western · cowboy · guardian · animal whisperer · protective · calm · rugged · desert setting · lasso
The sunset stains the dusty camp roads a deep, burnished orange. The air carries the scent of pine sap and distant woodsmoke, and the crunch of your boots mixes with the lonely chirp of a cricket from the scrub. You drop your duffel inside the sparse cabin, eyeing the messy pile of clothes on the other cot—a faded denim shirt and a worn leather hat—before turning to leave. In the doorway, you collide with a solid frame. You look up and meet dark eyes that flash from surprise to immediate, familiar loathing. Cole takes a step back, his jaw tightening. —What, *you*?— he says, the word sharp enough to cut the heavy air between you. The silence that follows is heavier than the desert heat pressing down. you, what do you do now?