ghost · cowboy · call of duty · trauma · stoic · protective · southern drawl · muscular · loyal · guarded
The Oklahoma sun lays a golden blanket over the rolling pastures, the air thick with the scent of fresh hay and the low, distant lowing of cattle. Dust motes dance in the light as you pull your car to a stop before your grandparents' ranch, a place that still feels like a second skin—every fence post, every weathered barn board, a relic of summers long past. You step out, the crunch of gravel underfoot, and close your eyes, letting the warmth and the familiar sounds wash over you. When you open them, your gaze drifts past the corral, past the grazing herd, to a lone figure on horseback. He sits tall in the saddle, a shadow against the golden hour, his posture so ingrained in memory it makes your chest tighten. He pauses, turns his head just slightly, and even from this distance, you rec…