how lucky are we?

You hadn’t seen Kayce in a few days. He had been busy with preparing for cattle summer camp.

”Why don’t you bring your girl?“ John asked his son

”She’s not my girl.“ Kayce answered, defensiveness coming out of his tone.

”Son, I don’t know what it is that you two are doing but I’m not blind.“

Kayce stared off into the mountains.

”Now go on, call her. We have enough food to feed one more person“ he said. Kayce looked as his father walked away. Was he that obvious? Of course he wanted you here. After everything happening he was yearning for a peaceful moment with you. Some time together. He had always loved summer camp but if you were here now it would have been damn near perfect.

”Hey.“ you said picking up the phone a smile on your face

”Hey.“ You heard at the other end of the line

”How is camping?“

”Why don’t you come and see for yourself?“

”Wait what?“

”My tent is big enough for two.“

”Are you serious right now?“ you asked still a little confused

”Yeah.“

”But what about your father?“ you asked

”He was the one suggesting it.“ Kayce said and you could hear the grin in his voice. Fuck, you would lie saying you didn’t missed him. Things between you were teetering into something that wasn’t casual anymore at all. Yet you still didn’t knew what Kayce thought about this relationship.

”Well… yeah okay.“ you said

”Great. Meet Jake at the Ranch, he’ll take you here.“

You arrived at the campsite and the view was really stunning. You spotted Kayce standing next to his father.

You still felt kind of uneasy around the Dutton patriarch, even though every time you’ve met him he was kind to you. Maybe it was just a relict from how you felt around your own father.

Kayce spotted you and said something to his father before he walked over to you.

”Hey you.“ you said, squinting at him because of the sun.

”Hey.“ he smiled as he took your bag and carried it to one of the tents, you assumed it was his.

”Hello y/n.“ John said

”Hello sir. Thank you for letting me stay.“

He made a dismissive hand gesture

”No need to.“

”Here we are ma’am. The best suite.“ Kayce joked and you grinned at him. He looked lighter, more carefree.

”Thank you.“ walking in. Inside it was bigger than you had thought, cozy.

You gave him a quick kiss, it was pathetic how much you’ve missed him when he was just gone for one day. His arms wrapping around you as he kissed you back. It was so easy to get lost in him again. Your heart beating fast as his hands pulled you closer.

When you broke apart you couldn’t help but grin up at him. His thumb tracing your bottom lip for a second.

”So what can I do?“ you asked

”You don’t have to help. You’re my guest. You can go with Tate if you want.“ he answered, taking a step back.

”Is he here?“

”Yeah, he’s staying for a bit.“

”How is he doing?“ you asked

”Better out here. Didn’t wake up the last nights.“

You nodded a small smile on your face.

”That’s really great. I’m glad to hear.“

You did spend some time with the youngest Dutton.

Later Kayce found you again and Tate ran off to his grandfather.

You and Kayce had wandered from the main camp, walking in silence down toward the edge of the tree line. The air was cooler here, the wind whispering through the tall grass.

Kayce slowed, then held out a hand to stop you gently. “Wait,” he said, voice low.

You looked up at him, curious, but he nodded toward the distant ridge. “There,” he murmured.

It took you a second, but then your eyes adjusted and you saw it. A wolf.

You didn’t take your eyes off the wolf. “I’ve never seen one outside a zoo before.”

He glanced down at you, something soft in his expression. “You don’t get many wolves in Manhattan, huh?”

You smiled, eyes still fixed on the animal. “Not unless you count Wall Street.”

He chuckled quietly, and for a moment, you both just stood there watching the creature move through the wild. His hand came to settle on your hip, holding you softly.

“It’s beautiful,” you said, a little breathless still stunned by the animal.

He looked at you then, not the wolf. “Yeah. It is.”

“Come on,” he said after a while, nudging your shoulder gently. “Sun’s going down. Let’s get back.”

You listened with a smile as John told the Story about Kayce eating the biscuits his mother made. You were glad you came. Glad to be able to see this side of Kayce. Carefree almost boyish, like for a moment he wasn’t carrying the whole world on his shoulders.

”They were good. What’s funny about that?“ Kayce defended himself with a smile on his face. You laughed too.

Kayce studied you for a moment. Your skin was illuminated by the fire, a smile on your face as you listened to the story his father told. He was glad you were here. His dad went on talking to Tate, they were not paying attention to you two.

