In episode six of TLC's "Gypsy Sisters," the girls' week-long family bonding trip to the ranch ends with tragedy.
The episode starts off where episode 5 left off (see HNGN's recap here) with Mellie having a meltdown at the Bear Mountain ropes course because she didn't want to go up in the air. But she changed her mind and decided to get it over with after all.
Mellie was scared though, and hugged onto a pole as she refused to walk across a thin rope to get from one side to the other. Her sister Nettie's motherly instincts kicked in and Nettie coached her sister across the rope, while the other girls cheered Mellie on from the other side.
The third day of the girls' River Bend Ranch vacation was full of mud and fun at the Appalachian Adventures four-wheeler trail. After the girls cleaned up from riding ATVs, they went out with the ranch cowboys to a country bar, where they took shots and line danced the night away.
Ranch mananger Melissa finally let the girls ride the horses on the last day at the ranch. The girls had fun, even though Annie had trouble with her horse Gus. After the horse back ride, manager Melissa had a little picnic set up for the girls and they earned their spurs after spending a week on the ranch.
After horse-back riding, the girls went back to the bunk house where the cowboys prepared them a ranch-style family dinner and they all talked about how grateful they were that sister Dovie set them up with their family bonding vacation.
"Do you know that this is the very first family vacation that we have all took that we have not had arguments," Kayla said. The girls talked about Kayla's upcoming birthday and Mellie's daughter's upcoming christening, planning more family get-togethers when they get home from the ranch.
The girls went to bed, but were woken up by a phone call from Dovie with tragic news. Nettie's stepson, Huey "Rocky" Stanley, was stabbed twice after an argument during a basketball game. He died before making it to the hospital. He was Nettie's husband's only son, was only 21-years-old and had a baby on the way.
The episode ends in a somber moment, and Nettie nowhere to be seen in the footage after the girls returned from the ranch. Joann and Annie go to visit Rocky's grave and leave flowers out of respect, and the girls say a prayer before leaving the cemetery.
See a clip from the episode below.
