"You and me goin' fishin' in the dark, lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars" I sing alongside the radio. Mr Dutton is beside me in a white button suit quietly tapping his fingers to the beat. I sat in the passenger's seat wearing a dark green dress that Daddy had bought me for special occasions. Mr Dutton found out what happened to Miss Monica while I was there and talked to Daddy about taking me alongside him to the Livestock dinner thingy. I'm not too sure what it's about, but daddy told me to be on my best behavior which I always am.
Wordlessly, both Mr Dutton and my eyes stare at the people in the field, stupidly-might I add. "Ooh, they're gonna get their butts kicked," I say under my breath. My eyes widen at the sight of a bear, not even 100 feet away eating on something. Mr Dutton puts his arm across my chest as he screeches the truck to a stop right behind the tour bus. "The fuck?" Mr Dutton asks, ripping his sunglasses off and hopping out of the truck while grabbing his rifle. I unbuckle from my seat and roll the window down. I lean out the window, crossing my arms against the truck door.
He quickly makes his way over to the tourists and their tour guide. "Hey. Hey! HEY!" He calls their attention over to where he is approaching. He keeps telling them to get back, "Get back before that thing eats somebody." I scoff as the tour guide responds to him, "It seems friendly." "Well it's not, now get back." The woman quickly disregards him and I pray for her safety for defying Mr Dutton's rules. "You see that fence? That's mine. That fucking fence down there? That's mine too. Everything this side of that mountain, all the way over to here, that's mine too. You're trespassing." "Damn right," I murmur to myself, snapping my fingers. I guess the tourists didn't like that response because one of the men goes off in his language. I see Mr Dutton keep his eye on the bear while talking back and forth to the tour guide. "They don't believe you," says the tour guide. "What?" Mr Dutton asks. "What's he sayin?" he asks. "Says that its wrong for one man to own all this. He says that you should share it with all the people." I laugh heartily as Mr Dutton lifts the rifle in the air and shoots it a few times to scare everyone. The tourists take off and scream, running back to their tour bus. I wave to a few people when they see me in the truck, smiling.
As he gets back in the truck, I look over to him. "Well that was dramatic." He chuckles before buckling back up, "Yes it was, honey. Now sit back down and buckle up. Roll up the window, so you don't mess up your hair." I nod before doing what I was told and turning the music back up as we drive to town."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the livestock association dinner, I'm sat in a middle table watching Mr Dutton take the stand at the front on stage. "Since 1886, every Dutton who died is buried 300 yards from my back porch. From my great-great grandfather, to my wife, and to my eldest son." I bow my head at the mention of Mr Lee. I still miss him and something I think about him when I'm runnin' around the farm doin nothin. " When a tree grows on my ranch, I know exactly what fed it. And its the best we can hope for because theres nothin we can do worth that today. Ranching is the only business where the goal is to break even . Survive another season. Last long enough for your children to continue the cycle, and maybe, just maybe the land is still theirs when another tree sprouts."
I bow my head as he begins the prayer. I think about my daddy and how he works hard, yet he doesn't own a farm, he just kinda works on it. I hope I'll be able to make him proud some day when I get to workin'. The crowd all responds Amen and the dinner starts. I clap for Mr Dutton as he makes his way to our table, mingling with the other guests. I'm absolutely starving, so he leans over and helps cut my steak for me. We eat together in silence till i start pointing out my favorite dresses the women are wearing as they walk around together. Mr Dutton plays along and he comments on what's pretty too. We settle down and I'm still pickin my food when I notice him glance around the table at the other name tags. I guess they were too busy, but I still felt really bad.
"I'm sorry they didn't come, Mr Dutton." I say, looking up at him and frown. "Don't be sorry, Livvy. It shows where they stand. Besides, I think I got the best date here." I smile full-teeth at him and l fluff my curled hair. I begged and begged daddy to curl my hair for the dinner cause I just had to look my best. I continue eating till I'm absolutely stuffed to the brim. I lean back in my chair and sigh. Mr Dutton does a double take, noticing that I ate everything on my plate, "Damn, Livvy. You're gonna pop if you eat another bite." I can't even laugh as I lay my head on my arms that were resting on the table. "I think I've died, Mr Dutton. Give Daddy my regards." I close my eyes, but hear him chuckle, "Just keep layin there, you'll feel settled in a minute."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I must've fell asleep cause next thing I know, Daddy is tucking me in to my side of his bed. I cuddle into his side as he sits next to where I'm laying. "Hey, darlin'. Have a fun time?" I nod, still half-asleep. "I saw a bear." He laughs, I guess thinking I'm lyin. "Ask Mr Dutton and he'll tell you." He rubs my head and stands up. He bends over and gives me a kiss on the head before walkin away.
3rdPOV
John sits quietly in his living room, listening to the crackle of the fireplace. He hears his son walk into the house and start to go up the stairs. "You know what a fool I looked like when no member of my family is beside me at the dinner my office sponsors, besides Livvy. She was the only damn one who gave a shit."
