Baby

44.

Season 3

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Winter had come and gone with ease, and summer had arrived. Bringing warmer weather, some rain and blooming wild flowers. She often enjoyed all of the seasons and it's perks -- laying in the fields in spring, snuggling into a blanket with a good book in fall, playing in the snow in winter, and absorbing the sun in summer. But either way, no matter the season, she would wear the same thing every day. She buttoned her blue high-waisted jeans, zipping them up and shrugging on her new Carhartt, slightly adjusting the collar as she walked toward her bedroom door, grabbing her hat on the way as she walked out. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, placing her hat on her head as she headed downstairs and made her way into the kitchen, where her father and sister were drinking a cup of coffee.

Baby grabbed her mug, pouring herself some of the liquid gold, adding in her desired amount of cream and sugar before taking a sip of the piping hot liquid. Her injuries had healed nicely, her limp barely noticeable, small scars on her face, but she didn't care, thinking it made her look a little tough.

"Ride those east pastures, Kayce." John instructed as his son walked in the kitchen next "With all this rain, see if any of that clover came up."

Jamie walked in the house next, a small yawn emitting from Baby, further waking herself up as she grabbed a red apple from the fruit bowl, dusting it off on her jeans before taking a bite. Beth poured a cup of coffee for Kayce, glancing at Jamie before setting the nearly empty coffee pot in front of him.

"It'll be easy to spot." Kayce replied, taking the mug "You gonna be back by tonight?"

"Doesn't . . Doesn't take long to quit something, son" John replied, chuckling softly "I'll be back by noon. Let's go."

Jamie set his cup down before he could take a drink, Baby leaning up, placing a kiss on her father's cheek before he left, something she always did,

"You'll dress in the car." he added, handing Jamie a dry-cleaned suit

They all walked out of the kitchen, making their way to the porch of the house, John and Jamie getting into a Yellowstone truck as the other three stood at the railing. The truck pulled away, Baby's eyes closing as she heard screams coming from her nephew, who hadn't been able to sleep well since they had been taken.

"Don't say it." Kayce said

"I don't have to." Beth replied "I can't say it any better than that."

She thought her baby sister was lucky -- not having to wake up screaming in fear when her nightmares felt too real -- she was stronger than anyone believed. Kayce walked away with a sigh, the youngest finishing her apple and coffee, dropping the core in the mug as Beth took the cup,

"Have fun at work." Beth muttered

"Go raise some hell." Baby replied with a small smile

Beth smirked in response as her little sister walked off the porch, making her way toward the bunkhouse.

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There were quite a few things she enjoyed when working on Yellowstone, whether it was moving cattle, going for rides or making some improvements to help keep the animals safe. But the one thing she enjoyed the most was building, which is what she was currently helping with.

"What's wrong with the old barn?" Jimmy asked

"It's seven miles from this half of the ranch." Baby replied

"Hey, Lloyd, what, uh . ." Jake trailed off as he brought in a fram with Ryan "what was that old joke about the two fat chicks and the wheelbarrows?"

"That wasn't a joke, Jake." Lloyd laughed "that was you at the Cooper branding."

"You guys wanna hear a joke?" Jimmy asked

"No." the others said in unison, including Baby

"All right, check it out" he smiled "there's this big Texas oil guy, right?" causing some of the men to groan "goes into this bar down at the border, sits next to this vaquero and says, Hey man, you a rancher? Vaquero says, Yeah, I got fifty acres down by the river. Big Texas oil guy says, Oh? Oh, on my ranch, I can get in my truck in the morning, and I still don't reach the front gate by sunset. Vaquero sits for a second, nods and says, Yeah, man. I used to have a truck like that too"

He chuckled at his joke, Colby, Ethan, Baby and Ryan turning to look at him,

"I might have just lost a few braincells listening to that." honesty in the women's voice

"He was bragging about the size of his ranch." Jimmy explained "and the vaquero --"

"That was almost funny." Colby said

"All right, I got one." Ryan said "y'all hear about the guy that goes to see a doctor, and the doctor says, Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you got cancer head to toe. Only have one week to live. Man says, A week?! Well, that's not enough time! Doc, you gotta do something! I need more than a week! And the doc thinks, he sits down and says, I'll tell you what to do: you go find yourself a barrel racer girl with two little dogs and you marry her. And the man says, That's gonna make me live longer? And the doc says, No. But it'll make that week feel like fucking eternity."

His joke earned laughter from the other men, Baby letting out a small chuckle as well,

"I don't know, I think mine was funnier." Jimmy said

"Jimmy, when you're all growed up, and you've actually dated a woman, you'll think it's hilarious." Colby replied

"I got one" Baby spoke up "three brothers age ninety-two, ninety-four and ninety-six live in a house together. One night, the ninety-six year old draws a bath, puts his foot in and pauses. He yells down the stairs, Was in getting in or out of the bath? The ninety-four year old yells back, I don't know, I'll come up and see. He starts up the stairs and pauses, and yells, Was I going up the stairs or coming down? The ninety-two year old was sitting at the kitchen table, having coffee and listening to his brothers. He shakes his head and says, I sure hope I never get that forgetful. He knocks on the wood for good luck, then yells, I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

Laughter emitted from the men, some of them pointing toward Lloyd, who looked older than what he was, which caused him to flip them all off, making their laugh grow a little louder.

"That's it!" Rip announced as he ride in with Kayce behind him "let's go up to the big barn. You're done, let's go" ducking his head as he entered "Lloyd, let's get them mules out of the field. Let's clean up that chuck wagon. We're running a spike camp this summer, understand?" earning a nod

"Ethan, come on." Lloyd said, grabbing his coat

"Hey, wait . ." Jimmy said "what's a spike camp?"