From Ranchhands To Soulmates (A Yellowstone Fanfic)

Chapter 20 (Edited)

Chapter 20

Caroline's POV

*a couple of hours later*

I was sitting outside on the front porch when Gator started ringing the dinner bell. I smiled as I poked my head inside the front door and said, "Come on, y'all! Gator's ringing the dinner bell!" Immediately, the kids came out of their rooms dressed for dinner. One by one, Colby, Ryan, Jimmy, and Teeter came down from their rooms, all except Rip and Kayce. "Daddy's down by the bunkhouse walking Minnie," Carter chuckled, noticing the expression on my face. "Aww..." I giggled, imagining my big hunky cowboy walking my teacup yorkie. "Well, Daddy can meet us at the lodge," Teeter said, walking up behind me and the boys, kissing my cheek before whispering in my ear, "Kayce needs you upstairs real quick, baby." I nodded and smiled. "Okay, I'll be right behind y'all go on ahead," I say, with a smile dismissing them. "Yes, ma'am," Ryan winked as everyone exited the front door. I head up the stairs to the top floor. "Baby?" I called out, peeking down the hallway to see where Kayce was. "In here, baby," Kayce called back from my bedroom. I giggled and rolled my eyes playfully before opening my room door. "What's the holdup, Dutton?" I giggled playfully. "I wanted to give you the courtesy of knowing Monica called me," Kayce said with a grimace. I'm not gonna lie, that threw me for a loop. "Okay. Why is she contacting you? Was it about Tate?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check. Kayce shook his head, "No, she didn't even mention him..." I swear to god. If this fucking bitch doesn't leave my family alone, I'm going to flip my shit. "Then what did she want?" I asked, sitting beside him on my bed. "She was lonely. Thought I would help fix it." Kayce snarled. "Well, too late for that..." I mumbled angrily. "I'm done with the games. I'm not being roped in and dragged all over for her emotions. You and Teeter are my life. She's irrelevant. I've blocked her number, so she isn't going to contact me anymore." Kayce says, gently grabbing my hand. "Okay... Thank you for telling me." I sigh, gathering my emotions. "Care... baby, I love you so much... you know that, right?" Kayce asked as he knelt between my knees with his head on my lap. "I've never doubted it for a second, baby," I assured him, stroking his hair. This man with a heart of pure gold should not have to deal with his psycho baby mama. She better get right with Jesus cause she just might be meeting him soon. I reflectively placed my hand on my belly and sighed. "I love you to the moon and back, Kayce. I love you all." I cooed, trying to lift his mood. Kayce looked up at me from his spot on my lap and beamed his award-winning smile at me. "Oh, yeah?" Kayce cooed with a sinister smirk at me. "Show me, princess, show me how much you love me," Kayce finished, biting his lip. "I'll tell you what, after supper, I'm all yours, cowboy." I promised him, before kissing his lips deeply. "That sounds like a plan, darlin," Kayce nodded with a smile. "Come on, let's go, before everyone starves to death," I giggled as we stood up, hand in hand, and headed downstairs to head to the lodge. As we walked over to the lodge, I looked up at Kayce and took in the rugged beauty of the man beside me. "What's goin' through that beautiful mind of yours, darlin?" Kayce asked, gently squeezing my hand. "Honestly?" I ask, halting us from walking. "Of course, baby," Kayce nodded, giving me his full attention. "I think we should let everyone know about Monica and the fuckery she keeps attempting to put us through. Our family is our greatest defense." I say, gently stroking his hand. Kayce nodded, "You're right. We're family. She's not gonna break this family we've made for ourselves. Let's go. Jamie's here for supper tonight, so it'll be even better." Kayce said, smiling as we continued walking and went up the steps onto the porch. "After you, beautiful," Kayce said politely, opening the front door for me to enter. "Thank you, baby," I say sweetly, walking inside the front door, and heading into the dining room. "Sorry, we're late y'all." I say apologetically, sitting in my seat between Rip and Kayce. "It's no problem, sweetheart. The kids ate already, so no worries." John smiles at me from the head of the table. I smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Dad. Hey boys, why don't you go eat dessert in the living room so the grown-ups can talk?" Kayce says to Carter and Tate, and they smile in agreement. "Yes sir," they say, rising from the table with their plates, and leaving the dining room. "Everything okay?" John asked curiously before cocking his eyebrow. "Not really, Dad. We were late showing up because I was informing Caroline about Monica calling me again, just to try to manipulate me into doing what she wanted..." Kayce started, annoyance laced in every word he spoke. "Why is she contacting you at all?" Jamie asked curiously. "She wanted him to leave us and go back to her to fuck," I sneered angrily, plating my food with an annoyed scoff. Rip stroked my leg, trying to calm me down with an understanding smile. "Seriously? The bitch doesn't know when to stop." Teeter rebutted listening to the whole ordeal unfold. "Monica is walkin' on thin ice," Beth chimed in, sipping her glass of wine. John, who was listening to this all unfold, cocked his head, looking directly at Jamie. "Didn't you place a restraining order on her when we got the full custody of Tate?" John asked Jamie. Jamie stood up and said, "You know what? Give me just a minute." Jamie immediately walked into the office, pulled out the file with all the official documents filed for custody, and walked back into the dining room. "There's an injunction against her and a no-contact order restricting her from being within 500 feet of Kayce and Tate. Look," Jamie said, placing the documents in front of John. "Was she high or drunk this