Helpless

Helpless

Description: She worked as a lawyer in New York until she received a phone call from the man she owes her career to. She knew she would be back and what she was in for but what she didn’t know is that her life would change even more than she imagined.

Part 3

Chapter 2

“I need you to get this whole reporter thing situated. Jamie will still be working but only when I say so. He will stay in the bunkhouse until then working on himself” After Jamie’s suicide attempt John told him to rebuild himself, he didn’t feel like losing another child of his. “Also check up on Cassidy and Beth” I nod getting up. I walk out his office and out the front door. It was only 8 in the morning and I could just fall down and take a long nap. The whole ranch was alive. I look to my left and see the cowboys doing whatever they do with the cattle. I have met some of the cowboys here, such as Ryan, Lloyd, Jimmy, and Colby. Not really a fan of the whole ranch life but seeing them passionate and happy here is a bit liberating. Back home it was a small town and I call it the inbetween. We didn’t have large lands with farm animals or cowboys but we also didn’t have what cities do. You could go from a quiet neighborhood with a decent amount of land to a 10 minute drive down to city hall where bars and tourists danced around until curfew. The inbetween.

“Ready for that horse riding lesson?” My gaze left the cowboys and moved over to rip putting on his gloves.

“Give me another 6 years and i’ll let you know” He chuckles walking up beside me to give me a side hug but leaving him around my shoulders.

“Have to get rid of the fear if you are going to stay around here, you know horses can feel whatever you are feeling” I shake my head with a smile

“You’re horse must have a lot of anger and entitlement” I hear Lloyd laugh from close by. “Has he been acting better?” Lloyd gives me a hurt look

“I could never talk about the boss like that” The laugh that leaves me is only cut short when I catch Kayce in the corner of my eye. He pulls the horse in the secluded section. A little boy stands by watching him as the horse starts bucking but soon enough the horse settles and runs along the ring.

“That his son, Tate” I only nod. “And that's his soon to be ex wife” I look over at the tan, thin, black haired woman walking up to the fence. “Have you been helping with his divorce?” I look up seeing a grin on his face.

“Rip Rip Rip.” I shake my head again removing his arm and walking closer to him and whispering since I don’t want anyone else to hear.

“I think you should be focused on your love life which needs the most help than anyone else's plus, you know I don’t talk about my cases unless John says so '' I wave him goodbye and turn to do the same with the cowboys. I had a long morning ahead of me and I can tell you it will be an even longer afternoon.

I went over to the office and got familiar with everything going with Sarah Nguyen. The report states the cause of death was drowning which was nothing new here. The problem will be if anything shows in her body as signs it wasn’t drowning that killed her. There has been a test of what I would do for this family and this was truly the worst. Everybody is shown right from wrong from a young age. I know it's wrong to help cover this up, for god sake I devote myself to tell the truth under oath and if this goes to court rooms I will bend myself over backwards to stand loyal. Now to stop that from happening I need to make sure Jamie’s name is nowhere connected to hers. She hadn’t published anything but I can count on her talking to people close to her about what she was writing about. I have to check up on that and the notes she surely has on the interview. The next thing wasn’t something I could do alone. Beth was attacked and the men were taken care of. It has been a hassle to shut down anything being said but so far we have done a good job. Not only does the Beck brothers have hands on this but they also found out they had to do with the whole cattle situation. I recently found out about the plane they kept. Now it was up to Kayce and the association to use that and if they need help I will step in. I look at my clock after finally getting something to eat and see it hit 2.

“Miss Reid is waiting to hear from you” My assistant said, walking through the door holding my phone.

“Make a call down to Dutton’s phone company and get Jamie's phone transfer started. Make a damage/lost claim and tell them I will be by there in an hour” She nods handing me the phone “Miss Reid”

“Y/L/N” I met Cassidy once. When she was trusted as attorney general. “John gave me a call this morning to let me know you would be stopping by” I fake chuckle. Not that I didn’t like her but something was off and I had a hard time trusting some people.

“Of course. I wasn’t going to go around him but I thought there was really no real reason to bother you since you must be busy with the new job.”

“Oh and what hectic can it be” She laughs

“Am sure, listen we could plan to get drinks because I am sure we will spend some time together soon enough, unless you have something to discuss with me?”

“Drinks sounds great right now but you’re right we have to schedule it for some other time. At this moment everything is handled although I do have something to pick with you” Ok. “It has nothing to do with the job or John but it's something personal that we can discuss this Wednesday?”

“Is it a morning drink situation or afternoon?” I pull out a sticky note.

“A late evening” I was surprised to hear that from her.

“How’s 7?

“I’ll text you the location”

“See you then” We exchange goodbyes and I hang

up the phone. I get up grabbing my things and heading out my office door. “Set this up for wednesday. Do you have the paperwork on Kayce and Monica’s divorce?”

“The paperwork hasn’t been sent from court.” I I almost faceplant myself on her desk.

“I’ll take care of it. What did they say about the phone?”

“They will have it there waiting in an hour” I thankher telling her I would be leaving for the day.

“You can go home early” I say leaving the doors. Now I have to spend the rest of my afternoon in court waiting on papers. It should be fast but what Jennifer didn’t listen to when I told her to file the papers was that she was supposed to file them with the reservation. I know I should have checked up on the paperwork sooner but I know they usually take a while so I didn’t bother. I waited the process and rushed over to the store to get Jamie’s phone before going back to the office.

“Your assistant wasn’t answering her phone” I looked over my shoulder to see Beth walking up.

“And you couldn’t press another two buttons to call me?” She gave me an annoyed look while I unlocked the door for her.

“You don’t seem to pick up your phone either” I look down at it with the time stamp saying 6 and a miss call from Beth.

“Was in a reservation filing paperwork and staying to make the process faster” I motion to the file in my hand and throw it to the table.

“Have you eaten?” She asked softly, taking a seat.

“Yes mom”

“Don’t tempt me with grounding you, I could pass as your mother” I chuckle, leaning back and closing my eyes. Looking at her wasn’t easy, knowing what she went through and I know Beth wasn’t weak but what she went through wasn’t either. I can’t see the bruises she carries and not imagine those men beating her up. Or the way Rip limped this morning because of the bullets he received that night.

“That would make you 13 when you had me” I look over at her just staring at me.

“I would have made a hot teen mother” We laughed but soon enough it died down.

“What's in your head?” She gets up making herself a drink offering me one but I deny it. I was working late and I didn’t need it to make this night longer.

“My role in this family is to keep it together for the sake of my dad” I shake my head agreeing with her. She was doing all of this for him, I knew that. “Kayce is majorly helping with this but if anything goes wrong with this divorce” She was mainly talking about his son. “Than it could not only affect him, the farm but also my dad”

“I will make it happen”

“I know” She leans back into the chair taking thelast sip of her drink. “What I am saying is that if it makes it easier and cuts the time short then I will take care of the dirty work if you need it.” That was not necessary. I know I could do it.

