While he did annoy the ever living daylights out of you, he was kind and funny, a good man at his core. He knew all of his hands' names and made it a point to get to know them, to become true friends with them. Sometimes, on the rare occasion when you walked back to your car by yourself (he normally escorted you, the irritating gentleman that he was), you would find him playing cards with the hands, drinking, and causing a fuss. 

Today, he was making you forget why you secretly admired him. 

You were finishing your meeting with his father when he’d walked in, giving you his award-winning smile, effortlessly charming. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this, darlin.” You ignored the manchild, eyes twitching as you fought the urge to roll your eyes. 

“Take the rest of the day off, will you?” Mr.Dutton smiled lightly, used to his son’s antics by now, used to the way he was always near you.

“Are you sure, sir?” 

He nodded, waving you off. “Positive. Have a good night, Miss Allen.” 

“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Kayce trailed after you, always a step behind. “Well, well, well. Don’t you look stunning today.”

You scoffed, waving in his general direction. “This is sad.”

“What is?” 

“The way you follow after me like a lost puppy.” 

He clutched his heart. “You wound me, darlin.” 

“Is there anything you need, Mr. Dutton? Or are you simply bothering me for your own entertainment?” 

“When are you gonna start calling me Kayce?” 

Your heels clicked against the old wooden floor, echoing through the old house. “How about never?” 

He frowned. “Ouch, baby.” 

“I’m not your baby, Mr.Dutton. Don’t make me rat you out to your father. Again.” 

“Won’t happen again, darlin’.” He smirked, holding the door open. “After you.” 

You grit your teeth, forcing out a small thanks. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr.Dutton.”

“Kayce!” He yelled after you. “Call me Kayce!” 

The stallions, which Mr.Dutton, John, not Kayce, had recently bought, were, in your opinion, some of the most stubborn he’d ever bought. After working for the man for the better part of ten years, you’d watched plenty of stallions get broken in, but these were different. 

They were wilder, freer. 

Of course, they were no match for the much wilder, and much freer, Kayce Dutton. 

You hated to admit it, but the way he was with them was hypnotizing. You weren’t the only one to think so; just about every other hand agreed with you, all trailing around the gate to watch the cowboy work. It was tradition at this point to watch him work. And each time you continued the tradition, his ego grew ten times larger. 

Sometimes, you came by the ranch to simply watch the Duttons work. You weren’t from Montana, and everything about this way of life intrigued you. Mr.Dutton hadn’t minded, respecting that you wanted to understand the way of life you worked so diligently to defend. 

The first time you’d ventured down to the yard, you’d worn a skirt and button-up shirt. It was the perfect work outfit for your job and the August weather, but out here, standing still for hours, it was not. You were freezing cold in about thirty minutes, visibly shivering. The hands had laughed, teasing you mercilessly, but Kayce hadn’t taken part. Instead, he gave you his Carhartt off his back. You’d been so cold you’d accepted without argument. 

You had your own Carhartt now, one that you pulled close to you as the cold autumn breeze blew across the land. “I could warm you up real nice, darlin.” 

“Shut up.” You glared, rubbing your arms. “I’m doing just fine, thank you.” 

“Alright. If you say so.” He was so smug, so full of himself as his face peered through the other side of the gate, inches from yours. If you were weaker, if you didn’t know the man as well as you did, you would have blushed. Kayce Dutton was a flirtatious man, smooth-talking and charismatic. He looked at everyone like they were the most important thing in the world. 

At first, it had startled you, but now, now you were used to it. 

“Stop flirting with my assistant, Kayce.” Mr.Dutton grumbled.

“Yes, sir.” Kayce grinned, tipping his hat. “You watching, darlin'?” 

“I have a name, Mr.Dutton.” You hissed. “And yes, obviously, I’m watching.” 

“He just won’t leave you alone, will he?” Lloyd laughed. “You must be tired of it by now.” 

You shrugged. “I’m used to it, unfortunately. At this point, it would be more shocking if he actually listened.” 

“Part of his charm, huh?” 

You smiled as you watched Kayce work, your heart clenching as the man winked at you. “You could say that.”

He’d lasted about thirty minutes without bothering you, a new record. “Darlin!” 

