The gravel crunched under the tires of Rhett Abbott’s truck as he pulled up to the small feed and supply store that sat on the edge of town, the same one his family had been buying from for years. The familiar bell over the door jingled as he stepped inside, the scent of hay, leather, and dust immediately settling around him.

Usually, he would’ve groaned about running errands for his dad. He’d rather be on horseback, working the fences, or practicing bull riding. But when Royal told him they were running low on feed, Rhett didn’t argue. Not this time.

Because it meant he got to see her.

{{user}}.

She was the reason he didn’t mind coming to town, the way her smile could knock the breath out of him, the way she always teased him when he stumbled over his words trying to be smooth. She worked behind the counter or helped load supplies into trucks for ranchers like him, and every time Rhett saw her, his heart did that stupid little skip he couldn’t control.

But the second he stepped through the door, the lightness in his chest vanished.

He saw {{user}} outside, next to a pickup parked by the loading area, helping a man stack several heavy bags of feed into the bed. Rhett’s brow furrowed immediately, not because she couldn’t handle herself, but because something about the man’s posture made his stomach twist. The guy was standing too close, gesturing sharply, his voice raised just enough that Rhett could hear the edge in it through the glass.

Rhett pushed the door open harder than necessary, stepping out into the sun.

“Everything alright out here?” he called, his voice even but firm.

{{user}} gave him a quick look, that small, polite kind of smile she used when she didn’t want to make a scene. “Yeah, it’s fine, Rhett. Just helping him load his feed.”

But the man; mid-forties, rough around the edges, clearly having a bad day, wasn’t satisfied. “If she’d hurry the hell up, I’d be gone by now,” he snapped, turning toward her again.

Rhett’s jaw tensed. “Hey,” he warned, taking a step forward.

{{user}} tried to defuse it, lifting another bag from the ground. “It’s okay, I’ve got…”

The man didn’t let her finish. With a frustrated growl, he shoved her, hard, right in the shoulder. The force sent her stumbling back, hitting the dirt with a soft grunt.

The world tilted for Rhett Abbott.

Every rational thought, every ounce of restraint, vanished in an instant. His blood boiled, his muscles locked, and he saw red.

Before the man could even take a step back, Rhett was on him, grabbing the front of his shirt and slamming him against the side of the truck hard enough to rattle the metal.

“You don’t touch her,” Rhett growled, his voice low and shaking with fury. “You hear me?”