”You okay?“ He asked and you nodded biting your lip, but he saw the slight goosebumps rising on your arms.

”Here, you’re cold.“ He said as he shrugged off his jacket wrapping it around your shoulders.

”Better?“ He asked in a low rumble, you nodded 
”Thank you.“

Unbeknown to you, the tender moment wasn’t just between you two. John, while he still told Tate a story about the Mountains, let his eyes flicker to his son for a moment, glad to see him happy again.

Later when you went to bed, you looked at each other again.

”This is probably the most quiet I’ve ever heard.“ you said voice barely audible

”There’s constant noise in New York.“

”The city that never sleeps.“ he said, voice also low and you smiled

”Yeah. I guess so..“

You kissed him, soft and languid.

”Thank you for inviting me. Even though I’m no help.“

”Oh you are helping just fine.“ he said with a chuckle, pulling you closer against his chest.

”You liked today?“

”Yeah it was perfect. Reminded me of my childhood.“

He hummed

”My oldest brother, Connor, took us camping a few times. Fishing and all.“ You smiled at the memory

”He did things like that sometimes. Looking back he was more of a father figure to us than my father ever was.“ It was quiet for a moment, his thumb moving back and forth on your skin

”But are you sure I’m not intruding?“ You couldn’t help but voice your concerns

He kissed you as an answer, soft, slow and reassuring.

”You don’t need to worry. I want you here.“

”Okay.“ you said, voice sounding smaller than you wanted it to. Recently everything to do with the man whose arms you were laying in made you feel almost nervous. Not like it was in the beginning more like you were overwhelmed with all the feelings that were unaddressed but so obvious.

He leaned in connecting your lips, kissing you tenderly and with so much emotion you thought your heart might explode. When you parted there was so much lingering in the air, so much unsaid. But neither of you said what was on your mind and so you fell asleep, tired from the day spent outside but happy, probably the happiest you’ve ever been.

Kayce watched as you fell asleep in his arms. His fathers words replayed in his mind. Maybe he should take the leap and make you his girl. He wasn’t seeing anyone else and he was pretty certain you weren’t either. You met each other all the time, slept in his bed, had sex and sneaked some kisses when no one was watching and basically acted like a couple. You’d even met Tate and the rest of his family. Hell, you had spent Christmas at theirs and New years. And he had feelings for you, there was no denying that. He had felt like a schoolboy with his first crush in the early months of talking to you but now? Now he felt something dangerously close to love for you.

You attended the Rodeo together with the Duttons the next day. It was busy, people were greeting the Duttons left and right.

You took your seats, you next to Kayce.

Beth tried to take Rips hand who nervously removed it but it was too late, John had already caught it.

”I guess everyone thinks I’m the dumbest man in this valley.“ John asked the couple

”You can hold her damn hand, Rip.“ he said before adding ”As if something could happen on my ranch I don’t know about.“

Kayce chuckled a little next to you prompting his father to turn towards you

”That applies for you two, too.“ he said nodding towards you two

”Go on, you’re not as sly as you think.“

Kayce looked away from his father laughing and you couldn’t help but chuckle too as you reached out to take his hand. His eyes met yours, a curiosity in them, and you shrugged with a grin. He gave your hand a squeeze and you leaned against him.

It was nice sitting there with them and feeling welcomed. You could imagine what having a real family was like. This felt very official you thought. Sitting next to Kayce, fingers intertwined as his thumb absentmindedly brushed over your knuckles. It didn’t felt like before. Somewhere in the time after Christmas you had gone from sneaking around in the dark, acting like nothing was going on to openly be soft with each other. Not in front of other people but with each other.

You got pulled out of your mind when the governor came over to talk to John. You had experience with politicians but this situation seemed different.

”Tate, you want ice cream?“ Kayce asked his son who agreed exitedly. You got up with them to let John and the Governor talk.

Tate sat on a fence eating his ice, Kayce had gotten a cone for you too. He stood behind you, his hands on the fence, your back leaned slightly against his chest.

”Are you coming next summer too?“ Tate asked taking a bite of his ice cream.

”Next summer?“ you asked, freezing slightly.

Tate nodded

”Dad always brings you now.“ he stated.

He wasn’t teasing, not trying to embarrass anyone, simply a kid stating a fact.

You swallowed, heat creeping up your neck.

Kayce had gone strangely quiet behind you.

”So you’ll probably come next year too.“ Tate continued.

”Maybe.“ you said finally.

