Chapter Text
"Beth!" I call out as I step out of my room in a black, v-neck dress, still unzipped, and beat on my sister's door. With no response, I head downstairs in search of Dad. As soon as I hit the bottom step, it hits me that Dad had left early for some "business," and Jamie was at his campaign office. Clutching the top of my dress close to my chest, I slip on my heels and make my way down to the bunkhouse. Loudly knocking on the door, I wait a few seconds before opening it and walking in.
“Don’t you look pretty Clarabell” Lloyd comments as I close the door, causing all the cowboys to look up from their poker game.
I shoot Lloyd a smile and blush at the sudden attention. "Sorry to interrupt y’alls game, but there's nobody at the lodge, and I can't get this dress zipped. Can one of y'all lend a hand?" I ask. Suddenly the men at the table begin to offer their help all at once.
“I’m out. Finish this round without me,” Ryan announces loudly, setting his cards down. The other cowboys quiet down and resume their game of poker as Ryan makes his way over to me. "I swear, you came down here just to stir up trouble," he says with a mischievous grin.
I laugh. "'Stir up trouble'? You sound like an old man."
“Do you want me to zip your dress or not? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure one of these boys here would love to put his hands all over you” he says in a low voice.
“Are you saying you’re gonna put your hands all over me?” I tease. He chuckles, handing me his beer before stepping behind me. Ryan gently brushes my curled hair over my right shoulder, his calloused fingers sending shivers down my spine as he starts to slowly zip up my dress. "So, are we still on for tomorrow night?" he whispers softly, his breath warm against my neck.
"Uh... yeah," I reply, feeling my cheeks flush with warmth. Once he finishes, I turn to face him, eager to change the subject. "Hey, why aren't you going tonight? I heard the other livestock agents will be there."
Ryan finishes his beer before responding. “I’m only a reserve livestock agent, so I didn’t have to go. And by the time I realized you were going, it was too late to rent a suit."
“You can borrow one of Lee’s,” I suggest.
“Only if you think he wouldn’t mind,” Ryan replies.
I give him a reassuring smile and place my hand on his arm. “I think he’d be okay with it. Besides, his suit has probably been sitting in his closet collecting dust since last year's Stockman’s Dinner”
Ryan pats his pockets. “Let me grab my wallet, then we’ll head out”
/
“You don’t have to come in with me,” Ryan says as we reach the front door of Lee’s house.
"I'll be fine," I assure him, taking a deep breath before reaching for the door handle. With a slow turn, I push the door open, revealing the familiar interior that hasn't changed since the day Lee passed away.
"Are you okay?" Ryan's voice breaks the silence as he closes the door behind him.
"Yeah," I reply, my voice steady as I navigate through the living room. I feel Ryan's concerned gaze on me as I approach Lee's bedroom door. "His suit should be in here," I inform him, reaching for the handle and stepping into the room. The unmade bed and open closet door are painful reminders of Lee's absence. “It should be in his closet,” I say as I walk over and sit on the edge of the unmade bed.
“I see it. Let me change, then we'll head out," Ryan says, disappearing into the bathroom with Lee's suit. A few minutes later, he comes out with his tie undone. "You wouldn't happen to know how to tie a tie, would you?" he asks as he walks over to me.
"Of course I do," I reply, standing up and flipping the collar of his shirt. As I begin to tie his tie, I can feel the warmth of his eyes on me. Finishing the knot, I instinctively smooth down Ryan’s suit. Realizing what I'm doing, I quickly stop and start to apologize. "I'm sorry, I'm just used to making sure my brothers look put together when we go to events like this."
"Don't worry about it. We should head out soon if we don't want to be late," Ryan says with a reassuring smile.
/
Ryan and I breezed into the Stockman's Dinner with just five minutes to spare. I loop my arm through Ryan's and drag him along to our assigned table.
“You look very handsome tonight Dad,” I comment as I lean in to kiss my father's cheek. Ryan pulls out a chair for me, and I quietly take my seat.
Ryan extends his hand to shake my father's. "Good to see you tonight, sir," he says with a polite nod.
"Glad you decided to join us, Ryan," Dad replies, shaking his hand warmly. As Ryan settles into the seat beside me, a petite woman approaches our table and whispers something in my father's ear. "If you two would excuse me, I have to make the benediction," Dad informs us before heading towards the podium on stage.
As Dad begins his speech, I discreetly pull out my phone and send urgent texts to my brother and sister, wondering where they could be. “Since 1886, every Dutton who died is buried 300 yards from my back porch. From my great-great-grandfather to my wife, and my oldest son. When a tree grows on my ranch, I know exactly what fed it, and that's the best we can hope for because nothing we do is for today. Ranching is the only business where the goal is to break even. Survive another season. Last long enough for your children to continue the cycle, and maybe, just maybe, the land is still theirs when a tree sprouts from you.” As Dad finishes, I catch a flicker of irritation on his face before he removes his hat. “Lord God, give us rain and a little luck, and we'll do the rest. Amen.”
