Tuesday
"Jamie," Spencer nodded as she held her hands out to take the needle and thread from her older brother. Out of all the Dutton children, Spencer had always found her older brother to be the most squeamish when it came to blood and bandages.
Her brother smiled, a look of relief washing over his face as he disappeared from the living room outside. Spencer gave her father a small smile, cutting away the shit sutures Jamie had started to work on.
"You okay Daddy?" Spencer asked her father as she began to tug the needle through his forehead, moving quickly to close up his wound.
"I'm fine."
"That's not what I asked."
John huffed at his daughter, mumbling about her stubbornness coming from her mother which pulled a laugh from the red head. Twisting twice Spencer secured the knot of the suture before handing her father the small mirror on the table.
"I don't think you could get any uglier Daddy," Spencer laughed as she poked her tongue out at her father's grimace. "What's he trying to sell ya now?"
John sent a look to his daughter, "Timber. Town says we can clear cut the whole nut."
"Shit that'd take their view away," Spencer laughed as she shook her head, "Thought Jamie was supposed to be the smart one."
John only gave her a brief smile as he nodded his head once. It was moments like these he realized how grown his youngest was becoming. How much time felt like it was slipping away. He stood to his feet, walking outside as Spencer followed.
"Beth's going to be in town for a few days," John informed his youngest daughter as she turned to leave him, "Don't get into too much trouble with her Tiny."
Spencer smiled at her father, nodding but not responding. It had been close to a year since her sister had been back in town, but it always meant something bad was about to go down. The redhead wandered down to the barn, smiling at the wranglers and ranch hands that were floating around, finishing their work for the day. Not paying attention to what was going on around her, Spencer walked head-on into another person. Spencer grunted, mumbling an apology as she caught her balance.
Rip stuck his arm out, saving the redhead from the hay-covered floor. He smiled as he realized who it was, having been lost in thought like Spencer had been.
" Spence," a ghost of a smile slid over Rip's face before fading away.
"Rip," she acknowledged, a smile gracing her face as she slipped past the man.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Riding was one of the only times Spencer truly felt at peace these days. With the rest of the town slowly creeping onto her family's land, the secrets her family kept from one another; even the truths she hid from herself, Spencer felt like she was living in a never-ending loop of worry. Worry for her father's health, worry for the ranch, her family, herself. But out on the ranch, the rolling hills and ever changing sunrises and sunsets, she felt the world slow down for just a while. It was usually best when he was with her, but he was part of the concern at the moment.
At some point Spencer let Rebel lead the way, bringing the girl and her horse to a nearby river. As she let Rebel graze, Spencer finally let herself relax. And for her in the current state of events, that meant letting out all her frustration in a scream. Had she known Lloyd and Ryan were nearby she may have waited.
The two men took off in a sprint on their horses in the direction of the scream. It was well known that the Dutton women were a little crazy, but you never knew the state of Spencer Dutton unless you had eyes on her. And Lloyd knew that better than anyone. A second shorter scream sounded from the girl, sending Lloyd off even faster.
"You good over here Buck?" he hollered as he got within range of the girl. Looking her over quickly, Lloyd didn't see any physical injuries which seemed to let him relax a little.
Lloyd chuckled as he got a salute and thumbs up from the redhead. As he hopped down from his horse, he tossed his flask to the girl. Lloyd had been at the farm longer than the girl had been alive it seemed liked, and he knew her just as well as the rest of the Dutton offspring. But besides Lee, Spencer had been the only kid to stick around.
"I thought we were over you calling me Buck," Spencer laughed as she handed the flask back to the older man. The flick of Lloyd's eyebrow to his hairline sent the girl into a fit of laughter once more.
"Spence in one piece?" Ryan questioned as he tied off his horse, "I'd hate to have to drag her ass back to the house."
"You're funny Ry, really fucking funny," Spencer deadpanned as she flipped the man off. "Sometimes I just like to scream, is that really such a bad thing?"
Ryan and Lloyd looked between one another for a moment before bursting into laughter at the girl. Spencer groaned, running her hands down her face before adjusting her hat and mounting back onto Rebel.
"Pigs, I work with damn pigs," she muttered loud enough for the men to hear as she pushed Rebel into a gallop back to the house.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
It was early evening when Spencer got back to the house, having spent some time letting Rebel wander the property. It wasn't often she had the day off, but it also wasn't like anyone would stop her from doing as she pleased.
"Spencer Hope Dutton."
Except for maybe her sister. She turned slowly, unsure of what she would be finding when she stopped moving. As she turned, she saw Beth walking down the front porch steps. Spencer relaxed, letting a smile ease onto her face as she jogged over to hug her older sister. Beth had been the one to take Spencer under her wing after everything with their mother happened. Some in town would say that had been the worst thing to happen to Spencer, but she didn't really care. She had her sister's back, and Beth had hers.
"Tiny," Beth drawled out, "Go shower you smell like the fucking barn. I gotta talk to Daddy and then we're going huntin' for some cowboys tonight."
