Being practically raised by the Duttons seems like a dream for some. But Elisabeth had it rough. Her dad was a runaway and her mom was never around. When she turned 12, she found work all the way up in Montana at the Yellowstone Ranch. Not only did...
"Where in the hell did you get that thing from?" Rip laughed, watching a young, jet black gelding canter around a small round pen.
"Adopted him from the BLM that manages the Pryor Mountains." Elisabeth responded, stepping up on the fence as the gelding bucked. "He's my project for now."
"How old is he? He looks kinda young." The brunette asked.
"Six or seven, I'm pretty sure." She told him, a smirk crossing her face. "He ain't got a mean bone in his body, though."
Rip looked at her as if she'd just sprouted an additional pair of arms. "Look at the fucker, he's mean as hell!"
"Nah... he's just scared. He reared up when I got his neck tag off but he didn't come after me." She explained with a shrug.
"Are you gonna keep him?" Rip asked her.
She shrugged again. "Depends."
"Depends on what?"
"Depends on if he can learn to trust me." The gelding slowed to walk, snorting a bit. "You still gonna run that job fair today?"
Rip nodded. "Yeah. Lloyd and I are scouting for a new hand just because Jamie doesn't do shit. Lloyd wants you to tag along. He thinks you have a good eye."
"Alright, I will." She hopped off the fence and Rip followed her within seconds.
He stopped in his tracks as a 4-horse trailer with living quarters caught his eye. "Holy sheep-shit. Who's that thing belong to?"
"Me." Elisabeth said casually, taking a couple steps back so she could stand beside him.
"Where the hell did you scrape up that kind of money? That rig is worth seventy thousand at the least."
"Didn't need to. Travis gave it to me. It's already paid off so I don't have to worry about affording it."
"Spoiled ass." Rip muttered playfully.
"Hey, I'll take anything I can get from that man. He's got more money than I can ever hope to have." She replied with a light chuckle. "People are starting to pull up. We oughta get to the arena before Lloyd chews us out."
Rip looked around and caught sight of a few trucks beginning to pull up.
*~*~*~*~*
The ranch's job fair was going smoothly, but the wranglers had yet to spot a candidate who was most suitable for a job on the Yellowstone.
Elisabeth elbowed Rip as she caught sight of a pink-haired woman getting ready to rope.
She was heading while a man was heeling. The woman gave Jake a curt nod and the steer was released.
She caught the animal with ease but the man faltered a little.
The next thing that left her mouth was an array of curses, but her thick accent made her vocalizations hard to distinguish.
Rip waved her over and she cantered the horse to the trio on the fence.
Now that she was closer, Elisabeth finally got a good look at her.
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She was muscular and well built with striking blue eyes and obnoxiously bright pink hair, but her dark blonde roots were showing just a bit.
"What's your name?" Rip asked, squinting behind his sunglasses.
"Teeter." The woman replied, adjusting her hat.
Rip cocked his head. "What's that?"
Teeter looked offended. "Tee-ter." She enunciated. Her accent was too thick for either male to understand her.
Elisabeth knew every word though. Her accent was common among north-east Texans and people from both Texarkana Texas and Texarkana Arkansas.
Lloyd still looked confused. "Your name's Peter?"
"Do I look like my fuckin' name is Peter, you skunk-haired motherfucker?" She snarled.
"She just called me a motherfucker." Lloyd mumbled, sounding a little hurt while Elisabeth stifled a snort.
"Understood that, didn't you, ya bow-legged bastard?" She shot back confidently.
"She'll go through the bunkhouse like a wildfire." Lloyd mumbled to his younger colleagues.
Elisabeth shook her head with a smirk. "Hire her. She's perfect."
She lightly tapped Rip while Teeter insulted Lloyd a bit more. "I'm gonna go work on my project for a while. You know where to find me if you need me."
Rip nodded and patted her back as she walked away.
Elisabeth walked back to her gelding, seeing that he had calmed a bit and was no longer kicking up a storm.
"I can't keep callin' ya 'project', now can I?" She mumbled, leaning on the fence. "Sounds a little degrading."
She took a couple mints from her pocket and unwrapped one, placing it on the post. "Gotta figure out a real name for you."
The gelding took a few hesitant steps forward, extending his neck to sniff at the treat.
"Go on. I ain't gonna hurt ya." She mumbled, watching his movements intently.
With one final step forward, he took the mint from the fence post and chewed, his ears flicking forward.
"See? I ain't so bad." She unwrapped one more and kept her hand flat, letting it rest on her fingers.
"Now what should I call you..." She muttered, watching as his nostrils flared.
"I'll call you Ripley... like the guy that made Ripley's Believe It Or Not." The gelding swished his tail, once again extending his neck to inspect the treat.
"That ok with you?" As if answering her question, the newly named gelding accepted the mint from her hand.
*~*~*~*~*
Rip sat alone on the porch of the foreman's house, deep in his thoughts when a sudden howl streaked through the air.
Immediately, the brunette rose from his seat, retrieved a rifle, and began to follow the noise.
He trekked down through the barn, the lit-up arena becoming visible and the howls growing louder.
But Rip found that there were no wolves or coyotes lurking in the shadows of the night.
Instead, he saw Elisabeth standing up on the fence, howling along with Beth as the Dutton scampered about in the dirt.
"Took ya long enough." Elisabeth grunted, hopping down. "Goddamn."
She gave him a pat on the shoulder while she passed him, silently encouraging him to go to Beth.
Though she originally intended to leave, the sound of Tyler Childers's voice lured her back to the arena.
There she saw the wrangler and farmer's daughter in an embrace, swaying to 'Lady May'.
The yellow-ish lights complimented Beth's pale eyes and honey blonde hair.
And though the moment was peaceful, an anxious weight made its home in Elisabeth's chest.
She turned to leave, making her pace just a little faster than it would usually be. And for some odd reason, Elisabeth couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ And I swear it's a miracle I didn't ever end up dead Double daring, tempting fate and flying by And I ain't saying that I'm worth saving But I think my angels are workin' overtime
