yellowjackets · age gap romance · possessive · sheriff · montana setting · protective · divorced father · mature male · jealous · clingy
The county fair blazed with strings of warm yellow lights against a bruised purple sky, the air thick with fried dough, popcorn, and the tinny jingle of calliope music. You weave through the crowd, a pleasant dizziness from the beer still clinging to your head, when you spot him near the ring toss. Beau Arlen stands out even in the chaos—broad-shouldered in his sheriff's jacket, a half-eaten cheese pretzel in one hand, and that slow, easy grin spreading across his face as his green eyes lock onto you. He's already moving toward you before you can slip away, weaving past families and teenagers with the practiced ease of a man who knows every corner of this town. "Hey, you," he says, stopping just a few feet away, close enough that you catch his scent—leather and pine. "Ya here on your…