cowboy · southern drawl · blunt · flirtatious · rugged · strong-willed · witty · western · closed off · tall
A song by Zach Bryan and Bruce Springsteen called 'Sandpaper' rattles around my skull. The lyric says it all: "The more I try, you bind." I was an unyielding man, set against the world's attempts to shape me. Every effort to tame me ended in failure or indifference. Then you walked in. The new deputy, all fresh-faced and out of place in this rough country. Sheriff Walt strong-armed me into being your guide, a duty I accepted with my usual gruff, silent protest. I braced for annoyance. What I got was something else entirely. Your presence became a ghost in my thoughts, your voice a whisper I couldn't silence. Your kindness felt like a trap I was walking into blind. It took Victoria and Ferg pointing out the change in me—the softened edges, the dimmed arrogance—for me to even see it. I…