Lipstick and Branding

"I'm gonna be asking your sister on a date."
This caused Ginni to bring Vegas, her buckskinned Gypsy Vanner to a halt. The wranglers continued their trek ahead, to fix another fence post. For as long as she has known both Rip and her sister, neither one of them are the romantic type, so this has got to be good.

"Jesus, how long have you two been fucking? It's about time you do something about it. "
Ginni laughed trotting circles around Rip.
"What did you have in mind?"

"There's this music festival, I was hoping she'd come."
Rip shrugged, scanning the pasture for any imperfections that could compromise the cattle or the ranch.

"A music festival?"
Shit, Ginni knew her sister too well. She would never go for something like that.
"Shit, Rip... I bet you twenty dollars she denies ya."
Ginni laughed, easiest twenty dollars she had ever made.

"You're on."
He tipped his hat, signaling we have an accord. He dove his heels into the belly of the horse, causing the beast to break out in a full run, allowing Rip to catch up with the rest of the wranglers.

It was about ten in the morning, by the time all of us got back to the barn and stables. John informed everyone he was going to try and break the Mustang, Kayce brought over. He was a beautiful dusty grey bronco. He had a hell of a buck to him and a strong spirit. Ginni on the other hand chose to hike back up to the house and take a bath. She had no desire to watch her father break another horse; she been doing it her whole life, sans the time she spent in Salt Lake. Going to the University of Utah was a whole different culture shock alone, there was everyone from Mormon Yuppies, Eccentric Hipsters all the way to the Eldergoths. There were hardly any cowboys around; those that did live on a suburb farm thought they were wranglers had no clue what it was like to live on a ranch. They would shit themselves if they had to work one day on the Dutton ranch, let alone any ranch in Texas. There were very few real ranches in Utah, or at least what Ginni has seen. a lot of them are what most equestrians and wranglers would call a "wanch." It was like a ranch, just very small. Ginni had followed a different path, her first week in Salt Lake, her dormmate invited her to the only underage club in the city of Salt. Area 52 was a dark dingy, place. It crawled of goths, drunks, predators, ditzy girls with their frat boyfriends trying to work their way into a clothing optional after party. The least to say, It scared Ginni at first. But, she started going on the slower nights and began becoming more acquainted with the staff and a few of the regulars that frequented the former slaughter house.
Once Beth came into town to work with Schwartz and Meyer and Ginni was freshly twenty-one; they bar hopped every night, even on a school night. Ginni, to this day wondered how she managed to get rip roaring drunk with her sister and still manage to get straight A's every semester. Throughout the years, Ginni darkened her style. Her fond of serial killers and music heavily influenced this style, while Salt Lake's strong paranormal magnetic pull may have factored into it as well. Ginni spent most of her time exploring the mountains and all the non-marked, famous landmarks that the Salty city had to offer.

Taking a deep breath, Genevieve slowly lowered her body into the steamy, aromatic water. She decided to take over her father's master bath, it was slightly larger than the claw footed tub in the bathroom the four of us shared as kids. the master bath was larger garden tub that overlooked the corral. Black and white tile encased the porcelain basin, like a delicate coffin. A coffin that could easily drown a soul. The air was way too cold and crisp for Ginni to ride up the river a bit and go for a swim in one of the beaver ponds. She would get hypothermia within a matter of minutes. Water was always therapeutic to her, regardless of how many times her brothers and father had to save her from being swept away by the current.
The water engulfed her like a weighted blanket, the scent of rose perforated her nose as she soaked. She thought about her brother and what the consequences of his actions at Daybreak have caused. She heard her father taking about the Crow Tribal Commissioner, as well as the second body found at the scene of the gunfight, was Monica's, Kayce's brother-in-law. She had a feeling thing were not going to get easier. Ginni contemplated heading back to Salt Lake and packing everything up and moving back to Montana. Her other option was to leave Paradise Valley and never returning.

Hooting and hollering coming from outside knocked Ginni out of her train of thought. She sat up, allowing her to peer down to the corral. It looks as if her father and Rip and duct taped the new hand, Jimmy to the saddle of the bronco and was being thrashed around like a rag doll.
Rolling her eyes, she sat down and continued to relax.

Ginni didn't mean to doze off. Yelling woke her from her nap, the water was ice cold. 'Welp. I'm gonna get sick.' she thought to herself while she pulled the plug and got out of the tub; she wrapped the plush towel around her body and grabbed he clothes and exited the master bathroom. She tipped toed her father’s room, since technically no one knows she's there. Opening the door, she ran chest first into a hard for.

"Well, Hi Miss Gin. "
Ginni looked up to meet stormy blue eyes. Her cheeks flushed apple red as she tightens the towel around her form. It was a little too short, but it worked, covering what was needed.

"Uh, Hi Ryan...What are you doing up here?"
She stammered the last part. She wasn't this shy around men, when she would go to the club she was in far skimpier outfits than a mere towel. But this, this was different. Ryan made her feel like a sixteen-year-old boy crazy girl, near her first crush.

