"So you're the youngest Dutton daughter I've heard so much about," a dark haired man, wearing a denim jacket walked up to Mae.
"Can I help you?," Mae smiled as she looked up at the man from her clipboard. Liam was helping Cowboy out with their newest rescues and Avery was helping Charlie with a minor surgery so Mae manned the front desk.
"Oh there's a lot of ways you can help me, Gorgeous," he grinned as he tipped his light brown Cowboy hat at her.
Mae laughed softly before turning to face the man completely. He was handsome, brown hair, blue eyes, not unlike Ryan but he wasn't Ryan.
"Do I know you?," Mae asked.
"You could," Mae raised her eyebrow, wanting a real answer, "I'm working for the ski lodge. Herding their buffalo."
"Oh yeah, you're working with that ass hat, they hired to irritate my father with those buffalo so that they can run through our fence and destroy our cattle. Then when we put them down or move them, the resort can sue us as another measure to take our ranch."
"Just as smart as you are beautiful, damn they definitely were right when they talked about you," the guy grinned.
"Well I'm glad I'm meeting expectations but I still don't see a reason for you to be here," Mae replied as she stared him down.
"I was originally just coming down here for my own curiosity but now I'm thinking of asking you for a drink," he smirked.
"I'm flattered but I like my men like I like my news, real, and this piss poor attempt to get to my father through me is not going to get you anywhere. Besides I already have a man and if what he told me is true, then you two almost beat the shit out of each other yesterday. All because he did his job as livestock agent to ask you for your paperwork in regards to the buffalo."
The man's cocky smirk fell and he glared at the blonde: "Does your old man know that you're dating one of his wranglers?"
"Please, there is nothing that happens on our ranch that he doesn't know about. So yes, he does know and he supports it. Now can you please leave, you're making my clinic smell like buffalo."
The man stormed out of the clinic and slammed the doors on the way out. Mae smirked as she watched him leave. Whoever was telling him about her, sure as shit wasn't telling him everything because everyone knew that she was loyal to her dad above anything else.
Mae turned as her phone started ringing and answered it.
"This is Chief Rainwater, speaking, Miss Dutton. I need your help."
"Anything you need," Mae responded.
"I already talked to your brother, Kayce, there's a missing Indian girl and we're getting a search party together. I know that the people in this town value you a lot and it would surely help if you could gather a couple more volunteers."
"I'll make some calls, where can we meet you?"
"On the reservation, I'll send you the exact location, can you meet us in about two hours?"
"Yeah, see you then, and Chief?"
"Yes?"
"Tell the family to let me know if they need anything."
"You're a good person, Miss Dutton, my people will forever be grateful for everything you have done for this community," Chief Rainwater meant every word. She's held fundraisers, helped out at the school, saved their animals for free and even made anonymous donations but they all knew it was her. She was the shining star of the Dutton family.
Mae hung up the phone and made a couple of calls before she gathered Charlie, Liam, Cowboy and Avery. They were all willing to close the clinic early and went to help.
xxx
Mae, Charlie, Liam, Cowboy and Avery walked in front of about another thirty to thirty-five volunteers as they joined Monica, her volunteers, Kayce and the livestock agents, the Reservation police and Chief Rainwater.
"These are all the people I could get on short notice," Mae gestured towards the group.
"It all helps," the Chief smiled.
"Alright folks, listen up! Everybody stays ten feet apart, you scan the area around you. Don't just look for Silla! You look for clothes, footprints, a phone, a set of keys. If you find something, do not touch it! You stand over it and you shout 'Hey!' and you wave your arm, an officer will come to you. Alright, lets go," Mae walked with Monica while Kayce and Ryan trotted on their horses with them.
"I didn't know he called you too," Kayce called to his sister as he and Monica watched how every native they passed waved and smiled at the blonde.
"Yeah, well, he asked if I could get some people here to help," Mae shrugged.
"I didn't know so many of my people knew you," Monica stated as the greetings continued.
"When you two started raising Tate here, I wanted to contribute to my nephews life, even if I never got the chance to meet him. So I started holding fundraisers for the school, sent care packages to families in need and made a couple of donations to the Reservation funds.
"How didn't either of you know? Hell, the whole bunkhouse knows," Ryan asked the married couple.
"I was still pissed at Kayce so I when they asked me what they owed me, I just told them not to tell Kayce and they must have included Monica in that statement," Mae shrugged.
