Hey y'all, have I made a 3rd blog on here. Yes I have!
Anyway, I have decided to reblog all of my Yellowstone requests / stories onto this one and considering to have my new Yellowstone requests be sent here.
- Let's Ride 🤠
New Works
Character List ( Raised Fair Share of Hell )
Raised Fair Share of Hell - Kayce Dutton x female OC ( book one )
The Oilfield Outlaws - Faith Dutton x Cooper Norris ( book 2 of Raised Fair Series )
Badge-Born Reckoning- ( book 3 of Raised Fair Series )
Requests masterlist - new requests posted here
Reblogged Yellowstone Stories
Country Rancher - Kayce Dutton
Falling for my Besite - co author @hcwthewestwaswcn
Other Stories - Rip, Ryan and Spencer
Reblogged Request Pages
One
Two
Three
Reblogged Yellowstone Spin-off Pages
One - 1923
Two - 1883
Hope y’all enjoy ❤️
Tag list - just send an ask to be added @tallrock35 @kmc1989 @pear-1206 @frost-queen @chaoticneutral3 @yurmom444
- Comments really appreciated ❤️❤️❤️ Tag list @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @whatelsecouldgowrong @lover-of-books-and-tea @kendallroydefender
Setting my phone to lean up against the box holding napkins on the table I brushed hair over my shoulders to the front before hitting the record button on my phone recording another video for YouTube. Jesslyn was sitting on my lap drawing some random pictures on a napkin with some crayons I carried in my backpack. Tommy had called Cooper telling us he needed to talk to the both of us about what he had found in the contract my husband had signed without a lawyer.
Tommy walks up towards our table for four instantly smiling when he sees his granddaughter. Jesslyn leaped from my lap and instantly into his waiting arms once he took a seat in the chair across from me. “There’s my favorite granddaughter!”
“Grandpa Tommy.” She squealed in delight burying her face into his neck with her tiny fingers twisted into his shirt. A huge grin spread across my face watching the pair. Tommy was a very busy man meaning he didn’t get to spend every waking moment with her. But when he did get to see her, he made sure to hold her and give her his undivided attention unless something drew him away.
Footsteps came up behind me where I turned my head to the side seeing my husband Cooper coming back from the bathroom. “Hey dad, what is it you needed to tell us?” Tommy went to respond but we noticed Ellie coming over to our little family table.
“Well if ain’t the Norris family.”
“Morning, honey.” Tommy smiles at her.
“You in the middle or the end?”
He responds. “My day just started.”
“All right, well, I'm gonna leave you the beer menu in case your day started like mine.”
“Since when did y'all get a beer menu?”
“Oil expo coming to town next week. Those big-city boys like their craft brews.”
Tommy scanned the list laughing. “Walking Stick Brewery. Spindletop Brewery. Platipus?”
“I don't know where they come up with them names.”
Tommy shook his head in amusement. “They must've been drinking when they made 'em up. Here's one just called "Eight."
“I think Troy Aikman owns that.” Ellie pointed out to him as he handed her the menu back.
“Might have to try that just out of respect.”
Ellie nodded. “Yeah, supposed to be healthy.”
“A healthy beer?” Cooper made a face and I snorted a laugh thinking about how much my aunt Beth drinks. She’s definitely a functional alcoholic unlike Tommy obviously was.
“From your lips to God's ears, Ellie.” Ellie chuckles taking Tommy’s order. “No, just bring me coffee and four eggs over easy and, uh, two sausage patties.”
Jesslyn was bending the menu in her tiny hands till I took it from her and handing it back to my coworker. “We’ll have a sausage and cheese omelet and a chocolate chip pancake for this little one.”
“You’ve got it, honey. How about you, darling?”
Cooper replied as Ellie raised an eyebrow at him. “I'm fine.”
“You sure about that? Looks like you could hula-hoop through a Cheerio.”
He nodded his head watching her walk away. “I'm good. Thank you.”
“All right. I'm gonna bring you some biscuits anyway.”
Tommy flipped opened his cigarette case, lighting one yet keeping the smoke from blowing in his granddaughter’s direction. “I read over the contract, and I don't see a problem. And you're still drilling at six million per? And the six active wells? You’re gonna make five times that much, but not this month or this year.”
“So what exactly is this loan company supposedly paying?”
My father in law looked at me like I’d asked the most brilliant question in the world. “Sonrisa's covering drilling costs, so it's fine. Oh, so, they put $40 million dollars in a checking account and you didn't tell me about it?”
“I thought that…”
Tommy glared at him. “No, they just... They pay. The loan's to you with a meter running and a fifty-fifty split. Thirty days to build a pad and drill, and you don't get paid till the 27th of the next month. So who the hell’s paying your bills?”
My husband admitted making nerves instantly build up in the pit of my stomach. “I thought the loan paid it.”
“Cooper, what did you get us into?”
“What loan? Where is it? Did you open an LLC and a bank account for the LLC? Is this loan company stroking you a check for $40 million dollars to put in the bank? Did you hire an accounting firm to service debt and payables?” Tommy sensed my nerves, shutting his cigarette case as he fired off multiple legal questions to his very young son. “How the hell did you talk these crews into drilling?”
“I showed 'em the approval letter and the agreement. Told 'em who I was and…” Cooper trailed off instantly making his father scowl and dryly laugh, realizing what he had done. Tommy’s name was like my grandpa's, you didn’t want to cross them ever.
“Okay. Now we're getting somewhere. That explains the $44 million dollars' worth of invoices that we got. You don't know how this business works. You think you do, but you don't. And you damn sure don't know who you got in business with. But since you're so terrible at it, it might save you. M-TEX is gonna buy your leases. And we'll cancel the note and cover your costs. The drilling expenses and the surface lease. Maintenance. The whole thing.”
Ellie sat down our plates of food just as I kicked my husband underneath the table when he asked a dumb question. “So we get nothing?”
“You have nothing. No, I take that back. You-you found a blind spot. You got good instincts. And shock of all shocks, apparently, you're a hell of a salesman. So I'm gonna hire you back, and I'm gonna start to teach you…”
Cooper shook his head where I wanted to smoke him upside the head but I was currently holding our daughter while she tore apart her breakfast with her hands. “I ain't working no crew.”
“No, you're running one. And you're gonna do exactly what I tell you to do.”
Cooper huffed. “Three thousand barrels a day and I don't see a dime of it?”
“You were never gonna see a damn dime. They would foreclose on your leases and flip 'em and leave you in a mountain of debt and a ruined name in the basin.” The old oilman explained the math making my head spin. Cooper was already stressing me out by not telling me about how he didn’t talk with his dad about this or that he checked with anyone about this being a bad loan. “A landman makes $9,000 a month, plus bonus. Now, when I show you how this deal works, with your instincts... and I never had 'em, not like you do...you make $9,000 a minute. But you got to know the rules of the game to bend 'em. And you really got to know 'em to break 'em.”
