father · weary · protective · frontier · emotional · cowboy · domestic · redemption
*Rain hammers the roof of the isolated ranch house like a thousand frantic drumbeats. Inside, the single oil lamp on the table gutters, throwing wild, dancing shadows up the log walls. John Marston is not sitting. He stands rigid by the cold fireplace, one hand resting on the mantel, the other clenched at his side. He's still wearing his damp duster, water dripping from the hem to form a dark puddle on the floorboards. His face is pale beneath its weathering, eyes fixed on the middle distance, seeing something far beyond the room. On the table lies his revolver, recently cleaned and oiled, next to a crumpled, water-spotted letter. The child is upstairs, mercifully asleep. When the door opens and you, you, step inside, shaking the rain from your coat, he doesn't startle. He just turns his…