You murmured a quick apology into your phone before yelling back. “Can’t you see I’m busy, Dutton?” 

“Look!” He was in the middle of riding the horse in circles.

You raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed. “Riveting. I’m sorry, but I have to go.” You smiled quickly at Mr.Dutton. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sir.” 

“Drive safe.” 

“You can’t just leave!” Kayce practically whined. “Watch me!” If you were more childish, you would have stuck your tongue out. Instead, you opted for a more mature approach, one you knew would reduce him to a stuttering mess. You could feel his eyes on you, fixed like nothing could peel them away. Using this to your advantage, you swayed your hips dramatically, laughing to yourself as you imagined his reaction.

Lloyd simply shook his head as the young Dutton’s cheeks flushed, stuck in a trance.

“You’ve outdone yourself, darlin.” 

For one of the first times in your employment, you were genuinely pleased to hear his voice. You turned around, smiling gratefully. “Thank you, Kayce.”

He nodded. “F’course. Want a drink?” You tilted your head, watching him curiously. His cheeks flushed under your inspection. “Something on my face?” 

“No.” You shook your head. “Just-” 

“What?” 

“Something’s different about you.” You whispered, pulling your shawl tighter around your arms.

“Good different or bad different?” 

“Couldn’t tell you.” You wrapped an arm through his, pulling him toward the bar. “I’ll take that drink, though.” 

“Yeah.” He nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yeah, whatever you want, darlin.” 

You stopped, leaning against the bar. The bartender was attractive, smiling sweetly at you. You smiled sweetly back, but you didn’t even try and flirt with him, simply ordering for the pair of you. “I’ll have a Jack and Coke, and he’ll have a double whiskey.” 

“Of course.” The man looked slightly disappointed, shocked that his normal routine hadn’t worked on you.

“Thank you.” 

Kayce stared, jaw dropped ever so slightly. “You know my drink?” 

“I’ve known you long enough.” You shrugged like you hadn’t just made Kayce fall deeper in love with you. “I know a lot about you, Dutton. Probably more than you’d want me too.” 

“I want you to know everything about me.” 

“What?” You tilted your head, like you hadn’t believed what he’d said. 

Kayce laughed, slightly embarrassed at his slip-up, his moment of weakness. “What is it that you know about me?” 

“Well…” You ignored how close he was, how you could practically see every freckle, every scar, and every wrinkle on his perfect skin. “I know that you’re a charismatic man, never one to miss the opportunity to flirt with anything with legs.” 

He scoffed. “Only really flirt with you, baby.” 

You raised an eyebrow. “I just watched you flirt with that beautiful woman for twenty minutes.” 

“Don’t know who you’re talking about.” His eyes were intense, bearing into yours. “Go on.” 

“As I was saying, you’re a flirt.” You took your drink off the bar, taking a sip before continuing. “Yet, you haven’t told me how beautiful I look.” 

“Do you want me to?” 

“That’s up to you, Dutton. It’s just interesting.” You shrugged. “Normally, that’s the first thing you do, compliment me. Today…” Your stomach fluttered. “You didn’t say anything.” 

“Figured it was time to stop chasing an impossible dream.” 

You placed your drink back on the bar, smiling. “Who said it was impossible?” 

“Huh.” He couldn’t fight the smile that broke, boyish and giddy. “I didn’t want to scare you away.” 

“You couldn’t scare me away if you tried.” You laughed. 

“You know you’re beautiful.” He whispered. “You’re always beautiful.” 

Your mouth opened, but you couldn’t find the words to fight back. You didn’t even know if you wanted to. His smirk was still there. You hated to admit it, but you wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, to leap up and kiss him, just once. Just so you knew what it would be like. 

“Something’s different about you today, too.” He went on as if he hadn’t just broken your resolve.

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to do something about that.” 

“I guess so.” He was so close his hate nudged against your hair, messing it up ever so slightly. You stayed like that for a moment, just staring into each other's eyes, waiting for someone to make a move. “Dance, with me, darlin.” 

“I thought you’d-” 

“Miss Allen!” 

You groaned, squeezing your eyes shut. Kayce frowned, hand twitching to reach out and hold your hand, to stop you from leaving. Standing straight, you grabbed your drink, kissing his cheek gently. “M’sorry, Kayce.” 

