From Ranchhands To Soulmates (A Yellowstone Fanfic)

Chapter 3 (Edited)

    Caroline's POV

~The next morning~

... A-tip 'em back 'till you can't walk

Cut loose like a chainsaw

Plastered like a drywall

Hammered like an old bent nail

Jacked up like a four-by

'Bout as buzzed as a Bud Light

Long gone as last night

Loaded like a buckshot shell

There's more than one way

To get straight up sideways

... You can do it in the sticks in Mississippi

Or on a rooftop, New York City

From the Carolina Coast to a California beach

Y'all raise one up with me

... Tip 'em back 'till you can't walk

Cut loose like a chainsaw

Plastered like a drywall

Hammered like an old bent nail

Jacked up like a four-by

'Bout as buzzed as a Bud Light

Long gone as last night

Loaded like a buckshot shell

There's more than one way

To get straight up sideways

Straight up sideways

I wake up to my morning alarms like every morning, Lainey Wilson was a great way to start my first morning on my dream ranch. I get up and get dressed in a pair of Wrangler jeans and a tank top with my boots. I left my long blond hair down and placed a cowboy hat on my head. I went downstairs to feed and water Minnie for the day and I was making myself a pot of coffee when I heard a knock at my front door. "Coming!" I say, walking over to open the door. "Good morning, ma'am," says the tall man standing beside Colby and Ryan. "Wow... another one?" I whisper. "I'm sorry?" The man asked, confused. "She's your soulmate too, Rip?" Ryan asked as I stood there, astounded. "Sorry to throw that one at you, Rip, is it?" I breathe. "Most people don't find their one soulmate, much less find out you have three." I continue, kind of nervous, not wanting to feel rejected. "That's what that pulling feeling was? Our soulmate bond?" Rip asks. "Yes, sir," I confirm with a slight nod. "Shit, I'm sorry. I'm forgetting my manners. Would anyone like a cup of coffee?" I ask kindly. "No, thank you, sweetheart. We were just coming to get you for breakfast and to introduce you to everyone in the bunkhouse." Ryan said, offering his arm for me to hold. I oblige as I giggle. "Sounds good to me," I say, closing the door behind me. "Shall we?" I ask. "Let's go," Rip says, smiling. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile that big, Rip." Colby acknowledges. "I have something to smile about now, don't I?" Rip says with a smirk, causing me to giggle. "Y'all are something else, I'll tell ya," I say as we walk to the bunkhouse. "You'll get used to it," Colby chuckles. "Hey, dipshits! This here is the new vet that Mr. Dutton was telling us about. You are to treat her with respect and do whatever she asks of you. Understand what I mean?" Rip says the boys in the bunkhouse. "I'm Caroline," I say, introducing myself. "That there is Jake, Ethan, and Lloyd," Rip says, pointing to the ranch hands. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Caroline," Lloyd says, offering me his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you too, Lloyd," I say, shaking his hand. "Hey, Jake and Ethan, nice to meet y'all," I say sweetly with a wave. "Nice to meet you too, Ma'am." They respond with a tip of their hat. "Ready for breakfast?" Colby asks me and I reply with a swift nod. "Yes, please," I groan as we all walk over to the bunkhouse table for breakfast. Colby and Ryan sat on either side of me, while Rip found his place right in front of me. "So, what's the plan today?" I ask curiously. "Well, Gator is gone for a few days, so we're gonna starve after this for a while," Colby laughed. "What ya'll can't cook?" I ask, smiling at them. "Well, they're not the best cooks darlin' that I'll tell you." Rip chuckles. "Well, how about I'll make dinner so ya'll don't starve? How about that?" I offer. Colby and Ryan's head perked up. "You can cook?" Ryan asked. "Baby, I'm a southern girl. I can cook just about anything minus some pussy ass vegan shit," I say, scooping myself some eggs and putting them on my plate as they all bust out laughing. "I like this girl. She's funny as hell." Rip laughs. "Damn, how'd we get so lucky?" Colby says, smirking at me while making his plate. I shrug, grabbing myself a biscuit with some sausage gravy. "Just got blessed, I guess," I say with a wink. "But hey, yeah, I'm gonna need to go to the grocery store to feed a bunch of hungry cowboys, but I have no clue where it is," I say, smiling. "Ryan, ride with Caroline to the store today, make sure nothing happens to her," Rip says to Ryan. "Yes, sir," Ryan agrees, eating his breakfast. "Any requests for dinner?" I ask, taking a bite of my food. "Surprise us, darlin'." Rip says smiling. "Ready, boys?" Rip says to the Cowboys. Colby nodded and stood up. "I'll see you tonight, baby," Colby