"Why am I not surprised?," Monica asked laughing softly and Kayce nodded along, Mae just shrugged.
The group eventually separated as Kayce went forward and Monica went to talk to some of her students while Ryan and Mae stayed close to one another. She told him about the guy in the clinic and they laughed at how she told him to fuck off.
Everyone was stopped when Kayce and Chief Rainwater's second noticed a coyote not far from them.
"Tell them not come any closer!"
"Everybody stop!"
Mae could see from Kayce and Chief Rainwater's faces that they found the girls' body. Tears gathered in Mae's eyes, Ryan jumped down from his horse and pulled her into a hug.
"C'mon, lets get back to the ranch, try and cheer you up," Ryan kissed her forehead and helped her onto the horse while he walked beside it.
xxx
That night Mae was sat in the bunkhouse curled up into Ryan's side as they all watched one of the best but stupidest shows ever, Guy on a buffalo.
"This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life," Jimmy called out and everyone laughed.
"It's so good," Ryan laughed and his laugh made Mae smile wider. She loved to see him smile.
"You just don't appreciate quality film making!," Colby called down to Jimmy from his bunk.
"I mean I feel like he just looks like some kind of sexy Jesus riding on the buffalo,, riding off into the sunset" Teeter added.
"No one can understand what you're saying. No one knows what you're saying," Colby waved her away, still mocking her Texan accent.
"I think you're just jealous that she finds him hot," Mae teased the dark skinned man.
"I am not jealous!"
"It's okay to admit it," Ryan added onto Mae's previous statement.
"It's quite alright, baby, Mama's only got eyes for you," Teeter joined in and Colby rolled his eyes at them.
"How's he even staying on that fucking thing?," Jimmy asked as they all turned back to the small television to watch the guy ride the buffalo.
"Well it can't buck," Lloyd exclaimed from his spot next to the young blonde barrel racer Jimmy brought into the bunkhouse with his brunette girlfriend.
"Really?," the brunette asked.
'Yeah they can't buck, can't run up but they can roll over on your ass," Lloyd explained.
"I need this whole dynamic explained to me," Colby agreed with Ryan as they watched Lloyd and the blonde cuddle up together even more.
"Must be the wobble in the earth creating a magnetic shift," Colby tried to justify it.
"Or just two people looking for a good time. I've seen girls younger than her drool over my dad, some just like older men. So stop judging you two, we don't know their personal lives," Mae scolded the both of them.
"Hey! Hey, this is where he gets shot!," Lloyd called as he pointed at the television.
"Look out! Look out!," Jimmy yelled and the whole bunkhouse laughed at his disappointed face when the guy did end up shot.
"Hey, we gotta ride them buffalo up in that field," Teeter called out.
"Wait, what field?," the blonde barrel racer asked.
"Do you know either of their names?," Mae asked Ryan, ignoring the newest conversation, as she gestured to the barrel racers.
"No idea," he replied and Mae laughed as she shook her head. These girls were sleeping, eating and showering here but he hadn't even learned either of their names.
"Woah, she speaks and they understand her? How is that even possible?," Ryan asked as he pointed between Teeter and the barrel racers.
"Well it's the wobble of the earth, I'm trying to tell you," Colby shook his head at them.
"Would you do me a favour and stop watching conspiracy theories, Colby, please?," Mae asked and he threw peanuts at her.
"There ain't no buffalo in the field above the carols," Lloyd denied Teeter's statement.
"There's about thirty. The resort brought them there for tourists to look at and they're being watched by this mean old bastard. What was his name?" Ryan asked Colby.
"Wade something," Colby struggled to remember the last name.
"Wade Morrow," Mae added, "They knew his presence would piss my dad off and the buffalo's really here to damage our fence and property."
Lloyd's been a trusted member of the Yellowstone family for years and he knew what shit Wade did to this family and he wanted revenge: "Who feels like riding a buffalo?"
"Ah, not me!," Ryan replied.
"Yeah I would but uh," Jimmy pointed at his broken neck and back.
"Yeah I'm not supposed to drink and ride buffalo, it's a whole thing," Colby's answer made Mae giggle.
"Fuck it I'll ride the buffalo," Teeter's hand shot into the sky.
"Yeah we'll ride the buffalo and you ladies can watch," Mae shook her head at the brunette barrel racer's words, something told her that they're going to cause a lot of trouble in the future.
