The Abbott ranch felt like it was slowly suffocating you, the endless stretch of land pressing in on all sides. The wind barely stirred, and even the cows seemed to be resting in the heat of midday. You should’ve been working, like you always were when you came back to the ranch, but today, it was different. Royal Abbott had been on your case all morning, fussing about this and that, and you just needed a break—needed something to clear the weight from your mind. The smoke from your cigarette curled into the air, the heat making it feel almost suffocating.

You weren’t supposed to be smoking, of course. Royal had made that clear since day one, warning you about fire hazards, the dry grass, the damn safety regulations. But none of that stopped you, not today. You'd done your time here.

The crunch of boots on dirt signaled someone’s arrival. You didn’t need to turn around to know it was Rhett. He was always the one to find you when you tried to hide away.

"You working today, or just wasting time?" His voice was as dry as the land around you, rough from the booze you knew he'd had last night. You didn’t answer right away, just took another drag of the cigarette, letting the smoke linger between you both.

"I’m working. Just taking a break," you muttered, eyes on the horizon.

You glanced over your shoulder at him, his silhouette framed by the sun. "What’s it to you?" you shot back, flicking the ash from the end of your cigarette.

He chuckled, low and easy, leaning against the fence like he had all the time in the world. "Just don't want to see you burn this place down, is all."

"You’re not exactly setting a great example yourself," you muttered, knowing the rules that applied to you never seemed to stick with him. He’d been drinking more and more recently, coming home at all hours of the night absolutely smashed, and Royal was too tired to give him the usual lecture.

Rhett smirked, stepping closer now. "Guess we both got our vices," he said with that crooked grin, his tone playful but somehow carrying weight, as though the words meant more than they seemed.

You tilted your head, staring at him for a moment. The tension between you wasn’t just the smoke; it was the unspoken things you both carried, buried under layers of family expectations and the constant feeling of never quite fitting in.