The Other Sister

15

Lucy stared down at the object on the bathroom counter in shock. Positive. Her stomach churned. She reached for the box to grab another test. Surely it was false. She was late for her period, not realizing she had been for almost two weeks. She had been nauseous randomly and throwing up. She took another test and anxiously awaited the results. As clear as day it marked pregnant. Lucy let out a shaky breath and felt the tears pooling. She covered her mouth as she let herself cry. Lucy knew she wanted a family with Rip, a future together, but she wasn't sure this was something they wanted or needed right now. Yet, she couldn't stop the feeling of joy flowing through her. She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear her bedroom door open. "Lucy?" Beth called out and made her way towards the bathroom door once she noticed the room empty. Lucy stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking a deep breath. "Yeah?" She called out, trying to keep her voice even. Beth always being able to pick people apart, quickly noticed the unease in her little sister's voice. "Can you tell me if this shirt matches my skirt?" She asked through the door. Lucy's eyes widened and left looking at her reflection to glance at the two positive tests staring back at her. She opened her bathroom drawer and shoved the tests and packaging in it. She quickly composed herself as best she could, but was unable to shake off the slightly pale coloring to her face. She stilled her trembling hand as she unlatched the door, swinging it open. Beth quickly took in her sister's appearance. "Are you sick?" She asked worried. Lucy looked at Beth and nodded. "Yeah, I think I must have got something." Beth eyed Lucy for a minute. "What did you get?" She asked and crossed her arms. Lucy froze for a second but recovered by saying, "stomach bug." Beth nodded and hummed in response, stepping past Lucy and into the bathroom. "What are you doing?" Lucy asked quickly, turning to see what Beth was doing. Beth started opening the drawers until she found what she was looking for. Beth's breath hitched in her throat as unwanted memories flashed through her mind. She turned to glance at Lucy who held her arms as she bit her bottom lip to keep her tears at bay. Beth sighed and closed the drawer. "Is it Rip's?" She asked and all Lucy could do was nod. She blinked and the tears spilled over. Beth pushed her feelings aside and went to her baby sister. "Is this what you want?" She asked carefully, resting her hands on Lucy's arms. Lucy took in a ragged breath. "I-I don't know," She sobbed and Beth pulled the girl into her arms, holding her. Lucy gripped onto her older sister as she let the emotions she was feeling overcome her.  Beth, not one for physical affection, always let that slide for Lucy. She rubbed the younger girl's back. "You need to tell him. The sooner, the better." Beth pulled Lucy back and dried her cheeks. Lucy looked at her sister. "I know," she whispered. She felt sick at the thought of having to tell Rip. Lucy was scared of his reaction. "Please don't tell anyone until I talk to him," Lucy pleaded. She was worried Beth would let it slip to their father. At thinking about her father she sat on the edge of her bed. "Dad will kill him," she breathed out. Beth thought she was looking in a mirror. "Dad won't kill him. If you and Rip decide this is what you want, Daddy will support you. He may have a talk with Rip, but he won't kill him." Beth felt her eyes water as she told her sister the words she wished someone had told her. Beth crouched down in front of Lucy. "Everything will be okay. I promise I'll be here." Lucy looked at her older sister and knew how she was feeling. "Thank you," Lucy said quietly and pulled her into a hug. Beth sighed and pulled away after a moment. "I've got to get going. Will you be alright?" Lucy just nodded. "Call if you need me," Beth said before exiting the room. Lucy sat on her bed for awhile just thinking but after awhile she felt like the walls were closing in on her. She put her shoes on and a jacket and headed outside for some fresh air. As she stood on the porch she spotted her father, Kayce, Tate, and Rip down by the barn. She decided to go down there, mostly to see Tate, not having seen him as much since her brother and Monica's separation. She also couldn't lie and say that she didn't want to be near Rip, because in all honesty, all she wanted was him right now. "Aunt Lucy!" Tate squealed as she approached the men. She broke out of her thoughts and smiled as Tate ran up to hug her. "Hey! When did you get here?" She wrapped her arms around him. "Not too long ago. Guess what!" Lucy couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "What?" She asked. "Grandpa is getting me a horse!" Tate gleamed. Lucy's eyebrows raised. "Really?" She asked surprised and glanced up at her father. John looked at his youngest daughter and could read something was off with her. He shot her a concerned glance but she looked back down at Tate when he continued talking about the horse. John looked over at Rip, whose eyes were glued to the duo in front of them. Lucy smiled gently at Tate when Kayce told him that was enough and that there were other things to be done around the ranch. As the father-son pair walked off, Lucy looked up at Rip. Her mouth felt dry, and she knew this wasn't the time to tell him about the test. John felt the uncomfortable air about Lucy and cleared his throat. "Get those cattle moved up to the northern pastures in the next few days," John told Rip. "Yes, sir. I was thinking we'd start tomorrow morning." John let out a nod and looked back at his daughter. "What are your plans today?" He asked her. Lucy shrugged. "Not sure yet." He nodded once more then took his leave. "Everything okay?" Rip asked. Lucy felt her throat tighten. "Yes," she answered. Rip didn't push on the matter, but from the moment she approached the group, he could tell something was off with her. "Are you going to tell me the truth, Lucy?" He sighed and leaned onto the fence post. Lucy swallowed and looked over at him. She nodded. "I will. Just not here." Rip looked at her curiously, but didn't object to it. "Alright. You let me know when you wanna talk about it." Lucy nodded. Rip pushed himself up off the post and placed a kiss on her forehead. Lucy blinked back her tears as she felt so much emotion as his lips pressed against her forehead. She reached and held onto his wrist. He pulled back and looked down into her eyes, concern written on his face. "I love you," Lucy whispered softly. Rip smiled at her. "I love you, darlin." He placed a gentle kiss to her lips then took his leave, a full day ahead of him.
