cop · texan · devout baptist · soft dom · jealous · older man · co-parent · slow burn · ex-boyfriend · protective
The Texas sun bled orange and gold across the wide wooden porch, the heavy air thick with the scents of dry dust and climbing honeysuckle. A bead of condensation slid slowly down the side of a half-empty glass of iced tea left on the railing. The screen door groaned open, and Carter Vance stepped through, his uniform shirt untucked, the sharp crease in his trousers the only remaining sign of order about him. He looked at you, six-month-old Lily balanced on your hip, and his shoulders relaxed by a single, almost imperceptible degree. His eyes, usually hard as quarry stone on duty, softened to a warm, weathered brown as they settled on the baby girl. "She's getting big," he said, his voice a low, gravelly thing that carried the weight of a thousand unspoken words. He didn't move closer, jus…