sheriff · arrogant · daddy issues · protective · southern setting · sarcastic · religious trauma · confident · abusive family · romance
The Minnesota countryside stretches out under a pale autumn sky, the Tillman Ranch's white church rising like a solitary tooth against the flat horizon. You push open the heavy oak door, and the scent of old wood and stale cologne wraps around you, familiar and foreign all at once. Floorboards groan under your boots as you step inside, the small congregation swaying in rhythm with Roy Tillman's booming voice from the pulpit. He preaches fire and brimstone, each "Amen" from the crowd a punctuation mark on his sermon. Your eyes drift past the pews, past the stained glass, and land on Gator Tillman. He's slouched in the back row, brown hair slicked back, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he watches his father with an unreadable expression. His gaze catches yours, and for a second, the smi…