His son asked. “I got to sign something?”
“Shit yeah. About 300 pages, once Nate writes it up.”
“All right. When do I start?”
“Well, you're with me now. When do you want to start? You do need to eat something. "Hula-hooping through a Cheerio" ain't a compliment.”
Standing up I sat Jesslyn down in the chair beside her father giving me the ability to slide my backpack arm over my shoulder. Tommy silently stared at me while I moved as Cooper noticed when I packed up our daughters crayons and put them into the backpack. “Are you leaving?”
“Yep.”
He sent me a baffled look. “W - why?”
“One of us has to provide for our daughter and pay the bills and it clearly ain’t you right now.” Bending my knees I scooped up my little girl who giggled when I tickled her hip. Glaring down at him I really didn’t want to be around him. “Tommy, call me later and we can talk about how much debt we’re in.”
Cooper’s voice stuttered out as he reached for my bag, attempting to grab it and keep me there. “Faith, hold on a second. I really didn’t know this was going to happen-“
“That’s not why I’m mad, Cooper! I’m mad because you made this big gamble and didn’t tell me anything. I have told you everything when it comes to the decisions I have made because I thought we were a team. But apparently you don’t see us that way because you keep things from me.” Carrying my daughter in my arms I turned on the heels of my boots, exiting the bar and leaving the two men alone. “Don’t come home until you get your life together, Norris!”
Kayce, Pete and I had headed inside the main house with the two men going into the living room while I put the shotgun in the gun case between the front door and the kitchen. Entering the living room I found an open spot on the couch beside Kayce, eyeing Pete who had chosen one of the armchairs next to the couch. “So Pete Calvin, care to share why exactly you just drove onto our property without letting someone know you were coming?”
“Call me Cal, Alissa.” He responded, raising his hands up in surrender. “Anyway I came out here to check on Kayce and I certainly wasn’t expecting a shotgun to get aimed at me but honestly that’s the warmest welcome I’ve ever gotten from a Dutton.”
“I got shot, fragged and nearly court-martialed 'cause of you.” Kayce glared at the man sitting across from us. “Consider us even.”
“Looks like you got pigeon tossed. Take some r&r, man.”
Kayce shook his head in defense. “No days off on the ranch.”
“From kicking doors to baling hay. So much for "evolve or die."
Kayce leaned back on the couch chuckling. “It's hard to believe you couldn't hold down any of your marriages.”
“Still going for the jugular, I see. Don't make me put you in your place, sailor.”
Kayce gestured his head towards the window where we knew his truck was parked outside, which had my husband showing a smirk on his face. “How much I owe you for these?”
“Compliments of the meth head I took 'em off of. But you mind sharing what you're fixing to blow up?”
“This a wellness check?”
“All the shrapnel you've taken, it's more like a "no man left behind" kind of thing.”
Clearing my throat I shifted my gaze between the two men not following what they were talking about at this moment. “Excuse me, would you care to tell me what exactly involves explosives?”
“Uh…do you remember the night we blew up the rotten water tower?” Kayce rubbed the back of his neck nervously with a smile.
“Yes because that’s the night we first got arrested by Sheriff Haskell. Why do you ask?”
Kayce glanced at his formal caption. “Cause he may or may not have brought me some explosives that we can shoot down in the old quarry if you wanted to join us.”
“Cal, you just might be alright to me.”
“Ooohh so she likes to shoot too.” Flashing Pete a huge smile he chuckled glancing at Kayce, then back at me with a wicked glint in his eye. “I’m starting to see why he talked about you nonstop.”
Kayce’s head snaps up. “Pete.”
“No, no,” Pete says, waving him off. “She deserves to know.”
“Know what?”
Pete leans his back on the seat, settling in like he’s about to tell a campfire story. “Back in the Teams, we’d be halfway across the world, sand in our teeth, bullets flying, and your husband here-”
“Pete,” Kayce warns, voice low.
“-wouldn’t shut up about you.”
My mouth falls open in shock. “He… what?”
Pete nods enthusiastically. “Oh yeah. We’d be cleaning gear after a mission, everyone exhausted, and he’d be over there talking about your smile, or how you rode horses better than any cowboy he knew, or how he was gonna make another baby with you when he got home.”
Kayce drags a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ.”
I can’t help it as a huge laugh bursts out of me and for a moment the grief in my chest loosens.
“See? Told you she’d like that.” Pete beamed like he was proud of himself. Kayce mutters something under his breath that sounds like a prayer for patience. Pete gets up from his chair coming over to me. “He was homesick. Bad. But talking about you? That kept him grounded. That kept him human.”
“He…” Slowly turning my head in the direction of my husband I softly looked him in the eye. “You never told me that.”
“I’m sorry, Lissa Rae.”
Pete shrugs his shoulders. “He’s not great at talking about the soft stuff. But trust me every guy in our unit knew he was in love with you.”
Kayce groans again. “I hate you.”
Pete claps him on the shoulder. “Love you too, brother.”
“I’ll get the horses ready. You two meet me down at the barn when you’re done.” Kayce pushed himself up and off the couch, heading straight out the front door leaving me and his Navy officer alone.
“He’s hurting,” Pete says quietly. “And he’s trying to carry it alone. Like always.”
“Well he just lost his father. We’re all still trying to process things….without John being here.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry for your loss.” Pete nodded his head at me. “He’ll talk when he’s ready. Until then… I’m here. Whether he likes it or not.”
Cal, Kayce and I had mounted our horses and began riding up into the mountains of our family's lands. The weather was beautiful and grounding to me. It is one of those days that John loved the most. Dismounting my horse I pulled out the rifle I carried on my saddle bag, walking over to the two men seeing the targets they had set up a few yards away from us. Cal gestured towards them with his head stepping away at the same time as my husband did. “Ladies first, Lissa Rae.”
“Hey! That doesn't belong to you.” Kayce raised his voice to his buddy. He glared at him with a look, honestly I’d never seen him so possessive of me and I have been attracted at his hip since five.
“Woah, easy. I wasn’t aware that it was a special privilege.”
Pointing my riffle down at the ground I pulled back the chamber lock checking for any bullets inside and found none. Lifting my head up to the Seal man I chuckled back. “He gave me that nickname the first day we met. Five year old Kayce couldn’t very well say “Alissa” so he shortened it to Lissa Rae.”
“Where does Rae come from?”
“That’s my middle name.”
Kayce chimed in. “It’s our firstborn daughters too.”
“Alright, are there any other things I should know about your family so I can avoid Kayce nearly biting my head off?” Cal asked, looking between the two of us. Kayce and I glanced at one another sharing a look of agreement.
“Ask away, Cal. But we’re gonna shoot guns while we answer.”