“I-” You walked away, standing diligently beside his father as he introduced you to his new employees. “She-” He held his cheek, practically clutched it as if he didn’t, your kiss would fly away with the wind. “She kissed me.” 

Your mind reeled constantly after that night, stuck on that one moment. It played over and over and over, haunting your every move. Kayce was different, too, now, softer, sweeter. Not that he wasn’t before, but it was different in a way you couldn’t quite place. 

Mr.Dutton was out inspecting some State park, one of the many duties of being a governor (or so he’d said), and told you he’d rather you stay back and finish up on paperwork. You’d made yourself at home, lounging on the couch as you swam through the mountain of forms he’d yet to fill out. With a Reuben in one hand and a coffee shake in another (courtesy of Gator), you were prepared to be there for a while. 

The universe, it would seem, had other plans. The front door slammed open, pained grunting echoing through the otherwise empty house. You sat up, placing your food on the end table, your computer on the couch. “Are you okay?” 

Kayce groaned, eyes squeezed shut. “Didn’t think you’d be here.” 

“Well, I am.” You ran over, his arm wrapping around your shoulders. “What happened, Dutton?” 

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over.” 

You rolled your eyes, helping him to his bedroom. “Not the time to flirt, Kayce.” 

“Dunno.” He hissed as you opened the door. “It’s doing wonders for me.” 

“Alright, wise guy.” You scoffed. “Lean against the counter for me.” He nodded, not having the energy to argue. “Where’s your first aid kit?” 

“Under the sink.” 

“Okay.” You smiled reassuringly, grabbing it quickly. “Take off your shirt.” 

He smirked, and if he wasn’t injured, you would have smacked him. “Rather forward of you-” 

You opted for slapping a hand over his mouth. “Please, Kayce.” 

“Alright.” He mumbled, peeling your hand away. He was fast, obviously too in pain to tease you further. What exactly had he gotten himself into? His side was cut, slashed, horribly. 

“Jesus, Kayce.” You frowned, heart beating hard against your chest. “What did you do, fight a mountain lion?” 

“Somethin’ like that.” 

“I’m gonna wipe away the blood, clean the wound.” You took a deep breath. “It’s gonna sting.” 

“That’s alright, baby.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Just do it.” 

He was relatively quiet as you worked, every so often hissing. He just squeezed the counter, and you weren’t sure if it would hold any longer. He looked like he was about to break through the solid marble. “All done.” 

“Thank god-” 

“With that part.” You winced, making your voice sickly sweet, as if that would soothe his pain. “Sorry, still have to disinfect and wrap it in gauze.” 

“Alright.” 

“Do you want-” You felt your cheeks grow hot; why, you couldn’t quite decipher. “What would help distract you?” 

“Distract me?” He tilted his head. “From what?” 

You raised an eyebrow. “From the pain, Kayce. We could talk or-” 

“Talk.” He nodded. “Let’s talk.” 

“Alright.” You grabbed the last of the disinfecting wipes, carefully touching around the wound. “You’re doing so well, Kayc. So well.” 

He swore his heart stopped. You were going to be the death of him, the way you said ‘Kayc’ would forever haunt him. “You still owe me a dance.” 

“I know.” You smiled. “I wanted to. I hope you know that.” 

He smiled back. “We could dance after this.” 

“Yeah?” You laughed, eyebrows furrowed as you concentrated on helping him. Your tongue stuck out of your lips ever so slightly, too worried to think about looking good. “With what music?”

“Don’t need music to dance with a girl like you.” 

“Kayce…” You laughed. “The pain has you all gushy.” 

He just watched you, eyes bearing into you as you wrapped his torso in gauze, kissing over the wound gently. That had caught him off guard, the action that you probably didn’t think twice about. His breath hitched, cheeks hot as your gaze moved up. “What are you doing?” 

“Taking the pain away.” You said it like it was so obvious. And maybe it was, but right now, Kayce was short-circuiting. There was no way the woman he’d been chasing after for years was kissing his cuts, treating him like he was this precious thing. You pushed his hair behind his ears, kissing his cheeks in the process. He was sure you could tell he was holding his breath, scared to move and spook you. “Kayce…” 

“Yeah, baby?” 

