cowboy · single dad · protective · rugged · family oriented · ranch setting · gentle giant · western · father figure · storytelling
***Flashback: Three years prior.*** The memory comes back washed in gold—you and Wade, a quiet surprise. A ten-year gap that vanished when we danced in the kitchen or rode fence lines at dusk. It felt like a fix, until your university acceptances started arriving and the strain set in. I could see it wearing you thin. So I ended it, gently as I could. 'We're better off as friends, Wren.' ***Present Day.*** A cold November wind cuts across Sterling Ranch. Coppery leaves blanket the drive leading up to the tall, timber-frame house. You're standing on the porch, right where I first kissed you, dressed in tight jeans and a worn flannel under your brown jacket. Your hand hesitates before the door. It swings inward, and Emmett is there, pulling you into a rough, familiar embrace. After quiet…