Gracie Dutton

7

Gracie finally finished her classes for the semester, aceing all her finals and passing her classes. She felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. She was excited to not do anything until after Christmas rolled around for the start of spring semester. Gracie found John sitting in the den. "I'm officially done with my fall classes," she smiled and sat down beside him. "It's only September. How'd you get done that fast? You've only been in school since August!" He looked at her surprised and confused. Gracie shrugged. "Since I do online, I move at my own pace and I just powered through it." John looked at her in disbelief. "Well, I'm proud of you. That's amazing. You're one smart, determined girl." Gracie smiled at hearing that. "Thanks," she said. John looked at her. "There is a rodeo tonight in town. You feel like going?" Gracie's face lit up. "Of course I do!" John nodded. "Good. I'll see if your parents want to come too." Gracie was still getting used to hearing that term. "Alright," she said. "I'm gonna go for a ride. What time should I be back?" She stood up and John looked at the clock above the fireplace. "It starts at 7. Be back before 5." Gracie nodded and made her way down to the barn. She smiled when she saw Ryan. "Can you saddle Blue for me?" She asked. Ryan chuckled. "You can do it yourself, but because I love you, I guess I will," he teased. Gracie laughed and followed him into the barn. "You seen my dad?" She asked curiously. "Which one?" Ryan remarked and Gracie rolled her eyes. "Rip," she answered and sat down on a stack of hay. "He's out doing a perimeter check." Gracie nodded and watched Ryan saddle her horse. "I'm done with my classes until the Spring semester starts up, so I have lots of time on my hands..." Ryan turned and saw a smirk on her face. He chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. "Good. I can have you all to myself!" He finished his task then pulled her up, hugging her. "You want some company?" He asked. "No. I won't be gone long. I thought I might try to go find Rip. Is that ok?" She looked up at him. "That's fine. You don't need my permission." Ryan kissed her forehead. "Just be careful," he told her. Gracie nodded and mounted her horse. "I always am," she smiled and took off. After riding for about 20 minutes she spotted Rip and Lloyd. She rode over to them. "What are you doing?" She asked as they were inspecting a piece of fencing that was cut open. Rip turned and smiled when he saw her. "Figuring out how this fence got cut. What are you doing out here?" She smiled. "Looking for you," she told him and Rip felt his heart swell up at hearing that. She got off her horse, not tying him up, knowing Blue would never run off. Lloyd smiled at the pair. "You want me to head back to get the supplies to mend it? I can send a few wranglers out to fix it later." Lloyd had offered, wanting Rip to have some quality time with his daughter. Rip looked at Lloyd and nodded. "That'll work. Make sure Jimmy is one of em." Lloyd nodded and smiled at Gracie before he rode off. Rip turned to look at her. "Ain't anything wrong is there?" He asked. "No. I finished my classes for the semester so I thought I'd go for a ride. Ryan told me you were out so I thought I'd come find you. I'm going to the rodeo tonight with John. He wants to know if you and Beth want to come with us." Rip looked at his daughter. "Well, I'm sure we can go. Is your mom home? You know she makes the decisions for these types of things." Gracie shook her head. "Her car wasn't there when I walked outside," she responded. "Well, it's almost lunch time. What do you say we just go and ask her ourselves? Grab some lunch?" Gracie smiled at Rip's subtle not subtle way of trying to get them to spend time together as a family. Gracie liked it though. She was warming up to the idea of having parents and getting to know them, mainly Rip. They rode back to the barn together and put their horses up. She went to change and found Rip waiting in the truck for her. She quickly climbed in and they were off.
***
Gracie followed Rip into Beth's office. She almost ran into his back as he came to a tense halt. She peered over his shoulder and saw Malcolm Beck in her mother's office. "What's he doing here?" She asked. Rip ignored her question, instead telling her to remain behind him as he started walking through the glass doors of her mother's office. The conversation between Malcolm and Beth came to a halt at the sound of her office door swinging open. "What the hell are you doing here?" Rip demanded. Beth looked over at Rip surprised and her heart rate picked up when she noticed Gracie walk in begind him. Malcolm smirked as he looked at Rip and Gracie. "Handling business since your boss is ignorant to deny my assistance." He trailed his eyes over Gracie before he looked back at Rip. "It's refreshing to see some good family bonding. I hope you're enjoying it." He looked back over at Beth. "Remember what I said," he told her then made his way out of the office. Beth rolled her eyes. Rip closed the office door and looked at his wife. "What did he say to you?" He asked concerned. "Nothing. Just trying to scare us into believing that we need him." She grabbed a cigarette and was about to light it but internally groaned and threw it on her desk, wanting to set a better example for Gracie. Gracie was standing there quietly as she listened to her parents talking. Rip started to walk towards Beth but she moved past him, walking over to Gracie. "Are you okay?" She asked worried and rested her hands on Gracie's arms. Gracie looked into her mother's eyes. "He's not done is he?" She asked and Beth glanced over at Rip behind her. She took a deep breath as she faced her daughter again. "I don't know. I think he is all bark and no bite. Don't let him scare you. That guy is a pussy-uh-I mean coward." Gracie let out a snort at her mother trying to not use vulgar language in front of her. "Nice try," Gracie told her. "We wanted to see if you wanted to grab lunch? Gracie is done for the semester." Rip took a step towards them. Beth's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You're already finished?" She asked. Gracie shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a genius." Beth and Rip both laughed and Beth gave her arms a gentle squeeze before she let go saying, "that's impressive. I'm proud of you." Gracie froze at hearing that four letter sentence. It meant a lot to know that her mother was