***
"Lucy!" Kayce barged into her bedroom. Lucy jumped in her desk chair and turned to look at her frantic brother. "What?!" Kayce rushed over to her and grabbed her arm. "We gotta go. Something happened at Beth's office. Her and Rip are hurt!" Lucy felt the blood drain from her face. "What?" She breathed out. She felt her head grow heavy at letting Kayce's words sink in. "Lucy! Come on, focus!" She snapped out of it and rushed downstairs with Kayce, both of them quickly getting into her father's truck. He took off into town. "What happened?" She asked her father. He sighed. "One of our enemies trying to send a message. Beth texted Rip that she needed help. He called me and said they needed a doctor. That's all I know." The 45 minute drive into town felt much longer and her nerves were shot by the time they pulled into the parking lot. As she climbed out of the back of the truck, she instantly got sick, her body adjusting to the new life within her. Kayce and John both looked back at her worried. "Lucy," John said worried and started walking over to her. She regained her composure and brushed past him. "I'm fine," she said and walked into the building. Nothing could have prepared her for the scene in front of her. Beth was crying, screaming as she smashed a glass vase into the face of an already limp body. Rip was leaned against the table, holding his side. Rip turned at hearing footsteps and saw Lucy in the doorway, Kayce coming in behind her while John waited outside for the doctor. "Y-you're bleeding," Lucy practically whispered as fear consumed her. She walked over to Rip and cupped his face. "I'm alright," he told her. Lucy knew he was lying. His face was pale and clammy. "You need to sit down," she practically ordered. Kayce helped get him over to the couch as John and the doctor walked in. Lucy turned and looked at her sister collapsed on the ground, sitting quietly, staring off, her body slightly shaking. She went to Beth, kneeling in front of her. "I'm sorry," Beth whispered. Lucy looked at her sister confused. "Why would you be sorry? None of this is your fault." Lucy brushed some of Beth's hair back from her face so she could take a look at the cuts and bruises that coated Beth's body. "Rip got hurt. If something happened to him I wouldn't forgive myself. Your baby needs him." She was crying. Lucy sighed and pulled her sister into her arms. The group of men were far enough away that they didn't hear Beth talk about the baby. She looked over at the doctor examining Rip and cleaning the wound. Rip's eyes were locked on her. She felt her eyes water at the idea of their baby, that he doesn't know about, growing up without him. She thought about losing another sibling, had this situation gone differently. She held Beth tight as her and Rip stared at one another, getting strength from the other. "I got to get him to my office to properly stitch him up. I need another set of hands." John looked at Lucy. "My daughter is a nurse," John said. "That will work." Lucy felt her heart pound at the idea of stitching Rip up. John walked over to his daughters and pulled Beth up into his arms. Lucy slowly got up and walked over to the couch where the love of her life laid. The doctor gave her gloves and she helped prep Rip's skin. She almost cried at hearing Rip wince as the doctor pierced the needle through his skin. Lucy thought she was going to be sick watching the needle thread Rip's skin back together. Rip watched her closely, wishing she didn't have to see him like this. "Done!" The doctor said relieved and placed the bandage over his side. He started relaying instructions on cleaning it and things to look for if it gets infected, but all Lucy could hear was ringing. She stood up and felt lightheaded. Kayce grabbed her arm when he noticed her sway. "Lucy," Kayce said concerned. She tried to blink the darkness away but she couldn't. Her mind and body couldn't take it and she succumbed. Kayce caught her as she started collapsing. Everyone watched concerned, as this was out of character of Lucy. "Lay her down," the doctor said. Beth looked at her little sister, fearing that she was going to lose her baby. "She's pregnant," Beth blurted out. Everyone in the room froze. "What?" John practically demanded and he sternly looked at Rip. Rip looked like he had seen a ghost, his reaction showing that he was unaware of this. The doctor broke everyone out of their thoughts saying, "she needs rest. Fainting can happen during pregnancy due to stress, low blood sugar. Take her home and make sure she sees her doctor tomorrow." Rip looked at the doctor then at Lucy. He didn't know how to feel but at this moment all he felt was complete concern for her and their baby. Lucy started to come out of it and groaned quietly. The doctor encouraged her to wake up. "What happened?" She asked confused and saw everyone staring at her. "You passed out. Must have been the events of tonight. Just take it easy, alright?" The doctor never mentioned about the baby so she was unaware that everyone knew. Kayce helped her stand up, then he helped Rip get to the truck. They all piled in as John drove back to the ranch. Rip couldn't stop staring at Lucy. 