Jaime waits to say something as he walks over to his father. "Well you know my campaign starts tomorrow-" "While I was in the room with the votes you should be campaigning for." Jaime scoffs at his dad, "We already have those votes." Mr Dutton takes a sip of his drink, "Don't bet on it."
Jaime becomes worried and cross his arms, "Well what happened?" "Don't know. Felt a shift."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wake up, groaning into my pillow. Realizing what day it was, I bound out of bed, in my Christmas Pajamas daddy put me in last night. "DADDY! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" I barrel into the living room where Daddy was sittin, drinking his coffee. He quickly regains balance without spilling a drop. He puts down his cup and picks me up spinning. "My girl is 7 now! Whatchu want, baby?" I think about it for a minute before coming to a decision. "A horse. I wanna learn to ride with you, please" I give my best puppy dog eyes and he sighs. He sets me down on the countertop of the kitchen and he looks at me. "Would you promise to feed it, love it, take care of it every single day. Cause neither I nor the wranglers would take over the shit for it. Alright?" I nod and I slide off the counter. He grabs me before I could drop, "Quit doin' that shit, gonna give me a heart attack."
I quickly put on a pair of my boots and a jacket before running towards the bunkhouse. I stop before going in, seeing all the cowboys in the barn. I jump onto Ryan, who catches me. "I'M GETTIN A HORSE BOYS!" they all cheer for me, passing me around giving me birthday kisses on my cheek. "Look at the new cowgirl, boys! Before we know it, she'll be runnin us ragged and behind!" Lloyd tells everyone playfully. I nod being set back down on the ground. They get to work, but I'm so full of energy that I walk out towards the arenas and climb the rings. My mouth drops open when I see Miss Beth walk out with a horse actin like she was gonna ride it. She hasn't ridden since her momma died. I stay quiet as she mounts the horse, getting used to the feeling. She gets the horse to run, but the horse starts going too fast and she falls hard to the ground. I gasp and run over quickly.
She stares at me who is looking worried down at her as she tries to catch her breath. "Miss Beth? You just ate shit. Are you alright?" She nods, still trying to breathe, but puts my worries to a small ease. I see a shadow behind me and turn around to see the new guy, Walker. "Damn you got bucked right off-" My brain short circuits trying to understand what the hell he just said to us. "Repeat that in English, I don't speak dipshit." Beth responds to him. She sits up quickly, using my shoulder as an aid standing up. Before walking over to the horse, she leans down in my ear, "Happy Birthday, baby." I smile, grateful for her. She hops back on the horse, "You wanna run, motherfucker?" The horse takes this as a challenge and tries to buck her off. Walker and I stand in the middle of the arena watching this all take place. "She's one crazy bitch." Walker says to me. "If only you knew." I respond back to him.
"Damn," Walker and I both say, wincing at her getting' bucked off. We walk back over to her as she sits, regaining her strength. "You don't speak fuckin' horse, neither. Do ya?" Walker says to her. He hops up on the waiting horse with literally no problem. We both watch him make the horse trot away without running or bucking him off. "Well that's shitty." I say crossing my arms. "You said it, kid." Beth replies to me. He makes a wide circle back towards us. "How'd you do that?" Beth asks Walker with a tear rolling down her face. "Turn around and I can show ya." He says hopping off the horse. I watch as Beth turns around facing away from Walker.
I walk away from the pair, letting them have their moment. I walk back up to my house and change into actual clothes. I start thinking about what I want Gator to cook tonight for my birthday dinner. I can't believe I'm actually seven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
I got bored back at the ranch, so I'm now riding with Ryan, Jimmy, and Walker. I'm riding on Ryan's horse in the front. They're looking for the bear Mr Dutton and I saw. I dont really know how I convinced Daddy to let me go since it's ya know-a bear hunt. We're all keeping our eyes out when Walker asks, "What the fuck are we doin' out here." I look over to him on his horse, "Lookin' for a bear." His eyes cut to Ryan for confirmation and Ryan nods back at him. "Well what the fuck do we do when we find it?" "Shoot, shovel, and shut the fuck up," Ryan responds.
We come across this open prairie area and the men look down at the ground for prints. I look up to see the bear directly in front of us. The men, obviously, aren't paying attention, so I reach back and grab Ryan's arm, shaking it. "Hold on, Livvy, I'm tryna look for prints." I reach back again and shake his arm and point straight at the bear. "Damn, Livvy. What is it-" He cuts off as the three men notice how close we were to the actual bear. "Jimmy, hand me the rifle, and Walker take Livvy." I try my best to climb over to Walker's outstretched arms while Ryan tries to get Jimmy to give him the rifle.