"This is going to be fun!," the blonde barrel racer called out.
"What about you?," Teeter asked and everyone turned to Mae.
It's a Saturday night, it's been a shitty day and she just wanted to have some fun.
"Fuck it, I'm in!"
Mae and Teeter hooked arms like school girls and skipped out of the bunkhouse.
"Is this really happening?," Colby asked.
"It looks like it," Ryan replied as he grabbed two of his jackets, because he knew Mae would get cold.
"I've done some dumb shit in my life," Colby muttered.
"This is going to be dumber," Ryan replied as he walked out of the bunkhouse.
"What's the best way to do this?," the blonde barrel racer, Laramie (Mae heard Lloyd say), asked.
"Well can't rope them around the neck, you'll crush their larynx, so you gotta rope them around the horns," Lloyd explained.
"And then what?," Mae smirked at the absolute sass from Ryan. He didn't like this plan but he was going along for her because he knew she needed this, something to get her mind not only off of today but the last couple of months too.
"And then you pull them to a stop, jump on and off you go!"
"I'm just here to watch," Ryan shook his head.
"I'll do it!," Lamarie called out.
"Pump your breaks, you can go after me, I haven't done something like this since I was in college!," Mae called out, an excited smile on her face.
"Yeah can't be sober for this," Colby groaned as he took a sip from his flask.
"Are you sure, Darlin'?," Ryan asked.
"Just trust me," Mae grinned and with that all of the wranglers took off and started roping the buffalo until they caught one. Ryan took Colby's flask and gulped most of it down as he watched Mae get on the buffalo and rode it.
"Fuck Yeah!," She shouted and the wranglers all cheered. Mae laughed, in those few seconds she really did feel lighter, like most of the weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She jumped off and rolled away from the buffalo just as the wranglers approached.
"Atta girl!," Lloyd called as most of the others whooped and hollered.
"Are you alright?," Colby asked as Ryan jumped down off of his horse to check her for any injuries.
"That was so fucking fun!," Mae laughed.
"That was fucking awesome," Lamarie called out, her respect for the Dutton girl growing.
"Who's next?," Lloyd asked.
"Me!," Teeter laughed.
"Are you sure that you're okay?," Ryan asked.
"Yes, I loved it. Thank you," Mae kissed him, "But I think we should go back home."
Ryan grinned and the two left the other wranglers as they went up to the main house.
xxx
The next morning Mae woke up early due to another nightmare, they come and go now. Luckily not every night anymore. She didn't want to wake Ryan since they got in late last night and he could use the rest so she got out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs to see her father already awake.
"Morning, Daddy," Mae smiled as she walked over and kissed his cheek.
"Morning, Sweetheart, want to join me outside?"
"Sure," Mae smiled as she followed him out of the house.
"So you and Ryan got in late last night," John started, "Did you go on a date or something?"
"No, I rode a buffalo and almost gave him a heart attack."
John stopped drinking his coffee and looked at her: "Excuse me?"
"Some of the wranglers thought it would be fun and I agreed so went to the field with the buffalo and rode them. Ryan protested since we suggested it and I'm pretty sure he downed Colby's flask when I took my turn," Mae grinned at her father.
John laughed at her and shook his head: "You and Lee were the two of my children that scared me the most, I really thought you two would join the rodeo in a heartbeat if given the chance."
Mae laughed softly: "You're probably right but luckily we had you watching out for us."
"I always will," John smiled as he wrapped an arm around her.
"Good morning, Daddy, Little sister!," Beth called as she joined them.
"Yes it is," John replied.
"Have you been practicing yoga?," Beth asked and Mae giggled as she turned to hide her laughter in her father's jacket.
"Practising what?," John asked confused by what the hell Beth was saying and why it amused Mae so much. The youngest was definitely imagining her father in a room full of soccer moms trying to do the tree pose.
"I'm just trying to understand this new inner peace you've found," Beth walked closer to the duo, "What this place is facing, isn't the enemy. It's a perspective. It's a shift in values. The world doesn't value your way of life anymore, Dad."
"I know," John told his daughters.
"And you can't delegate this fucking fight to Jamie," Mae still had no clue what happened between her older siblings but Beth's just not letting go of her hatred.
"And Kayce he just doesn't have the patience or the skill and well I can't do it by myself."
"Well what about Mae?," John turned to look at her and Beth raised her eyebrow at the youngest Dutton.