“Of course Beth” I smile. She sets the cup down and I get up as she heads out the door.

“You don’t need to walk me out. I can take care of myself” She leaves with one last smile closing my office door. Of course I wasn’t listening to her. I walk out after hearing the main door close. I watch her get in her car and drive away safely. I let out a yawn preparing myself for more research and making sure I had everything set on Kayce’s divorce case. Monica had made it clear she wanted full custody and would only allow Tate to visit under her rules. Kayce wanted to pull the same fight but John suggested otherwise. They agreed to go with shared custody. Once I was done with enough for the day I packed everything up again and drove to the ranch. Getting in a late dinner, warm shower, and straight to my bed seemed like a perfect end to the night.

“Get into the car” I was walking up the stairs before releasing Kayce was behind me as he grabbed my things and placed them in the back of a truck. I look over to the driver's seat and see John. I didn’t ask any question as I got in or while we were heading to our destination.

“I just want you to observe and listen” I nod, getting out of the truck together. Officers surrounded the victim on the road. The sheriff approaches John as he is examining the body. It was an officer for Rainwater.

“Am not saying it was you but that it looks like you” It doesn’t sit well with John but knowing Donnie, he knows they are on the same page.

“You can turn around if you want” Kayce says next to me

“Shh” I shush him walking closer to the men speaking but not enough to catch their attention.

“Now we know who did it” Rainwater states looking over to the sheriff

“No evidence other than the bullet in his head”

“That halts construction” Rainwater says lastly, leaving Donnie and John talking. I hear their last words and how John says he's not fazed about an attempt from the Beck brothers. He walks over to Kayce and begins talking to him.

“Native?” I shake my head. “Mexican?” I look over confused at his words. “Am just curious on the kind of person you are”

“Why?” I turn my whole body towards his direction. “Because I am involved with the Dutton family and I should maybe be involved with other people?” I know who I was and what I stood for. Rainwater chuckles a bit, looks behind me and then at me again.

“I’d like to pick your brain someday, if that's okay with you?” I nod. He extends his hand and I shake it before departing towards the Duttons. Kayce looking at Rainwater walks away and I ignore his stare getting into the car. We arrive and I walk directly to the kitchen.

“Do you want a drink now?” I look up from leaning against the island.

“No” I said a little too coldly before taking a cup.

“What are you, 8?” I laugh while finishing pouring milk into my cup.

“I wish” I whisper while walking over to her and we take a seat in the living room.

“What do you have in your agenda tomorrow?”

“Sitting down with Monica and Kayce and following up on a couple other things but I should be free until 10 and finish around lunch time”

“Want to go out tonight?” I haven’t gone out in a while. What could happen?

NOT A CHAPTER

This will be insert of storylines that happens in the future if Yn and Kayce

Chapter 15:- Part 2

Chapter 14:-Part 1

For the past week it has been the same routine. I get home and lay my things on the couch. Find Kayce if he is home so we could continue to finish up the house. I don’t know how I got dragged into this idea. I wanted to find a house close to the ranch, check. I didn’t care if it was a fixer upper, check. I wanted to wait until atleast a bathroom and the kitchen was done, not check. Kayce got me to agree to move in right away. I should have known better. The kitchen needed painting. The bathroom didn’t have the shower set up yet. And that's only a few things on the list. “Kayce!” I screamed as I got into the house. Eachday we tried to knock something out the list. The first few days we got the bedroom ready. Only a bed was occupying the space. I walked to the kitchen noticing the paint had dried. Another thing that was a hassle is agreeing with things. I wanted a simple white color around the house with a mix of black and greys. Kayce called that the city side of me but that nut jobs wanted browns,greens and reds. What is this supposed to be? That would remind me of my grandmother's house, if I knew her. We decided on a sage green and beige and light blue eggshell color. The wooden floor was all his idea but my bathroom had to be tile and that is as far as we’ve gone.

“In the backyard!” I looked out the far window and saw his back but what I could also see was a figure standing infront of him. Who had come over? I come around cautiosioussly. I stood frozen on the doorway. “Hey-”

“Honey” Last time I heard those words he was using it in a hurtfult way. In the conversation he would call me many other things that weren’t appropriate to call your own daughter. “I wanted to see you” He comes closer but Kayce blocks him from my view.

“Who are you? I thought you were the contractor” His voice was rising and his posture was stiffer.

“Kayce” I stepped forward gently placing my hand on his arm. He got my message and moved aside “I don’t want no lies anymore. I know you are not here to see me” I hadn’t seen him in awhile.His grey hairs were more prominent. Wrinkles probably caused by his companion have worsened. Of course all of this was due because of time other than that he has stayed the same.

“Y/n” He softly spoke. “I am here to see you”

“And?” I raised my eyebrows seeing through his lie.

“And to give you something but that can wait” His shoulders slump down. It might be wrong of me to not even try to hear him out but mistakes back then showed me that people don’t deserve a second chance and it will be okay because I can live without them in my life.

“I said, no lies. Tell me what you need to say or give me, I have no heart to hear anything else”

“My-”

“Mom!” Our heads turn over to the doorway seeing Tate there with two paint swatches in his hand. “I finally choose the color I want”

“Mom?” I look over to see the shock expression in his face. “You had a kid?” His voice was still soft but all I heard was judgment in his tone.

“Who are you?” Thankfully before I could turn to Tate with tears on the brim of my eyes he took him into the house.

“What do you want? I am not going to give you another 5 minutes” I wiped the tears that had not fallen yet.

“I truly wanted to see you but now that I know you have a kid-”

“No” I shake my head furiously. “That will never happen. When you decided to stand there that night and also do nothing when mother screamed at me you also made the decision to have nothing to do with me from that day on”

“I am his grandfather!” I was not going to correct him. The timeline correlates with Tates age so he should have no doubts he was truly mine and I wasn’t about to deny anything. He was the man to forget about wanting to know his grandchild if he knew he didn’t share his blood. Call me evil and stupid but I wanted him to leave here knowing he wasn’t ever going to cross paths with him again and it was for the best.

“Like I said. You are not his grandfather because if I remember correctly you nodded when she said something along the lines of, you can forget your parents, you are no daughter of mine!”

“You knew the reason why! But now it's all cleared up” He took a step forward but I deny him getting closer.

“Yet it took you years later after the truth was announced to come see me and not even an apology was offered”

“You have to understand we felt hurt that day and even after, it was still hard on us” That made me chuckle.

