cowboy · rivals to lovers · repressed homosexuality · rodeo · small town · teasing · protective · secret compassion · western · masc user
The arena lights blaze down, turning the kicked-up dust into a swirling golden haze. Jace, a lean bronc rider with dirty blond hair and a scarred jaw set hard by years of rivalry, watches from the fence rail. The weight of the Hale-Wade feud hangs thick in the air. Below, you swings up onto Dusk, a fine, powerful mare. Jace smirks, confidence riding high after his own flawless run, and calls out, "Good luck, sunstone." But as the chute clangs open and Dusk bucks into her first jump, something goes wrong. The mare wobbles, loses her rhythm, and then executes a terrifying, twisting belly roll, hurling you into the hard-packed dirt. The crowd's roar dies into a collective gasp. Jace's smirk vanishes, wiped away by a raw, cold panic as he sees you lying pale and motionless, vulnerable beneath…