“Don’t do this again.” 

“Of course.” He nodded. “I’ll try.” 

“Wish you would tell me.” Maybe it was cruel of you to use his crush to your advantage. But you wanted to know what happened, who had hurt him, or what. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.” Your eyes were halfway open, lids heavy as you reached up, your lips a breath away from his. “Is it helping?” 

“What?” 

“The kisses.” 

“Maybe one more-” His eyes fluttered to your lips. “One more wouldn’t hurt.” 

You grinned, nodding. “Okay.”

His eyes fluttered shut, waiting for the kiss that never came. It was worse than a real kiss, when your lips met the corner of his mouth. It was like you were teasing him on purpose, your lips that were so soft and smooth, like temptation itself. He opened his eyes to see you walking away, leaving like you hadn’t just done that to him, like you hadn’t just changed everything. His hand reached out before he could think, grabbing your wrist. 

“Stay.” 

You refused to face him, refused to break. You couldn’t. Your job would be at stake, your livelihood, all because you couldn’t resist the cowboy’s charms. “I’m sorry, Kayce. I can’t.” 

He felt his heart breaking. “Baby-” 

“Please. I crossed the line.” 

“You didn’t.” He practically growled. “Honest, you didn’t.” 

“I did.” You whispered over your shoulder. “I should have never done that.” 

“C’mon-” 

“I have work to do.” 

“Alright.” He let go, watching as you went back downstairs, content with pretending none of that had happened. “Sorry, darlin.”

He’d left you alone.

It was like a part of you was missing; you’d even caught yourself looking over your shoulder with a smile just to realize he was nowhere to be seen. Just gone. 

You understood, if you were being honest with yourself, you would have done the same. You’d led him on, and when he finally grew the courage to ask you to stay, you turned him down. 

You felt horrible about it. It kept you awake, sleep a distant memory. You couldn’t close your eyes; the memory of your lips on his skin etched on the other side of your lips. 

Food was hard to eat, all of it dull and tasteless. You were constantly nauseous, sick to your core. You had done this, all of this. You had told him that the dream wasn’t impossible, that he should keep pursuing you, and then you chickened out at the last second. 

You were a coward.

“Miss Allen?” 

Shit. Had you been spacing out? “I’m so sorry, Mr.Dutton-” 

“Something boring you?” He leaned back in his chair. 

“Not at all.” You felt your cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. “It won’t happen again, I swear.” 

“Alright. I was sayin’ that-” That meeting had felt like forever. He’d let you go after about forty-five minutes, mumbling something about family business and his ‘goddamn kids’. You hadn’t questioned it; Jamie and Beth were always causing some sort of issue for their father, and if they weren’t fighting each other, they were fighting some other large issue, one that the whole family just had to get involved in. 

You’d been so distracted, so lost in your thoughts, you’d missed the hand that grabbed yours, pulling you out of the hall and into a dark room. You immediately recognized the silhouette in front of you, raising an eyebrow. “What the hell? Mr.Dutton, you can’t just-” 

He stalked toward you, pinning you against the door. You gasped, your binder falling from your grasp as your mind melted, his touch overwhelming your senses. He hadn’t even spoken before he kissed you so deeply you thought you’d become one with the door. Your eyes fluttered shut, hands reaching up to grab his collar and pull him closer. He grinned, tipping his hat up to gain more access, hands roaming your hips. “Kayce-” 

“That’s right.” He kissed down your neck, reveling in the way you pulled his hair at the nape of his neck. “Don’t even want to hear you call me Mr.Dutton again.” 

“What-” You sighed as he pulled you flush against him. “What’s gotten into you?” 

He walked you over to the bed, sitting you down as he peeled off his shirt. “You said it wasn’t impossible.” 

“Kayce-” Your mouth went dry at the sight, his abs causing your heart to skip. “You can’t just pull a girl into a dark room and expect her to fall to her knees.” 

“Fall to her knees, huh?” He crawled over you, his hat crooked. “Maybe another time, baby.” 

“Kayc-” 

“Love when you call me that, darlin'.” His eyes were dark, the warm brown practically gone thanks to his blown-out pupils. “Never want you to stop.”  

You reached up, pulling his hat off and throwing it somewhere, anywhere else. “Just get over here.” 

