Spencer awoke to the feeling of something soft fluttering up her shoulder, working its way up her neck. As her eyes opened, they landed on a smiling Rip, his own eyes shining with happiness. She had come to cherish that smile, the big wide grin that took over his whole face, crinkling his eyes just a touch. She couldn't help herself from reaching up and running her finger across his lips, as if she could commit Rip's smile to memory until the next time she saw it.
"I'm a free man, Baby," he whispered as he leaned back down, his breath sending a shiver down Spencer's back. She pulled him toward her, appreciating his warmth as she leaned up to meet him in a kiss. "I'd love to stay, Spence, but I gotta get down to the hold. It's ropin' day."
Spencer shook her head in disapproval. "Ryan can run it, stay with me."
She could feel Rip tense over her, unsure of what to do. Hell, she could almost see the fight to stay swirling in his eyes. So she leaned forward, a whisper of filthy promises on her lips, pulling her cowboy further into the tangled sheets.
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It was a while later before the couple untangled from Spencer's sheets. The sight of a pissed off Beth that greeted Spencer at the bottom of the stairs was the cherry on top for the redhead as Rip stepped around her.
"Don't cause too much trouble now," Rip whispered to Spencer, although she could hear the laughter threatening to bubble over in his voice as he smacked a kiss to her cheek and went out the door.
"Once a whore always a whore," Beth smirked as she lifted her coffee cup in fake congratulations at her younger sister. Spencer ripped the cup from her hand, not surprised to see it practically empty, the strong smell of whiskey permeating from the cup.
"Once a drunk always a drunk Beth," Spencer called out as she down the whiskey, putting the cup into the sink. She was about to head to the barn, but stopped as Beth's assistant scurried into the room, her father's voice joining Beth's.
"I want you to put the ranch into a trust," Spencer heard her father instruct Beth. She realized now how bad her father's condition was getting if he was taking care of loose ends like this. She needed so much more time with him.
"Who's the beneficiary?"
A pause filled the air, Spencer could almost hear her father's thinking with how quiet the house had become.
"Put them both down, make yourself the executor. You and him, you're not allowed to sell this place out from under her, you understand?"
The lapsing silence made it clear to Spencer her sister was nodding rather than responding, but she didn't care at that moment. Sure, it wasn't the whole thing, but shit if she wasn't happy to hear her father give her something- anything- involving the ranch. It was a step in the right direction, now she just needed to walk the mile.
"You know, of the seven generations that have lived on this ranch, not one had a daughter own it," John stated to Spencer as he walked into the kitchen, not surprised to see her standing there. She looked up at him, and he could see the happiness radiating off of her. Not even Lee looked that happy when he had sat his eldest down to tell him Yellowstone would be his one day. But Spencer? It almost broke John's heart in the best way possible to see his little girl alight with that kind of happiness.
"I won't let you down Daddy," she whispered as she walked into his waiting hug.
"You're the only child I have that hasn't done that yet," he laughed, the sound reverberating through Spencer. "I'm sorry I did though, Tiny."
She only shook her head. "We all make mistakes. Well, actually you all do. I wouldn't know because I'm perfect."
John's laughter erupted once again as he held onto his youngest child. "Oh, Sawyer and Jackson were outside, seemed pretty unsettled. Might want to go check on them."
Spencer booked it, giving her father one last squeeze before running out the door. She saw the siblings leaning against the hood of Sawyer's car, the pair looking upset and distraught. Spencer pulled Sawyer into her arms, sending a look to Jackson as he started to explain.
"Jenkins stopped by the ranch today, h-he made Dad an offer," Jackson started. "He didn't accept it yet, but it- it's, well I wouldn't be surprised with how the season went if Dad took it."
"He's gonna sell Greenview?"
"We don't have the money or the political power your family does Spence," Sawyer sniffled as she pulled away from the redhead.
"How much?"
Jackson turned to Spencer, his face scrunching in concern. "What?"
"How much did Jenkins offer?"
"Two million."
Spencer paused, pondering over the amount of money she had in her personal accounts. Nowhere near enough to make a better offer, she realized. "How much does your father owe?"
It was Sawyer that piped up, shocking Spencer. "Three hundred thousand. Four if you count interest, but Spencer-"
"I can give him five," Spencer interjected, "You take the money right now, you don't tell him where it came from, and you pay off whoever he owes the money to."
Jackson started to shake his head, "He won't take it."
"I don't need to be fighting with Jenkins on three sides of this fucking property Jackson. This is just as much for me and my family as it is for yours. You take this check-"
Spencer ripped the check from her wallet, scribbling furiously to fill in the sections. It was over half her accounts, but she could figure it out later. Immediate red flags were popping up everywhere, and this needed to be addressed.
"You take this check, you give it to whatever fucking shark your father owes, and you settle it. I don't want it back, you pay me back by keeping that ranch running. You need hands, I'll give you my men. You need horses, I'll give you the best ones I got. But you do not, under any circumstance, let your father sell that land to Jenkins or the reservation or I swear to God there will be hell to pay. And I promise you that."
Despite the venom laced into Spencer's words, both Sawyer and Jackson could see how concerned she was for their family's well-being. This was a gift, a blessing, there was no doubt about that. Jackson stood there, mouth gaping as he tried to find the words to express his thanks, and his concerns about how much money the girl had, but his mind continued to come up blank. So instead, he nodded, which gained him a smile from the surprisingly compassionate redhead standing across from him. As Jackson got into the car, Sawyer turned her gaze to Spencer, pulling her close to whisper.
"The men my dad owes money to, they're worse than Jenkins and Rainwater. They've sent their creepers with the Sheriff for weeks, Spence. I-I can't stay there."
"Go home, get your stuff, we have plenty of space here Sarge," Spencer smiled, wiping the tears that were running down her friend's face. "I told you before, you're my family too, I'll do anything I can to help you, alright?"
Sawyer smiled, a laugh breaking through her tears as well as she nodded, mumbling a promise to be back in a few hours. And so Spencer watched as she sent her friends home, unsure of what enemy may be coming her way next.
The sight of the Sheriff's truck broke Spencer's gaze as she watched the siblings leave the ranch. Back for round two, she thought as she locked her glare on the bald excuse of a sheriff.
"You got yourself a wild pack here John," Donnie stated as he pulled Kayce from his back seat. "Banged up a drifter real bad after the gut pulled a knife on him. Now I'm not in the business of pressing charges on vets, and I'm fine with the message it sends. But don't think this clears up our other issues."
Spencer scoffed, but knew better than to say anything. The one thing her father didn't need was her adding assault of an officer to his growing pile of papers and lawsuits. She had flipped through them as John and Rip spoke earlier in the day, not bothering to pay attention to the information Rip had been confirming. She knew she'd have her time to mess around with Jenkins, she just had to wait for the approval of her father. So instead of interjecting, she sent a nod to Kayce, still pissed at the man child for the hospital, and headed in for the evening. The day had already been enough.