says, kissing my cheek sweetly. "Y'all be careful." I say to both Colby and Rip. Rip smiles and walks over to me. "Don't need to worry about us, sweetheart. This is what we were made for. Have a good day," Rip said, kissing my cheek. "Thank you," I smile at him. "Take care of her, Ryan." Colby says to him. "I will." Ryan answers. "Alright, let's go to work." Rip says, heading to the horse stalls. "I gotta feed Snow." I remind myself. "Hope you don't mind, but the Lowman Fred fed and shucked her stall already. Lee made them aware of that last night." Ryan tells me. "That's super helpful, thank you." I smile at him, looking up and around the ranch, taking in all the beauty. "You okay?" Ryan asks me, snapping me out of my gaze. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this much beauty. My grandpa's farm was nothing even close to this beautiful." I answer, smiling at him. "I felt that same way when I saw you," Ryan says, smiling at me. "Well, aren't you sweet?" I giggle. "I try my best, especially for you." Ryan says with a smile. I shake my head, smiling widely. "Ready to go?" Ryan asked me. I shake my head. "No, not yet. Wanna ride back to the cabin with me? I gotta let Minnie go to the bathroom before I go anywhere. That wouldn't be good for anyone." I replied, standing up from the table. "Yes, ma'am. Lee put your trailer back with our trailers, but your truck is upfront still." Ryan says gesturing toward the lodge. "After you," I say as Ryan nods and takes my hand in his. "Is this okay?" He asks, looking at me. "Yes, it's perfectly fine with me." I say, stroking his cheek with my thumb. "Okay, let's go," Ryan says, leading me to my truck. I hop in the driver's seat and Ryan jumps into the passenger seat as I start the truck. "Just head around here to the right and down to the left." Ryan guides me as I pull the truck down the long dirt road. I follow his directions and we pull up into my driveway at my cabin. "Thank you." I say graciously, turning off my truck as we both get out. "Come in, please," I say as we step onto the front porch. I open the door and hold it open for him. "Thank you." Ryan says taking his hat off his head. "Minnie! Come here, girl." I call as I fill food into her dog bowl and put fresh water in for her. Minnie comes running down the stairs with a little bark. I pick her up, connect her leash to her collar, and take her outside. "That's mommy's good girl, go potty." I say to her sweetly. Ryan was standing in the doorframe, smiling at me. "What?" I asked, giggling. "I just think you are amazing," Ryan says, smiling. "She's the sweetest little dog I've ever had, and she's like a mini-me." I said, smiling. "I can see how much she means to you," Ryan says softly as he moves a piece of hair out of my eyes. "She and Snow were my only friends for a long time." I whispered, looking down at my toes. "Why is that, Care? I thought you had Lee?" Ryan questions me. "I did. Lee was my best friend to talk to on the phone but I went through a lot in college..." I answer. Ryan lifts my head softly. "Hey, I'm right here. You wanna talk about it?" He asks me caringly. "I was bullied pretty badly in college, I wouldn't sleep with the Quarterback of the football team because he was a player and I knew he wasn't my soulmate, but he didn't take rejection too well so he made it his mission to make me miserable." I whisper. "That motherfucker." Ryan swears under his breath. "I tried not to let it bother me. I went to my administration and thankfully this wasn't the first time that he's bullied girls into sex, so they believed me and kicked him out after taking away his football scholarship. Everyone hated me but I put all my focus into my schoolwork so I can get out of this place and here I am," I say with a sigh. Ryan hugs me and kisses the top of my head. "That will never happen again, Care. All the guys love you already, Lee and Mr. Dutton love you, and you have all the protection you would ever need, especially with 3 soulmates here who would kill and die for you," Ryan said reassuringly. I couldn't stop myself from kissing Ryan deeply, which caught him off guard, but he immediately kissed me back. We captivated each other's lips as we kissed for a while until I leaned back to catch my breath as I smiled up at Ryan. "Sorry, I couldn't resist it anymore. I had to kiss you," I giggle. "You never have to apologize. Kiss me whenever you want, please. I welcome it." Ryan says with a smirk. "Oh, yeah?" I tease. "Come on Minnie! Inside!" I command as I giggle, opening the front door. I watch Minnie prance up the steps to the house before she runs inside and jumps onto the couch. "I'll have Colby check on her later on, okay?" Ryan says, taking his phone out to text Colby as