I catch the angered look on my father's face as he puts his hat back on and makes his way back to our table. "Loved the speech, Dad," I say with a smile as he sits down.
“Where the hell are your siblings?” Dad grumbles, clearly frustrated.
"Last I heard, Jamie was at his campaign office, and Beth was... well, only God knows where," I reply, shrugging. "I've texted them both with no response. But hey, relax, Dad. Ryan was just about to fetch us some wine, right?" I shoot Ryan a pleading look.
"I was?" Ryan looks slightly confused but then catches on. "Oh, right. Red or white, sir?"
"Whiskey," Dad grumbles before Ryan heads off. "Your brother should be here, campaigning for votes instead of wherever the hell he is, and I don't even want to think about where your sister is," Dad complains.
"I am not my siblings' keeper," I say sharply. "Lee's gone, Daddy, and I'm not his replacement. I became a vet because you asked me to, I moved back home because you asked me to, and I even showed up to this lame-ass dinner because you asked me to. I do whatever you tell me without even a second thought. It's unfair to ex–" I cut myself off mid-rant as Ryan arrives back at our table with our drinks.
Ryan hands Dad and me our drinks. "Hope I'm not interrupting, but that dance floor looks mighty empty. Mind if I steal Clara away for a dance before it starts to fill up?" he asks.
"I'm sure Dad will agree when I say you were only interrupting my useless rambling," I say, shooting a pointed look at my father. Downing the rest of my wine, I turn to Ryan with a smile. "I would love to dance."
Two hours and five glasses of wine later, the dinner came to an end, and Ryan and I found ourselves heading back to the ranch.
After about 30 minutes of quiet driving, Ryan glanced over at me from the driver's seat with a curious expression.“I noticed things seemed a little tense between you and your dad. Want to talk about it?"
"I might have shared a thought or two while you were off getting drinks," I admit with a shrug, reaching down to kick off my heels.
“So that’s why you were so eager to dance with me” Ryan teases with a mischievous grin.
I laugh, shaking my head. "Eager? You must have me confused with someone else."
"I think you might have just had a bit too much to drink," Ryan suggests. "Your dad mentioned he spotted a Grizzly in the north pasture. I'd bet Rip'll have a couple of wranglers haze it out of here."
Resting my arm on the center console, I prop my head up to look at Ryan. "It's probably gonna be more like 'shoot and shut the fuck up.' I'm not saying I condone breaking federal laws, but last time we had a bear on our side of the fence, it killed 50 calves in two weeks."
The remainder of the ride was filled with peaceful silence, the gentle hum of the radio accompanying the soft tapping of rain on the window. When we pulled up to the lodge, Ryan immediately headed for my door, while I struggled to wrangle my heels back on in my slightly tipsy state.
“Let me carry you to the porch,” Ryan offers.
"No, I can manage," I insist, swatting away his outstretched hand and clumsily making my way out of the truck. My first few steps proved to be a wobbly mess, prompting Ryan to scoop me up and carry me the rest of the way to the porch. Once we reached the front door, Ryan gently set me back on my feet, his hands lingering on my hips as my arms remained draped around his neck. "I guess I didn't quite have it," I admit, feeling a flush creeping into my cheeks.
“Do you need help getting to your room?” Ryan innocently asks.
I swayed a little, and Ryan's grip on my hips tightened. "I think I can manage, but if not, the couch is pretty comfy," I joked, trying to ease my nerves. "I've got an early thing with Dad tomorrow, so I really should be getting to bed."
Ryan leaned in and planted a quick peck on my cheek. "Thanks for dragging me along to that dinner," he says sincerely.
Moving my hands from around his neck to the collar of his shirt, I replied, "You made it bearable for me."
With a smile, Ryan released his grip on my hips and reached behind me to swing the door open. "See you tomorrow, Clara," he says before I step inside the dark house.
I walked through the door with a grin, reluctantly shutting it behind me. Kicking off my heels, I headed to bed and hoped for a restful sleep.
/
The next morning, I woke up with a drumming headache. After a quick shower and change, I headed downstairs in search of some coffee. After downing a cup by myself, I took my second one outside, where I found Dad and Rip watching the odd sight of my sister attempting to mount a horse with the help of the new cowboy, Walker.
“First good thing I've seen in weeks,” Dad remarked as I joined him and Rip at their spot on the fence.
“New hand's a real horse whisperer, huh?” I commented to Rip before taking a sip of my coffee.
“Yeah, he is something,” Rip replied, though his gaze remained on Beth and Walker.
