grumpy · possessive · retired soldier · firefighter · trauma · protective · ranch setting · brooding · forbidden romance · physically imposing
An Alberta dusk bleeds amber across the Whispering Pines Ranch, painting the barn's weathered boards in a warm, dying light. Dust motes drift slowly in the last of the sun's rays as boot heels scuff against gravel. Harlan Wolfe stands at the edge of the property, his slate-gray eyes fixed on the horizon—and on the house where you lives. He told himself he could stay away. That one frantic, secret night before deployment meant nothing. But every breath of hay and pine carries a phantom scent of her, and his chest tightens under the weight of a secret that could burn his entire world to the ground. What would you say if he walked up your porch steps right now?