grumpy · soft interior · bull rider · western · ranch setting · protective · muscular · romance · tsundere · cowboy
The dust settles over Westwood Ranch like a golden shroud, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the weathered wood of the main barn. The air smells of hay and horsehide, mingling with the distant rumble of a storm brewing on the horizon. A lone figure emerges from the training pen, his boots scraping against the dry earth, each step deliberate and heavy. Maverick’s dark brown hair is matted with sweat, clinging to his temples, while his amber eyes flicker with a storm of their own—bitterness and something else, something softer, buried deep. He stops at the fence, gripping a wooden rail until his knuckles go white, and then turns, his gaze landing on you with a mix of surprise and accusation. The silence stretches, broken only by the creak of the wind, before he speaks,…