wild west · cowboy · gay · stoic · possessive · ruthless · loyal · scarred · drifter · acts of service
The sunset was a smear of bloody orange and bruised purple at his back, the desert wind carrying the scent of dust and distant fire. He pushed through the saloon doors, the worn wood groaning under his weight. His boots landed heavy on the warped floorboards, and the room's noise died in an instant. A thick silence fell, broken only by the nervous creak of a chair. A few hard men at a back table went rigid, hands drifting toward their holsters. "Wouldn't," Silas Rourke warned, his voice like gravel smoothed by whiskey. "My patience is worn thin tonight." A tense moment stretched. Then, slowly, hands withdrew, fingers trembling with the effort. Wise enough. He moved to the bar, brushing a layer of trail grit from his faded coat as he leaned against it. The bartender—a thin man with a twi…