“Alright. It’s still your turn, Alissa.” Cal nodded his head toward the clearing of target covered trees. Tucking hair behind my ear I raised the weapon in my hands, looking through the scope. Placing my index finger on the trigger I slowly squeezed letting it fire off a shot that ended up being a direct hit on the tree I was aiming at. The tree stump exploded into pieces when the bullet made contact and I heard Cal behind me give a “Woo!”
“Next question, Cal.”
“What are the nicknames of your other kids? Does Tate have one too?”
Listing things off my fingers I paused thinking about Tate’s mother Monica. When the kids had started becoming teenagers it got easier for us to all agree that they would do whatever they wanted and we just had to adjust to it. Monica knew that Tate belonged on this ranch and so she let him with us full time, regardless of him not being biologically mine. “Tate doesn’t have one though I call him my son. I saw no reason to treat him differently from the ones that came out of my body. Faith, our oldest girl is called Faithy-Rae. Madeline is the next and she’s Mads by us and her siblings. And then there’s Lee - Lee Marlowe after his older brother that was killed during an altercation between ranchers and the reservation.”
“Wow.” Cal ran a hand over his chin, surprised. “Your family sure has a thing for nicknames.”
Kayce grinned, raising his gun firing off a shot and nailing a tree stump just like I had done. Cal stepped up taking aim at his own target while I shot him a smirk. “It all started with him. Then it just became second nature.”
“Alright, alright. I’ve got another question.”
“Shoot,” I said, chambering another round.
“What were you two like as kids? Because I’m trying to picture Kayce Dutton as anything other than a broody, emotionally constipated adult.”
Kayce glared. “I’m right here.”
Cal grinned. “Exactly.”
“Oh, you want stories? I’ve got stories.”
Kayce groaned. “Alissa…”
“Nope,” I said, raising my rifle and firing off a clean shot that split a branch in half. “You brought him here. You suffer the consequences.”
“This is gonna be good.”
Fixing my hat on my head I grinned brightly. “Alright. Picture this: five‑year‑old Kayce Dutton, shirtless, covered in mud, riding a sheep like it’s a bucking bronco.”
Cal’s eyes went wide. “No.”
“Yes. And he yelled ‘LISSA RAE, WATCH THIS!’ right before the sheep ran straight into the fence and knocked him out cold.” Cal doubled over laughing. Kayce muttered something about betrayal.
“Oh, it gets better. When we were ten, he tried to impress me by jumping his horse over the creek.”
Cal wiped tears from his eyes. “Let me guess. Didn’t make it.”
“Not even close. He landed in the water, lost his boots, and cried because he thought a fish touched his foot.”
Kayce pointed his rifle at the sky. “I hate both of you.”
“Brother, this is the best day of my life.”
“And then there was the time he tried to kiss me behind the barn when we were thirteen-”
Kayce spun around. “Alissa!”
“You kissed her at thirteen?”
“No. He missed. Hit my cheek. Then ran away.”
“Oh my god. You were hopeless.”
Kayce fired a shot so clean and so fast it split a target in half. “Still got the girl, didn’t I?”
“Alright, alright. What about the kids? They as chaotic as you two?”
“Worse.”
Kayce chuckled. “Much worse.”
“Faith tried to ride a bull when she was nine.”
“A bull?”
“Yep. Tate dared her. She lasted three seconds and then punched him for laughing.”
Kayce grinned proudly. “That’s my girl.”
“Madeline,” I continued, “once tried to adopt a coyote pup. Brought it into the house. Fed it chicken nuggets.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. And Lee‑Marlowe…He’s four and already thinks he’s invincible. Climbs everything. Jumps off everything. Tate calls him ‘the tiny tornado.’”
“Your family is insane.”
“We sure the hell are.” Kayce slung an arm around my shoulders. “Welcome to the Duttons.”
Cal lifted his rifle again. “Alright. Enough feelings. Let’s shoot something.”
“Better shot now than when we were teammates.” Kayce changed the conversation, noticing where his friend had hit a few minutes ago.
“Yeah, well, I need to be. Marshal team's a tactical Swiss army knife.” Cal said firing off another shot after I fired off two, one right after the other. “Gangs and cartels, race warriors. It may look like god's country, but devil's running free out here.”
“Sounds similar to your previous days when you were Livestock Commissioner.”
“I sure don’t miss those days.” Kayce shook his head, trailing his gaze over to me. I could see it in the way his eyes lit up when he looked at me. He loved the way my hair blew in the wind, how I stood so confident on the land beneath our boots and the pleasant grin plastered on my face. “That's why I'm at peace on this ranch.”
Cal made a face. “Frogman at peace, that's a notion. Just tell me you don't see ghosts.”
“I guess my time after the teams wasn't as smooth as yours, right?” Kayce raised a brow.
“Crushing pills and throwing hands. I mean, I went full gong show after the Navy, but...The marshals were my salvation.” Cal eyed his friend, lowering his firearm. “And I'm guessing you've got your own demons to conquer, and I could sure use another door-kicker.”
My husband lowered his gaze to his muddy boots. “My life's been "kill or be killed" for too long, man.”
“You know, I could use a favor, though. Got two fugitives, they're holed up in the hills just-just east of your family's ranch. I can't locate 'em.”
A snorted laugh escaped my lips by how my husband basically called his friend a pans. Cal laughed shortly after with me and so I was happy to see he had a good sense of humor. “Probably using an old sheeper cabin up where I'd track bighorns with my brothers. But the wildlife and the terrain make it a no-go for tenderfoots like you.”
“Not lacking ways to die in Montana. Explains a lot about you.”
Suddenly my phone started ringing inside my jeans pocket making me sit my weapon down in the grass and looking to see who it was. Jake’s name showed up on my screen before I hit accept and pressed it to my ear asking. “Hey Jake, is everything okay?”
“Not really…uh, look I know what happened and I really didn’t want to have to call you but..”
I cut him off not wanting him to dance around it. “Get to the point, please.”
“You need to come down to the office because there’s a whole ton of ranchers standing inside. They want to know what comes next. They want to talk with you, you’re still the new Commissioner. But I can handle things here if you want. I know you have the funeral-“
I responded back to him already making my way back over to my horse, carrying the firearm in my other hand. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”
“Everything okay, darlin’?”
Kayce turned towards me watching me climb up onto my horse, pushing my cowgirl hat back down on my head when the wind threatened to blow it off. “A rancher's job is never done. I’ll be back hopefully before the kids go to sleep.” He nodded in agreement as I kicked my horse in the belly to go, riding off in the direction of the ranch main house.
- Tag list @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @whatelsecouldgowrong @lover-of-books-and-tea @kendallroydefender
The funny thing is this is exactly what happened when I thought of writing Raised Fair Share of Hell 🤣 so thank you, Dylan Marlowe and your song "When I Look Back"
check the source link or HERE for an additoinal #129 gifs of LUKE GRIMES as KAYCE DUTTON in MARSHALS season 1 episode 2 (bringing the total up to #363). all gifs were made entirely from scratch by me for roleplaying purposes. please REBLOG this post if you found it useful and check my rules for more info.