'How long had she known?' He wondered. He pieced together the reasoning for her acting strange earlier in the day and he felt bad that she wasn't the one to tell him. He wondered if she was happy, if this was what she wanted. Rip sighed and was thankful for the pain medicine the doctor had given him. Lucy glanced over at Rip. "Are you okay?" She whispered concerned. Rip nodded. "Are you?" He asked. Lucy nodded back. Beth had falled asleep against her, Lucy absentmindedly brushing through her hair. Rip wasn't going to bring up the baby, wanting Lucy to still have the chance to tell him.
***
Kayce helped Rip up to Lucy's room, John following after them. Lucy went with Beth into her room. She helped Beth change into comfortable clothing and carefully washed her face. Beth was exhausted and thankful for her sister. Lucy tucked Beth in bed. "Will you be okay?" She asked worried. Beth just nodded. "Go sleep. You need rest too." Lucy nodded. "Come get me if you need me." While Lucy was with Beth, Rip and John talked. "Sir, I uh am aware that this is a surprise to you, me as well. She hasn't gotten the chance to tell me and she doesn't know that we know. I'd like to keep it that way if we could. I want Lucy to be able to tell me herself and let her have that if you don't mind." Rip looked at John. John breathed out and scratched his lip. "I understand, Rip. All I ask is that you take care of them. She's your future, son. You stick by her." Rip listened carefully and nodded. "She's all I want. I promise I'll take good care of her, that baby too. You have my word." John nodded and laid his hand on Rip's shoulder. "Get some rest. Don't worry about working right now. Focus on you and Lucy. I'll pretend I don't know about the baby and you all can tell me when you're ready." John took his leave as Rip thanked him. Lucy met her father in the hallway. "How is she?" He asked worried. Lucy sighed. "She's banged up pretty good, daddy. I cleaned the cuts on her face as good as I can. She probably needs stitches, but you know how stubborn she is." John nodded. "Yeah. Well we just need to be there for her." John pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "What about you? Are you okay? You gave us a good scare back there." Lucy looked at her father and nodded. "Yeah I think I was just running on adrenaline then after all was said and done I just sorta crashed." She hoped he would believe her. John nodded. "Good. Get some rest. Rip is in your room." He kissed her forehead then walked toward the stairs to go downstairs and grab a drink. Lucy walked into her bedroom and found Rip trying to sit comfortably in her bed. "Let me help you," she said as she shut her bedroom door. Rip winced and waited for her to come fix the pillows propped behind him. Once she got him settled she went into her bathroom to get ready for bed. She came back out and found Rip still awake. "You need to rest," she told him as she climbed in to her side of the bed. "The doctor said you should be too," he replied back and that threw Lucy off for a second. She felt her cheeks get hot, remembering her secret. She pulled the blankets up over her and got comfortable. "You scared me," she told him honestly. Rip sighed as he laid on his back, his head turning to the side to look at her. "I'm sorry, honey." She reached over and held his hand. "I'm glad you're okay." Rip gave her a smile. "They ain't gonna take me that easily," he teased. Lucy felt her eyes water. "Promise me that you'll outlive me. I won't be able to live without you." Rip looked at how vulnerable she was and his heart ached. "I'll try my hardest, baby. One thing I can do is love you with everything I got until the day I die." Lucy nodded and felt a tear glide down her cheek. "That's enough for me." She leaned in and kissed him softly. "I love you more than anything," she whispered. "Same here, darlin." Despite being slightly uncomfortable, Rip pulled Lucy into his arms, holding her through the night as they both got some much needed sleep.