The Other Sister

10

"You were supposed to stay at the hospital," Lucy said as she stood in the doorway of her father's bedroom. It brought Lucy peace of mind seeing her father standing before her, but she still worried about his health. John looked over to see his youngest leaning against his bedroom doorframe with her arms crossed. He smiled. "I'm fine," he told her. "And yes I will go to the damn physical therapy." Lucy smirked slightly. "Good. You had no choice anyways." She stood up from leaning on the wood, a slight wince from her bruised side and was about to turn to go down stairs when her father called her back. "Lucy," he said gently. Once she was facing him again he said, "thank you for saving my life. I never wanted you to see me like that or be put in that position. I love you, honey." He pulled her into a hug. The image of her father's blood on her hands crossed into her mind and she felt tears in her eyes. "Let's not talk about it, daddy. The only thing that matters is that you're okay." She pulled away and gave him a small smile.
***
Lucy felt sick to her stomach as she sat in her father's office with Kayce. She sat quietly with a stone cold look on her face in the corner of the office as Kayce signed some papers. John glanced at his daughter and sighed knowing what this would do to their already fragile father daughter relationship, not to mention her relationship with Kayce. Kayce left the office when John dismissed him. John sighed and called for Rip to come up. Lucy stood as her father hung up the phone. "If you do this, I won't talk to you," she threatened and John just shook his head. "Honey, you're grown. Quite acting like a child." Lucy stormed out of the office and ran into Rip in the hallway. She had angry and sad tears in her eyes. She clung to his jacket. "Whatever happens, I love you and I swear I will fight them every fucking day if I have to to make sure you are treated the way you should be." Rip just let out a long sigh. "They're your family, honey. You can't stay mad at them. He's just doing what he thinks is best and I respect that. Now I love you too." He leaned down and kissed her gently. Lucy kissed him back then moved away, letting him walk to her father's office. She glanced down as he squeezed her hand, taking any strength she had to give. She squeezed his hand back tightly then watched as their fingertips swept apart from one another. She closed her eyes briefly feeling her heart break for the man she loved. Lucy walked outside and when her eyes landed on Kayce, she was ready to kill. She walked down to him. "How could you?!" She yelled at her brother. Kayce turned towards his little sister and his head turned back the other way as her palm collided with his cheek. The wranglers stopped what they were doing once Lucy came down. Kayce sighed and looked at his little sister. There were hot tears rolling down her face and her body shook slightly. "You just took away the only home he has ever had. You have ripped everything away from him! Why? You hate it here! Why are you here and not with your fucking family?!" Kayce set the shovel down and faced his sister completely. "Lucy, he's a bully! He had it coming to him. He's not his son, I am! This place will be mine and I'm here so I can leave it to my son!" Lucy got angrier at hearing his pathetic reasons. "Really Kayce? You want to talk about rights?! Where have you been the last seven years?! Where were you when dad needed help here?! Where were you when I needed my big brother?! Where were you when Lee needed you?!" She screamed and started pushing at his chest. "You don't belong here, Kayce! You think you can just walk back in and have everything handed to you! Rip has put his blood, sweat, and tears into this place while all you have ever done is run! It's what all of you have done! You hate it here, so leave because this land hates you right back!" Kayce stood there dumbfounded. Lucy was the only one Kayce chose to stay close with so hearing her talk like that to him was shocking. "You're choosing his side over your own brothers?" He questioned. "Yes," she said confidently. "Because unlike you, Rip has been there for me everytime I've needed someone. He's never ran. And I love him more than anything." Lucy walked away needing to cool off. She spotted her father and Rip standing on the porch watching her. She rolled her eyes knowing the whole ranch watched the exchange and to be honest it wasn't one of her best moments.
***
Beth sat down beside her on the porch stairs. "I heard what happened today. You ok?" She asked gently. Lucy glanced at her sister then back out at the land in front of her. "No. I'm mad. Rip has always been there for daddy and he took advantage of that because he knows Rip will do whatever he says." Beth nodded. "I know," was all she replied with. The pair sat in silence both lost in their own thoughts. Beth then stood up. "I'm going to go talk to Kayce," she said and walked off. Lucy sighed and went up to her bedroom, ignoring her father sitting in the den.
***
Lucy sat across from her brother the next night at dinner. She surveyed the bruises on his face in silence. Ryan had told her all about the fight Rip and Kayce had, Rip allowing Kayce to win to show who was now in charge. Lucy didn't like it one bit. "You feel tough?" She asked Kayce curiously. Beth let out a snort and John coughed on his drink. Kayce froze and looked at his sister. He didn't say anything and Lucy scoffed. "That's what I thought," she said and stood up. She walked out of the dining room. "It seems storming out of the dining room has gotten contagious," John commented, shooting Beth a pointed look. Lucy had gone outside and spotted Rip sitting in the field. She made her way over to him. She silently took a seat beside him. He never once looked over at her. He knew it was her, he could sense her presence. "You okay?" She asked softly. Lucy turned and looked at him. "Yeah. Just did what needed to be done." Lucy sighed. "You don't deserve this. The way you devote yourself to my father. He'll never take that into consideration. You could die for him and it still wouldn't matter." Rip turned and looked at her. "I don't care. This is my home and this is my family. Whether you all see me as that or not, I'm staying." Lucy nodded. "I know," she said and grabbed his hand. "You're my family. I love you." Rip gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I love you too, darlin." He placed a kiss to her forehead, allowing his lips to linger for a moment.
***
That night Lucy laid in bed, unable to sleep without Rip beside her. She thought about what was going to happen between them now that he was back in the bunkhouse and not foreman. She knew it was going to be harder to see him and have alone time with him. Lucy let out a sigh hoping everything would be alright.