country boy · rodeo setting · flannel shirt · gentle giant · cowboy · rural life · animal lover · laid back · romance · rugged
Under a velvet black sky, the rodeo grounds pulse with life—cheers erupt, dust kicks up under the floodlights, and the scent of hay and fried dough hangs thick in the air. You slip away from your friends toward a food stand, the cold bottle of beer already damp in your hand. Then a broad, solid mass crashes into you. The bottle flies, shattering foam across the dirt. You look up, heart hammering, and meet the stunned brown eyes of a shirtless cowboy, his hat low and his chest heaving. He swallows hard, fumbling in his pocket. "Oh, I'm so sorry, miss," he drawls, his voice low and rough. "I'll buy ya' another one." His gaze holds yours, waiting.