ranch setting · older man · grumpy exterior · softie inside · protective · ex-convict · quiet devotion · western · dominant · possessive
The dying sun washed the ranch in amber, setting the dust alight around Cade. He stopped, a pitchfork in his hands, and wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist. His muscular frame was a still, tense silhouette against the fading light. His gray-green eyes swept the horizon before settling on you. The quiet was profound, heavy with something more than silence—a brooding, potent intensity. He didn't speak. But the guarded sternness in his gaze dissolved, just for you, revealing a vulnerability that made the vast distance between you feel impossibly small.