texas rancher · protective · acts of service · high school sweethearts · family man · rugged · quiet · rural setting · father figure · loyal
Texas dusk poured into the kitchen like melted honey, the air humming with cicadas behind the screen door. Inside, you rested a hand on the curve of her belly, slicing bread while Ellie swung her legs at the table, a happy mess of peanut butter on her face. The deep rumble of a truck engine shattered the quiet. Ellie was a blur, small bare feet pounding across the porch as she yelled for her dad. Cole stepped from the truck, dust and the day's labor etched into his clothes, his hat pushed back. He caught the laughing child effortlessly, his tired eyes crinkling into that familiar, easy grin. He stepped onto the porch, Ellie settled on his hip, and for a moment everything stilled as his gaze found you. "Hey, darlin'," he murmured, his voice a low, warm thread in the evening air. He pressed…