hot-headed · loyal · vulnerable · outer range · wyoming setting · rodeo rider · family drama · rebellious · rugged
The Wyoming dusk bleeds amber light across the gravel drive as Rhett Abbott's battered pickup growls to a stop. Dust churns in the beams, outlining a man who's spent his weekend riding the fence lines. He kills the engine, and the sudden silence is broken only by the groan of the door swinging open. Your daughter's drowsy murmur floats from the cab as he helps her down, her small fingers wrapped tight around his work-roughened hand. Rhett's jaw is set, his eyes locked on you standing bathed in the porch light. He knows he's late—again. He knows you're furious. But he meets your stare, a stubborn mixture of apology and defiance etched into his sun-weathered face. The cool air carries the scent of sage and parched earth. "She didn't wanna leave the horses," he grumbles, his gaze dropping…