Going out with Beth was always an experience. Good or bad depended on the Beth you got. But when her and Spencer stepped out, it was bound to be an interesting evening for those who saw them. Seeing as it was a workday, Spencer knew she would be dealing with her sister all on her own, no chance of getting any of the boys to save her.
"You ready Tiny?"
Spencer turned, seeing Beth standing in the doorway. The redhead smiled at her older sister, nodding as she walked over and gave the girl a hug.
"It's good to see you Beth." And Spencer wasn't lying, she was truly happy her sister was back in town.
The girls took off, heading to the Outlaw at Beth's request. Spencer had offered to drive, knowing her sister always got out of hand when buckets of beer were involved. The drive was quiet for the most part, only the radio station playing as the pair chatted on and off about the ranch and Beth's job. To Beth, Spencer seemed distant, more so than normal anyway. Since Beth had moved away for work, the pair talked less and less. Life seemed to keep getting in the way.
"Is everything okay?" Beth asked her sister as they sat at the bar, a bucket of Coors Banquet between them.
Spencer laughed as she peeled the label from the bottle. It seemed that was the question of the day for her.
"Yeah, I'm alright. As alright as I can be anyway."
Beth nodded, deciding to not push her sister further. Mostly because she caught sight of a cowboy that looked like just what she needed that night. She sent a knowing smile and a wink to her sister before hopping off the stool and over to the man in question. Spencer looked over, sending a wink to her older sister as she worked on her beer.
"And what's a little lady like you doing alone in a place like this?"
It seemed Spencer's first contender was already starting the show. She turned, giving him a once over before even responding.
"Who said I was alone?"
"Looks like a boy did ya wrong by the state of that bucket."
"Oh he does me just fine, don't you worry your little head about lil' ol me."
The city boy's face dropped as his friends laughed at her response. Why Spencer always attracted these types of men at the bar she could never understand. She supposed it was something about her outfit, although she always looked similar to Beth.
"And where is he at tonight?"
Spencer was impressed the boy was still trying his luck with her before she started wondering if it was the hat that she had on making boys peak their fancy.
"Listen, I'm sure you're all sorts of excited to be in the middle of nowhere with a pretty girl," Spencer stood from her seat to get toe to toe with the man, "But that ain't how it works here. I don't want you, or any of your city boy buddies, you understand? Y'all look like you couldn't handle a real woman anyways."
The laughter from the boy's friends died down at Spencer's comment. Shit. She realized now that may have been a step too far. Looking around she ended up looking eyes with Beth, giving the blonde a quick wide-eyed look. Beth rolled her eyes at the girl but kept watching as the boys began to move in closer.
Spencer took her hat from her head, smiling at Davis- the bartender- who took it from her for safe keeping. Then she waited. The city slicker in front of her finally seemed to have enough of her silence, stepping closer in a way she presumed was to be menacing. One hand ended up on either side of her on the bar, trying to cage her in.
"Damn shame your boy ain't here to save you," his breath fanned her face, causing her to laugh.
"Oh honey, who said I needed him?"
Spencer shot her head forward, striking the boy in the nose hard enough to draw blood. He stumbled backward, his anger growing as he felt the blood dripping. Shouting, he swung at Spencer, wide and hard, but she ducked out of the way at the last moment, causing his hand to hit the pillar of the bar instead. From there, she sent her knee hard and fast into his ribs, knocking him to the floor. She put one foot on his chest, stopping him from getting up as she knelt a little closer.
"Told you, baby, you couldn't handle me if you tried," her voice calm and even as she spoke.
"I'm going to press charges!"
"Oh you go on and do that. But first, you might want to Google who you're suing. The name's Spencer Dutton, it's been a displeasure to meet you."
With that Spencer let the boy stand, turning and taking her bucket and hat from Davis before turning and heading to her sister. Laughing at the applause from Beth and her conquest, Spencer gave a little curtsey before setting the beer down.
"You getting kicked?" the cowboy asked.
"Nah, Davis saw the whole thing, she's fine," Beth laughed, "Besides we got beer to finish."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
It was around midnight when Spencer finally managed to get her sister home, after a painfully long amount of time waiting in the truck for Beth to 'say goodbye'. Unlocking the door, Spencer maneuvered her sister carefully through the living room and up the stairs to bed, not bothering with anything beyond that.
Spencer then moved onto her room, surprised to see the door closed as it hadn't been when she left. She stepped in quietly, smiling at the sight in front of her.
Rip was laying on the bed, propped just above the covers with a book in his hand, tipped toward his nose overtime from falling asleep reading. Moving with haste, Spencer changed and stepped onto the bed, causing Rip to stir.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered as he pulled her into his arms.
"No need for that, darlin', I came to see you," he chuckled quietly, "How was your night?"
"Smashed a guy's face in so I'd say pretty good."
Rip chuckled again as he placed a kiss on her hairline. Spencer shuffled after that, laying in a more comfortable position before turning the light off.