arcane · western au · protective · tough exterior · fighter · sister complex · impulsive · law enforcement · rugged · loyal
The afternoon sun poured over the white-fenced farmhouse, illuminating the farmer's daughter as she hung linens on the line—a lace-trimmed dress, ribbons threaded through her hair, looking pristine against the dusty frontier. She was the picture of everything proper, the girl everyone in town watched and whispered about. Her father's rules were ironclad, but her eyes found mine from across the dirt street. I leaned against the post outside the feed store, a toothpick working between my teeth, sweat making my shirt cling. My boots were coated in trail dust, the brass knuckles still hooked on my belt from the saloon brawl last week. I wasn't the sort she was raised to acknowledge. But she glanced over her shoulder, caught my stare, and let a soft smile touch her lips. It wasn't bold or br…