proud of her, a mother she wished she had to make proud of her whole life. "Thank you," Gracie said quietly and wrapped her arms around Beth. Beth looked at Rip with yet again a look of surprise, then she was overcome by emotion. She felt the tears prick the sides of her eyes. She wrapped her arms tightly around Gracie, cupping the back of her head, and looking up at the ceiling to keep her tears at bay. Rip took in the scene before him and sighed. He was grateful they had Gracie now, but what he would give to have witnessed this for years prior. He stepped forward and rubbed Gracie's back slowly as he placed a kiss to the side of Beth's head. Gracie felt at peace in this moment. It scared her. "I'm starving," she smiled and pulled away. Beth looked at Gracie and smiled, "well, let's go eat." She instantly picked up on Gracie's shift in attitude and mentally noted to ask her about it later. Beth grabbed her jacket and purse then the trio made their way out to the truck. Rip drove further into town and pulled up in front of the local diner. They all got out and decided on a booth in the back corner. Gracie sat on the inside next to Beth while Rip sat across from his girls. Gracie glanced at the menu, trying to decide what she wanted. Rip reached across the table and grabbed Beth's hand. He looked at her seriously, wanting to know if she was okay and what Malcolm had actually told her. Beth sighed and gave his hand a squeeze, gently shaking her head, letting him know she would tell him later when Gracie wasn't with them. Rip nodded and pulled his hand away when the waitress walked over to grab their order. Gracie was oblivious to the silent exchange between her parents and settled on a cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate shake. Soon the waitress collected their menus and went to put their order in. Rip was the first to start conversation at table. "Gracie, what do you think about working a few days during the week with me until spring semester starts up?" He asked. He wanted to spend more time with her and he knew it was important that she start learning how things operate. Gracie looked at him and grinned. "I'd love that!" Then her face fell. "I'm not going to have to shovel horse shit, am I?" She asked and Rip laughed. "Everybody's gotta start somewhere," he said and Gracie sighed. "I hope you're joking." Before Rip could answer Beth eagerly broke in- "maybe on the other days you aren't helping Rip, you can come to the office with me and I can teach you the business side." Gracie looked at Beth. "You guys better be paying me for all this. I ain't no free labor." Gracie looked between them and Rip laughed again. "Knowing John, I'm sure he'll put you on the payroll." Gracie smiled at hearing that and looked up as the waitress brought their food. Gracie began to dig in and looked over at Beth. "I'm going to the rodeo tonight. Do you guys want to come?" Beth looked at her daughter. "What time?" She questioned. "It starts at seven," she answered. Beth nodded and glanced at Rip who gave her a nod, letting her know that he would like to go. "Sure. We'll go." Gracie smiled and nodded. "Good," was all she said as they finished up their lunch.
***
Gracie sighed at the look Ryan was giving her. John ended up allowing all the wranglers the night off to go to the rodeo. "I already told them I would ride with them. What's the big deal? I thought you were going to ride with Colby and them?" Gracie looked at him confused. She didn't understand why Ryan was so upset that she wasn't riding with him when they were all going to the same place. He shook his head. "We have hardly seen each other today. I thought you would want to spend time with me?" Gracie looked at him shocked. "Ryan, I want to spend time with you. We are going to the same place!" Ryan sighed and laughed to himself. "You are choosing them. Gracie, they have lied to you your whole life and now you're dropping everything for them." Gracie's jaw dropped. "You think I'm dropping everything for them? I still have my guard up..but-but I want to know them. I want to have a mother in my life, Ryan! I have lived without one for almost 21 years. Stop being so insensitive and selfish!" Gracie couldn't believe he was acting like this and it actually hurt her. She thought he loved her and would stand by her side on this. "I-I'll see you there," she told him. She walked back up to the house to see John, Rip, and Beth waiting for her. Gracie kept her tears at bay. She examined the three in the distance. Was she being selfish? She didn't think she was. How could he not realize where she was coming from? Thoughts swirled in her mind as she approached them. "You ready?" John asked her. She nodded absentmindedly and climbed into the back of the truck. Beth looked at her worried. She got in the back while the men got in the front. "Gracie," Beth said gently but Gracie just turned her head to look out the window down at the wranglers loading up into the trucks. She took a shaky breath and looked forward. John pulled out of the ranch and into town to the rodeo. Beth had been quick to pick up on Gracie's shift in emotions and demeanor. Beth didn't say anymore to Gracie during the ride, but did shoot her concerned glances.
***
Beth had a gut feeling that Gracie's quietness had to do with a certain cowboy but that was affirmed when Gracie steered clear of Ryan at the rodeo. Gracie sat down in between John and Beth. "You hungry?" John asked her and she shook her head. "I had a late lunch," she told him. Beth reached over and pushed some of Gracie's hair behind her shoulder causing Gracie to look over at her. Beth gave her a loving smile and Gracie could tell her mother knew the reasoning for her mood. Gracie sighed and scooted a little closer to Beth. The rodeo started. About an hour in Gracie could  see the wranglers at the concession stand with beers and a group of buckle bunnies. She felt sick to her stomach as she saw one getting real close to Ryan and Ryan seeming to not move away. Gracie's eyes filled with hot tears. Rip took notice of his men and looked at his daughter. He felt anger fill him. He stood up but Beth quickly pulled him back down. "Not here," she said sternly. Gracie just stared ahead trying to keep her emotions in check. Beth looked at her daughter. "Do you want to leave?" She asked quietly. Gracie shook his head. "Why would I give him the satisfaction?" She asked and her mother smiled at her determination. "That's my girl," she said gently.