Author note ☆ don't forget to check out Book 1 Raised Fair Share of Hell and book 2 The Oilfield Outlaws, so you're not confused about this final book 🤗 also let me know your all's thoughts
- Tag list @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @whatelsecouldgowrong @lover-of-books-and-tea @kendallroydefender
Alissa’s pov
The Dutton ranch had rarely ever been quiet as a church mouse in the thirty-eight years I have been alive in Montana. It was an unsettling and sickening feeling to me.
The announcement of John’s death in the hospital this morning had rocked everyone in a bad way. Kayce had told me to ride back to the ranch with Beth and the kids while he took care of things. I tried to tell him that I could stay with him if he wanted but he reassured me that he could handle things at the hospital on his own.
The problem is that it was six hours ago….and he’s still not home yet.
I’d told the kids or at the very least Tate. He’s the oldest one who can understand what has happened to this family and can explain it to Madeline and Lee-Marlowe. Beth is nowhere to be found which didn’t ease my concerns, but I knew she would grieve the hardest out of all of us.
Riding up on my horse towards the Dutton graveyard I gently tugged the reins making my trusty horse come to a stop. Dismounting my horse by swinging my legs over the side my boots hit the muddy grass as I led my horse up to one of the grave headstones I lowered myself down into a sitting position before the specific name, Lee Dutton.
“Hey Lee, it’s me Alissa. Although you probably already know that. I just - I’m kinda lost right now because…your father…he’s…he’s gone. Everybody isn’t processing it well. Beth is….she’s disappeared, the kids are too young to understand except for Tate. Kayce has been gone for hours and isn’t answering my calls or texts. So I’m….I don’t know what to do, Lee.” Staring at his name on the stone I wiped away heavy tears thinking back on when we had a funeral and buried him in the ground underneath my feet.
And now we would be doing the same thing to my father in law.
The sound of a truck driving down the gravel driveway caught my attention meaning he had finally brought his ass home. Scrambling back onto my horse I charged so fast back to the main house managing to meet Kayce as he was stepping out of the driver’s door of his black truck. He looked up seeing me tug my horse to a harsh halt throwing up some gravel in the driveway. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you for hours, Kayce.” Jumping from my horse I raised my voice at him, striding up in anger directly in front of him.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Alissa.” He shut the truck door harshly beginning his walk up the wooden porch steps, having me quickly following the heels of his boots.
“Well too bad cause we are going to talk about it. I left you far too many messages for you to get off the hook. And the kids have been worried about you. They don’t understand what has happened to their grandpa.”
Kayce entered the kitchen opening the fridge, grabbing a beer and taking a long sip from the bottle. “I went to the corner office and they confirmed it. Dad died of a heart attack. So forgive me if I didn’t feel like talking about it considering it was my fault he died.”
“Kayce, that’s not true.”
He scoffed. “Hell it ain’t. He died in my arms.”
“Kayce, it wasn't your...” I went to say something in defense but changed my mind about it. Resting my back against the kitchen island I lopped my fingers in the belt loops of my jeans. “What can I do to help you?”
He stared at me for a long time, eyes filled with tears that he refused to let fall. And not saying a word to me. His shoulders are locked tight, his back straight, his jaw clenched so hard I can see the muscle jumping. He’s not breathing right. I know this version of him. I lived with him after the Navy. This is survival mode.
“Kayce, sit down. Please.”
“I can’t.” His voice is flat, empty. “I’ve got work to do.”
“You don’t. Not today.”
He doesn’t even look at me. “Dad wouldn’t want us falling apart.”
Before I can answer, Madeline slips into the kitchen, her little face blotchy and swollen from crying. “Momma, I wanna see Grandpa John.” She climbs onto a stool and folds into herself, arms wrapped around her head like she’s trying to disappear.
Lee‑Marlowe toddles in behind her, dragging his blanket, hair sticking up in every direction. “Where’s Papa John?”
Kayce flinches like the words hit him square in the chest as I kneel and pull Lee‑Marlowe into my arms. “Sweetheart… Papa John’s gone. He’s not coming back.”
“But he always comes back.” Madeline lets out a broken sob seeing her younger brother so confused.
Kayce turns away so fast it’s like he’s running from something. His shoulders tremble once. “I need to check the barn,” he mutters, already moving.
“Kayce-”
Yet he doesn’t stop or look back before he’s already gone and I’m left holding our son, our daughter crying beside me, wondering how I’m supposed to keep all of us from shattering. The sound of tires crunching gravel cuts through the quiet like a warning. Exiting the kitchen with the two young kids following me I stepped out onto the porch just as Alana climbed out of her SUV, still in her lawyer clothes, hair pulled back tight, before her eyes locked onto mine and her face instantly changed.
“Oh, Lissa…” She crosses the yard in three long strides and pulls me into her arms. I collapse into her, burying my face in her shoulder. Clutching the fabric of her suit jacket I sobbed into her, letting myself cry for the first time since the news had broken.
Tate steps out of the barn, and Alana immediately pulls him into a hug too, pressing a kiss to his temple. Madeline follows, wiping her eyes, and Alana gathers her close, smoothing her hair. Finally she kneels in front of Lee‑Marlowe. “Hey, buddy. I heard you lost someone very special.”
Lee‑Marlowe nods, lip trembling. “Papa John went away.”
“He did. And it’s okay to be sad about that.”
He throws his arms around her neck, and she holds him tight, whispering something I can’t hear. When she stands holding him in her arms, her face shifts - grief replaced by sharp, focused determination. “Where’s Kayce?”
“In the barn.”
Tate holds out his arms, taking Lee from his aunt's arms, distracting him with something else letting us talk. “Come on, Lee. Let’s go see if you, me and sissy can catch some fireflies.”
“Alright. I need to know a few things.” She pulls a notebook from her bag, flipping it open with practiced precision. “Who was with John when he collapsed?”
“Me, Beth, Kayce and a few courthouse guards.”
“Was Market Equities present?”
“Yes. Caroline Warner was there.”
Alana’s jaw tightens. “Did she say anything threatening?”
“Not directly to any of us. But I do remember her saying something like “The landscape just changed.”.”
Alana scribbles notes, her pen moving fast. “I need John’s will. And any paperwork he kept on the ranch’s legal disputes.”
“It’s all in his office.”
“Good. We’re going to need it.” Dropping my gaze to my boots I spun my wedding ring on my finger, glancing back in the direction of the white barn. Alana noticed where my attention had gone so she whispered. “Go be with him. We can discuss this tomorrow.”
“Lana, I-“
She shook her head, giving me a serious look. “Go be with your husband. He needs you. Just like he did when he came home from the Navy.” Sniffing back some tears I shut my eyes thinking back on the happiest day of my life.
