The Other Sister

17

Rip had woken up to find Lucy not in bed next to him. He checked the clock to see it was almost ten. He sighed and got up, getting himself ready for the day. As he went downstairs, he couldn't find Lucy anywhere. He stepped out onto the front porch and saw Beth sitting there on her laptop. "Have you seen Lucy?" He asked her. Beth looked up at him confused. "She didn't tell you where she was going?" She asked surprised and Rip just shook his head. "She's at her doctor's appointment. I offered to go with her but she told me no." Rip's eye's widened. "Is she okay? She should have someone with her!" Beth sighed. "She's stubborn. Besides, she'll be fine. I told her to call me if she needed anything." Rip just shook his head and stormed off the porch. He was getting frustrated. He wanted Lucy to tell him and he was going to pry it out of her. They never kept secrets and he didn't understand why she hadn't come to him with the news yet. As he walked to the barn he started thinking about if this was not what she wanted and maybe that was why she was keeping it to herself. He hoped that wasn't the case. He loved her and was happy with having a baby. They just hadn't talked about it and they didn't know how the other would feel about it.
***
Lucy had just gotten back from her doctors appointment, pulling in and noticed the sheriff's car in front of the barn. She pulled up and parked, getting out to see her brother Jamie and Jimmy. "What's going on?" She asked Jamie curiously and he just shrugged. Lucy watched the heartbroken expression on Jimmy's face and knew something bad had happened. Lucy walked up to him. "Jimmy, what happened?" She asked worried. "They killed him. I paid and they still killed him." Lucy could see the hurt in his eyes. She reached out for him but he stormed angrily into the bunkhouse, coming back out with a baseball bat. He took to beating a tree with it. Lucy sighed and stood by Jamie, silently watching. Rip and the other wranglers rode up. Rip quickly dismounted, rushing over to Jimmy. "Hey! What's going on?!" He grabbed Jimmy, getting him to stop. "They killed him! I paid! I paid them!" Jimmy broke down. "I'm gonna kill em," he said determinedly. Rip looked over and noticed Lucy standing there. He paused for a moment and just looked at her, taking her in. He looked back at Jimmy. "Listen, let me help you take care of this. You have to do it right, okay? You gotta trust me. Let me help." Jimmy looked at Rip and nodded solemnly. Lloyd walked over and took Jimmy into the bunkhouse. Rip turned back and looked at Lucy. "Where have you been?" He asked sternly as he walked over to her. Lucy was caught off guard as he put her on the spot. She took a step back and Jamie looked over at her confused. "I had to run some errands," she said. Rip gave her a look. "Lucy, quite lying to me." Lucy thought he was angry and she shook her head. "I'm not!" Jamie took a step forward, wanting to defend his little sister. "Rip, back off!" Rip smirked at Jamie. "You back off, Lawyer Boy." Lucy looked at Rip with raised eyebrows. "We need to talk," Rip said and the color drained from Lucy's face. She silently nodded and started walking back up to the house. "You shouldn't be riding," she commented, not liking the silence between them. "I'm fine, honey." Lucy walked over to the adirondak chairs and sat down on one, Rip taking a seat next to her. "What do you know?" She asked, sensing he knew more than he was letting on. "Your sister told me you went to the doctor this morning and you obviously have not been yourself." Lucy sighed relieved that he actually didn't know about the baby. She grew nervous, her foot tapping against the grass. She looked down at her lap then up to Rip's intense gaze. She closed her eyes briefly as she worked up the courage. "I'm pregnant." Rip felt the weight leave his shoulders. He looked at her surprised. "We're having a baby?" He repeated. Lucy nodded slowly. "That's why I haven't been acting like myself," she said quietly. Rip looked at her. "Are you happy about it?" He asked. All he wanted to do was kiss her, but he had to make sure they were on the same page. "I am. I want this with you, but we've never talked about it. Is this what you want? We aren't even married and who knows what my dad will do to you once he finds out. I just don't know how to feel." Rip reached over and grabbed her hand. "Honey, don't worry about your dad. This is between us. I know this hasn't been a topic we've talked about much, but I'm happy if you're happy. I love you and I'll love this baby." Lucy started crying, feeling relieved that they both wanted this. Rip carefully knelt down in front of her, pulling her into his arms. Lucy gripped onto him. "We're having a baby," she whispered and Rip looked at her. "Yeah, darlin, we sure are." He cupped her face and kissed her with so much love Lucy thought she would melt right under him. When they pulled away, Rip gave her a serious look. "What did the doctor say?" He asked her. Lucy and Rip sat back up in their chairs. "Everything looks good. I'm a little over 7 weeks." Rip nodded and held her hand. "I wish you would have taken someone with you." Lucy sighed. "I wanted to go alone. Besides, I wanted to make sure everything was okay before I told you." Rip understood her reasoning but he still wished she would have told him so she didn't have to go alone. "Come on, honey." Rip stood up and held his hand out for her. She took it and stood. "Where are we going?" She asked confused. "I'm taking the rest of the day off," he said and Lucy couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you," she told him and he said it back. They went into the main house and spent the afternoon wrapped in each other's arms.