“Thought you’d never ask.” 

Your limbs felt so heavy that you felt glued to the bed. Your hair was all over, messed up from the hours of- your cheeks felt hot as you looked down at Kayce’s arm, securely wrapped around your waist. 

God, this wasn’t fair. How did he look so angelic? You pulled the sheets closer to your body, suddenly feeling very insecure about the position you were currently in. The angel cowboy groaned, pulling you closer, nuzzling his face into your arm. You just stared, disbelief clouding your features. 

What would Mr.Dutton say? Shit. You were in his house, with his son. You would most definitely be getting fired if he found out. You squirmed under the man’s hold, whispering with a hint of fear. “Kayc? Kayce, wake up.” 

“Mm.” He mumbled, voice gravely. “Five more minutes, baby.” 

He was going to give you a heart attack. 

“Kayce, I need to leave.” 

His eyes had shot open at that, face still sleepy as he stared at you, looking rather offended. “Why do you need to leave?” 

“I need to go home, I have to change and shower and-” Chills ran down your spine as he kissed up your arm, stopping every once in a while to speak. “Kayce…” 

“You can shower here.” Kiss. “With me.” Another. “Can’t I convince you?” He was at your lips, hovering over you as he teased you. “C’mon, darlin. Stay.” 

You reached up, pecking his lips quickly. “I can’t, Kayc.” 

“Why? Are you scared my dad’s gonna find out?” 

You nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m scared of.” You gestured down to his hold on you. “Could you let me go?” 

“Don’t want to.” He nudged your nose with his, breath warm and hypnotizing. “This is mean.” 

“Too bad.” You smirked, grabbing the sheet and pulling it with you as you got out of bed. 

He sat against the headboard, laughing. “Nothing I haven’t seen before, baby.” 

“Kayce, can you just allow me this one thing?” 

“Don’t know why you’re freaking out.” He shrugged, taking too much pleasure in this. 

“I can’t afford to lose my job, Kayce.” You raced around the room grabbing your clothes, which, thanks to the smug man watching you from bed, were spread out around the room. “I need this. And I enjoy my work.” 

“I know.” He smiled. “It’ll be okay, you know?” 

“You don’t know that.” You scoffed. “This can’t happen again.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “Alright.” 

“And don’t try to-” You stilled, tilting your head. “What?” 

“I understand.” He smiled. “You can’t lose your job.” 

You nodded. “Exactly.” 

“And I don’t want you to either. So this-” He gestured between the two of you. “Consider this a one-time thing.” 

“I’m glad you agree.” You sounded hesitant, like you’d expected him to fight against your decision. “Thank you.” 

He nodded, knowing full well you’d come back. “Of course.” 

“Kayce.” 

“Yeah, baby?” He looked too casual about this whole thing. 

“What if-” You shook your head, pulling yourself back to reality. “Never mind.” You pulled on your skirt over your stockings, only buttoning three of your clasps on your shirt. “I’ll see you.” 

“Bye, darlin.” 

You felt so confused, so desperate to just confess it all to your boss and be done with it. You tiptoed the entire way out of the house with the stealth of a super spy (or so you liked to believe.) Your boss, who had been standing in the hallway when you ran out the front door, connected the dots almost instantly, shaking his head to himself. 

Kayce had descended the steps five minutes later, hair still a mess from the number your hands that had done it. He wore it like a badge of honor, a reminder that he’d finally gotten what he’d wanted after so long. “Morning.” 

His father grunted, taking another sip of his coffee, black with no sugar. It was practically jet fuel, but it did the job. Kayce grabbed himself a heaping plate of food: sausage, bacon, three eggs, and toast. A practically overflowing mug of coffee, cream, and too much sugar made him sigh in satisfaction. 

“Good night?” 

Kayce fought the grin that begged to pull the corners of his lips upward. He just shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. “Guess so.” 

“Saw her sneaking out.” Kayce choked on his drink, coughing. “She looked skittish.” 

“Makes sense,” he nodded. “She didn’t want you to know.” 

“Too late for that.” John glared at his son. “Next time, try to contain yourself. That’s my assistant.” 

He laughed, slightly embarrassed but not nearly enough to cower. “Sorry.”

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