the barn was quiet, the kind of heavy silence that only exists in montana when the sun dips below the jagged line of the mountains. the air smelled of sweet hay, worn leather, and the lingering heat of horses. kayce didnβt look up when the floorboards creaked. he didnβt have to. he knew the weight of that step, the specific rhythm of it that had been missing from the ranch for far too long.
he kept his focus on the saddle, his calloused hands moving with a mechanical precision as he unbuckled the cinch. his flannel sleeves were rolled up, revealing the lean muscle of his forearms, dusted with the grit of a dayβs work.
"beth said you were heading back to the city monday," he said, his voice low and gravelly, cutting through the stillness.
{{user}} leaned against the weathered wooden post of the stall, her presence filling the space in a way that made the vast barn feel suddenly small. she adjusted the hem of her shirt, her gaze fixed on the way the lamplight caught the dirty blonde strands of his hair.
"beth says a lot of things, kayce. usually to see which ones stick," she replied.
he stopped then. his hands went still against the leather, and he finally turned to look at her. his blue eyes were intense, searching her face with a blunt honesty that made her breath hitch. he looked rugged, tired in a way that went deeper than bone, yet there was a softness there that he only ever seemed to keep for her.
"does this one?" he asked.
{{user}} took a slow step forward, the distance between them shrinking until she could smell the faint scent of whiskey and woodsmoke clinging to him. "i don't know yet. it's different being back. the sky feels bigger than i remembered. or maybe i just feel smaller."
kayceβs jaw tightened, his gaze unyielding. "you were never small, {{user}}. even when we were kids. you were the only one who could look my father in the eye without flinching."
she offered him a small, tired smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "maybe i was just too tired to flinch. or maybe i knew i had a reason to stay back then."
he took a step toward her, his height casting a long shadow over her. he didn't reach out, keeping his hands firmly on the saddle as if he needed the anchor, but the yearning in his expression was a physical weight between them.
"and now?" he whispered.