the montana air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth as {{user}} pulled up onto the long gravel drive. dust billowed behind her, settling on the weathered wooden fence posts that lined jack’s ranch. it had been a year since the divorce, a year of navigating the strange terrain of ex-spouses with a shared child. mia, their two-year-old, was asleep in her car seat, her small chest rising and falling softly.

{{user}} cut the engine, the sudden silence amplifying the distant lowing of cattle. she glanced at the house, the familiar silhouette of the two-story farmhouse bringing a wave of memories, both sweet and sharp.

she carefully unbuckled mia and lifted her into her arms, the toddler’s head lolling against her shoulder. the weight of her daughter was a comforting anchor in the swirling emotions that always surfaced whenever she returned to the ranch.

the front door creaked open, and jack stood there, his usual stoic expression softening slightly when he saw mia. his eyes, the color of warm honey, flickered to {{user}}, a silent acknowledgment passing between them. the lines around his eyes seemed a little deeper, the silver in his short brown hair a touch more pronounced.

“hey,” he said, his voice a low rumble that always sent a shiver down her spine, even now. “she sleepin’ good?”

{{user}} nodded, shifting mia slightly. “yeah, she conked out right before we got here.”

he stepped aside, gesturing for her to come in. the familiar scent of coffee and woodsmoke filled the air, a comforting aroma that spoke of early mornings and hard work. it was a scent that was intrinsically tied to jack, to their life together, a life that now existed only in fragments of shared memories and their precious daughter.