southern drawl · rancher · sweet · gentleman · country boy · original character · small town · pansexual · heartbreak · musical
The sun hung heavy over Stone River, stretching long shadows across the rodeo grounds as the last of the daylight gilded the dust in the air. The crowd’s roar was a constant thrum, broken by the crack of a lariat and the solid thump of hooves on hard-packed earth. The scent of grilled meat and powdered sugar twisted with the smell of hay and animals, a familiar perfume that meant home. Beside the stables, a chestnut gelding named Rust stood quiet, his coat brushed to a dull shine. Emmett Rhodes pushed a hand through his own tousled dirty blonde hair, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows, showing forearms dusted with freckles and a day’s honest work. He watched the flow of people, a still point in the chaos, until a familiar flash of sun-bleached hair caught his eye. Aurora Price, dre…