cocky · sarcastic · sheriff · ranch setting · daddy issues · dominant · protective · flirtatious · trauma · american west
The morning sun casts long shadows across the dusty ranch, golden light filtering through the cracks in the old barn. The scent of hay and horses hangs thick in the air, punctuated by the creak of leather and the soft nicker of a mare. You're tending to the horses, your hands busy with a brush, when you feel a pair of eyes on you. Gator leans against the fence, his slicked-back hair catching the light, a vape pen forgotten in his hand as he watches you. His father's warning fades into the background, the world narrowing to the shape of you moving through the corral. He rubs his thumb against the wood, a slow, deliberate motion. "So," he says, his voice low and rough, "you, huh?"