Standing in the grass of the military base I impatiently watched the door of the bus open and multiple Navy service members finally coming home. But I was only interested in one in particular, Kayce. Scanning the crowd it wasn’t long before I recognized that familiar messy brown hair underneath a Seal baseball cap on his head. His boots hit the dirt ground causing me to bolt forward in an overjoyed run straight for him. “Kayce! Kayce!”
He lifts his head hearing his name come from my lips, dropping his duffel bag the second I had almost reached him. “Alissa…..Lissa Rae!” My legs felt like jelly. I launched myself into his arms, burying my face in his neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent of him. His arms wrapped around me tightly, lifting me off my feet, spinning me gently.
“God, I missed you,” I sobbed, tears streaming down my face, fingers death gripping the fabric of his shirt.
Kayce drew back but kept his hands touching my back, needing to be touching me to make sure this wasn’t a dream. He couldn’t live with the thought of me not being physically in his arms. “I missed you too, baby…..All I thought about was you and our baby.”
As if on cue Alana excitedly came forward with John and my parents to meet up with us. Everyone had excited looks on their faces, well except for my daddy. He had more of a scowl on his face. “You’re daddy’s home, Faithy Rae.” Alana bounced her in her arms and my three year old daughter clapped her hands together with a fit of giggling coming out of her mouth. She made grabby hands at her father where I saw Kayce hesitate, still standing by my side not moving an inch.
“Daddy!”
Reaching for his hand that was closest to me after he had withdrawn his arms from touching me. My fingers brushed against his and that pulled him from the trance he had been in. “Faithy - Faithy Ra.” He extended his arms out at the same time as my older sister placed his daughter in his waiting arms.
I’d only seen my lifelong best friend sob uncontrollably a few times in my life. First with his mother Evelyn then with his brother Lee. This was the third time. Kayce cradled his little girl in his arms with a tearful smile spread across his face. Everyone around us took it as he was alright yet I could see something else hiding behind his gaze. There were parts of him and things that he had gone through that he wouldn’t openly tell me.
Navy Seal Kayce had forever replaced the Kayce I once knew. Until I found a way to love him.
That night I was laying on my side in the bed waiting to feel Kayce’s arms around me yet I heard a rustle at the foot of the bed and down on the floor. Sitting upright I peer over the edge seeing my young husband laying on the wooden floor. “Kayce, what are you doing down there?”
“The bed isn’t comfortable anymore.”
I didn’t believe that was the truth. “Whats the real reason?”
“That’s the truth.”
Tossing the covers off of my legs sliding out of the bed I crawled on the floor where he glanced over his shoulder at me when I laid down beside him with my back to the door.
He was laying so he was facing it when he whispered up into the air. “Tell me the real reason, Kayce. I know you’re lying to me.”
“I…um…I….I’m afraid to close my eyes. Every time I do…I’m back in Afghanistan.”
Grasping his hand underneath the blanket I squeezed it firmly in mine, kissing his forehead with a serious smile. “I have a solution to that. You close your eyes and every time you get scared squeeze my hand as tightly as you want. And I’ll watch over you until you fall asleep.”
“I’m supposed to be the one protecting you, Lissa Rae.”
“You still will protect me.” I whispered back snuggling up against his chest. Kayce wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling his nose into my neck and shortly closing his eyes. “But for tonight I will protect you from your nightmares.”
The barn is dim when I step inside, dust drifting through the slanted morning light. Kayce stands in front of John’s saddle, fingers hovering over the worn leather like he’s afraid to touch it. When he does touch it a sound rips out of him - raw, strangled, the kind of sound that comes from a place deeper than pain. He drops to his knees, hands gripping the saddle horn like it’s the only thing keeping him upright.
“Kayce…”
He’s sobbing - full‑body, shaking, gasping sobs that tear through the quiet barn. I’ve only heard him cry like this once before, the night he came home from the Navy, broken, lost and convinced he didn’t deserve to be alive.
I move toward him slowly, quietly, like approaching a wounded animal. I didn’t dare speak nor touch him and instead I just sat beside him on the dirt floor, shoulder to shoulder, the way I did all those years ago. He leans into me, just barely, like he’s afraid he’ll crush me if he lets go.
Suddenly a truck engine rumbles up the driveway causing me to quickly stand when my husband doesn’t. Leaning over I picked up one of the shotguns hanging up on the barn wall. Raising up the shotgun I stand in the entrance of the barn doors, seeing a tall man in a Marshal jacket step out of a black SUV, wearing a baseball cap on his head. “Don’t move!”
“Well…that’s one way to say hello.” He freezes, hands up in the air with eyebrows raised.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Name’s Pete Calvin, ma’am. I’m looking for Kayce Dutton.”
I tighten my grip on the firearm. “Why?”
“Because he’s been dodging my calls. And I figured he might be dead.”
Kayce stumbles out of the barn behind me. “Alissa, wait-!”
“There he is.”
Kayce steps directly in front of the barrel of the gun, arms out in defense and puts his body in between me and the stranger. “Alissa, put the gun down. That’s Pete.”
“This is Pete?”
Pete lowers his hands slowly. “In the flesh. And I’d appreciate not dying before breakfast.”
“Lissa Rae, please lower the gun. He’s my captain from when I was a Navy Seal. I’ll explain more later, I promise.”
“Fine…” Lowering the shotgun in my hands I eyed my husband with a look that ‘we are definitely talking later’. Kayce dropped his hands slumping his shoulders while Pete laughed nervously. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people in Montana.”
“Damn frogman, now I see why you were so whipped.” Pete chuckled glancing between my husband and I. “You’re the Alissa he’d never shut up about. This is going to be interesting.”
“Here we go.” Kayce rubs his face, but there’s the faintest ghost of a smile. And for the first time since John died, the air feels a little less suffocating.
I have missed Kayce Dutton and can't wait to see what he gets into 😁 I have some updates planned out for book 2 and book 3 of Raised Fair Share of Hell series.
But I have a favor to ask for people who know how to create gifs. Can y'all please make new gifs for Kayce with this new show 🤗🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗
- Tag list @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @whatelsecouldgowrong @lover-of-books-and-tea
Faith’s pov
Rushing outside the front door of The Patch Cafe I found Cooper’s truck pulled up as close as possible. He reached over and unlocked the passenger door watching me climb up inside with the biggest grin on my face. “Cooper, I’ve gotta tell you something amazing that happened today. I got a big raise at work today.”
“That’s amazing, baby! I got to show you something too.” Cooper declared grinning ear to ear with his other hand resting on the steering wheel.
“Hey, Marty! Where we at?!” Cooper hollered with a hand up to his mouth once we got out of the truck.
“We're running these chokes wide open. This bitch is flowing.” Marty explained until he saw me come around the other side of the truckbed. “Oh. Excuse me, ma'am. A lot of sand and water right now, but the oil ratio's high. Real high. Over 20%, and it's rising fast. Just... ain't a lot of shit in this one. Sorry, ma'am. I did it again.”