“Hard? You know what was hard? Hearing from the people that gave you life that they didn’t love you! Kicking you out of their house with nothing in hand! Not checking up on you when they knew they were wrong when all they spoke about how bad pride was and how forgiving you should be! I guess it only works for distant relatives and not your own daughter!” Anger was fueling me to let out things I couldn’t control. I didn’t know I felt this way until all the words had been said out loud. “But it's okay. I learned from my mistakes. Like you taught me daddy, you should not trust the one who broke their end of the deal first”

“Y/N/N”

“Don’t” I shake my head. Hearing that nickname only added fuel to the fire I was trying to control. “You have another minute to tell me what you are truly doing here before you get kicked out” I look up to his eyes and see sadness. For the first time I wasn’t the one crying. Then I see a big legal orange envelope pulled from behind him.

“You have been served” And just like that he won the game of chess again. Yes he was crying but I was left broken. “And there will be a rewrite to the list of demands”

“No,” I say coldly. I know what he mean’t. I was the one who walked closer this time. I grabbed the envelope and stared at him in his eyes. “No matter what is in here and what you want, I will not let you take something of mine, I don’t let go of things that easily”

“I saw you in your cousin’s case, you are a good lawyer but good is not going to be enough” He grabs his coat from the chair and walks to the doorway.

“I am not good” He stops his steps turning over and I swear I saw a faint grin. “I am great and if you want a recond you can ask your associate but you can also wait until we are in court ourselves”

“I can’t wait honey” He walks through the doorway allowing me to finally get some air. Closing my eyes I let the faint air caress me and allow it to take away the tension.

“Was it all true?” I turn around frozen at the expression on Kayce’s face. Before I could respond he walked forward wrapping me in his arms. At that time I let out all the frustration in tears. “I'm so sorry. I didn’t know who he was, he told me he was a contractor” I shook my head wanting to tell him not to worry about it but nothing was leaving my mouth. “I thought you called someone about the pool I wanted” I laughed, hitting his chest.

“You’re an idiot, you should have known better. I don’t want a pool in the backyard.”

“How stubborn you are, I should have” He laughs. His hands moved upwards pulling my face into a kiss. “Am sorry” He whispers with sad eyes.

“It's okay. I don’t even know why I am crying, I have bigger things to handle” I left my hand showing the envelope but he pushed my hand down gently.

“Don’t shut down your feelings with me” He kissed me again, pulling closer.

“Trust me when I say I am okay. I guess it was all the emotion of seeing him again. It made me relive that day again.” I look up, wrapping my arms around his neck. “But I am okay. He and my mother will not cause me any more pain” He nods, moving down to place another kiss on my lips. “Now can we talk about the envelope? He nods again. “I haven’t read it but I can tell you he got some ideas by seeing Tate?” His eyebrows furrow. “If I am correct the content of this envelope is to rip me out of the shares in their company and to a new addition to pay some kind of settlement”

“Okay. Where does Tate come in?”

“My mother is vindictive but so am I” I smile pulling away. “I don’t know exactly what card they will pull for Tate but they are going to use him to get me. I will fight for those shares and the money but trade it under a deal for Tate”

“Would you have done it either way?”

“Yes” I smiled up at him. “I don’t want or need anything that ties me to them” I move my hand to his chest messing around with his coat. “I promise Tate will not be involved in this more than just his name”

“I know” He grabs onto my hands and kisses them. “I have a fiance whos the best lawyer here to New york, I bet I can put a good word in to help you”

“I bet I am better than her” I grin, feeling his heartbeat. “In a lot of ways” I hear a low chuckle.

“I will have to verify that” I placed my hand between our lips before he could kiss me.

“Your son has been staring at us for 4 minutes and if I remember correctly that's the same stare you have when you are getting impatient” I look over to Kayce again and laugh. “Yeah just like that” He didn’t get a chance to speak before there was a bang on the glass. We both looked over, almost bursting out laughing at his expression. The stare. The hand pressed against the glass with the paint swatch he chose and the other pointing at it.

“You know what he needs?”Kayce says as we take our time walking towards the house.

“Hmm?” I didn’t look back, mouthing to Tate we were going.

“A sibling” I almost lost my balance. A bit of a blush was surely appearing in my face.

“You should let your fiance know” I turned around letting go of his hand. “Maybe she will agree to start trying tonight” I smile rushing into the house.

“Come on!” I laugh. Tate doesn’t have a bed yet so he is sleeping with us tonight until he goes back with Monica and that is in 3 days. I ran into Tate on the floor spread out.

“Am here buddy” I smile seeing his annoyed look turn into a smile.

“Buddy you are staying with your grandpa tonight” Kayce says rushing in behind me.

“Nope. We are finishing my room even if it takes all night!” He says standing up rushing to the supplies.

“All night” I tell Kayce with a smile.

“3 Days and then you will need many nights to recover” That made two things fall. My smile and my jaw. Now I wanted Tate to go with John

BLACK AND BLOOD

Y/N L/N is the daughter of the Great Khal Drogo although she was raised by the king of the unknown lands. After finding out he died she travels and finds the one who caused his death. Along this adventure she meets the mother of dragons. Jon Snow. Night walkers. We will see if she really has the Dothraki blood flowing through her veins.

Chapter 17:

Ghost lays down probably over the whole situation. While my hands were shaking and my head spinning I tried to open my mouth. “My Queen, you need us to arrest this man?” I look back and there were 2 guardsmen there.

“No. Leave us, go back to the castle”

“Yes your grace” My gaze fell to the ground. I took a deep breath breaking down in my minute what I needed to get out before anything else happened.

“Queen?” I turn to him and give him a small shrug.

“Not officially. Just filling in until Stella is old enough.” I walk closer to him. He was close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him even in the summer weather. He had gotten rid of his fur but the leather armour is still on. “Or maybe if someone kills me” I let out a chuckle which only covered the tears that were threatening to come out. “Some people will fight it” How can anxiety fill me up so quickly? “ I know for a fact one of the council members will” That's when I feel his hand on my chin and he lifts it up so we are looking eye to eye. “I don’t want any of this and I don’t know what I am trying to prove anymore” Looking into his brown eyes only made me feel vulnerable in his presence. I look away but am pulled back to him.

“You don’t need to have all the answers, just a goal.”

“But what goal is that? Place Stella in the throne? Give Omnis the ruler they deserve? Give into every request to make them happy? You know they want to sentence my father to death?! I can’t do that. I can’t stand infront of everyone especially Gris and Stella and pretend I know what I am doing because I don’t!” My heart was speeding up.

