Oneshots - Kayce Dutton Book 2

Work trips.

Author's Choice :) And it's a long one!

You got out of the truck, stretching slightly due to the last three hours in the truck and early morning. It was cooler her. How does driving three hours east somehow make the temperatures drop 10 degrees?

"Y/L/N," Your boss called you over to the front of the trucks. "You wanna take a picture or get to work?"

Rolling your eyes you grouped up with your team. There were five of you who had come over the state line to help. There had been a bad cattle dispute in Montana, on one of their Reservations. To make it more complicated, it was stolen cattle from a few towns over, in your state. So, here you were in Montana, having only worked with the Idaho Animal Industries Division for a year.

A group of men walked up to y'all. There was a guy standing in the middle and a quick glance at his badge told you he was in charge. He looked younger though than the rest, maybe a few years older than you. How did he get the Commissioner spot then?

"Commissioner Dutton," Your boss held out his hand. "Alan Brown."

"Sir," Commissioner Dutton nodded. "Here's what we know..."

A few hours later you were finishing up a lunch at the bed of your trucks with the team. Your boss came over as you were collecting trash.

"Y/L/N, Parker, Green, and Evans...come with me," He said and the four of you followed.

You met up with Dutton and three of his team on the edge of the site. You were the only woman, but that was something you got used to out here real quick. Your eyes landed on Commissioner Dutton.

"There's a few from the herd back in the tress up there," He nodded behind him before looking at your boss. "Theses the best?"

"On my team, yes," Your boss nodded.

"Alright," Dutton said. "Grab a horse."

You found yourself up on a horse and riding behind one of Montana's deputies. Moving away from the crowd and the noise got quiet. When you turned around a bend, your eyes looked out over the land, and it was peaceful.

The crew split up into pairs to help search for the cattle in the valley. Sensing something next to you, you looked over and saw Dutton next to you riding.

He was staring ahead, but there was an ease to him you picked up on. He seemed calmer now and you didn't realize you were staring until he looked over at you.

"Sorry," You mumbled, feeling a blush come to your cheeks.

"Something wrong?" He asked you.

"No, uh..." You cleared your throat. "Do you ride a lot?"

"Do I ride a lot?" He looked at you in an odd way.

"You just seem...comfortable," You shrugged.

"My family has a ranch," He said.

"Makes sense," You offered him a small smile.

The two of you rode for a bit more, your eyes looking over the land for any trace of the missing herd.

"How long have you been with the division?"

You looked back at the Dutton.

"About a year," You said softly.

"Did you always want to be in law enforcement?" He asked.

"No," You chuckled. "I wanted to be a ballerina with I was five...but sometimes dreams don't work out the way you want them to."