“Don’t worry, Marty.” Resting my hands on my hips I thought about everybody on my family’s ranch. “I grew up on a ranch where cursing is an everyday occurrence.”
Cooper chuckled at my response. “She ain’t wrong about that.”
“That’s the same smile you had when Jesslyn was born.”
He replied. “I got a pretty big reason.”
“Arianna told me Elvio never used to get this excited about drilling. What exactly is so different about this one?”
“He never owned the well.” Cooper said back, grasping my hands in his mirroring that same dorky grin I fell in love with at Texas Tech. “This is ours. It's ours. It's-it's gonna pay for itself in two months. Then it pays us.”
“That’s good news, Cooper.”
Cooper chuckles, removing his red Texas baseball cap, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t think you understand, Faith.”
“No she doesn't.” Marty spoke up.
“Hey, when we level off, where you think we'll be at?” Cooper asked Marty before he walked away from us.
“I mean, it's hard to say, but be conservative, 500.”
Kicking some dirt with one of my boots I made a confused face back at him. My aunt Beth and Uncle Jamie were the ones to handle money for the ranch. The rest of us just worked the land. “Does that make us rich or something?”
“500 barrels a day every day for the next two years, before we even put a pump on it.”
“Is that a lot?” I asked my husband simply.
“Well, oil opened at 78.23. Times five, that's...39,000 in change a day, every day. 75% of that's ours. 29,000 a day, 880,000 a month, $10 million dollars a year. And it's ours.” Cooper points his index finger off to another oil rig in the field across from this one. “And, hey, look at that. See that?”
“Yeah.”
He grinned down at me. “That's the next one.”
“I love you, Norris. But I don’t understand what those dang numbers mean.” Squeezing his hand in mine I shook my head just seeing dry ground being drilled into by machines. On the ranch, money wasn’t something you had. It was something you owed to feed, to fix, to keep the land alive.
Cooper laughed, that boyish, breathless laugh he only got when he was excited enough to forget he was supposed to be cool. “Baby… that’s life‑changing.”
“Like…new tires life‑changing? Or like…we can finally buy a washer that doesn’t walk across the floor when it spins?”
He snorted a laugh. “Faith, I’m talkin’ about rich rich.”
“Okay, but you gotta define that. Because where I come from, ‘rich’ means you got enough hay put up for winter and your cattle don’t die in a blizzard.”
Cooper grinned wider. “See, that’s ranch rich.”
“And what’s oil rich?”
He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops, rocking back on his heels like he was about to deliver the punchline of the century. “Oil rich means you don’t gotta pray over the gas gauge before you drive to work.”
I laughed. “We still do that.”
“Not for long.” He pointed at the well again. “Oil rich means Jesslyn gets braces and college. Oil rich means you don’t gotta work doubles at the Patch Café unless you want to. Oil rich means we can fix the AC in the truck instead of rollin’ the windows down and pretendin’ it’s the same thing.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “It’s not the same thing.”
He nudged me back with a smirk. “Oil rich means we can breathe, Faith.”
I went quiet at that.
Because breathing…we hadn’t done that in years.
Not through the NICU. Not through the bills. Not through the nights I cried in the bathroom so Jesslyn wouldn’t hear.
“On the ranch,” I said softly, “being rich meant having enough. Enough land. Enough cattle. Enough family. Enough love.”
Cooper’s expression softened. “And you had all that?”
“Yeah. But we never had money.”
He stepped closer, cupping my face in his hands. “Well, now we’re gonna have both.”
“That scares me.”
“I know.” He kissed my forehead. “But I’m gonna take care of you. Of Jesslyn. Of us. This is our shot.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “Show me what oil rich looks like.”
“Baby, I’m gonna show you everything.” He grinned, that same dorky grin I fell in love with and then he pointed to the next rig across the field. “That one’s ours too.”
“So what else does that mean we can do?”
Cooper smirked down at me, squeezing our intertwined hands. “We can do whatever you want. We can get a bigger house and stop paying rent. Heck, we can even get you some of your own horses if we buy somewhere big enough.”
“I love you, Cooper Norris.” Wrapping my arms around his neck I leaned up on my toes kissing him quickly.
“I love you too, Faith Dutton-Norris.” He declared kissing me back until we broke away for air and he led me back to his truck. Cooper put his phone up to his ear calling his father. “Hey dad, I need to show you something.”
“Dear god, boy. That girl ain’t pregnant again already is she?”
“Not that I know of.”
Cooper glanced over to me sitting in the passenger seat while he drove and I heard his father Tommy grumble back. “We’ll son that’s something you should be very certain about considering how you have your hands full with Jess already.”
“She’s not pregnant, dad. I need to talk about business. Can you come out to the well site and meet us?”
Tommy sighed heavily. “We’re supposed to have dinner with your mama tonight. So this’ll get me out of that circus for one night.”
“Alright we’ll see you then.” Cooper hung up the phone before he glanced down to feel me lay my head on his shoulder. He draped his arm over me, kissing my forehead. “This is the dream, Faith.”
“It’s your dream.” Lightly smiling up at him I ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “My dream already came true when I got you and Jesslyn.”
“I’m gonna give you everything you could ever want in life.” Cooper responded and we waited an hour before we saw Tommy’s truck pull up beside us on the rig site. The three of us walked up to site with Tommy giving us a very confused look.
“What do you know, bud?” Tommy asked.
One of the crew members said. “I know that your son is the luckiest son of a bitch I ever met.”
Tommy asked. “Is that a fact? Lucky how?”
“This is mine.” Cooper declared with me standing beside him.
“Yours?” Tommy asks.
“Cobbled together some leases, put together a crew. We've drilled six so far. And they all hit.”
Cooper’s father asked the guy. “Marty, you worked these over?”
“We drilled new ones. These was all shallow. Tommy, we started hitting just shy of 6,000 feet. This one's 6,700, and she'll push 3,500 barrels a day.”
He asked. “All in, how much?”
“About 7,000 barrels a day.”
Cooper shrugged his shoulders at his father. “See my problem?”
“Can I have a minute, Marty?” Tommy eyed me and his son with a skeptical look when Marty walked away and got back to work leaving the three of us alone to talk.
Cooper asks simply. “So, what do I do now?”
“You're eight million a well to drill here. Who paid for this?”
He explained to his dad. “There's a company in Odessa that financed the spec wells 50-50 to recoup and 18% after that.”
“On what fucking planet does a company finance drilling at 50-50 and reduces to 18?” Tommy bite back a harsh laugh not liking the numbers his son had just uttered. “What did you put up?”
Cooper admitted. “I don't have anything to put up.”
“They financed the whole thing?” I asked my husband, thinking that didn’t sound right when Cooper nodded his head yes and Tommy asked.
