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
Have you done a fanfic with John Dutton and one of Mary McDonnell other characters from cowboy 'themed" / "genre"?
Like a reincarnation kind of thing
Hello anonymous asker
No, I have never written anything like that for John or honestly any character in Yellowstone.
At the moment, my inspiration isn't with Yellowstone but with House of the Dragon and Daemon Targaryen, so I am not writing anything for this blog. But whenever my inspiration comes back to here I might think about this 😊
more lee content plss its dry on here i yearn for the potential of what his character could have been 😩
Hello there, sorry I am just now answering your ask.
I do write for Lee so I can do something for him. But currently, at the moment, my inspiration isn't with Yellowstone, so maybe in the future, I will come up with something 😊
- 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 🤗🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗
