Angel of Mercy| Yellowstone| Lee Dutton

Current State of Affairs Part 1

He knew that pursuing Spencer was only to get his hands on her money, sure he was already rich in his own right but he wanted more, and he heard that Montana was going to be a good place to sell land and make even more money.

That was the only thing that he really cared about.

Money and power.

Smoothing his hand over his shirt and tie, he slipped out of the car and joined Spencer on the porch. "Frank, it's good to see you again." He offered his hand to Frank who glanced at it then his daughter and Leighla, his future wife, and rolled his eyes, "It's Mr. Abbott. Spenc, why don't you go into the barn, your cousins are already there. Leighla and I need to have a talk with Lewis here."

A bright smile formed on her face and she quickly turned and pressed a kiss to his cheek and squeezed her future stepmother's hand. "Yes, Daddy." She said before all but bouncing down the porch steps and to the porch pulling her suit jacket off and handing it over to the driver who was pulling the suitcases out of the back of the car.

**

"Rhett! Perry!' She called excitedly from the open barn door. "There she is!' Perry exclaimed dropping the saddle onto the stall door, 'We were wondering when you were going to show up." "I would have been here yesterday but Lewis pitched a fit." She rolled her eyes as Rhett, the cousin closest to her in age picked her up in a hug.

"He is here?" He questioned not missing the way she winced when he picked her up. He fought every instinct to go out and beat the shit out of him. "Yeah, do you think after everything that happened he would let me come here alone?" "Well to play devil's advocate," Perry commented as he folded her into his own hug, the worry he and Rhett carried being put to bed finally seeing her, their father was Frank's brother and had only really got to spend time with Spencer when she got older and Frank divorced his first wife, "you did get hurt."

"Oh please," she scoffed, "it was just a bruise, and I was fine to go to work the next day when we got home without any problems, he was acting like me riding a horse was a bad thing. Like I haven't been riding since I was able to walk."

Right before Lewis had come out to get her from her uncle's ranch, she had gone to a rodeo with Rhett and was talked into doing a barrel race she had gone down hard, and was bruised from hip to knee, and had a hard time moving but she still got up and went in.

"I have an idea," Rhett said. "If you say take the horses out, I will pay your bar tab when we go out." She grinned, she already knew if Beth and the Dutton Boys were around, they would be going out. Her cousin smirked and turned them around to face the horses.

"You are the best." "And don't you forget it," Rhett smirked before he pinched her cheek causing her to huff in annoyance and slap his hand away from her face.

**

Lewis wasn't happy two hours later when she came into her bedroom, covered in sweat, breathless from laughter and shouting, and her cheeks rosy from being out in the sun without a hat on.

"Where were you?" "Out with my cousins," She returned as she pulled her blouse out of her slacks intent on showering and changing before the party, "It's been a while since I have seen them." "You do realize your father threatened to kill me right? And bury my body where no one would find me?" He asked his voice raising with each word.

Spencer was unbothered as she toed off her shoes and went to the closet to pull her robe out, Leighla her future stepmother had already hung a dress up on the hook that hung on the door for her to wear that night along with heels. Going on the long horseback ride with her cousins and being in the open air had helped clear her head and she felt a lot better, more like the old Spencer. The Spencer spent from dawn to dusk outside, working on the ranch and riding horses.

The Spencer that was at peace with everything, the girl who didn't have a broken heart and spirit.

"Does that surprise you Lewis? Like really? After everything you have done? You should be thankful that I stepped in the two other times. This time I am not. Whatever happens now happens.' "Yeah! It does surprise me, Grace! I never did anything wrong to you." He had gotten up off of the bed and started towards her but a loud knock stopped him in his tracks.

"SPENCER!"

He cringed when he heard Beth Dutton's voice, it was one thing to have to deal with Spencer's attitude and her uncles but adding Beth Dutton into it was going to be a whole other beast, and after the stuff that he had gone through beforehand with not only Frank and his brother Royal threatening to kill him and Leighla threatening to cut his dick off was killing whatever fight he had in him, he had to figure out another way to get to her.

"BETH! Get your butt in here!' She exclaimed dropping the robe and towel onto the floor all plans stopped, it had been ages and ages since she had seen her best friend. The phone calls and video chats weren't enough anymore.

"I am just going to go get ready in another room," Lewis said as he stood up from the bed. "Yeah, you do that." Beth Dutton snarked as she came into the bedroom, "I am surprised you even let her come, here or any other way. Girls have needs too." "Beth!!' Spencer hissed angrily, she had told her that in confidence not to have it repeated at first sight. "I am just sayin' Spenc, you need a real man." "Oh like Rip?" Spencer returned as the door slammed shut behind Lewis. "No, I was thinking my brother." "Your brother is married to Monica. He made that choice, not me." Spencer said as she picked up the towel and robe again. "Wasn't talking about him or Jamie. I was talking about Lee." "That was just school girl crush thing B, nothing is ever going to happen with it."

"What is it that you always said? Oh, yeah, never say never."