“You are a natural leader. I know it can be sufficating but you have to remember who you are doing this for.” Then it hit me. His words and what Bran told me the day I left. I hadn’t gotten the chance to stop and think about it but the signs were there. It has been a month and nothing. “If anyone can deal under pressure is you” I took a second to just look at him. He was here. How was he here? Well I have an idea on how but, how? And why? What happened at Kings Landing? “Can you get out of that little head of yours?” I playfully hit his chest.

“Shut up. I didn’t know what I want to know first” One hand drops down and wraps around me to pull us closer.

“You know what I want to know?” The other hand moves my hair away and pulls my face closer. “Did you miss me?” I stare blankly at his grin. Of course I missed him. I thought about him all night and day. Whether he had survived Cersei. I know for a fact he would have told Daenerys about his true heritage and she probably didn’t take it lightly. I wished and prayed for him to be saafe and in no harm's way. Hoped for the day I will see him again. Hold him again “Am just going to kiss you already” And what a kiss it was. My arms finally wrapped around him. A part of me was scared that if I touched him he might not have been real. Maybe a part of my imagination. But he was truly here. His lips moved in sync with mine. I tangled my hands in his hair. “So you did miss me?” I roll my eyes pulling backwards towards the trees.

“Can you just kiss me again?” I didn’t wait for an answer and pulled him in. My back hits the tree and a moan leaves my mouth. His lips move over my jaw and down my neck. “It's hot. I think you should get rid of all this leather”

“I agree, it's hot even for this silk” I looked down and my knees buckled seeing the sight of his hand wrapping my clothing in his fist pulling on it.

“I agree.” He pulls me up straight as I gain the strength back on my legs. I pull the clips out and his armour falls. The cotten white undershirt caused another issue for me. I caress his chest slowly untying it. I felt his quicken heart and my movement stopped. “Jon” he picks up his head to look at me. His smile dropped at my whisper tone. “Its no you and I anymore”

“What?” A smile appeared on my face. It was probably a bad time to bring it up but I needed him to know. What if he has other feelings about it? I want to be able to walk away with nothing but his loving memory in Westoros. I wouldn’t bear losing him after I lose myself with him again.

“I’m pregnant” I looked into his eyes for any sign of life but no emotion was there. I realize he wasn’t looking at me but a haze was probably blocking his eyes. I ignored every question and doubt to fill my thoughts. I needed to give him some time to think. I ball my hand and move it away.

“No” He catches my wrist. Pulling my hand gently so it finds his shoulder just like the other and as soon as he lets go he pulls me closer into a hug. “Bran told me to come find you” I hear him whisper. “I wanted to give you time and let time bring us together. Daenerys attacked King's Landing. She did the thing she said she wouldn’t become.” He pulls away, grabbing my cheeks with both hands. “I knew if she was still here she wouldn’t stop fighting for the throne” I gasped. Daenerys is dead?. “I accepted whatever came after my actions. Bran became the protector of the six kingdoms. Sansa, Queen of Winterfell. For my action they exile me to the wall, per the request of the unsullied. Arya brought me over to begin her travels”

“Hey” It was my turn to get his attention. “I know your actions had their reasons. I know it wasn’t something you wanted on your hands”

“I gave my word” His eyes moved down to my stomach. “I must travel to the wall. I know I can wait for you but now,” He looks up to me again “I love you and now Its not longer you and I”

“Everything is going to be okay. We don’t need to have all the answers right now” I smile taking a hold of his hands. “Let's go and get some food for you and figure everything out. It's still you and I, this little person is just going to have to step aside for a bit” He chuckles.

“Hey” He pulls me back holding on to my hand. “Don’t get lost in that mind of yours. This is nothing to think about with this. It's still us” He places both hands on my stomach. “This is us. You and I”

Helpless

Description: She worked as a lawyer in New York until she received a phone call from the man she owes her career to. She knew she would be back and what she was in for but what she didn’t know is that her life would change even more than she imagined.

Chapter 11

Chapter 10:

I was pacing back and forth. Kayce hadn’t returned from the office yet and it was almost 7. “Can you sit down? I can give you some pills to calm down” a death stare was sent Beth's way as I fell back in my bed. “Tell me how it happened again?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t like him. I just thought he was a littel cute.”

“Not at all your type I must say”

“Dirty boots. Dirty jacket. Dirty hands” God those hands.

“Dirty mouth” That too. I smile but hide it from her. “No manners, style, or communication level you are used too”

“I don’t know Beth. I can’t explain it. Every arrow is pointing towards the exit. The only reason I noticed my interest was after sleeping together. He makes me angry and annoyed most of the time we are together!” I scream. “But when he smiled at me this morning and just held me I remember the way I felt with him even if I couldn’t stand him at the time. I felt calm. I felt seen. I felt protected”

“You need to explore it, what could go wrong?” Maybe she was right. Maybe it was something worth giving it a try. “Wait, you already slept together?”

“Twice” I smile. Before she could say anything there was a knock on the door. “Don’t you dare move” She gets up running towards the door. “Give us a minute” She says to whoever is on the other side of the door and runs back to the bed. “Go on”

“No” I shake my head and laugh.

“What? I tell you about my sex life”

“That's because you have no filter, you would tell it to a priest if you had the chance” I got curious on who was at the door so I get up to open it “Plus he is not my brother”

“Who's not your brother?” Fuck you Beth.

“Rip” I say trying to hold onto my nerves.

“She’s acting like a saint not wanting to tell my how good or how bad of a fuck you are” Beth came around pushing around us and down the hall.

“Sorry” I whisper. He was standing there with a smile holding flowers. Flowers! My inner teen was screaming and jumping. Black jacket that seems nicer and newer than the ones he regularly wears. Of course blue jeans and he couldn’t be complete with his cowboy boots and his hat.

“I got you flowers” I long forgot about Beth now.

“Thank you” I smile while taking hold of the flowers.

“I got stuck with John-”

“It's okay” I cut him off. I placed the flowers in a vase I had in my room. “We still have time” I don’t usually carry a purse so I grabbed my jacket and phone and walked out the door. Something about walking out the door with Kayce made me feel nervous. I hadn’t thought about what John might say. I know it had nothing to do with him but anything could happen, what if he wasn’t okay with it? It didn’t matter right? He holds the front door open and rushes to open the passenger side of the truck for me. “Thank you” I felt a rush waiting for him to get on the other side. I smiled, noticing the truck was still on and warm.

“Let's go,” He whispered, switching gears. It was a couple of seconds before he spoke again but to be honest it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Switching my view of outside to him looking straight at the road. “Did you have a lot of overdue work?” I chuckle, shaking my head.

“Nothing I can’t handle. I still have to meet with my secretary to see what things I have to catch up on” I leaned my arm on the arm rest fidgeting with my hands.

“What did you do for christmas?” Just the sound of the holidays made me stiff. I havent celebrated christmas or the new years in about 5 years. There wasn’t really a reason to do so. I didn’t have my family to do so. I didn’t want to intrude with the Duttons or friends, so I stayed home.

