Gracie Dutton

13

Gracie woke up confused when she felt someone else lying in bed beside her. She jumped and quickly sat up as fear consumed her. She instantly relaxed though when she saw it was Ryan. "You okay?" He asked groggy and rubbed his eyes. Her jumping and moving in the bed had woken him up. Gracie swallowed and nodded. "Yes. Just was scared for a second." Ryan looked over at her and felt bad that she had to go through the aftermath of the trauma she endured. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. "You sleep okay?" He asked as he brought their intertwined hands down to rest on his chest. Gracie smiled gently at the action. "Yes. I sleep better when someone is with me. I don't like being alone." Ryan gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what happened last night." Gracie looked down into Ryan's eyes and let out a sigh. "Nothing new. We were having dinner and my mom and uncle Jamie got into it. I stayed neutral, but let my mom know that I didn't think she helped the situation. She wanted to start getting into it with me so I walked out onto the porch to be alone. It somehow felt peaceful out there in the darkness. I got this boost of confidence just to walk out into it, away from all the drama that is my family...so, that's what I did. Then I realized what the fuck I was actually doing and started to panic. That's when you found me." Ryan sighed and sat up. "I'm sorry. I don't like you being put in the middle of their battles." Ryan kissed the side of Gracie's head. She shrugged. "Kinda hard not to be when their main battle pertains to me." Gracie got up and went into the bathroom, turning the shower on. Ryan got up and followed her, wanting to shower as well. "You care if I-" Ryan's words got caught in his throat as he saw Gracie standing there completely naked. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Get in," she told him. She stepped into the shower as Ryan practically was ripping his clothing off. Once he got in the shower, he took the time to rake his eyes up and down her body, taking note of the scaring over certain parts. Gracie shifted uncomfortably under the stream of water when she noticed Ryan staring at her. Suddenly he cupped her face, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "You're beautiful," he whispered. Gracie was caught off gaurd by his honesty. She felt her eyes water as she looked up at him. Gracie and Ryan washed up, each one briefly gliding a hand over the other's body or giving each other sweet kisses, but nothing more. After their shower, they got out and ready for the day. Gracie sighed and brushed through her wet hair. "What are you thinking about?" Ryan asked her as he leaned against the bathroom doorway all ready for the day. Gracie finished brushing her hair before turning to face him. "Just life," she shrugged. Ryan walked up to her and cupped her face. "Are you going to be alright today?" He asked, knowing he had to get to work. Gracie nodded. Ryan leaned down and kissed her slowly. She melted under him. "Promise you'll come back tonight," she whispered against his lips. Ryan smiled. "I'll try my best, baby." Gracie walked Ryan out of the house before she went in the kitchen to eat something. She took notice of how the house was empty and she felt lonely. Every creak and shift the house made, she thought it was going to pick up and walked off with her stuck inside. She settled for a premade smoothie Gator had in the fridge before she went out onto the porch. Her shoulders dropped in relief when she saw her grandfather walking up the hill towards the house. A smile formed on his lips when he saw Gracie sitting there. "Morning, honey." He spoke as he walked up the porch steps and over to his granddaughter. He kissed her head. "Morning," she replied. "Where is everyone?" She asked curiously. "Working. You know there are always things to be done working on a ranch." He took a seat beside her. "You alright after last night? I-uh know how your mother is. She's stubborn but she loves you more than anything." Gracie glanced over at him. "I know. She just doesn't know when to quit. It's draining. I've moved on. Why can't she?" John puffed out some air upon hearing her question. "Because it's different for her. You'll understand one day if you become a mother. She wanted what was best for you. She trusted all of us to keep her secret and Jamie didn't do that. He betrayed her trust." Gracie sighed. "I understand that. But there has to be a point when enough is enough." John laughed at that. "Then you don't know your mother as well as I thought you did, honey." Gracie stood up and shook her head. "I guess not," she muttered before walking off the porch. Gracie walked down to the stables. Her tense shoulders relaxed when she saw Rip standing outside the corral on the phone. She didn't see any other wranglers around. Rip noticed her approaching and motioned her over. "She's fine. She just walked down here. Let me talk to her, alright? I'll call you back in a minute." Gracie figured that he was on the phone with Beth and she leaned agaisnt the wooden rail. Rip hung up the phone and looked over at his daughter. "You got your mama all worried and guilty about last night." Rip rested his arms on the rail. Gracie looked at him and shrugged. "Not my fault." Rip shot her a look. "Yes. Your fault. I know you're upset and I know she doesn't help situations, but cornering your mother like that is only going to make things worse. Then when you ran off like you did, she blamed herself. She couldn't sleep last night. You need to talk to her." Gracie looked at him in disbelief. "This is my fault?" She scoffed. "After what I've been through? Maybe she should be more considerate and not act like a spoiled brat all the time just because things don't go her way! Maybe Jamie was right. I would have been better off away from here." Gracie stormed off as she felt the hot angry tears bubbling to the surface. Rip stood there, her words the equivalent as if she slapped him. Gracie made her way back up to the lodge, heading straight for her bedroom. She felt her chest constrict as the panic was setting in. She grabbed her phone and dialed Jamie's number. "Hello?" He answered. "I need to talk to you," she blurted out. Jamie was confused and excused himself from the meeting he was in to go out in the hallway. "What's going on?" He asked. Gracie took a deep breath. "What do I need to do if I want to transfer from online school to in person school?" Jamie was confused on where this was coming from. "You want to transfer schools?" He asked for clarification. "Yes. I want to get away from here." Jamie let out a breath and held the bridge of his nose. "Your parents are going to kill me, Gracie." "Please," she begged. He sighed again. "Where do you want to go?" He asked, praying that it was somewhere still in state. "Montana State University."