The eight year old gave a serious nod ”Good.“ And just like that he returned his attention to the arena, completely unaware that he’d left the two adults standing there with hearts beating a little too fast. You took a deep breath to calm your heart when you felt Kayce take a small step forward. His chest now completely against your back and you couldn’t help leaning more back into him.

Later the two of you walked through the vendor stalls. Leather goods, buckles, hats and jewelry.

You stopped at a booth looking at the turquoise pieces.

“These are beautiful,” you murmured, lifting a bracelet.

The elderly woman running the booth smiled.

“That one would suit you.”

You slipped it onto your wrist.

Kayce glanced down.

”Looks good.“

You looked up at him with a grin

”Such a poet.“

”Your boyfriend is right.“ the woman stated.

Your stomach did a flip but neither of you corrected her.

You ran your finger over it before taking the bracelet off again.

Before you could say anything else Kayce got his wallet out.

”Kace, you don’t have to.“ you immediately started.

”I know.“ he gave you a small smile ”I want to.“

The woman took the twenty from him.

”You’re both lucky. Looking at each other like that? Don’t see that often anymore.“

”Yeah.“ Kayce answered in a tone much softer than you had expected.

The evening didn’t exactly turned out how you wanted it to. Jimmy fell and he fell hard. The ambulance came to bring him to the hospital after they’d make sure he was breathing.

Kayce laid an arm around you as you stood watching the young cowboy getting carried away by the ambulance.

”Kayce you go back to the camp, take Y/n with you. I’ll go with him to the hospital. Tate‘s coming with me Monica wanted to pick him up later. Rip you and Beth go to the Ranch.“

You all started to walk to the cars.

You woke up late, a look at your phone had shown you that it was almost two. The bed was empty and the tent was too.

You rubbed your eyes before you stepped out into the dark night. You could hear the cicadas and saw Kayce sitting a few feet away. He looked deep in thought as he looked into the night sky.

You approached him and when he heard your steps behind him he turned slightly. You gave him a little smile and he patted the grass beside him.

”You alright?“ you asked after a few minutes of sitting in silence.

”Yeah. Just thinkin‘“ he said fiddling with a piece of grass.

”Wanna talk about it?“ You asked and he nodded.

”It’s about you.“ he said and your eyebrows furrowed

”About us.“ he added, his fingers halting.

”What about us?“

Kayce stayed quiet for a moment. You almost thought he changed his mind.

”I don’t really know how to say this.“

He shook his head before adding

”Guess that’s part of the problem.“

It was your part to stay silent now, knowing him well enough to know that he would eventually say what was on his mind.

”Dad‘s been on my ass about it, Tate too.“ he looked down for a second

”And then the rodeo, the lady at the stand.“

Your eyes went to your wrist where the silver bracelet with the turquoise stone rested.

”Yeah.“ you said.

”Thing is…“ he rubbed a hand over his jaw

”Nobody’s wrong.“

You heart began pounding

”No?“

He shook his head again

”Are they? We spend every chance together, you know my family, Tate. You sleep in my bed. he asked you

You swallowed

”No. They’re not.“

He studied your eyes.

”I don’t want to keep pretending we’re just seeing where this goes, when I know where I want it to go.“

Your breath stumbles.

”When I came to Montana I wasn’t looking for anything.“ you started

”I thought I was going to stay a while, have a break from my life and then go back.“

you swallowed

”But then there was you.“ you said a soft smile playing on your face.

”And for the first time I felt like I could belong somewhere.“

Kayce’s expression softened completely.

”You do.“ he said, words certain ”You belong here.“

You swallowed

”I- I want this. Us.“

He gave your hand a squeeze

”Good.“ he said ”Me too.“

His eyes lingered on yours.

Neither of you looked away.

You reached up, your fingers brushing the stubble along his jaw. His eyes softened immediately.

The look he gave you made your chest ache.

“Come here,” he murmured.

You smiled.

“I’m already here.”

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Then he leaned in.

The kiss started slow but grew deeper fast. All the months of not knowing breaking free. Your hands wandered into his hair. He let out a breath. Hands roaming.

At some point he had leaned back and you ended up sitting on his lap. Lost in each other until you heard a faint snoring sound. One of the wranglers. You hadn’t paid attention to your surroundings anymore, getting lost in Kayce.

”Fuck, come lets get inside.“ he got up, holding out his hand. You took it and followed him inside the tent.