***
Lucy's phone started to ring. She grabbed it and saw Monica's name. She answered it. "Hello?" "Lucy, I need some help. I'm in a boutique in town." Lucy sat up worried. "Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up and got up to put her shoes on. "Where are you going?" Rip asked confused. "Monica's in trouble." Rip sat up upon hearing that. "You ain't going. Get Beth to do it." Lucy looked at Rip shocked. "She called me. I can't just throw it onto someone else." Rip stood up. "You're pregnant. You are not going. I never tell you what to do, but your safety is my number one priority. You don't even know what you're walking into!" Lucy knew Rip was right. "I'll call Beth," she reasoned. Lucy dialed her sister and told her that Monica needed help, where she was, and that she couldn't go because Rip didn't think it was a good idea. Beth agreed with Rip and told her sister that she would handle it. Lucy set her phone down and looked over at Rip. "There. Problem solved." Lucy rolled her eyes at the subtle smirk on Rip's face. She climbed back in bed and cuddled up to him. She ended up falling asleep. She woke up to the bed cold beside her, Rip no where to be found. She looked around confused before noticing the note on her nightstand. 'Going to take care of something. Be back late. Love you.' Lucy smiled gently at his thoughtfulness. She got up and went downstairs to grab something to eat since she missed dinner. She walked in the kitchen and saw her dad sitting at the kitchen counter. "Hi, daddy," she greeted him. "Hey, honey. You feel okay? Rip said you've been asleep for awhile." Lucy paused and looked at her dad. This seemed as good of a time to tell him since no one else was around. "Well, daddy, actually there is something I wanted to talk to you about..." she trailed off. John raised an eyebrow at her and pretended like he didn't know what was coming. "What is it, Lucy?" He asked. Lucy took a deep breath as she rested her hands on the counter in front of her. "Rip and I are going to have a baby," she said softly. John looked at her, trying to read her emotions. "I think that's the best news we've had around here in a long time, honey." John stood up and walked over to his daughter, who visibly relaxed at his reaction. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm happy for you as long as you're happy and if he makes you happy." Lucy nodded as she looked up at her father. "He does, daddy. I love him." John smiled down at his daughter and kissed her forehead. He glanced at the clock behind her. "Well, I guess Tate forgot about his ice cream and went on up to bed." Lucy looked at her father confused. "Tate never skips out on dessert, daddy," she informed him. John looked down at his daughter and felt a sense of dread wash over him. "I sent him out to go feed his horse," John stated. Upon hearing that, Lucy walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs to check his room. John stepped outside and when he saw Lucky standing in the front yard, he instantly knew something was wrong. "Monica!" Lucy called out. Monica walked out of her room. "What's wrong, Lucy?" She asked. "Is Tate in his room?" She asked and started walking to his closed door. "No. He's with John." John had made it up to the end of the hall. "No. I sent him to feed his horse and I thought he came in through a different door and up to bed." Monica looked at John wide eyed. Lucy's face turned pale when she saw Tate's room empty. Monica ran and put her shoes on. Lucy went to Beth's room and barged in. "Tate's missing," she told her sister. Beth looked up at Lucy shocked. "Missing?" She asked and Lucy just frantically nodded. Beth got up and followed her sister out into the darkness to begin the search.
***
The men looked confused as they pulled up to the barns and saw flashlights waving around. They got out of the truck and found Beth and Lucy. "What the hell is going on?" Rip asked. Lucy turned around and when she saw her brother she felt like she could throw up. "Kayce," she said cautiously. Kayce quickly became defensive. "What happened?" He demanded and took a step toward his sister. "It's Tate. We can't find him.." The look on Kayce's face was enough to bring tears to Lucy's eyes. Kayce took off and she turned to Rip. "He's missing?" Rip asked confused. "I know. Seems hard to imagine he would go missing on a ranch that is full of fucking people, but from what I can see it looks like half of my fucking men were gone!" John said pissed off as he stormed over. "Where the hell were all of you?" He demanded and Jimmy looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Rip looked over at John. "We were taking care of something, sir. It was urgent." John shook his head. "Start looking for my grandson," he told the men. Lloyd, Jimmy, and Ryan quickly started for the barn to grab a flashlight. Rip looked over at Lucy. "Are you okay?" He asked worried. She nodded. "Let's just find him," she pleaded and walked away. Rip stayed close to Lucy, not wanting her out of his sight. Lucy was hungry and felt exhausted, but she wasn't going to sit back and do nothing. It was early morning when they came across the tire tracks in the mud. "Hey! Did any of you drive back here?" Everyone shook their heads. Kayce ventured further but stopped, bending down to pick something up. When he turned around and Lucy saw Tate's boot, she thought she was going to throw up. Monica's scream filled the still air as she dropped to the ground. Lucy rushed over to her, pulling the anguished woman into her arms. Lucy looked up at Beth, fear filling her at the idea of bringing a child into this mess.