Baby

18

She was in the paddock with Spirit, her hand out, palm facing the horse as she slowly walked backwards, watching as he hesitantly followed. With the way he acted, she knew he didn't have the best life before he was brought to Yellowstone, but he trusted her enough to follow, and she wasn't entirely sure when he would let her ride, but she had the patience for it, and she wasn't the type to break the spirit of a horse. Breaking the spirit just makes them an obedient shell, but with it intact, he was going to be the most loyal horse on the ranch. And with how her training goes, he may only be loyal to her.

"Brought over Ebony for you, darlin" Ryan informed as he left the black horse over to the paddock

"Perfect, just let him in" she replied

He gave her a small nod, opening the gate and letting Ebony inside, removing the rope from his neck as soon as the gate was closed. The black horse understood what was going on, which caused him to moved to Spirit's side, following her hand, which had given the other horse the encouragement he needed. Baby closed her hand, which caused Ebony to stop in his tracks, letting out a nicker when Spirit did the same a moment later, a little closer to her. She had been working with horse all day while Ryan, Jimmy and Walker went out to get the grizzly that was starting to stir up some trouble. But they had to lure the bear away from Jimmy, who had fallen off of his horse again and had to climb up a tree in order to get away from the large predator. They really needed to find a horse that Jimmy could stay on.

With her hand still in a fist, she walked to the fence, lowering her arm and climbing over it, straddling the very top as Ebony began to run around, which caused Spirit to do the same. Ryan came up next to her, watching the horses interact with a small smile, turning his head and looking up at the woman, who kept her eyes on her beautiful horses, Bailey and Jasper running around the field, chasing one another and getting rid of their energy.

". . What would you say to a date?" Ryan asked

". . I'd love to" she answered

"I get it . ." he shrugged, looking down "wait, what?" looking up at her ". . you'd love to?"

"Yeah" looking down at him "I'd love to"

"Great" he smiled, nodding his head "yeah, okay. Um, any preference?"

"I'm not picky" honesty in her voice "so, surprise me"

∆

A frustrated sigh emitted from her as she dislodged a fork from the garbage disposal in the bunkhouse, turning to look at Jimmy with a glare,

"Someone smack him for me!" She called out, throwing the fork in the trash

Colby quickly reached out, smacking Jimmy in the back of his head, earning a small exclamation in protest,

"What the fuck did I do?" He asked

"Stop putting the forks down the garbage disposal!" She answered

She turned it on, and the water, earning cheers once they didn't hear that annoying sound of metal grinding metal. Not only did she help out in the field a lot, but she also considered herself to be a fix-it. Whenever the ranch hands commented on something being broken, she would find the time to fix it, and for a while they didn't know how everything was getting fixed at all. Until they caught her one time when she was under the kitchen sink because they made a comment about water coming up in one side when the faucet was aimed in the other. Since then, they actually didn't mind going to her about fixing a few things,

"Do you not like me or something?" Walked asked her as she turned off the water and disposal

"The fuck are you talking about?" She asked, moving to the stove

She removed the lid to a large pot, steam coming from it as she grabbed a long spoon, stirring the contents inside, which had been beef soup with potatoes and carrots, a recipe she found when she was a teenager, and one that the wranglers loved.

"Who's my guinea pig?" She asked, causing Colby and Ryan to rush over to her

"You were her guinea pig last time!" Ryan exclaimed, shoving him

"I was not!" He replied, shoving him back

"I'm talking about my pants" Walker replied "you said that if they needed to be fixed, leave them by the door on the crate on the right side. I have, and you ain't fixed them"

"Have you washed them before leaving them out there?" Lloyd asked, calmly walking up to her while Ryan and Colby still fought, Walker growing quiet

"No one told me I had to wash them" he shrugged

"She don't need to be near the place where your sweaty nutsack is" grabbing a clean spoon as she continued to stir "it's common decency to wash your pants before asking her to fix them"

Lloyd scooped up a baby carrot, blowing on it for a minute before taking a bite, chewing as Ryan and Colby groaned when they realized Lloyd beat them to it.

"Few more minutes for the carrots" he informed "but it's still as delicious as always"

"Thank you very much" she smiled, then turning to Walker "while I may be working like the others, Lloyd has a point. Would you want your face to be near the crotch of unwashed mens jeans?"

"Hell, no" the new man replied with a cringe

"Then what makes you think I want mine close to there?" placing the lid back on the pot "fufteen more minutes, y'all!"

She always thought of herself as a decent cook, taking up a few classes in highschool and college when she had the time to actually learn, since no one else in the family possessed that skill, which is why they had hired a cook who's name is Gator. He cooks for the Dutton's and the ranch hands, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is very much appreciated for it. But when he had some time off, Baby would take it upon herself to cook for everyone, since she didn't want them to poison themselves with their own cooking, much to everyone's happiness.