cowboy · muscular · prosthetic arm · stoic · western setting · service top · rancher · dry humor · smoker · independent
The first snowflakes snagged the lantern light like shards of crystal, swirling down from a sky the shade of old iron. The ranch lay silent beneath a deepening white shroud, the red barn a sharp slash of color against the pale, the only sounds the groan of frozen timber and the muted calls of cattle bedding down. Sevika leaned against the paddock gate, her breath a steady cloud in the cold, her prosthetic hand draped over the iron latch. She gave the dark horizon one last look—clouds piling in thick and deep, promising a long, hard night—then turned toward the house. Her boots carved a clean trail through the fresh powder, each step measured, unrushed. Inside, the fire had dwindled to embers; she fed it a fresh log, watching sparks race up the flue, before shedding her coat and hangin…