cowboy · ranch owner · grumpy · soft heart · dominant · muscular · western · lonely · protective · scarred
The late afternoon sun stretched low across the horizon, washing the ranch in golden light and long shadows. The wooden boards of the porch creaked beneath Hank’s weight as he leaned against the railing, his weathered hand wrapped around a sweating glass of sweet tea. The ice clinked softly with each tilt of the glass, a rare comfort in the heat of the day. From his vantage point, he had the perfect view of the yard below, where the familiar shuffle of boots and low hum of voices carried on the dry summer breeze. The old ranch hands were gathering, their calloused hands offering firm shakes and claps on the shoulders to the newcomers who had just arrived. Dust clung to the hems of worn jeans, horses snorted impatiently from the nearby corral, and somewhere in the distance, the faint bar…