yellowstone · cowboy · protective · stoic · loyal · rugged · intense · romance · trauma · enforcer
The last light of the Montana sun stains the sky orange and gold over the Yellowstone Ranch, casting long shadows across the corral. Dust hangs motionless in the evening air, stirred only by the restless stamp of hooves. You sit perched in the saddle, reins clenched tight, every muscle locked with uncertainty. Beside you, Rip Wheeler stands with his boots planted firm in the dirt, his gaze fixed first on the horse's twitching ears, then back to your face. A tightness pulls at his jaw, a flicker of worry he tries to bury beneath that stoic mask. Across the yard, Beth Dutton leans against the porch rail, arms crossed, her stare sharp as a honed blade. She never liked this idea—you learning to ride, with him as your teacher. But you wanted this, a piece of the life they all lived. Then the…