The Other Sister

20

Lucy sat on the porch of her and Rip's new cabin. "I'll be back in a little while. Will you be alright here?" Rip spoke as he stepped out onto the porch. "I'll be fine," Lucy replied while she sipped on her coffee. Rip sighed and kissed her head. "I wish you were coming with me," Rip confessed. "Oh believe me, I do too. There is nothing worse than being alone on this ranch." Rip smirked at hearing that. "You have your sister," he teased and Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'm confident she feels the exact same way." Rip cupped Lucy's chin and looked her in the eye. "Listen, honey, you call if you need me, alright?" Lucy smirked slightly at Rip's protectiveness over her. "I will." Rip gave a nod then leaned down to press his lips against hers. Lucy smiled against his lips, kissing him back. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you too, darlin. I'll be back before you know it." He stood up straight then made his way down the stairs and out of sight. Lucy sighed and set her mug down, curling up on the chair and closing her eyes.
***
"Is this all you do now?" Beth quipped as she shook on Lucy's shoulder. "What?" Lucy groaned out annoyed and shifted in the chair. "Sleep," Beth smirked before taking a seat beside her sister. Lucy looked at her sister and grimaced at the soreness in her neck. "What do you want?" Lucy asked and brushed some of her hair back away from her face. "I figured you were alone too and could use some company," Beth shrugged nonchalantly but Lucy could see through it. Beth didn't want to be alone. Lucy gave her sister a small smile. "I wouldn't mind some company. Are you hungry?" Lucy stood up and motioned for Beth to follow her into the cabin. "A little," Beth answered and sat down at the kitchen counter. Lucy decided on making a huge salad, not really in the mood to eat anything heavy for fear of throwing it all back up again. The sisters ate in comfortable silence. "How do you like the cabin?" Beth broke the silence. Lucy looked around briefly before nodding. "I love it. Still needs a few more decorations to make it feel like a home, but so far it's coming together. I still need to grab the rest of my belongings from the house." Beth took a drink of water before offering to help Lucy grab them. They finished up lunch and found themselves up in Lucy's old bedroom at the main house. "Is this the baby?" Beth asked quietly as she pulled out the sonogram pictures from Lucy's nightstand. Lucy glanced over at the pictures. "Yeah," she nodded and took a seat beside Beth on the edge of her bed. "Wow," Beth breathed out. Lucy felt her heart ache for her sister. "If you want, you can come with me to my next appointment," Lucy offered. Beth's eyes remained glued to the sonogram pictures as her mind wandered into thoughts of what it would have been like to see her own child in this form. When Beth didn't answer her, Lucy looked to see Beth's far off look. "Hey," she said gently and laid her hand on Beth's back. Beth snapped out of. "Hmm?" She looked over at Lucy. "Nothing," Lucy gave her a small smile. She decided to not ask the question again for fear of overstepping. Lucy stood back up and threw in the last few clothing items into a box. "Well, I'm all packed," Lucy announced. Beth forced a smile and stood up. "You had more clothing than I thought," she remarked. Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'll have Rip move the boxes. I didn't think I would have this much either to be honest." Beth set the sonogram pictures down on top of one of the boxes. "Do you want to stay here until Rip is done working?" Beth offered. Lucy smiled and nodded. "Sure. We can go watch tv or something like when we were little." Lucy grabbed Beth's hand and dragged her downstairs. That was where Rip found them after he finished hiring a new hand at the job fair they held. "There you are," Rip announced as he walked inside. Lucy looked over at him and smiled. "Here I am!" She stood up to greet him. He kissed her on the cheek. "You finish packing?" He asked gently. "Yes. A few boxes are up in my old room that I need you to bring to the cabin please." Rip nodded and went to retrieve them. Lucy turned to look back at her sister. "I'm going to head home with Rip. Are you okay here? You're more than welcome to join us for dinner." Beth smiled gently and shook her head. "You go ahead. I got some work I'm gonna do anyways." Lucy nodded and kissed Beth's cheek. "Call me if you need anything. Rip had told me daddy doesn't have any cell service so he won't get your calls." Beth nodded and watched Lucy and Rip walk out of the lodge.
***
Rip admired Lucy on the short ride from the main house to their cabin, noticing how it seemed like her skin glowed. She looked over at him and blushed. "What?" She smiled sheepishly. "You're beautiful," Rip told her. He reached over and held her hand. "You've always been beautiful but something about you now. You seem more beautiful to me than ever." Lucy squeezed his hand. "It's because I'm having your baby," she teased. Rip grinned at hearing that come out of her mouth. "I could get used to hearing that." They reached the cabin, Rip putting the truck in park. Lucy looked up at him. "Good because it isn't going away anytime soon." Lucy leaned up and kissed him. "I love you," she said against his lips. Rip pulled her as close as he could, the middle console in the way. "I love you," he murmured back.