“I saw a Grizzly in the north pasture,” Dad informs Rip
“I know, I saw him down there by the river,” Rip confirmed.
“Let's bring all the fall calves down. Get everything to the barn.” Dad ordered before heading back towards the house. Pouring out my coffee, I trail behind him for a couple of paces until he abruptly stops and turns to me. "What are you doing?" he questions.
"Going with you to your CT scan," I reply, puzzled. "We talked about this last week."
"I want you to help Rip get those calves moved and find a solution to our bear problem," Dad countered.
“But I–”
"Clara, I'm trusting you to handle this problem for me," Dad interrupted firmly.
“Yes, sir," I acquiesce before swiftly turning towards the barn, only to have my arm grabbed, stopping me in my tracks.
"I'm not expecting you to replace Lee; no one can do that. But I do expect you to help fill some of the holes he left," Dad said sternly, releasing my arm.
I nodded silently and continued on my way to the barn. Inside, all the cowboys were finishing saddling their horses in silence. “Do y’all mind having an extra rider?” I ask the men as I approach Sundance’s stall.
A chorus of “No’s” arises from the men. “‘Specially not a rider as pretty as you,” A deep Texas drawl added.
I looked over to see a skinny, bearded man wearing a gray Stetson. "You must be the new ranch hand, Walker. I'm Clara," I introduced myself, extending my hand for a handshake.
Walker took my hand and kissed the back of it. "What's a pretty girl like you doing on a place like this?" he asked with a grin.
Before I could respond, a loud, gruff voice interrupted us. "Clara! Get your horse saddled. I'm sending you with Ryan, Jimmy, and Walker to take care of our bear problem."
Startled by Rip, I swiftly withdrew my hand from Walker's and refocused on saddling Sundance. After securing every strap, I gave his saddle a firm tug before leading him out of the barn to rendezvous with the other cowboys. With a quick mount onto Sundance, I rode over to where Ryan, Jimmy, and Walker were. "What's the plan?" I ask the men as I approach their huddle.
Ryan met my gaze from atop his horse. "We'll start from the river and work our way to the north pasture."
I nodded in understanding and fell into line beside Ryan as we embarked on our quest to locate the bear. For the next two hours, I quietly scoured the terrain for any sign of the bear, all the while mulling over the impending "outing" with Ryan. Was it merely a friendly gathering, or did it mean something more? If I brought it up with Ryan and he saw it differently, what would it mean for our friendship? These uncertainties, among countless others, swirled through my mind as I rode alongside Ryan at the front of our search party.
"What's wrong with you?" Ryan's question pulls me away from the anxious thoughts swirling in my head.
"Nothing. Just lost in thought," I reply, trying to mask the commotion in my head.
"About what?" He presses, guiding our horses along the bear track trail.
"Tonight," I offer hesitantly.
"What about it?" He asks cautiously.
"Whether tonight's dinner and drinks in Bozeman are just a casual hangout or maybe something more," I admit, bracing myself for his response.
Ryan's arched eyebrows and widened eyes speak volumes, confirming my fears. Before he can vocalize his answer, Walker rides up alongside us, cutting the tension. “So you wanna walk me through what the fսck we're doing here?” he asks Ryan as we maneuver our horses down a steep ravine and into a shallow creek.
“Looking for a bear,” Ryan says to the newcomer.
“What're we supposed to do when we find it?” Walker questions.
“Shoot, shovel, and shut the fսck up,” Ryan answers before taking his horse up the side of the creek.
I shadow Ryan's lead as he navigates us through a dense cluster of trees. Upon arriving at a small clearing, I seize the opportunity to address the matter at hand. "Ryan, let's just–” My words falter as I glance up from smoothing Sundance's mane and lock eyes with the large presence of a grizzly bear.
“Jimmy, hand me the rifle. Give me the fսcking rifle.” Ryan demands firmly from the younger man”
“I thought you said you were gonna grab the rifle.” Jimmy nervously whispers.
Ryan turns to me. “Clara, did you bring a gun?”
“When have I ever carried a gun?” I quickly retort.
“You got a gun on you?” Ryan questions Walker.
“I can't have no gun. I'm a goddamn felon.” Walker informs.
“So what do we do?” Jimmy whispers, his voice trembling.
“Story of my fսcking life. Okay, we're gonna haze it out of here.” Ryan mutters in frustration. Ryan looks at each of us before clarifying the plan. “We're gonna run right at it.”
“That sounds like a really bad idea.” Jimmy sheepishly adds.
“Ready?” Ryan asks us as he adjusts his reins. “Come on” Ryan shouts as we spur our horses forward toward the bear, whooping and hollering. But as soon as the grizzly takes notice of us and starts charging at us, we quickly pivot our horses back in the direction we came from. As we take a moment to catch our breath, I realize Jimmy is nowhere in sight. Suddenly, his panicked cries for help pierce the air from behind us. I wheel Sundance around just in time to spot Jimmy scrambling up a nearby tree, the bear swiping at him from below.