time?" John asked while reviewing the documents. "Probably both, Dad," Kayce answered honestly. I shook my head and silently ate my supper. Teeter reached over and held out her hand to comfort me. I smiled at her and mouthed 'I'm fine but thank you, baby,' to her. "Cousin, I guarantee you she won't step foot on this ranch," Maranda spoke up. "You've had my back now. We've all got y'all's," she continued with a wink. "I know, thank y'all." I reply, smiling softly. "Hmm... Jamie, figure out what legal recourse we might have here. At the very least, it should be a violation of the restraining order to contact Kayce." John says, flipping through the pages. "I agree," I reply. Kayce takes my free hand in his and softly kisses the back of it. "How many times has she contacted you?" John asked the ultimate question. "Uh, like 12 times," Kayce answered. I scoffed, shaking my head. "In total?" John asked, looking up at Kayce. "No, that's just the past 2 days..." Kayce sighed. "You're kidding me, right?" Teeter asked surprise etched over her face. Kayce shakes his head, answering her question. "Jamie, get to work on this. Pull his phone records if you have to. Have you answered every call she made to you?" John continued, shaking his head. "No, I didn't. I answered the first one without looking at my phone. That's when she said she was lonely and she thought I would drop everything to help fix it, per se," Kayce answered honestly. "Then she proceeds to call you afterward?" Jamie clarified. "Yes." Kayce nodded. "Rest easy Caroline and Teeter, I've got this taken care of," Jamie said, releasing a sense of comfort for me. "Thank you, Jamie," I say gratefully. "Thanks, man," Teeter acknowledges with a thankful smile. "We're gonna get to the bottom of this for sure." John nodded. "Kayce blocked her number he said so that she won't be able to contact him, but to be honest with you... I don't think that'll stop her from calling him." I say with a shrug. "Well, Care, maybe next time you should answer it and tell her how you feel about calling my brother. And if she's got something to say about it, tell her she knows where you live to come and do something about it." Beth says, urging me to stand up for myself. "She can't do that." Kayce immediately said, shaking his head. Maranda and Teeter quickly locked eyes at that statement, then looked at me. "Why the fuck not? Caroline would kill her," Beth says gesturing to me. "That's the actual reason we set this dinner up... other than that stupid little bitch's multiple attempts..." I say, quickly wiping my mouth with the napkin. "The reason that we set this dinner up tonight is, of course, to welcome you back home from the hospital, and that um, guys...wanna help me out?" I say, looking around the table. "What's goin on?" John asked curiously. "She's pregnant!" Colby, Jimmy, Ryan, Rip, and Kayce all cheered. I smiled and immediately looked at John's reaction. John's face lights up with a warm smile, his eyes beaming with joy and pride. He sets his napkin down, rises from his seat, and walks over to me. He gently takes my hand, pulls me up from my seat, and wraps me in a tender embrace. "Congratulations, sweetie! This is wonderful news!" John exclaims, his voice filled with happiness. "We're gonna have another little buckaroo running around the ranch!" He releases me from the hug, holding me at arm's length, and looks me in the eye. "You're gonna be an amazing mother, Caroline. I couldn't be prouder of you and Kayce." John then turns to Kayce, a hint of playful teasing in his voice. "Kayce, you ol' dog! Looks like you've done it again! Congratulations, son!" We all laughed and Kayce's face was beet red. "Thanks, Dad. We're all in the running though," Kayce chuckles. "I don't know about that," Jimmy spoke up chuckling. "Whatcha mean, Jim?" John asked, smirking. "Well, I'm not the smartest guy, ya know. I'm just saying it's a toss-up between Rip, Colby, Kayce, and...Me." Jimmy said with a smile. "Is that a fact?" John smirks. "We'll have to see when the baby's born, but regardless, this baby is all of ours," Rip answered proudly. "Absolutely," Ryan chimed in. "Well, in that case, congratulations to you all," John said proudly. "Thank you, that really means a lot to me," I smiled, wiping a stray tear creeping out. "Yeah, Congratulations Caroline. I'm happy for y'all," Beth says with a smile. "Thank you," I say gratefully, finishing off my plate of food. As we finished dinner, John raised his glass. "To Caroline and the new addition to our family! May this child bring us even more joy and love." We all clinked our glasses together, and I felt a sense of peace wash over me. But just as we were about to take a sip, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Kayce said, getting up from his seat. I watched as he walked to the door, wondering who it could be. And then, I heard a voice that made my blood run cold... "Hey baby," a female voice rang out. "Monica? What the fuck are you doing here?" Kayce spit maliciously. I sent a vicious look to Jamie and John and they both immediately rushed over to the door. "What do you want?" John spitefully asked as he stood defensively beside Kayce. "I want my family back. Why wouldn't I want that?" Monica slurred. "Fuck that," I said, standing and ultimately throwing my napkin onto the table. I yanked out my phone and walked over to the front door, Beth, Rip, and Teeter following close behind me. "Excuse me a minute," I say, squeezing between Kayce and John. "Cheese bitch," I say before taking multiple photos of her on our porch, and quickly hitting the record button. "Who the fuck are you?" Monica slurred her words, glaring at me. "We're his wives. Who the fuck are you?" Teeter answered, wrapping her arm around me and Kayce. "Listen, Monica," I said firmly, holding up my phone to show her I was recording. "You're violating the restraining order and harassing us. Leave now, or we'll call the police."