Thoughts

Not having heard anyone come in the barn, Bree's voice causes Trent to jerk to attention. Looking over at her, his eyes hold his surprise. Not only was he surprised anyone was out here, but he was doubly surprised it was her. He knew about her and why she was here, and he had probably exchanged all of three words with her this whole time. What could she possibly have to say to him?

Remaining quiet, Trent just lets her talk. It must have been quite obvious, the situation with Thirteen. For a stranger to pick up on what was going on. But then... what other conclusions could someone draw from seeing a father unwilling to recognize his daughter? The scene had spoken for itself. Realizing that Bree had figured out much of it left Trent with a more severe churning in his stomach. If it had been that obvious, he really must have done a bang up job on the whole thing.

His eyes fall to the floor, but he doesn't move to leave. By now, he felt pretty numb, so Bree's words didn't sting too much. It was apparent that Bree herself had had a rough upbringing and somehow could relate to not being loved. Is that really what Thirteen felt? Unloved? Father or not, Trent was a stranger to her. How could she expect love from a man who didn't even know her? Yet was that the small pang in his heart?

Trent leans his head back to rest against the wall. What did Thirteen want answers to? The past? He probably couldn't answer half of those questions anyway. What could be accomplished by digging it all up again? She'd had a bad past, his hadn't been great... why rehash it? Was it really that important like Bree was assuming? Trent could remember a time that he had wondered about his own parents. But he'd also seen the harsh reality that sometimes parents just don't care enough or have higher priorities than their children. He'd never want to go back and try to build a relationship with that. He'd never want to try just to be hurt again and again and again.

He'd seen it happen with kids who'd come to the ranch from bad family situations. No matter what, they'd always return to their mother or father, just to be hurt again. Trent had always wished he could get them to understand it wasn't worth it. But instead, everyone else who knew better could only stand back and wince as it happened all over again.

It didn't make much sense to him, and here was Thirteen, his own daughter, saying she loved him and wanted to be with him, when it was obvious he had intentionally kept her at arm's length. Didn't she know she was better off keeping her distance? Maybe she wanted answers and she had some romantic idea about what a father should be... but the truth of the matter was that he wasn't father material and there was nothing romantic about this whatsoever. It wasn't a storybook world and Prince Charmings didn't exist. It was reality. And the fact of the matter was that Trent felt in no way to be adequate enough to be a father.

Even so... he couldn't deny that little pang in his heart. He cared and he knew it. That's why he'd gone to her in the first place. That's why he'd sent Ryder money to make sure she was well taken care of. That's why he'd given her a nice Christmas gift. But she had a very childlike view of what a parent should be and Trent wasn't so sure he could live up to any expectations at all.

All of a sudden, Trent realizes that he's alone. For how long, he didn't even know. But Bree had disappeared as quietly as she'd appeared, her words still lingering in his mind.

Sighing, he stands up and wanders to the door. He was beginning to feel the cold and he couldn't remember when he'd felt so weary. Back outside, it's to his bunkhouse this time. Inside out of the wind, he lies down on his bed and pulls a blanket over himself, not bothering to undress.


JT is surprised when Bree excuses herself, but he lets her go, trusting she was safe and knew where she was going. Lost in thought for a while, it's not long before his niece is back again and he offers her a small smile, though again she'd become so quiet. He missed her perky mood.

"You okay?"


"Hey, hey, shhh." Ryder rocks Thirteen a little. "Nothing was your fault, okay? You didn't ruin anybody's evening. See?" He points to where Jason was starting to play his guitar again. "Everything is just fine and nobody blames you for anything." He kisses her head again, wanting her to just have a good time, but that was a lot to ask at this point. "You wanna stay here and sing a little more, or you want me to take you back to your bunk?"


Eric tries to give Rosetta a smile, though he did feel badly about his reaction. He shouldn't have hit Trent no matter how upset he was, and he knew he'd just added fuel to the fire whether his sister would say it or not.

"Thanks... I'm glad to be back...." He looks at her a bit ruefully. "Couldn't you tell?"

Sighing, he takes a sip of coffee, enjoying the warm drink. "Long night or short night, Sis?" He did wonder if they would be staying up late to talk later, or if Rosetta thought it best just to break up for the night.