“Nothing” I could feel his stare but soon it went back to the road. “It didn’t feel special for so long that I just treated it like easter. Never celebrated that ever'' I took a deep breath in. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, he probably feels sorry for me. His arm meets mine, settling against me as his hand sneaks into both of mine. My shoulders relax and my head leans against his shoulder. “So where are we going?” We have been on the road for atleast 10 minutes and that almost took us past everything in town.

“Beth told me about a place just outside of town” I nod just taking in his presence right now. Honestly if we went home right now I would take this as a good night.

“Beth?” He looked over with a confused face.

“Yeah?” I chuckle a little and shake my head. “What? Is there something wrong?” With Beth? Yeah, but she won’t see a therapist.

“We will find out” We spoke for the rest of the car ride to whatever place Beth had told him about. “It doesn’t look bad” I look around feeling nostalgic. On our trip back home we stumbled into a bar one night and reunited with an old friend.

“Look who took my advice” The same old friend welcomed me into a hug. “That night you left in a hurry I thought I ran you off” I smile trying to not let the uneasyment show.

“I was in town for work and something came up, I apologise” I pulled away fully standing beside Kayce. “But it's nice to see you again” I look over to Kayce. “This is Gideon,” I turned to him. “An old friend” Gideon extends his hand for Kayce to shake.

“Kayce Dutton” I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a grin on my face. Kayce introduced himself with a smile. When I took hold of his hand I could feel tension.

“Nice to meet you Kayce” Gideon returns the smile. “Let's get you a table” We walked past the sitting area towards the outdoor doors. “You get our special table” The double doors opened and it was beautiful. It was a balcony area with a single table for four. It was cold being January but we were surrounded by fire heaters. The top was opened with fairy lights hanging from ontop and flowers decorating the post they were on. The overlook was all country, maybe it was an orchard? It was dark, I couldn’t see anything past the railings. “I will be back to take your orders personally” We say our thank yous and sit down.

“This is beautiful” I look around some more and each time I find something that makes it more beautiful. Like the hacienda accent it had along the place. The way it pulled up to a second story somehow so there were stairs on both ends of the balcony.

“Yeah very pretty” I almost burst out laughing seeing his serious face as he looked around only to scruff and focus on the menu. “I’ve been to fancy places but you can’t even understand what these words mean” I let a chuckle escape then.

“Kayce we can leave if you want” I reach over the table to take hold of his hand. He finally looks up and shakes his head.

“No. You like it, we should stay.”I pull my seat out and walk to the one beside him.

“Kayce I don’t care how pretty it is, if you don’t want to be here we can leave” He shakes his head taking my hand in his.

“No it okay”

“Okay” I say with a smile, grabbing the menu.

“Plus we don’t want your friend to feel bad” There goes another eye roll. I slam the menu on the table and turn my body towards him.

“You want to know who he is?” Kayce looked a little taken back due to the volume of my voice. “I’ve known him since middle school. He dated one of my friends” Well multiple of them but that's a whole different story, and a pretty long one too. “And that's how we met and kept in contact even after they broke up until a year before moving here” I stopped and sat up hearing the doors open.

“I know you don’t like drinking but having you here is something we need to celebrate” He had glasses and a bottle of wine. He opens the bottle and starts pouring. “I spoke about this dream for so long with you that having you finally see it well, everything feels complete”

“It's amazing what you have built here. I am so proud you made it happen” I raise my cup and cheer with him.

“You remember what I promised that night?” I nod. He points afar over the balcony. A couple of field lights turn on illuminating the land but not enough to blind everything else. “Whenever you want, it's yours” I stood up taking the moment in. I have only dreamed of this. Back home with my grandmother the smell of oranges and apples never left my memories. I have always dreamt of having an orchard full of them. I walked over the edge blocking the two behind me. Maybe there are some rewards in life still left for me.

“Are you okay?” I look up nodding to Kayce. “Gideon said he would bring out something we both would like” I nod again and look far off to the trees.

“I always had problems with relationships” I looked over to him again. “Any kind of relationship. Family, friends, lovers” I took in a deep breath thinking back to the year before leaving. “I always gave too much of myself to people and even though it might not seem much to them it killed me each time they took it for granted. I thought separating myself from everyone would show me who really cares, now I understand it works both ways. I was a horrible friend to him, not contacting him and even after years he wants to give me all of this?” I didn’t relized I was crying until Kayce came forward to wipe a tear. “I should have taken care of those who showed me love instead of protecting myself from them because I thought they would treat me just like the others”

“Y/N, nobody is perfect. You did it for yourself and that's what you needed and they people who truly love you understand”

“But that's selfish”

“Maybe” He smiles, grabbing my face in both of his hands. “Like you said, any relationship needs work from both people. And they will love you no matter the flaw, nobody needs to settle for being something they are not” He continues to wipe the remaining tears as I look at him with a smile

“Who knew you were such a talker?” He shakes his head as his hands slide down my neck, my arm, until they are wrapped around me pulling me close.

“You bring it out of me” I roll my eyes. Never was a person for mushy lovey words but I can live with his words.

“Whatever” I smile. “You think it will fit in the truck?” Getting lost in his eyes and just feeling his warmth, I didn’t want to leave.

“What?”

“My orchard” I smile, chuckling a bit.

“I can find a spot in the ranch to plant a new one”

“We are on a first date and you already want to build me an orchard?”

“Your friend Gideon who you has no emotional relationship with just gave you one”

“I’ve known Gideon for over 10 years, there’s some emotional feeling there”

“Of course” He rolls his eyes looking away. I grab a hold of his face and pull him closer.

“But I will let him know that it can stay here.” I place a kiss on his cheek. “Because my cowboy will become a farmer just so I can have my orchard” I place another on his jaw. “I will just have to wait a little longer for it but I am okay with that” His arms tighten as I finally reach his lips. A groan leaves his lips as I bite his bottom lip. It was supposed to be quick and a romantic kiss but with Kayce it never seems to be.

Helpless

Description: She worked as a lawyer in New York until she received a phone call from the man she owes her career to. She knew she would be back and what she was in for but what she didn’t know is that her life would change even more than she imagined.

A/N: This chapter is going to be short. I want to focus more of the main character than the plot. In the next chapters that’s what it will be but here and there it will include the plot because it affects them as well. Thank you❤️.

Part 5

Chapter 4

The next day, or so I hoped it was, feeling how tired and sleep deprived I felt I woke up to my phone ringing. “Hello?”

“Y/N, This is Donnie. Tell John Jenkins is dead” I got dressed in a hurry finishing the call with the sheriff and rushing downstairs.

