Mrs. Dutton (Yellowstone) (Kayce Dutton)

Chapter 1: Tags and Traps

"I don't remember a time I woke up when it was light out."
"I don't remember a time I woke up before 7 o'clock."
Kayce snickered.
"Welcome to the farm life, baby. C'mon, let's grab a bite to eat before we head out." He kissed my forehead and rolled out of bed. I glanced up at the time. I blinked a few times to make sure that bright red glow said 4:45. I slammed my head onto the pillow and drug myself out of bed. I threw on a Patagonia pullover and a Carharrt vest with a comfortable pair of jeans. A quick glance in the mirror reminded me to grab my cowboy hat to hide my messy hair.
The smell of coffee drifted to my nose as I trudged down the stairs to the kitchen. Kayce was popping toast out of the toaster.
"I don't know if I can eat anything right now." I mumbled. He turned with a freshly buttered piece and a cup of coffee.
"Well, you need to buttercup, unless you want some wild berries from the pasture that will have you in bed with a stomach ache for a week." He teased. He held the food up to my face while I stared back at him with a gloomy glare.
"Don't make me feed it to ya." He joked. I grinned and took the toast and my coffee to the table. We ate quickly and headed out to the barn.
"I'm gonna put you on Spur, that dapple gray back there. Needs some miles on him, and he's pretty good at standing still so you can write." Kayce grabbed my pink halter and tied him up. We were heading out to the far pasture to check on the cows and double check tags. We saddled up our horses, grabbed the record book, and headed on our way.
The first mile we didn't say much. Kayce checked if I was comfortable and warm enough, but otherwise we soaked in the morning silence. A low groan of a cow soon disrupted that silence.
"We're about halfway there. You doing ok?"
"You act like I've never ridden a horse before, Kayce. I love you, but I'm alright."
"I know you are babe, but I just want to make sure nothing like Suce Creek happens ever again."
Ah, Suce Creek. That was a day I wish I could forget about.
Even though I barely remember a thing.
For our two year anniversary last year, Kayce and I went on a three day pack trip. We packed our tent, some food and water, and extra clothes for warmed. We threw it on horses and off we went. The first day was amazing; we saw beautiful valleys, rivers, and elk herds. The weather was nice and sunny, and we were as happy as a young couple could be. We spent the night near a small creek, not even breaking out the tents because it was so calm and peaceful. The next morning we took off up a rocky mountain to our next camp spot.
The second day was not so bright and sunny. The wind was blowing pretty hard and clouds covered the sun. But that didn't deter our journey up the steep mountain.
We stopped for lunch under a huge tree. Kayce hopped off first and went tied his two horses to a tree. All of a sudden, a massive wind gust happened, cause the tree to move violently and pine cones to rain from the sky. The young stallion Kayce was riding lost his mind. He pulled back, snapping the rope in half. This caused him to flip over backwards.
My horse certainly didn't appreciate this chaos and spun on his heels back down the mountain. The quick momentum caused me to lose my stirrups and my reins burned my hand as they pulled away.
Everything happened so fast. I don't remember falling off or hitting my head on a rock. I do remember Kayce yelling my name at some point in time. The only other time I gained consciousness before I got to the hospital was when the I heard Kayce explaining what happened to his father John while we were in the Yellowstone helicopter. But otherwise, I was out. I had a bad concussion and headaches for months. Kayce barely left my side because he felt like the whole incident was his fault.
"There they are." Kayce said, snapping me back to reality. A big blob of black was about 300 yards from us.
"How many are even out here?" I asked.
"About 200, I'd say. We got a long day ahead of us." He smirked.
"Well, there's no one I'd rather be here with." I said. We exchanged a quick kiss and got to work. Kayce checked on the cow and it's tags while I made notes in the record book. We got through about a hundred by noon.
"Babe, I'm three cows away from needed carpal tunnel surgery and I'm starving." I whined. He laughed.
"Out in the field you don't eat 'till the job gets done." He playfully said and leaned on his horse. We stared at each other for a second. His eyes seemed especially sparkly today.
"I guess you'll just have to deal with hangry Lindsey for the rest of the afternoon." I sighed and picked up my pen and book again. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a sandwich from his pack. He reached up to give it to me.
"No, I don't want it. I'll just wait for supper." I snottily responded, turning my nose up at him.
"Honey, I was just kidding. C'mon, eat." He replied. I shook my head no and struggled to fight back a smile.
"Alright, you better get off that horse or I'll get you off." He teased. He was doing a better job of hiding the smile.
"I am perfectly happy up on my high horse, hungry and all-" I joked, but I was cut off before I was grabbed at the waist and yanked down. At this point, there was no holding back the laughter. He wrestled me down to the ground while I tried to squirm away. But there was not getting away from those big, strong, farmer boy mitts. He pinned me down and he'll the sandwich up to my face.
"Do I need to chew for you too?"
"No, because a real cowboy doesn't eat till the job is done." I mocked. I regretted that decision quickly. He started tickling me. I had no defense since he was practically sitting on me. After a minute or two, I gave in.
"Alright alright, I'll eat the damn sandwich!" I squeaked out. He stopped and raised an eyebrow.
"You better, or you're coming right back down."
"I swear." He pulled me up off the ground and handed me the food. I took a bite while staring at him, which made me laugh and I almost spit it out.
"You're more stubborn than the bulls, Lindsey." He chuckled.
"Mm, maybe. But you still love me." I smiled.
"You got that right." He said and kissed the top of my head.
After we ate lunch, we got straight back to work. Thankfully, none of them were injured and about a dozen needed new tags.