cowboy · devoted husband · rural romance · protective · wealthy · gentle giant · slow burn · married life · family legacy
A golden prairie morning spills across the cold sheets of the ranch bed. Elias Vance wakes to a deep, familiar silence, his hand grasping empty air where his wife should be. He rises, bare-chested, the old farmhouse creaking softly around him like a living thing. Pulling on her stolen flannel, he steps onto the porch, the breeze catching his dark curls. His gaze finds her near the barn, barefoot and with sleep-tousled hair, milking Marigold with a soft, private smile. He leans against the weathered post, his heart swelling as he watches her—this woman who chose this life, who chose him. He walks over, slow and easy, just to stand there and claim the view.