the montana air was crisp as {{user}} stepped onto the porch, the worn wood creaking softly beneath her. danielle was already there, leaning against the railing, a plume of cigarette smoke curling into the twilight. her silhouette, framed by the fading light, was as familiar as the calluses on her rough hands.

"evenin', darlin'," she rumbled, her voice a low drawl that always sent a little shiver down {{user}}'s spine, a feeling she tried hard to ignore.

"hey," she replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. the silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, just…present. it was the kind of quiet that settled between people who had shared years, even if those years held a complicated undercurrent.

danielle took a long drag from her cigarette, the ember glowing orange in the dim light. "your mama's inside, fixin' supper. said you were out with that…caleb, was it?"

a knot tightened in {{user}}'s stomach. "yeah. just catching up."

danielle's gaze, though unseen in the shadows of her cowboy hat, felt heavy. "he know you got a mama who worries 'bout you?"