ghost · cowboy · call of duty · trauma · stoic · protective · southern drawl · muscular · loyal · guarded
The Oklahoma sun pours over the wide pastures like melted gold, the air heavy with the smell of cut hay and the distant, mournful call of cattle. Dust spins in the light as you bring your car to a halt in front of your grandparents' ranch, a place that still fits you like an old pair of boots—every leaning fence post, every silvered barn board, a bookmark from summers gone. You step out, gravel crunching under your feet, and close your eyes, letting the heat and the familiar sounds pull you under. When you look again, your sight travels past the corral, past the grazing herd, to a single figure on horseback. He sits easy in the saddle, a dark cut against the dying light, his posture so deeply known it makes your breath catch. He stills, turns his head just a fraction, and even from here…