“Where’s John?” I ask Beth as I see her walking down the hallway

“Office” Beth's eyes seemed to want to tell me something but I ignored it as I walked towards John’s office. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I rush in until I notice Jamie and Kayce there too.

“I heard you had a long night” He sits in his chair. “We have matters to discuss so if you can give us a minute” He motions to the doors.

“Jenkins is dead” I flat out said. “Donnie doesn't know how long he can keep it a secret but he can get you a day” I could feel Kayce’s stare as I walked mid center infront of John’s desk. I want to look at him and tell him I was sorry. For what? That won’t help. I didn’t have anything to be sorry for but I felt bad, no one should be going through this.

“We can’t worry about it now. We will take care of it. I need to get a warrant” I nod.

“Donnie agreed to keep his cousins down since when off duty they get extra work as Becks security”

“Get me that warrant” I nod again walking out of the office and to get changed into real clothes this time. I rush over to the office and get everything situated and set over to John.

“Hello?” I answer my phone wanting nothing else than to get back to the ranch and help evey way possible.

“Hey Y/N. Just wanted to check in to see if we were still on for drinks?” Shit.I forgot it was today.

“Cassidy” I tried not to sound so surprised and chipper. “I am actually in a rush right now. Didn’t see it coming, we will have to reschedule. I hope that's not a problem?”

“That's okay. I know we will have a chance soon enough to have dinner or atleast coffee together”

“Thank you for being so understanding. I will call you to reschedule” I didn’t wait to hear her respond before saying goodbye and ending the phone call. I got to the ranch and felt useless just walking around the living room. Getting news little by little. Like how Kayce was sent out with a warrant to the Becks and got information on a milita that knew where Tate was. It was evening now and John and the rest of the cowboys were out. This was the worst part. Knowing in any second or maybe it was happening now but that Rip was getting sent out as practically bait.

“What is going on?” I hear the door open to see a red eyed Monica still with fresh tears in her face. I offer her seat and tell her everything I knew up to this point. We watch the sun start rising as we, including Beth, sit on the couch watching the glass doors.

“Do you want coffee?” I looked over to Monica who was laying her head on Beth’s lap. We havent closed our eyes since the last morning. She tried to speak but her rough voice didn’t allow her to. I only nod, getting up to go towards the kitchen. I wait for the coffee to finish and look up towards the window and see John getting out of his truck. I place the coffee in a cup and walk out to see Monica huggin John.

“He's okay?” she sobbed in his arms. She asked it as a question, doubting until she could finally hold him in his arms again.

“The sheriff is driving them over at this moment” Monica whips some tears pulling away from John. I hear the front door open to see Beth walking out and a few seconds later John follows.

“Here. You are going to need some energy” I handed her the cup and gently made sure she sat back on the couch. I watch as she finishes the coffee and sets it down. How she closes her eyes slowly fighting to keep awake but sleep wins. Finally allowing herself to let most of her worry go away. I don’t know how long it was until I saw John walking in with Tate in his arms. He looks over at Monica and then at me.

“Give me a minute” I nod, getting up and picking the cup to set it in the sink. I take a deep breath and go back into the living room. Seeing Tate gives me some relief from the past day, but I can’t imagine how much Monica is going to feel. I look up seeing Kayce walking down the stairs. “How long?” I look over to Monica and back at Kayce.

“10 minutes?” I am unsure on how long Monica had closed her eyes. Kayce nods, walking closer to the couch. “I’ll be outside” I walk out and wrap myself with my arms embracing the cold air of the morning. I walk over and take a seat on the rocking chair and close my eyes. I don’t know how long it passed but I didn't open my eyes until I heard the door open again. “How is he?” I spoke first seeing Kayce looking at the distance.

“He will be okay,” He whispered, shaking his head. It seemed like he was trying to convince himself of that too. “Look..” I wave my hand stopping him.

“Let's talk tomorrow. You have a lot of things to do and catch up on some sleep” I smile, giving him a pat on the shoulder before entering the house and going straight to bed. I slept until 1. Got a quick shower done and off to find John I went. I saw him walking past me to his office. Jamie in his suit again.

“Goodmorning” He smiles walking past me. I guess his cowboying days are over.

“We need to talk” John motions for me to sit down. He wears a black suit and tired eyes.

“I am no longer livestock commissioner” All I have to say is wow. “People are going to figure out the person kidnapped is my blood and it will not look good for me”

“Am guessing Jamie wasn’t your first option” He shakes his head directing his view outside.

“Kayce didn’t want any part of it” He sits up in his chair looking over at me now. “Me and the the rest of the wranglers are going to set camp to make sure the cattle can go back for summer”

“What?Do you need me to keep watch?” I chuckle

“You have never even touched a horse from the day you’ve been here, if you can ride a horse you can be a foreman” We laugh feeling some relief but of course that always ends quickly. “But I do need you to keep watch on loose strands here and especially on Jamie”

“How long are you going to be out there for?” John shrugs

“Until it all makes sense again” I nod. I know he knows what he is doing all of this for. What his purpose of fighting and breathing is for. This is his land and he wants to keep it that way so he can pass it on.

The next day I watched them depart for camp. Monica decided it was best for Tate to go with them since he loved being a cowboy. It included fishing, horse riding, spending time with his grandfather and father but especially not going to school. For the next few days things are going to take a turn. With Jamie in office now and Beck's death. The new company taking over Jenkins land and wanting to stop Rainwater’s construction. The Duttons are strong but when it comes to getting help with something they think they can take care of, God, they are stubborn.

Helpless

Description: She worked as a lawyer in New York until she received a phone call from the man she owes her career to. She knew she would be back and what she was in for but what she didn’t know is that her life would change even more than she imagined.

Part 4

Chapter 3

I walked out to the porch taking my morning coffee and enjoying the morning dew. John wasn’t kidding when he said this place would keep me busy the first few days but yet again he didn’t remember that I was an overachiever. “When is it going to be my turn?” I turn at the sound of a little boy. I look over and see Rip training the same horse Kayce was that morning.

“You have to be patient Tate, this can’t be done in one day” Rip laughs continuing whatever he was doing. I walk up leaning against the fence and watching Rip.

“Hello?” I look over at the brown wide-eyed boy. He looked nothing like his father, everything from his mother.

“Goodmorning Tate”

“How do you know my name?” He asked, confused, backing up a little.

“My name is Y/N, I am a family friend” I extend my hand and the next second he shakes it confidently.

“Grandpa told me about you” I furrowed my eyebrows, surprised about that. “I was asking him for a horse and he was speaking about responsibility and such and that's when you came up”

“I hope it was all good things” I smile

“I guess, don’t tell him but I kind of stopped hearing him after he agreed on getting me a horse” I shake my head but before I said anything else screams were being heard from the barn.