“What is this company?” Cooper dug into his pockets and held up a business card for him to read. “Sonrisa. Never heard of it. And I sure as fuck ain't heard of Esteban Galvez. You got a contract?”
“In the truck.”
I asked him knowing I should have called my Aunt Alana if he had told me about this much earlier. “Did you get a lawyer to go over it?”
“Well…”
Tommy raised his voice at him. “Son, why didn't you come to me?”
“I'm coming to you now.”
Tommy raised his hands up in the air. “Well, it's too fucking late.”
“Well, what were you gonna do?” Cooper rolled his eyes in annoyance, not making eye contact with me which made me more nervous. “If I came to you, at best, you would have had me tied up in geological surveys for the next year.”
“You're goddamn right I do. Good Lord Almighty. You spend $40 million dollars drilling holes in the ground, not having a fucking clue what's underneath.” Tommy cursed, running a hand down his face, looking at me seeing how my smile had dropped the more they talked about our situation. “A new restaurant has a better success rate than blind drilling. Well, I want to have a look at this contract to see how they fucked you.”
Tommy began walking towards Cooper’s truck until I ran up to him touching his arm to get his attention. I couldn’t shake this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach by what he had just said. “Tommy, wait. Tell me the truth. Should I - should we be concerned?”
“Don’t you worry, kiddo.” He spared me a glance walking over to the truck without another word. “I’ll take care of it.”
Author’s Note - I’m officially opening the door to Book 3. With Marshals right around the corner, it felt like the perfect time to step into the next era of the Dutton/Lambert story. Book 2 is still updating alongside this one, so don’t forget to check it out as Faith’s Texas arc continues to unfold. Thank you for reading — let’s ride!
The wind coming off Mount Helena felt like it was trying to peel the skin off my face. Sharp, metallic, unforgiving. I tugged my coat tighter and stepped closer to Kayce, who stood rigid on the courthouse steps like he was bracing for a fight he couldn’t see yet.
John stood above us, near the top landing, hat pulled low. He looked…older today. Not weak, John Dutton never looked weak but worn. Like the years had finally decided to collect their debt.
Beth leaned against a stone pillar, cigarette burning low between her fingers, eyes narrowed at the courthouse doors. She was coiled tight, ready to strike.
“John’s pushing himself too hard,” I murmured to Kayce.
He didn’t look at me. “He always does.”
The doors swung open and a cluster of suits poured out, flanked by men who looked more like mercenaries than corporate security. And in the middle of them, wrapped in a coat that probably cost more than my truck, was Caroline Warner.
The woman had short white hair and cold grey looking eyes. Her smile was small and sharp - the kind of smile that said she’d already won something we didn’t know we were losing.
Beth straightened. “Well, look who crawled back from the grave.”
“Mr. Dutton. Montana’s always more interesting when you’re involved.” Caroline didn’t even glance at her since her eyes were locked on John.
John didn’t answer. He just exhaled, slow and heavy, and turned toward the steps.
Kayce took a step up. “Dad, let’s go.”
I touched his arm, feeling the tension vibrating through him. He was seconds from snapping. Beth flicked her cigarette to the ground and stalked closer. “Say one more word, Caroline. I dare you.”
Caroline’s smile widened. “Beth. Always a pleasure.”
“Keep talking. See what happens.” Beth’s jaw clenched.
Kayce shot her a warning look. “Beth. Not here.”
And then everything changed, John’s hand slipped from the railing. At first, I thought he’d just lost his footing. But then his breath hitched, sharp, wrong and his knees buckled.
“Dad!” Kayce lunged up the steps, catching him just before he hit the concrete. John’s hat rolled away, spinning across the stone.
Beth screamed , a raw, broken sound I’d never heard from her. She dropped to her knees beside them, grabbing her father’s face with shaking hands. “Daddy! Look at me! Look at me!”
“We need EMS now! Move!” Scrambling to get my phone out quickly I called for anyone from inside. Rushing up the stairs I flung open the door shouting and frantically looking back at my dying father in law behind me.
John’s fingers clutched Kayce’s jacket, trembling with his voice barely above a whisper. “Don’t… let them… take it.”
“I won’t. I swear.” Kayce leaned close, voice cracking.
Beth pressed her forehead to John’s, tears falling freely. “Don’t you dare leave us. Don’t you dare.”
But John’s grip loosened, his chest stilled and the whole world went silent.
I felt my knees hit the concrete without remembering moving. My hand covered my mouth as tears blurred everything. Kayce froze, staring at his father like he could force him back to life. Beth let out another sound, grief and fury tangled into something primal.
An ambulance and multiple police cars swarmed the building. John was loaded up into the vehicle and the reporters that had been inside the courthouse came rushing outside to see what event had just taken place. Reporters whispered to one another, cameras snapped pictures and someone murmured, “Did Market Equities do this?”
Caroline stood perfectly still. Her security leaned in, whispering updates, but she didn’t look away from us.
“You,” Beth’s grief snapped into rage so fast it was like a lightning strike, pointing with a shaking hand. “You did this.”
Caroline didn’t flinch. “Beth, grief makes people irrational.”
Beth surged to her feet, and Kayce had to grab her arm to keep her from lunging. “I swear to God, I will burn your entire world to the ground.”
“Schedule a board call. The landscape just changed.” Caroline finally turned to her aide.
Kayce heard it first and rose slowly, fists clenched, eyes burning with something colder than rage. I slipped my hand into his, grounding him. Beth stood on his other side, trembling with fury.
Caroline looked at the three of us - united, grieving, dangerous and for the first time, her expression flickered.
She knew she’d just lit a fuse she couldn’t control.
Unfortunately, it was cut short when the ambulance siren rang yanking me from the trance we were all stuck in with her. Shaking my head my mouth fell open in shock, a chill running down my spine thinking back to the last time I saw them take John away in an ambulance. Except this time I wasn’t also being arrested in handcuffs for attempted murder on the Governor of Montana. My legs became wobbly and I felt sick to my stomach where I swear I might puke right here on the street.
He’s escaped death before. This can’t be happening.
A police car door shut revealing the familiar face of Detective Dillard - the detective that nearly put me in prison for attempted murder over ten years ago. Removing my hand from my husband I stomped over to the detective, shoving him against his own vehicle. “You’re gonna let them get away with this again, Dillard!”
“Mrs. Dutton, I would suggest you remove your hands from me unless you want to get arrested for assault on an officer.”
Baring my teeth together I felt hot angry tears sliding down my face, my fingers didn’t loosen their grip despite his comment. “I am an officer now too. And we had a deal, you and I. You can’t let them get away with this a second time. They’ve already attempted to kill him once before.”
“Mrs. Dutton, I will only ask this one more time. Please get your hands off of me.”
