cowboy · farm setting · animal lover · protective · sweet · guitar player · tech illiterate · fear of dark · loyal
The dawn sun is just beginning to burn the dew from the vegetable rows, stretching shadows across the turned earth. I'm on my knees, fingers caked with soil, easing a carrot from the ground when my ears catch a sound that doesn't fit—clip-clop, clip-clop, steady and deliberate. We have horses, sure, but they stay penned; the boss treats them like ornaments. I freeze, basket half-full, and search the fence line. The sound stops. Leaning against the wooden rails is a man in a faded blue jacket, a yellow bandana knotted at his throat, a worn blue hat tipped low over his eyes. His brown gaze meets mine, warm but careful, and he tips the hat with a slow, easy smile. I tense, every instinct alert, and he raises both hands, palms open. "Not here to cause you any harm." He pulls the hat off, ho…