Baby

16

John and his youngest daughter were in a truck that belonged to the Yellowstone, the older male behind the wheel while she was in the passenger seat, looking out the window as they drove off the ranch.

"What the hell?" She asked, sitting up

A bus was parked on the side of the fence, while a group of people were on the inside of the fence, standing only a few feet from a bear, causing John to slow the truck down and get out, bringing a rifle with him. Baby got out of the car as well, holding the train of her dress as she followed,

"Hey" he said as he walked closer "hey! Are you out of your mind? Get back" waving them back "get back. All right? Get back before that thing eats somebody"

"It seems friendly" a woman replied with a shrug

"Are you fucking serious?" Baby asked, unable to help herself "just because it seems friendly, doesn't mean it is. Right now, he doesn't feel threatened" gesturing to the large animal "but when he does, what do you think is gonna happen?"

"Now get back" John added

"We won't get any closer" the woman replied, turning back to the group and speaking to them in Mandarin

"You see that fence?" He asked, walking closer, Baby doing the same as the bear stood on its four legs "that's mine. That fucking fence down there, that's mine too. Everything this side of that mountain" pointing to it "all the way over here, mine too" pointing behind him, pulling his badge out "you're trespassing" showing the group "you're trespassing"

The bear groaned as the woman translated for the group in front of her, John gently grabbing his daughters arm, leading her to stand behind him,

"They don't believe you" she informed, a small smirk on her red lips

"Excuse me?" Baby asked, looking at her, an older male speaking in Mandarin

"He says it's wrong for one man to own all this" she translated "he says you should share it with all of the people"

"Yeah" John muttered

He cocked the rifle, aiming it in the sky and pulling the trigger, causing the tourists to scream and run back toward their bus, the bear growling at the noise. The two of them followed to make sure they all were out of the fence, John firing another bullet in the sky just for good measure,

"This is America" he said "we don't share land here"

Baby looked back toward the bear, letting out a small sigh through her nose as she walked out of the fence, back to the car and opening the passenger door. Grabbing her phone, she put in the password before pulling up Rip's number, wanting to inform him about the bear so it could be taken care of before it hurt the cattle. That was the last thing they needed.

"And you wonder why I don't like people, Daddy" she commented, holding her phone to her ear

∆

"Since 1886, every Dutton who dies is buried three hundred yards from my back porch" John said from a stage, his voice slightly amplified through a microphone on the podium "from my great-great-grandfather, to my wife and my oldest son. When a tree grows on my ranch, I know exactly what fed it, and that's the best as can hope for, because nothing we do is for today. Ranching is the only business where the goal is to break even. Survive another season. Last long enough for your children to continue the cycle, and maybe, just maybe, the land is still theirs when the tree sprouts from you"

His eyes landed on his youngest daughter, who was sitting next to Ryan, the young woman smiling softly at his words and slightly raising her glass of champagne. John couldn't help but smile at his daughter as well, knowing that all of his hard work on the ranch would pay off some day for her, removing his hat from his head,

"Lord God," he continued, causing everyone to stand and the men to remove their hats "Lord God, give us rain" everyone slightly lowering their heads "and a little luck, and we'll do the rest. Amen"

John placed his hat back on his head, walking off the stage and allowing the party to proceed.

X

Soft piano music filled the air, John sitting alone at his place at the table, two vacant seats on either side of him that belonged to Beth and Jamie. Baby let out a small sigh through her nose as she placed her phone back in her clutch, still not receiving anything from her siblings. She knew their father was nearly humiliated when they didn't show, but felt lucky enough to have his youngest daughter with him, who made a good impression with the other patrons. He stood up from his chair, walking over to his daughter,

"Mind granting your old man a dance, sweetheart?" He asked, causing her to turn around

"I don't mind at all, Daddy" she replied, then turning to the people she was speaking to "please, excuse me"

They smiled and nodded, which allowed her to follow her father to the dance floor where he gently grabbed her hand, slightly holding it up as he placed his other on her back, Baby wrapping her other arm around his shoulders. The two of them swayed to the music from the piano,

"For someone who don't like people, you're making quite an impression" he said lowly

"Yeah, and I'm also making them realize that I'm not the screw up child who's covered in tattoos just to get attention" she informed, earning a chuckle from him

"So what's going on with you and Ryan?" looking raising his gaze

He saw Ryan looking at her, a small smile on the wrangler's lips as he lowered his gaze to the ground for a moment before tuning back into the conversation he was having with a few other men,

"I want you to be happy" he continued, before she could have a chance to respond "a kind of happy that me and the ranch can't give you. Ryan is a good man. I see it whenever he's around you, he looks at you the same way I looked at your mother. If it means trying to find that happiness with him . . you have my support" looking down at her "he is the one man you don't have to be afraid of"

". . Lee and Rip said the same thing" she informed with a chuckle

"But if you do try with him, and he ends up hurting you . ." He added "I'll be standing behind you with a rifle and a body bag"

A light laugh emitted from her at the words Rip said, giving him a small nod in understanding. The song soon ended, another one starting up as Ryan walked over to them,

"Mind of I cut in, sir?" He asked, looking at him

". . Not at all" he replied, smiling down at his daughter

He pulled back, handing her over to the ranch hand and walking back to his table, sitting down and ordering a drink. Looking back at the two, he saw the smile on his daughters face, the same smile her mother wore whenever she looked at John. He knew that no man would ever be good enough for his youngest, but Ryan seemed to be the only one who had the guts to pursue her, taking the time to know her, which made him good enough in John's eyes.