Pushing him a little more against the vehicle I wasn’t going to budge, not when he knew what happened last time. Jamie is gone, but that doesn’t mean they can’t just hire someone else to try the same attempt a second time. “I’m an officer too. I am Livestock Commissioner, so you will listen to me!” Drawing out my badge from inside my jacket I held it up in his face.
Dillard took a long gulp, replying. “This isn’t a livestock matter, Alissa.”
“Urgh! - Kayce.” Drawing away from him I rushed over to him seeing him tightly holding onto his sobbing sister in his arms. Beth was struggling to keep herself standing, her fingers turning almost white with how much she was gripping his brown jacket. Kayce looked up at me with tearful eyes yet he didn’t dare break down and cry, not when we needed someone to be strong in this nightmare.
“Lissa Rae…” He trailed off carefully saying my nickname.
Clutching my hands into fists at my sides I sniffed back some more tears. I didn’t care that cameras were around, or police, or reporters. I just wanted to make sure our family was safe and that John would survive just like last time. “Kayce, what do - what do we do?”
“Let’s go to the hospital right now.” He clears his throat keeping one arm around his sister and intertwining his hand with my shaking one. The three of us started to walk towards his truck but got halted by a police officer holding up a hand trying to stop us.
“Excuse me, sir. We are closing off the area. You can’t leave.”
Kayce flashed him his new US Marshal badge and the officer stumbled backwards out of the way. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Reaching the truck I barely got settled in the passenger seat my phone vibrated inside my pocket making me take it out seeing Faith’s name flash on my screen. Pressing it to my ear I put a finger in my other ear to block out the noise from outside the truck. “Faith! Hey - what is it sweetie?”
“We’re at the ranch. How’s grandpa? Where are you guys?”
Shutting my eyes briefly I sucked in a breath searching for the right words to say to her. “Um…we had a dispute with some Market Equities lawyers. You’re grandpa is - just meet us at the hospital. I’ll send you a location.”
“The hospital.” She shrieked. “Mom, what is happening?”
Hanging up the phone I couldn’t bear to have her hear me cry. She knew John wasn’t doing too well, but I didn’t want to say to her that her grandfather might be dying. She’d already been traumatized enough after me being arrested and her father briefly losing his memories. “Just meet us there, okay. I’ll explain once we know more.” Slamming my phone down on the middle counsel I covered my face with my hands, sobbing.
The driver's door flung open with a familiar hand immediately touching my back making me drop my hands slightly seeing my husband. “Alissa. Hey, hey, look at me babe.” I didn’t turn my head so he took my chin in between his thumb and index finger, forcing me to look into his watery brown eyes.
“Kayce, I….”
The words caught in my throat at the sheer thought of this being a reality. My childhood best friend stared deeply into my eyes saying more than he did in actual words. He didn’t want to believe it either, none of us wanted to. We'd faced too much in our lives. Kayce’s calessed hand moved from my chin to cradle the side of my cheek, resting his forehead against my own. “We've gotta be tough for the kids, alright. We gotta be tough for them right now.”
“Where’s Beth?” I asked, seeing she wasn't sitting in the backseat.
“She’s riding with the kiddos. Tate is driving her car.”
We'd promised our kids : Tate, Madeline and Lee that we'd get dinner together after the courthouse meeting. Not ever thinking this would occur. Obviously on the drive to the hospital we were flying like a bag out of hell to get there. The two vehicles we drove made some black streak marks in the parking lot when we parked them. Kayce kicked open the driver door the second I jumped out of the passenger side while Beth and the kids quickly followed her heels. Shifting my gaze over to my husband, his expression was unreadable to everyone else except for me. Even though he’d never say it, I knew he was just as terrified as I was.
Moving forward abruptly I grasped his larger hand in mine making him shift his eyes downward to me when we stepped inside the hospital lobby. “Kayce….they’re not gonna break us.”
“Dutton’s don’t give up without a fight.” He squeezed my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over his mother’s wedding ring that I wore on my finger. Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway of the emergency surgery floor wing making us both turn our heads in unison towards the doctor dressed in his surgical scrubs. “How is he?”
“Mr. Dutton, I’m - I’m so sorry.” The surgeon lowered his head, avoiding our gazes for a few minutes. He blinked back some tears finally able to get the horrible words out. “We did everything we could.”
A high pitched scream broke out behind us where I whipped my head around seeing my sister in law collapsing down onto the tile floor. “No!” Beth covered her mouth with her hands, curling up into a ball on the floor which made me sick to my stomach thinking back to the events of a few days ago.
Five days ago
The government building in Helena always smelled like old paper and cold coffee. Not exactly the place you imagine your life changing, but that’s how it goes the biggest moments rarely happen where you expect them to. I stood in front of the mirror in the hallway outside the commissioner’s office, smoothing the front of my jacket for the tenth time. My badge, the one I’d sworn I’d never wear gleamed on my belt. It felt heavier than it should’ve, like it already knew the weight of what was coming.
Kayce stood beside me, adjusting the collar of his shirt. He looked good. Nervous, but good. The kind of nervousness that comes from stepping into a role you didn’t ask for but can’t walk away from.
“You ready?” he asked.
“No,” I said honestly. “But I’m here.”
He smiled, that small, quiet smile that always made me feel steadier. “Same.”
We walked into the small ceremonial room together. A judge waited behind a desk, papers neatly stacked, the Montana flag standing tall behind him. John was there too, watching us with a pride he didn’t bother hiding. Beth stood beside him, arms crossed, pretending she wasn’t emotional. Rip hovered behind her like a shadow.
The judge cleared his throat. “We’ll start with Mrs. Commissioner Dutton.”
I stepped forward, palms sweating despite the cold.
“Raise your right hand,” he said and I followed his instructions.
“Do you, Alissa Lambert-Dutton, solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the State of Montana, and the duties of the office of Livestock Commissioner…” His voice faded into a hum as I looked at John. He nodded once, slow, like he was passing something down, not a job, not a title, but a legacy. A responsibility older than any of us.
“I do,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
The judge handed me the official certificate, but it was the badge on my belt that felt like the real oath. Cold metal with sharp edges.
“Now, Deputy United States Marshal Kayce Dutton.” The judge said, turning to Kayce who stepped forward. John straightened, pride radiating off him like heat. “Raise your right hand.”
Kayce briefly glanced in my direction before raising his right hand in the air.
“Do you solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” Kayce’s jaw tightened. He’d fought enough enemies to know exactly what that meant. “…and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Deputy United States Marshal?”
“I do.”
The judge handed him his badge. Kayce turned it over in his hand, thumb brushing the star like he was memorizing it. John stepped forward, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Your grandfather would’ve been proud,”
“Hope I earn it, dad.” Kayce swallowed hard.
Beth sniffed, pretending she wasn’t wiping her eyes. “You better.”
We took a photo with all of us together. Kayce with his badge. Me with mine. John standing between us, looking like he’d finally seen the future he’d been fighting for.
I didn’t know then that it would be the last picture we ever took with him.
