Baby

5

Thomas Rainwater. A wealthy casino mogul and the chief of the Broken Rock Reservation and the owner of the Painted Horse Casino and the Grey Wolf Peak Casino. He carries a strong ambition to take the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and expand beyond the Reservation because he feels a desire to reclaim what his ancestors lost. Thomas was raised off the Reservation and thought he was of Mexican descent until he was eighteen years old, never knowing his biological mother, and according to his adoption records, he learned he was Native American. He attended and graduated Harvard University, and also interned for the American Petroleum Institute. Now, Thomas Rainwater was mounted on a mare, one of his men next to him as another moved closer to an buffalo with a rifle in his hand.

Baby was in between Lloyd and Rip, Jamie and Lee were there too, along with a few other ranch hands. The woman reached down slightly, rubbing Ebony's neck with her gloved hand,

"You're not joining him?" Jamie asked, looking at Thomas

"You didn't ask me here to hunt" he replied "I'm here to talk cattle"

"They don't belong to you" John said

"They don't belong to you either" he countered "they belong to the people now"

"Bull-fucking-shit" Baby mouthed

"Every one of them wears a brand" John informed "if anybody tried to move them off the Res --"

"They'll never leave the Res" Thomas said, cutting him off "well use them to raise calves, wear our brand"

"I understand your position, Thomas, and what you think you need to do" looking at the buffalo "but I won't allow you to make victims of the people who elected me just to appease the people who elected you"

"Your people don't know the concept of victim" glancing at the ranch hands

". . Let's keep this about cattle" looking at him "if you act like a thief, Thomas, I will treat you like one"

"How can you stand there on a ranch the size of Rhode Island and accuse me of theft?" He asked "is this your idea of respect?" jerking his chin slightly to the scene in front of them "letting some crippled old man ride on his lame horse out toward your half-tame buffalo so he can pretend to be something we haven't been in a century?"

The older man on the horse stopped, raising the rifle in his hand and aiming it toward the buffalo. One shot caused an adult male to go down, the few natives from the Reservation letting out cheers to the victor.

"Look what you've reduced us to" Thomas continued

He clicked his tongue, causing his horse to walk forward, a slow sigh emitting from Baby's nose.

∆

"I don't have a good feeling about this" commenting to herself

She watched from the porch as ATVs were loaded up to trailers, horses as well, her father making a choice to get the cattle back by force, but she wasn't going with them per his request. Instead, she was going with Rip to move a river.

"Hey!" Rip called out "hey, Jimmy! Let's go. You're late"

A Caucasian male walked over toward him, looking at the ATVs for a moment, only to pick up his pace toward the larger male.

"You know how to ride a horse?" Rip asked

"Uh . ." Jimmy trailed off

"Figures" holding out a hand "come here, give me your shit. Let's go" taking the backpack Jimmy carried "that there is Ron" pointing to a ranch hand "you do whatever the hell he asks you to do" throwing the backpack to the side "come on, get on" gesturing to the horse next to him "get on the horse"

"I don't . ." looking at him

"Get on the horse, Jimmy" kicking him in his ass

Baby watched as Jimmy put his foot in the stirrup, pulling himself up and hesitantly swinging his leg over, settling himself down, the woman knowing Rip was going to have a hell of a time with this one.

"Pull the reins to stop. Kick him in his belly to go" he informed, handing him the reins, turning toward the main house "Baby, let's move!"

She gave him a small nod, walking down the porch steps and making her way toward Ebony, mounting him with ease and leading him toward her father, Lee and Ryan,

"Y'all be careful out there" she said

"Promise, darlin'" Ryan replied with a smile

". . We'll be careful" John added, glancing at the ranch hand

"Stay close to Rip out there" Lee joked

"Love you" she smiled

Baby clicked her tongue twice, causing Ebony to move to a trot, catching up with Rip with ease, Jimmy and Ron, the woman letting out a slow breath through her lips, wanting to calm the unsettled feeling in her gut.

X

"This is the last one" Ron informed as he drilled a hole in the dirt

"Jimmy, hey, get your ass up here" Rip called out

"I just saw a trout" he replied as he walked up the hill

"Shut the fuck up" looking at him "crank this thing until I tell you to stop"

Jimmy grasped the handles of a manual drill, twisting it and forcing it to go further into the ground, pausing when he glanced at the other three, who were getting the dynamite ready,

"Holy shit, is this legal?" Jimmy asked

"You're a criminal" Rip countered "what do you care?"

"I thought the Yellowstone was going to keep me out of trouble?" looking at him

"Getting in trouble's the only skill you got" he said

"Only difference now is you ain't gonna get caught" Baby added

"Start moving it down to the river" he instructed "let's go. That's good enough"

The woman stood straight, listening to the rushing water for a moment before looking toward Ebony, the sinking feeling only growing worse as more time went by. She walked to the horses, mounting hers as Rip moved the dynamite closer to the river, finishing up a few minutes later. It had taken them almost half of the day to get to where they were, them putting the dynamite into the ground, moving further up the mountain as they did, which made the air a little thinner as they worked, but it kept her mind off of the events that were going to happen tonight for a little while. Only for a little while.