Rip - Trust (Completed)

Trying

Over the next week or two things slowly started to improve again. Rip although remaining somewhat sadder than before started to warm up to them again. Even Mr Dutton saw small signs that the therapist might have been right. Rip was starting to feel safer even with him. 

He now often remained downstairs in the living room or on the porch with his uncle in the evening, even when Jacob and Robert were not around, agreeing to play a game of checkers with him or listening to his uncle reading aloud from a book to him.

It didn't take long however, for his resolve to do things differently to get tested. Rip was finishing his chores in the stables, while Mr Dutton, Robert and Jacob were standing on the porch making plans for the coming weeks with Frank, when their meeting got abruptly interrupted by one of the ranch hands who stuck his head out of the stables whistling loudly using his fingers to get their attention. "It's the boy!" he shouted over to them and then disappeared again.

The men ran over to the stables where they found one of the workers, kneeling on the boy's chest, while at the same time holding on to both his wrists, laughing at him. The furious boy beneath him on the floor was spitting blue murder and trying to fight his way out of his restraint.

"Get off him," Mr Dutton roared, and Robert pulled the man off Rip slamming him against one of the boxes. No sooner was he released, Rip jumped up to attack the man but Mr Dutton got hold off him around the waist just in time and half carried, half pushed him out of the stables into the horses' arena where he let go of him.

"Calm Down, Rip. It's okay," he tried telling the boy, but Rip was having none of it. "I fucking kill him, I had enough, I fucking kill him," Rip shouted in a blind rage as he tried to push past his uncle who swiftly pulled his legs from under him with his own leg so that the boy landed on his behind on the ground.

"Calm down, goddammit, or I do it for you," Mr Dutton shouted at him, but of course this just turned the anger toward him instead and the boy shouted back, "He's a fucking arsehole, he's been at me all day, I am going to fucking kill him."

Not hearing how ridiculous this threat sounded from the mouth of a skinny little 13 year old boy, Rip jumped up again and tried to push past his uncle, who had enough at this point and brusquely put his nephew into the horses' water trough.

"There, I told you I would cool you down, now stop your fussing, if you know what is good for you!" he warned him. It was not exactly how he envisaged he would help Rip to cool down when he had talked to the therapist, but at least it did stop the boy from raging.

"Having a bath, Rip," Jacob asked Rip, with a big grin in his face as Rip climbed out of the water.

"Fuck you", Rip hissed at him which seemed to amuse Jacob only more.

"Where do you think you are going?" Mr Dutton shouted after
the boy who walked off in the direction of the hayshed, but Rip ignored him and kept walking.

"Hey!" he called again and was already motioning to go after him, to retrieve him, when his son told him, "Let him go, father!"

"He's supposed to stay beside me for the rest of the day remember," his father reminded Jacob about the new strategy.

"Let him cool down, give him a bit of space first," Jacob advised and was surprised his father listened to him.

"Are you alright?" Robert asked his father when he joined them.

"Not sure, I have agreed to look after Lee's boy for a few days next week. I am not sure anymore if that is such a good idea," Mr Dutton admitted.

"Don't worry. I can take Taylor offside if you need me to, but I have a feeling it will do him good," Jacob said nodding in the direction of the hayshed.