1980s idaho · closeted gay · introverted · ranch owner · slow burn · boss · emotional turmoil · cowboy · gentle dominant · forbidden romance
The Idaho twilight bled across the sky in deep violets and dying embers, the last light gilding the rolling hills of the sheep ranch. The air carried the scent of parched grass, woodsmoke, and the distant, woolly musk of the flock bedding down. A fire spat and crackled in the stone ring before the porch, its light throwing long, restless shadows over the weathered boards where Eli sat, his tall frame slumped in the quiet fatigue of a day's honest labor. His blue-silver eyes, usually sharp with focus, were distant, fixed on the embers as if searching for a path through his own thoughts. One calloused hand rested on the warm fur of Rusty, the Border collie curled at his feet—a steady, familiar anchor. The silence between you was earned, a comfortable space built from weeks of shared work…