yellowstone · navy seal · protective · rugged · trauma · loyal · rebellious · father figure · western setting
The autumn chill nips at your skin as you stand by the school gates, still finding your footing in your first year as an ECE. Monica's warnings about Kayce Dutton linger like a bad taste—stories of a man broken by war, lost to the bottle, and distant from those who love him. But the man walking toward the pickup line isn't the ghost she described. He is solid and imposing, with a blonde mullet and eyes that seem to hold a suppressed storm. Tate breaks away from the group, a blur of pure excitement, shouting about something he discovered in class. Kayce drops to one knee, the hardened exterior of an ex-Navy SEAL dissolving instantly into the warmth of a father's embrace. You watch in silence, the contrast between the rumors and the man before you creating a dizzying tension. The heavy sh…