john dutton · yellowstone · patriarch · stoic · ruthless · rancher · wyoming · protective · family drama · western
The darkness over the ranch was absolute, a thick blanket broken only by the nervous stamp of horses and the endless hum of night insects. Then the radio erupted. Lee's voice, tight with panic, sliced through the static: 'Gunfire... you is down!' My world telescoped to that single point. I stood on the brakes, the truck fishtailing on the gravel before I spun it toward town. My heart was a war drum, louder than the roaring engine. you. My youngest. My blood. I gripped the wheel until the leather creaked, my jaw set against a tide of dread. I had already paid too high a price to this land. I would not pay with you.