My lovely lady May

"What hurts the most"

⚠️TW:brief mention of SA.Addiction & depression⚠️

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Nine years ago,
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch

It had been a couple of weeks since Jamie and Luke's fight, and the tension between them had only grown. What was once Jamie trying to protect his sister was now pure hatred towards Luke for humiliating him. "What's going on between those two?" John asked Rip after noticing the glares Jamie kept giving Luke. "I have no idea, sir. Want me to find out?" Rip asked. "No, I'll talk to him. For now, have the boy go clean the stalls. I'm not in the mood to break up a fight today," John said, his voice stern.
"Yes, sir," Rip said, walking towards Luke.

After a long day, Luke just wanted to see May, but with Jamie watching her every move, it had become harder and harder to sneak away unnoticed. There was only one place where they could go without Jamie finding them, and that was May's favorite spot that overlooked one of the pastures. They agreed to meet there every night after everyone was asleep.

"Hey, sorry. Kayce stayed awake until nine. Did you get enough to eat at dinner?" May asked, handing him a sandwich. "Thanks," he smiled. "What's wrong?" She asked, noticing the sadness in his eyes. "Nothing's wrong," he replied, avoiding eye contact. May knew him too well to believe that. "I know you better than anyone else on this planet. Don't try to lie to me," May said. Luke let out a sigh. "Do you think I'll ever leave this place?" May laughed nervously. "What do you mean? Is that something you want?"

"I don't want to leave you. I want to leave this place. I want to be something, not relying on someone else my whole life. I want to be able to take care of you."

"What makes you think you can't?" May asked, Luke laughed. "Come on, May. I know you're not that naive. With my record," he sighed, trying to find the right words to say, "Someone like me will never be anything. I mean, if it weren't for this place, I'd be in jail or dead. It makes me wonder if this place is it for me, you know?"
"Let's just pretend all that shit doesn't matter, like we had all the money and power in the world. What would you want to do?" she asked. Luke chuckled, "Well, the first thing I'd do is run far away from your fucking psycho brother. But I don't know...I'd probably buy a place like this, except I wouldn't have to protect it the way we have to here. It would be peaceful, and I'd only hire kids like me, kids who just need someone to take a chance on them. I'd give them a home. You know, as much as I hate it here, this place is the best thing that's ever happened to me...You are the best thing that's ever happened to me." May smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "The world needs more people like you. You have a kind heart. That's a hard thing to come by these days."

"No, it's hard to come by around here." Luke said, as he looked up at the bleak, gray sky. "I hate it here," May looked up at him. He pulled her close, "I'm gonna take you away from here one day" She wrapped her arms around him. "You promise?"
"I promise," he said, holding her tight.

As John, Lee, Jaime, and the wranglers were herding cattle, Luke noticed one splitting off from the herd. He urged his horse forward to retrieve the runaway cow, but before he could reach it, he heard hooves quickly approaching him from behind. He turned to see Jaime barreling towards him at full speed. Luke's horse was spooked, and it took off into the woods with Jaime right behind him. Luke had little control over his horse, but he knew he couldn't let it stop running. As they rode, his heart pounded in his chest, and he tried to calm his horse down. Suddenly, he saw that he was about to be clotheslined by a low-hanging branch. He had no choice but to jump off the horse, knowing either way he would break something. The impact knocked the air out of him, and he laid gasping for breath. But he couldn't stay down for long. Jaime was running at him full speed. He barely had enough time to jump out of the way of Jaime and his horse. Still running, Jaime looked back, flipped him off, and went back with the herd like nothing had happened. Luke laid on the ground, his heart racing, as he watched Jaime disappear into the distance. He felt a mix of anger and fear, but he knew he had to get up and keep going. He slowly got to his feet, wincing in pain, and made his way to find his horse.