“Stay here” Rip sternly said, referring to keeping an eye on the small boy.

“What's going on?”

“I don’t know Tate but I think we should go inside for a while” The boy looks back but nods following my motion to get him inside the house. “Did you have breakfast yet?”

“Yes! Grandpa let me have pancakes, bacon, chocolate milk” He stopped walking closer to me and whispering “Don’t tell my mom but he also let me have one of the big cookies”

“I won’t tell a soul”

“Do you want one? I know where they keep them” I couldn’t put a word in as he ran off to the pantry. I take a seat at the stool waiting on Tate to be back but it's not long after that that I hear the door open.

“Tate?” I watch Kayce look around the kitchen and land his eyes on me. “Have you-”

“Dad?” He stops mid run. His hands around his back.

“You are going to be late for school” I hold in a smile as Kayce stalks over to his son. “What's behind you?” Tate slowly pulls out one hand revealing a big cookie

“Its for Y/N” he looks over at me with pleas in his eyes

“And what about the other one?” Tate pulls out his hand holding another cookie. Tate looks at me again and then defeat covers them.

“I asked him for two.” I stood him walking behind Tate and taking both cookies. “I haven’t had breakfast” I smile innocently towards both boys.

“Yeah..” Tate continues.

“Go on” Kayce smiles at Tate. “Your mother is outside waiting to take you to school” With a last smile Tate grabs his bag, kisses Kayce’s cheek before running out the door. I look over at Kayce but Rip walks through the door first.

“Its Jimmy” I nod understanding what he means. Since Jimmy has gotten here it was peaceful and I was aware of the situation he was pulled from. Recently before arriving I was asked by Jamie to take on a case for him and it involved Jimmy. He had an altercation with his old pals and needed it to go away. Having camera footage and witnesses become not valid evidence was hard but I made it happen. I am sure this won’t be any different. I looked over to Kayce knowing this was my last chance to talk to him before I got wrapped up into something.

“Remember I set up a meeting for you and Monica at 11.” I walk over to Rip pushing the two cookies in his hands

“What are these for?” I quickly shrugged

“I don’t like cookies” I shut the door behind me walking over to the barn

“He's dead” That is the first thing I hear. Jimmy is seated in the kitchen. I go up kneeling down in front of him. In a million ways he reminds me of my own brother. Sweet, caring, when they tell him he is too weak and will never do it, he goes out there no matter if his face ends up in the dirt.

“Did they have anything to do with any of it?”He looks up from his hands.

“Of course they did! I know it was them. The officer came by and told me he took a beating which caused his death. I paid them and still went and did this!” I nod, grabbing onto his hands.

“Okay. What do you want me to do?” There won’t be much to go from this. No witness. No evidence other than it was an assault but nothing can be proven unless someone comes forward.

“Rip said we would take care of it but he also told me you could” I could. There was always a way and now I knew why Rip sent me in here.

“There is. Send him for life. You just let me know” He shakes his

head violently.

“I don’t think that would be enough. He needs to pay and not live-” I stand up cutting him off. “I don’t want to make you do something I know you don’t want too” He looks up. Red eyes.

“I work for the Duttons Jimmy, you just have to say the word” I stayed a bit after that making sure he was okay and then went to find Rip. Of course he said he was going to take care of it. I knew what it meant but never asked for details, I knew better than that.

“What did Jimmy decide?” I look up from the awkward air that surrounded my office. Kayce and I were currently waiting on Monica to show up and it has been a long 5 minutes.

“Seems like he is going with Rip” I let out a sigh looking down at the paperwork. Everything was written and printed. Unless they decide to change something then it is all done. All they had to do was sign. “Can I ask you a question?” I look up, seeing blanks in his eyes. Before I could open my mouth again my phone started ringing. “Hello?”

“Meet me down at the bar in main street across from Veronica's Boutique” I hear a dry chuckle “What left of it”

“I thought we agreed on drinks tonight?”

“Y/N” Even if she was laughing a second ago doesn’t take away the pain and even more tiredness from her voice. “Monica is here, tell Kayce to sign it and well, your smart make something up” another conversation that I don’t get to say anything in. I place the phone in my pocket and start packing.

“Sign the papers. I have to leave and I will catch up with Monica later to make sure she agrees with everything or if she wants to change anything” Kayce looks confused.

“This is serious Y/N. I know you are busy but we can wait another 5 minutes.” His voice starts to rise. “This is about my kid, my son”

“Kayce I understand but I had things come up. I will text Monica-”

“I heard you say drinks! You can take care of those things

another time, Do I have to remind you that you work for us? I apologize if my attitude towards you made this not so important but-” I slam my hand on the desk ready to scream but I took a deep breath and looked up at Kayce who was already standing.

“This has nothing to do with your attitude towards me. When I decide to take on a divorce case I want nothing else than what is best for the child if involved.” Conveniently a text came through from what I could tell was a drunk Beth. “Monica agreed to meet later on this afternoon since she had something come up” I grabbed my things and walked to my office door. “And for the record I work for John, not you” I shut the door leaving him in my office. “Once Mr. Dutton leaves, you can take the rest of the day off” Jennifer nods. I take the drive down to the bar as a cool down moment. I haven’t known Kayce for a long time and I bet he was alright but goddamn did he know how to set me off with just a look.

“Look who's here” I didn’t even have to look around to find them. Monica gave me a sympathetic look. They were at a booth. “I’ll go get us some drinks”

“Beth” I warned taking a seat across from Monica

“You two worry so much” And there she goes, off to the bar. I look over to Monica who’s already staring at me. “What happened?”

“Had an altercation with Vernoica at her store. She falsely accused me of stealing and got the cops called on me. Before Beth arrived they looked through my belongings and then made me strip down in the dressing room because she insisted I had stolen something” I could see the residue tears still haunting her cheeks. “She took a look at my skin and decided to judge me”

“Seems like you need the drink” She lightly smiles. “What did she do?” I looked over to Beth who was talking to the bartender while having our drinks right infront of her.

“Broke and knocked over somethings” Monica wiped off a couple more tears that slid down her face again.

“What else?” I know Beth so I knew there was more than just a couple broken items.

“Made her strip down to try out a dress but I stopped it before it got worse” You could see she regretted and felt bad for Beth’s actions.

“She did it to protect you, you are part of her family” She looks up and then down at the folder I was holding

“Soon I won’t be” She sighs.

“We can talk about this some other day” She stopped me from moving the papers into my bag.

“No. I need to do this now.” She pulls the papers towards her.