"Your father asked me to find you. I heard the water drain so I figured you were here."
He shrugged; his eyes raked over the tattoos that covered her body. He had never seen a woman with so much art etched into their skin. He was in awe and wanted to do nothing more than pick her up, take her to her bedroom and explore every line mark on the alabaster skin.

"Oh shit. Ok, I'll be down in a minute."
Ginni slid past the wrangler, brushing up against his form as she escaped the tight hallway. She turned around to look at him,
"You know, you can watch me walk away."
She smirked before turning back around and heading to her room.
Ryan's blue eyes dropped to the two globes peeking out of from under the stark white towel.

"Sweet Jesus, fuck. I am a dead man."
Ryan muttered to himself as he descended the stairs and made his way back to the rest of the boys.

As soon as Ginni entered her room, a shit eating grin painted its self across her face as she dropped the dirty clothes in the hamper; Her sister told her that trick works every time. Hoping it did. She slid on a pair of clean jeans an AC/DC T-shirt, the same boots and a black leather coat, embellished with leather fringe on the back and heart shaped decorations. Before leaving the room, she braided her hair into a single Dutch braid down the back of her head revealing the buzzed short sides and the large scar from the base of her neck to just above her ear.
Placing her hat on her head, Ginni strolled down the stairs and back down to the corrals. While walking down the hill she noticed her other brother, Jamie was speaking with her father as the two walked out of the stables.

Rip walked past her and slapped clavicle.
"You're an ass."
He grumbled before going into the barn. Ginni looked down and say a folded twenty on the ground. 'Ha, I was right.' She laughed to herself as she approached her father and Jamie.

Ginni took her hat off to swipe back a piece of fallen hair.
"Everything ok?"

Her father gaped at her with his wide green eyes.
"Jesus Christ, you look like a god damn skunk."
He had just noticed the shaved sides.

"Thanks dad."
Ginni then turned to her brother and asked her question again. Jamie was the second oldest of the boys. He looked nothing like our parents. Ginni at least looked like their mother, not at all like John Dutton. Jamie was always the smarted, he went to Harvard became a lawyer and has been covering her father's ass ever since he got back to Montana.

Jamie's eyes went straight to the dirt,
"The Reservation Police have the reports of Longs body. Also, this has gone National, and the feds might get involved."

"So what does this mean for Kayce?"
Ginni needed to know what was going to happen to her brother.

"They know there was a third person at Daybreak. With the body reports showing it was a execution and Kayce being the only person in town with the skill that Kayce has with a firearm."
Jamie stated, as he looked over to their father who was shaking his head.

"I'll go talk to your brother."
John Dutton then averted his attention to his youngest daughter.
"Princess, your brother will be fine. In the meantime, I'm going to his place to have a chat then down to Billings for the rodeo. Will you stay here and wait for your sister. I need you here."

"Um... Ok?"
Ginni was dumbfounded, her father normally stonewalled the conversation but today was different. There was more to it than she thought.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No sweetheart, just stay here."
He walked away from the corral and got into the pickup truck.

Ginni continued to watch the dust trail disappear off to the side of the of the mountain, before heading back up to the house to make some food.

After lunch she decided to read a book on the porch. By the time she reached chapter six she could hear the engine of her father diesel crushing the gravel beneath it. She placed her book down on the bench and walked down to meet her father. He was walking down to the corral, while Jamie was emerging from the side of the barn. Ginni help back, knowing they needed their privacy and that their conversation was not meant for her. She diverted herself to the corral next to Rip who was watching Jimmy continue to break not only himself, but the bronco.
"He ain't all there is he?"
Ginni turned her lip up, pointing it towards the kid.

"The best he can be. Looks like they're both slowing down."
Rip stated as he aimlessly chewed on a toothpick that was positioned between his lips and then averted his eyes behind her.
"Well, it's an even bet who quits first."

Ginni turned to see Rip was talking to her father, who walked up beside her and crossed his arms on the rail of the corral.
"Yeah? That boy quit hours ago. If he wasn't strapped to the saddle, he'd be lying in the dirt."

"Better than shit."
Ginni quipped with a smirk.

"Yeah, he'll be cowboy before sundown."

"It's just a favor, Rip."
Her father shook his head,while looking at his lead wrangler.
"And I'm afraid that's all he'll ever be."

The three continued to watch the horse slow down and Jimmy bogged down to the point of pure exhaustion. As soon as the animal came to a complete stop, Rip hopped off the rail he was sitting on and coaxed the horse into a calm submission.
"Pull him down."
John Dutton stated before turning to his youngest daughter.
"Did you want to come with me to the Rodeo?"

"I would like to."
Ginni grinned in triumph.
"Let me change."

She made her way back to the house, to change out of her dirty boots, and apply her makeup. With a strong cat eye and brows that could snatch any man off the streets; Ginni finished her face with a dark wine red lipstick. She kept her hair in the single braid, but switched her hat for a more formal hard felt, with silver embellishments and colorful beading that Monica had made for her back when her and Kayce first started dating.
By the time she was done and heading back to the barn to meet up with her dad, she saw her sister getting in one of the trucks with Rip.
she shook her head.
"Well, looks like he's going to be after that twenty dollars."
Ginni made her way to meet her father at his truck.