Spencer Hope Dutton. Tiny. The youngest of the Dutton household, if only by a few minutes. She swore those few minutes after Kayce popped out were the only moments of peace she had in life...
Now Spencer's family is being pushed to the brink and her...
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Wednesday
The beginning of the sunrise peeking over the mountains was what woke Rip first. Shuffling around, he heard a groan coming from his side. As he turned to look he smiled at the sight of Spencer grumbling and trying to move further into his warmth. He chuckled at the girl as he brushed her hair from her face.
"I gotta go Darlin'," he whispered to her, knowing he needed to be out of the house before her father was awake.
Spencer grumbled something about wanting coffee before fully waking up. She looked up to see Rip leaning against her headboard, a sleepy smile growing on his face.
"Morning," she groaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 28 years of waking early and she still wasn't a morning person.
"I'll see you soon," was all Rip said before sneaking out the window.
Rip's methods of getting out of her room always made Spencer laugh. Mostly because he was a fully grown man sneaking around like a teenager. But she couldn't laugh too much based on the antics she had pulled trying to get back into her room on numerous occasions over the past year.
A full minute later Spencer's alarm began to ring, sending the girl into another round of groans. As much as she loved the ranch life, she was less enthralled with how early it had to start. Cursing under her breath she finally got up, popping into her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth before getting dressed. One thing on the ranch she liked was that she rarely had to dress to impress, meaning day-old unwashed jeans would be more than acceptable that morning. Spencer pulled a hat from the rack, precariously placing it on her head as she walked down the stairs braiding her hair back.
The only other person awake in the house was her father, although he was quick to leave after grunting a good morning at his daughter. Spencer only shook her shoulders in quiet laughter at her father as she poured a cup of coffee for herself, looking around before dropping a spoonful of sugar into it. Black coffee was never something she could get behind, hard as she tried in her early adult years. But she didn't tell anyone, mastering the art of sneaking a pack or two of sugar into her coffee whenever she could.
The barn was in the process of waking up as well, Lee and other wranglers prepping horses to move the cattle around the ranch that day. Spencer had gotten lucky for the day, her father asking her to work with a group of ladies who wanted the 'real ranch experience'. Spencer was sure they would be heartily disappointed when they realized she was their instructor, not a young male. Luckily enough, however, the group wasn't going to be there until later in the morning, giving Spencer plenty of time to get the horses ready.
As she walked into the barn, she shared a smile with Rip who sent her a wink, sending a bloom of blush across her cheeks. Walking up to Rebel's stall, she greeted her horse good morning before a cough from behind her caught Spencer's attention.
