walk up out of the corner of my eye. "Hey, get out of her fucking face." He shoved Fred back away from me and stood in between us.

"I don't need you to fight for me, Ryan," I said in a low voice. I walked to Fred's bunk and grabbed the bag from under his bed. I threw the bag at his chest. "You have two minutes to pack."

I stood outside the bunkhouse for three minutes before Fred came out. I didn't wait for him but walked to my truck.

"Where we goin'?" He asked as I ripped the bag from his hands and threw it in the bed of the truck.

"Train station."

He nodded as we both got into the car.

It was a quiet ride. I didn't put any music on and we didn't speak. 

I've taken a few wranglers to the train station, and it isn't a pretty ride.

We passed into Wyoming, and I stopped the truck on the edge of a cliff.

Fred looked at me incredulously. "The fuck are you doing?" 

I got out of the truck and walked around to his door. I opened it and motioned for him to get out. 

He got out and I shoved him towards the edge of the cliff. "What are you doing? This ain't no train station!"

He turned to me as I took out my pistol. "Sure it is."

He held up his hands. "No, no!"

His cries were silenced as I shot the gun.