“How good a friend is this sumbitch?” Walker asks me as I unhook my rope from my saddle.
“How good do you rope?” Ryan asks Walker as he starts to widen his loop.
“A bit early to get this western, ain't it?” Walker quips.
“This is Montana” I chuckle back to the cowboy.
“Am I heading or heeling?” Walker directs his question at both Ryan and me.
“Whichever you can catch,” Ryan says before charging at the bear, rope swinging.
Walker lands his rope around the bear’s neck and quickly secures his rope to his saddle and begins dragging the bear away from Jimmy. My swing lands my rope at the bear's hind legs and I quickly tie my rope around my saddlehorn. Ryan comes up behind me and catches the bear's head and he joins Walker and me in dragging the bear across the tree line. Walker is the first to untie his rope from his saddle horn with Ryan and I following this lead soon after. We make our way back to where Jimmy is shimming down the tree. Walker deftly loops his rope around the bear's neck, swiftly securing it to his saddle before attempting to drag the thrashing animal away from Jimmy. My lasso finds its mark around the bear's hind legs, and I quickly fasten it to my saddlehorn. Ryan arrives on the scene, looping the bear's head, and together we join Walker in dragging the animal across the tree line. Following Walker's lead, we each untie our ropes from our saddlehorns. With the bear safely relocated, we turn our horses back to where Jimmy is cautiously descending the tree.
“What's your name?” Walker shouts to the frazzled young man.
“Jimmy.” the out-of-breath boy replies.
"Jimmy, you owe me a rope," Walker stated as we rode our horses past him.
“Hey, where's my horse?” A confused Jimmy asks from behind us.
“Halfway to Kentucky. One of these days we'll find one you don't fall off of.” Ryan jokes back.
“Hey, can you guys walk a little slower?” Jimmy's plea trails behind us as he struggles to keep up on foot.
“Fսck you, Jimmy,” Ryan yells back to the young man.
“Yeah, fսck you, Jimmy,” Walker chimes in.
I brought Sundance to a stop and waited for Jimmy to catch up. "Hop on with me, Jimmy," I offered, reaching out a hand to the young man. He accepted my offer and pulled himself onto the back of Sundance.
/
As soon as we get back to the ranch I slide off of Sundance and hand the reins to Jimmy. “For giving your sorry ass a ride back, you can put up Sundance. Make sure he drinks some water before you put him back in his stall.” I direct the young man before glancing at my buzzing phone.
From Dad:
Get to the house as soon as you can. Monica is in the hospital. I left Beth in charge of Tate.
As Jimmy begins leading Sundance towards the barn, Ryan stops him, “While you're at it Jimmy do the same for Bruce” Ryan tells the young man before handing him his own horse's reins and heading over to me. "We need to talk," he says, grabbing my arm and leading me to the side of the barn.
“Ryan, I don't really want to talk about this," I begin, scrambling to find the right words to wrap things up. "I think I was reading into the situation more than I needed to. I don't–”
Before I can finish my sentence, Ryan's lips crash against mine, his kiss urgent and firey. His hands slide around my lower back, drawing me nearer, while I instinctively reach up, knocking his hat off and threading my fingers through his hair. After a few minutes of getting completely lost in the moment, I finally reluctantly pulled back from his kiss needing a moment to catch my breath. I move my hands from Ryan's hair to his button-up shirt collar, trying to steady myself.
"I can't even begin to tell you how long I've been waiting to do that," Ryan says, his breath hitching slightly. "I've never been great at putting my feelings into words, especially with you, it's like all the words get tangled up, and I just can't find the right ones. When I asked you to dinner, I hoped I'd find them somehow. So, Clara, would you be up for going on a date with me tonight?"
I hesitate for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. “Yes… no. Not no no just not tonight.," I mumble, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement fluttering in my chest. “Monica is in the hospital and Dad left Tate with Beth. I want to go out but I need to be here tonight”
“That’s fine. I know how important your family is to you. If you find some time to sneak off let me know. It is my night to cook for the bunkhouse.” Ryan replies, his hands shifting to rest gently on my hips.
Feeling the vibration in my back pocket, I know it's time for me to head up to the house and take Tate off of Beth’s hands. "I hate to kiss and run, but duty calls. I gotta go up to the lodge and take care of Tate," I say, smoothing out the wrinkles from our heated embrace on Ryan's button-up. Ryan pulls me in by my hips for one last quick, passionate kiss before letting me go to attend to Tate. As I move away, he bends down to pick up his cowboy hat, dusting it off with a grin.