“Half and half. Weekends are alternated. Monthly support is accessful for anything Tate may need. Holidays are between the two of you to agree on” She checks over the paperwork carefully.“Partially custody, but the most important thing is that Tate has both their parents present and involved” She signs the papers and slides it to me. I slide it in my bag and look over to Beth again. “Let’s drink” I didn’t have to take care of anything else important right now so drinks it is. I get up grabbing the cups from Beth.

“Hey this idiot-”I didn’t let her finish as I pulled her towards the table. I pulled out a twenty and placed it infront of the bartender.

“Keep the drinks coming, this is just an apology” He nods apologetic. This is going to be a long night. The drinks kept coming and soon enough the afternoon people left the bar and the night people showed up. It was Tuesday and the bar seemed like the weekend. Maybe the fact that Beth shouted that drinks were on her was the reason it brought people in. See I want to say I have better consiocious than this but in my soul I needed this. I hadn’t stopped to think about what I had agreed to. Surely my parents or whoever cared for me deeply wouldn’t want me to help with any of this, but am still here.

“What did they do to you?” My chin is lifted up and I come face to face with Rip. “I thought you knew better than this” A drunken smile stretched across my face as I took his hand in mine.

“Dance with me?” I got up from the stool and tried to drag him to the dance floor but not even sober could I move him an inch.

“Not tonight, I have something to do in an hour so let's get you girls home” I look over to see Ryan,Jimmy,Lloyd and a couple of other cowboys in the bar handling Beth and Monica out the door. “Ready?” He asked it more of a suggestion since he was already dragging me out the door.

“What time is it?” He opens the back door and helps me get inside.

“7” We have been in the bar for 6 hours. The sun was already setting by 5 so it was no surprise it was dark already. “Wrap that blanket around you” He ordered pointing to the seat. The door shuts and I look forward and Beth is passed out in the passenger seat. “Ryan is taking care of Monica, she will make sure she gets home safe” I nod resting my head back. Silence took over as he started the car and drove off towards the ranch. “John will not like this” I didn’t feel drunk, I felt tired. Like when you haven’t slept for days and your body aches because it hasn’t stopped to rest. I don’t feel nauseous or disoriented right now. I couldn’t walk in a straight line if you asked me but I could count backgrounds from any number and file a lawsuit if need be. “He had been calling you and Beth like crazy until he finally decided to seen us out to look for both of you”

“I'm sorry” I felt bad now. I don’t think I did anything wrong but imagining how scared John felt when he didn’t hear from Beth for those six hours must have felt horrible. The Beck Brothers won’t stop coming after John until he is ruined and I know for a fact that if he has too he will attack twice in the same place.

“Don’t be sorry, I am the one who offered you drinks and it was because of me that you stayed and drank so much” Beth was now awake looking straight at Rip but Rip knew better than to look her way right now.

“Beth..” Rip warned taking off his seat belt as we crossed the ranch gates.

“Don’t Beth me. She can’t get drunk on her own even if her life depended on it” I felt offended and it pained to hear that for some reason.

“What?! Yes I can!” I push myself forward to lean against the armrest.

“Y/N Lean back in the seat” Rip now warned looking at me using the rearview mirror

“Don’t scream at her” Beth hits his arm unbuckling herself as the truck comes to a stop.

“Yeah!” I hit him this time. “I can do what I want and what I want is to continue drinking” I turned towards the door but I was unable to open it. “Rip open the door!”

“Did you put the child safety lock on the door?!” Beth starts arguing again. “She’s not a baby!” she hits him again

“Yeah! Am not a baby!” I go to hit him but he opens the door and escapes. A few seconds later Beth doors open and Rip is on the other side trying to get her out.

“I don’t have time for both of them right now” Rip, annoyed, tells whoever is outside with him. “I’ll grab this one and you take the other one” He pulls her out and I hear Beth mutter some words. “I will meet you outside in 30 minutes so we can leave. '' I could hear Beth fight, not wanting anyhelp before the door shuts and mine opens.

“I guess you are mine” Maybe I am drunk because hearing those words come out of his mouth made me feel something.

“I don’t need help” I groaned, almost falling face first onto the ground. “I slipped” Truth is I was feeling a little nervous under his gaze. Nothing to say about that other than that I felt a little embarrassed that he had to do this and knowing I am not his favorite person. I don’t even make it to the list of people he can tolerate on a daily basis.

“Let's just get you to bed” There it is, that irritated voice again. Seems like he saves it just for me. I know he doesn’t like me but why? I mean I don’t care but like why can’t he just be nice enough not to sound so disgusted or annoyed by not only my presence but anything that has to do with me.

“No” I huffed, stomping my foot and stopping mid stairs. “Well yeah but not to bed!” I thought about it. I wanted a drink but I had to enter the house to get to it. I pushed open the door and looked around first.I wasn’t about to make a fool of myself and give him a hard time in front of anyone else.

“Don’t be difficult, I have things to do” I rolled my eyes, going straight for the liquor. I didn’t know much about what was best or what I could pour in a cup and just drink so I stuck with beer. “Hey, don’t!” He walks over to me but I go around the island avoiding him. “Look I don’t have to do this but I choose to because for some reason my dad wants you here and needs your help” see that right there makes my blood boil. Yes I know I am here for John and nobody else. I don’t accept thank you’s, any form of gratitude or apologise but the fact that he doesn’t acknowledge it makes me a little ticked off. “Now can you be-” I walk over to the next room in search of my bag. I drag out the divorce papers and slide it across the island when I walk back to him.

“You don’t have to do anything for me. I choose to get drunk and choose to continue drinking. And you’re right, just because John likes me and needs me here doesn’t mean you have to be nice to me but atleast you can show how you really feel about me instead of trying to act nice because someone asked or because that's what you think they want from you! I have to be nice to you but I also have the right to stand up for myself and not be treated like some kind of pest you don’t want around!” He shakes his head, taking the drink from my hand and finishing the rest.

“Fine!” I take a step back to walk away from I feel the room shake as I am lifted from the ground

“Kayce!” I start pounding my fist on his back “Put me down! I can walk on my own” The room continues to shake as he walks up the stairs.

“You’re acting like a child and so I will put you to bed and we will talk about the things you said tomorrow!” He walks down the hall opening the door.

“”You’re acting like a child! I can take care of myself! I don’t need to talk about anything with you if it doesn’t have anything to do with work”He throws me on the bed and I don’t have enough strength to get up

“My divorce will not be the only thing we will be working together on, so best get the formalities over with and figure out how to tolerate eachother without killing ourselves for the sake of the ranch”

“Kayce?” I whisper not wanting to scream or talk loud anymore. I hear a hum. “Be careful out there and whatever you do don’t do more than you have too because I don’t want too much work when it gets to my desk” I hear a faint chuckle as I wrap myself in my blanket.

“We will talk about that tomorrow too”