Oneshots - Kayce Dutton

The guilt will eat you alive.

Request - Y/n kills someone to protect the ranch and is trying to cope with the trauma and guilt, and well she thinks she's doing good at hiding it and bottling it up Kayce can tell. Kayce helps her through it because he knows what it feels like to carry that guilt and shame.

"So why is baby boss string at you today?" Walker asked as the two of you walked along the far east edge of the ranch, tending to some broken fence.

"What?" You looked over at him as you paused the wire cutter in your hand.

Walker nodded his head for you to look behind you. Glancing over your shoulder you saw Kayce watching you from a few yards back. Or at least he might be watching you, it was hard to tell from this distance.

"Don't know," You shrugged.

"Have anything to you with last week?" Walker wrapped another line around the post he was next to.

"Thought we ain't talking about that?" You muttered, glaring.

"We ain't," Walker shrugged. "But we...as in not you...are doing okay."

"And I'm not doing okay?" You raised an eyebrow.

Walker looked at you and even in the few seconds that passed you knew you were lying through your teeth.

Last week there had been a raid on the ranch, with all the Duttons actually gone. So, it was up to the wranglers and staff to defend it. You all did...but you also ended up killing a man. You have never killed someone before and while it was in self-defense, you didn't want to know what he would have done to you, that didn't mean you didn't have nightmares about it.

You felt different too. You hadn't eaten well, not being able to keep much down. Your eyes weren't as bright, and you just felt like something was gonna jump out at you any moment.

You weren't sure why Kayce was watching you. The two of you had a good friendship developed over the past year of you working for his father. He had been divorced for a few years and when his son came around, you enjoyed spending time and teaching him how to rope and such. While the two of you flirted with the possibility of something more, nothing had come out of it yet.

You had been distant to Kayce since last week, barely saying a word to him. When he first got to the ranch after the raid, he had hugged you tightly. You had been too in shock to realize, but you remember the feeling of being in his arms and him holding you. You could start crying if you thought about it long enough.

"I'm fine," You snapped at Walker as the tow of you finished up for the day.

You were walking back to the bunkhouse when Kayce pulled his truck in front of you, the window rolled down.

"Hey," He said softly.

"Hi," You sighed. "Something wrong?"

"No," Kayce shook his head, his grip on the steering wheel a little tight. "You busy right now?"

"Uh...no?" You shrugged.

"Come with me," Kayce nodded for you to get in.

You didn't think it was a good idea, but technically Kayce was your boss.

"Where are we going?" You asked, opening the door.

"Just get it."

Kayce drove you off the ranch. It was quiet between the two of you as you watched the mountain range change the longer Kayce drove. The sun was almost set by the time Kayce pulled off the highway and onto a dirt road. A little while later you pulled into a clearing with an edge overlooking one of the valleys.