"She doesn't want me because it's too personal for me," Mae told him.
"I'm pretty sure it's personal for all of us, Sweetheart," John laughed softly.
"Not like it is for her," Beth added her voice hard.
"Just take me off of the table for now and I'll explain later, I promise," Mae told her dad.
"Well then you have to. You have to teach Kayce, you have to push away your sister's personal business and you have to learn to trust Jamie," John told her.
"Trust Jamie?," Beth asked.
"He is still our brother, Beth," Mae told her.
"Wait uh, wait you're the one telling me I should trust, Jamie?"
"What does it matter Beth if I keep this place for another ten years and then we lose it because you couldn't figure it out-," John was interrupted by Beth walking away.
"No! You don't know him, neither of you do!"
"And what is it you know, Beth? That the rest of us don't?," John asked.
"It's been killing you for years, Big sister, and we can't help if you don't tell us," Mae called out causing Beth to stop and sigh up at the sky.
"What did he do, Beth? What did he do? Like your sister said, we can't help you, if you don't tell us what it is."
"Years ago, I was still in high school, it was right after mom's death. I was in a really bad place and I made some stupid mistakes. I uh I got pregnant and I didn't want to keep it. Jamie was here on break and I asked him for help. He took me to the Reservation clinic and he left me in the car to talk to the people. When he came back out, I asked him if they said everything would be safe and okay, he told me yes. He took me in there, knowing that the only form of abortion they do, is hysterectomy. I can't have kids, I can't have a family with the man I love because of him. So when I say that he's evil, then fucking believe me!"
Mae felt anger course through her veins, he might be family but he was fucking dead. Beth walked off away from them and the two walked into the kitchen where they knew Jamie would be.
"Oh good I need to talk to you about something," Jamie called when he saw John, "The Market Equities Group-"
"You fucking asshole!," Mae went to lunge at Jamie but John held her back. She had angry tears streaming down her face and they were directed at Jamie.
"All the promises I made in my life, son," John started as he kept a firm hold on Mae's arm, "if I didn't love your mother so much I would break it. I swear to God I would break it"
John moved Mae behind him as he stalked towards Jamie.
"Did something happen, I don't understand?," Jamie asked confused as he stood up.
"What happens in thirty years Jamie? When you, your brother and your sisters are too old to fight for this place? When Tate and Evie, if Mae doesn't have children, have to fight for it on their own? Lee didn't marry and he almost didn't have children and I doubt you will and now your sister will never be able to because of you! Quit moving!," John shouted at Jamie trying to run away from him.
"I uh- I," Jamie tried to form words, "She came to me, she was scared. I was scared."
"You shouldn't have taken it from her, Jamie! Who the hell did you think you were to take that from her?!"
"Hey! Hey!," Kayce and Ryan ran in confused by the commotion. Ryan immediately walked over to Mae when he saw her tear stained face.
"What the hell's going on here?," Kayce asked.
"Ask your brother," John walked out of the room.
"I never thought you could do anything to make me say this but I hate you, I hate you, Jamie," Mae sobbed, "I hate you because of what you did and I hate you for making me hate you."
Mae turned and ran out of the room, Ryan following behind her. She ignored Jamie's shouts that he hated John or the sound of glass breaking. When the two finally made it to Mae's room, she completely broke down in Ryan's arms. He tried to console her but he had no idea what was happening so he just hugged her to him and let her cry it out.
"What did Jamie do?," Ryan asked once she calmed down.
"I heard that sentence so much this morning," Mae let out a humourless laugh, "He took away the one thing Beth always dreamed about."
Ryan felt his own heart ache for Beth, he couldn't imagine the pain she must have felt, especially since she kept it a secret for all of these years. He never liked Jamie, he tolerated him for Mae's sake but right now he wanted to bash the guy's skull in. Who the fuck does that to someone and walks around without a care for the rest of their lives? He had some fucking nerve.
"And you know what's even worse?," Mae sobbed, "Even though I hate him for what he did and I don't think that I'd ever be able to forgive him, I still love that bastard. He's my brother and he always will be and I love him but now I feel like I'm betraying Beth by feeling like this. Why does my family have to be so fucking complicated?"
Neither were aware that Jamie was standing outside of her door and eavesdropping. He needed to know if the one person in this family, who always had his back, was still with him. Now he knew that she still loved him and it felt like a massive weight was removed from his chest, there was still hope for him in this family.