I place a puppy pad on the floor in case she needs to go while we're gone. "That sounds great. Thanks, baby." I say sweetly, grabbing my purse. "Ready to go?" I ask Ryan. He nods as he makes his way over to the door. "Let's go baby girl." Ryan smiles at me, making me blush. I smile and go outside as Ryan closes the door behind me. I walk over to the passenger side of my truck and hop in. "Would you mind driving, baby?" I ask, smiling at him as I watch Ryan run around the truck and hop in my driver's seat. "I would love to." Ryan says, starting my truck, making me laugh. I cross my legs in my seat and get comfortable as I play some country music softly on the radio. Ryan started driving down the long driveway as we made the drive into town. We pull up to the local supermarket and I grab my purse out of the backseat. "Don't open the door," Ryan says, turning off the truck and getting out. I smile as Ryan runs around the truck to open my door. "Thank you, sir." I smile as I take his hand in mine. "Always, baby. '' Ryan smiles at me. We go inside the supermarket and I scan the aisle for something to buy for the boys to eat. "I don't even know where to begin," I say, shaking my head with a giggle. "What do you like to eat?" I ask Ryan as I scan the shelves. "I'm sure whatever you make, I'll devour it," Ryan says, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. "Baby," I groan softly as Ryan chuckles. "How about some chili, a pot roast, and spaghetti?" I suggest smiling. "Sounds perfect to me. Let's get the ingredients for it." Ryan smiles as he grabs cans of beans and chili mix. I grab a bunch of jars of spaghetti sauce, hoping to make enough for all the boys to eat. "How many cowboys are there, babe?" I ask Ryan. "Six or seven. Fred is a bully so he can make his own food." Ryan scoffs. "Well, let his ass get rude with me and I'll knock him on his ass so fucking fast his head will spin." I threatened, as Ryan bit his lip and smiled. "If he gets disrespectful with you, he won't be breathin', especially if Rip, Colby, or I hear it," Ryan commented as we walked further down the aisle to get some spaghetti noodles. We get all the dry ingredients we need for the chili and spaghetti, then we walk over to the meat section to get the meat. Over at the butcher's window, I placed a request for 4 orders of hamburger meat for 10 people just in case the boys were extra hungry and to have a backup and a 15-pound roast to feed everyone. Ryan's phone rings as I'm waiting for my order to be done by the butcher. "Hello?" He answers as he walks away to take the call. "Thank you," I say with a smile to the gentleman behind the window as he hands me the packages of meat, placing them in the buggy, I continue down the aisle, grabbing a few bags of potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions for the pot roast and put them in the buggy. I finish up by grabbing a few bags of garlic bread and placing them in the buggy, walking over to look for Ryan. "Baby?" I called, looking down the store aisles. The store was practically empty, so it wasn't hard to find him leaning over by the grapes, having a conversation with whoever was on the other end of the line. I stand patiently waiting beside him as he finishes up his conversation. "Sorry babe, Rip was calling to let us know that we're getting a new ranch hand tonight, some dude named Jimmy," Ryan explains, shaking his head and smiling. "And he wanted to check in on you," he says, nudging my ribs playfully, making me laugh. "That's super sweet. Sounds like a softie," I say, smiling. "Oh no, Rip is a hard ass. He's just sweet to you," Ryan says, laughing. "I'm sure." I giggle. "Alright, I think we have everything so far, but I need two more things." I smile, looking at the items in the buggy. "Oh yeah? What else could we need?" Ryan asks playfully. "Sugar and tea bags. Mama needs her sweet tea." I say, laughing. "A woman after my heart," Ryan says, placing his hand over his heart. "Can you get me a big bag of sugar, sugar?" I ask Ryan, batting my eyelashes. "Of course, sweetheart," Ryan says, bending down to grab the 25-pound bag of sugar and I grab a few boxes of tea bags. "Ready? Or do you want something special?" I asked Ryan, smiling at him. "Cornbread?" Ryan suggests with a smile. "Deal, go grab some eggs and milk while I grab the cornbread mix," I say to him, pushing the cart forward. "Yes, ma'am," Ryan says, running off to get his assigned ingredients. I chuckle to myself as I get the last necessary ingredients for our meals and grab some snacks and ice cream before Ryan comes back smiling with eggs and milk in his grasp. "Alright cowboy, let's go check out," I say, looking at the full cart in front of us and pushing it into a checkout lane.