I get settled when I hear Jimmy whisper, "I thought you said you were gonna grab the rifle." I snap my head over to Jimmy, "You didn't grab the rifle?!" Ryan thinks for a moment and turns to Walker, "You gotta gun on you?" "I can't have no goddamn gun. I'm a felon." I look up at Ryan, "Ryan, what do we do now?" "Okay, we're gonna haze it out of here. We're gonna run right at it." Both Jimmy and I look at each other, "Were gonna run right at it?" Walker wraps one arm around my middle before taking off with Ryan towards the bear. I hold onto his arm tight as we take off. The bear stands becoming agitated and runs towards us. I start prayin to anybody who would listen as we quickly turned away from the bear. I hear Jimmy yelling as he falls off the horse RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BEAR. I see him quickly climb a tree, which made me palm my face because bears are literally the gods of climbing trees. "OH GOD. SOMEONE HELP ME!" he starts screaming, still climbing the tree. Ryan and Walker turn around and we see the bear shaking the tree Jimmy is on. They quickly form a plan to rope the bear away from Jimmy as quickly as possible. We start off again and I lean down as much as possible to give Walker room to swing the rope. They get him roped and try dragging him as far as they can.
We slowly walk back over to where Jimmy is scaling down the tree. "What's your name?" Walker asks Jimmy. "Jimmy" "Well, Jimmy you owe me a new rope." I laugh at that and Jimmy's new demise. "Hey, where's my horse?" "Oh Jimmy," I shake my head at him. "One of these days, we'll find you one that you won't fall off of," Ryan says. "Hey can you guys walk a little slower?" he asks, trying to catch up with us on the horses. "Never in a million years, Jimbob," I laugh at him. "Fuck you, Jimmy" Ryan says. "Yeah, fuck you Jimmy," agrees Walker.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After arriving back at the ranch I see Tate with Mr Dutton who seems to be out of breath. I run up to the both of them, giving Tate a quick hug hello and walk alongside them into the Dutton house. "When's the last time you both ate?" Mr Dutton asks us. I shrug as Tate answers, "I don't know." All three of us walk into the kitchen and us two kids sit at the island while Mr Dutton opens the fridge. Tate's talkin to me about his dinosaur bones, but I'm focused on Mr Dutton who seems to be in pain standing in the fridge doorway. I don't say anything because I'm too scared he'll be upset that I scared Tate too, so I just watch him silently. He tells us to stay before walking out of the kitchen towards the living room.
Tate and I continue talking, but fall silent at the sight of Miss Beth entering the kitchen. She just kinda stares for a minute before Tate asks, "Who are you?" I honestly didn't know how Tate didn't know his aunt, but I just smile at her. She takes a minute and responds, " I'm your aunt. Hungry?" Tate and I shrug, "Kinda" I hop out of the chair, "You don't gotta worry Miss Beth, I'll find something for us to eat." She stops me from walking past her and holds me to her front. I'm facing Tate, so I just let my arms hang onto hers. "What do you want," she asks Tate. "What can you make?" "Cheese plate." She pauses to think and I look up at her as she looks down at me, "Alright, I got an idea. You wanna go see what the cowboys are havin for supper?" We agree and all three walk towards the bunkhouse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I totally forgot it was my birthday for a hot minute before we walk into the bunkhouse. Somehow they managed to decorate it in pink for my birthday dinner. I gasp and laugh looking at the pink decorations around the 'manly' bunkhouse. "Hey!! There's the birthday girl!," Colby cheers, lifting me up in his arms. He holds me, "Thanks guys!" Colby sits me down in the chair on the end of the table, "Now for the dinner, Beef Stew. Your Daddy told me what you wanted, so here you go." I clap and everyone starts eating around me.
After supper has ended, we're all hanging around as Walker plays some music from his guitar. I gasp and jump up at the sight of my Daddy entering the bunkhouse. I run towards him and hug his legs before he picks me up holding me. He takes one look around the bunkhouse and turns towards me, "What the hell did they do?" "They decorated it for me! For my birthday!" He laughs and gives me a big wet kiss on the side of my cheek before putting me back on the ground, so I can sit next to Tate at the table and talk with Jake. This has to be one of the best birthdays ever.
When everyone was done eating, Daddy walked over to me and kneeled down to eye level with me as I sat on a log. "Listen, Livvy. I got you something extra." I cocked my head sideways confused as to what he meant. "What is it, Daddy?" He smiled and tilted head towards the barn, "Go see for yourself." My head picks up and I brush my hair back. Both my eyes and smile widen as I squeal, "You're lyin'! Are you serious?" I laugh towards the groups of wranglers who are all watching with smiles as I book it from the bonfire over to the barn where a pink halter was hanging from a door. I ran over to see a new horse who has a white blonde mane with a tan yellowish coat. I'm in awe as I stand on the stool in front of the gate letting me look into her stall. "Daddy- I-" I literally have no words "THANK YOU!" He laughs and his eyes crinkle catching me when I launch myself towards him. He swings me up onto a bale of hay so when I'm sitting we are the same level. "I know you've been asking for some lessons, so I figured when we were buying horses I might as well get a present," his face turns serious as he taps my leg looking at me, "But you listen here, I will not clean up after this horse. I will not feed or water this horse. That goes for all wranglers too, do you understand?" I nod quickly, turning towards him," Of course!" I grabbed him around the neck squeezing as tight as I could without hurting him for a hug. "What are you gonna name her, darlin'?" I ponder for a moment, "Oatie. I wanna name her Oatie." He nods, "Fine name from a fine gal. Everyone welcome Oatie to the family."
obviously not proof read cause when would I actually do that-
guys IT'S HER BIRTHDAY TOO CUTE