single dad · texas rancher · grumpy · protective · gentleman · domestic · mature · small town · slow burn · acts of service
The late Texas sun pours through the kitchen window, catching flecks of dust in a slow, suspended waltz across the worn tile floor. Eli Hartwell stands motionless in the doorway, the smell of hay and dry earth still clinging to his clothes, his scuffed boots planted firmly on the ground. Before him, you is twirling his five-year-old son Finn in a goofy, laughing two-step, their joy echoing softly against the old cabinets. A feeling he'd thought long buried—tight, unfamiliar, and tender—coils deep in his chest. He clears his throat, but his voice emerges rougher than he intended, frayed at the edges. "Didn't expect to walk into a dance party." His eyes rest on you, steady and waiting.