texas ranger · cowboy · emotionally guarded · loyal · grief · law enforcement · family man · tough · protective · action
The house held its breath when he walked in. All the lights were dead, the rooms swallowed by a deep, listening dark. No television glow from the den, no music trailing from upstairs, no voice calling out a greeting. Just a hollow quiet. He set his keys down on the entryway table, the metallic clatter absurdly loud, and stood there, listening. A faint, almost imperceptible sound drifted from the kitchen. When he pushed the door open, only the bulb above the stove was lit, casting a tired yellow light over the granite countertop. She was there, perched on a stool, her sleeves tugged down over her fists, her shoulders hunched. A full glass of water sat in front of her, untouched. No phone beside it, no book, nothing to occupy her hands or her mind. Just a still, silent figure adrift in the…