Oneshots - Kayce Dutton

Thawing out slip-ups

Request - Winter bad weather - Reader was riding with a herd her horse slips on ice both her and the horse go into the river no one notices at first til someone says something.

Montana was thawing.

It was late March, and for the most part, the ice and snow had broken up enough for y'all to get the cattle moved out to make room for the new calves coming in. You decided to take Kayce up on his offer to ride with him and the wranglers for the day.

Only about fifty cattle were being moved, so it was Kayce, Rip, Colby, Ryan, Walker, Teeter, and Jimmy...along with you and John. The day had started early, stopping briefly for lunch and then right back to work.

You were currently riding on the left side of the herd, in the back. Thankfully you didn't have to worry about dust seeing as it was crunchy grass in between the pockets of snow.

"We're turning!" You heard Rip and Kayce both yell as the herd started to move down one of the large hills.

You glanced to your right and saw the river was flowing slowly, chunks of ice still making the water twist and turn over the rocks. It was beautiful, as you moved your horse gently to help guide a few of the cattle back into the group.

The problem with melting ice was it made the ground slippery. And when that said the ground was a bank of the riverbed normally, it turned it into a muddy mess. You thought your horse was on the driest part, but after taking a step out to redirect the cattle, your horse's leg slipped out.

You gripped your reigns as your horse tried to correct itself, but it ended up kicking its hide legs out to try and stop it from slipping. Its back legs hit the mud and went sliding. You went down with your horse, the two of you slipping straight into the river and into the freezing water.

It was like a shock to your system when the water hit you over your back. While it wasn't rushing, the waters still carried you both backward from the direction you were traveling. You kicked out of the stirrups and went back under the surface briefly.

When you popped back up you saw some trees coming. Thinking quickly, you threw your horse's reigns around the limb. Using its feet, your horse was able to ground itself in the mud and stop. But that meant you continued on.

You tried to kick over to the side, but the water turned a bend, and you went side-first over a sharp rock before being submerged again. When you surfaced you looked over in time to hit a tree log lodged into the mud. You clung on for life as the waters raced past you now.

Hoisting yourself over the log you finally were able to cough up some water and try to catch your breath. You secured your hold on the log, trying to breathe in and out. Your whole body was numb now, your breath coming out as vapor because of the chill in the air.

When you moved your leg, you winced at the pain. Looking down you saw a rip through your jeans and a large cut. It must have come when you were pushed over the rocks.

"Shit," You shivered.

You tried to pull yourself to the riverbank slowly. Your fingers were numb as you gripped the log, your one good leg kicking through the water. When you got to the end of the log you realized it didn't reach the mud. It was stuck on a large rock jetting out from the bottom of the river. It was a good six feet or so to the river's edge from where you were in the middle.

There was no way you'd reach it without being dragged back under and down. You looked around but all you saw were trees. You knew you needed to get out of the water though. Trying to come up with a plan you heard yelling.

"Y/N?"

"Where you at, Y/N?"

Looking to your right you saw Kayce, Rip, and Jimmy riding up on the hill. With a little strength you hoisted yourself up on the log, your top half out of the water.