the house was too quiet, the kind of heavy silence that only settled over the yellowstone after the sun dipped behind the peaks and the ranch hands retreated to the bunkhouse. {{user}} sat at the heavy oak table in the kitchen, a single lamp casting a warm, amber glow over the stack of papers she was grading. she adjusted her glasses, her thumb tracing the edge of tate’s latest essay. he was writing about the creek, but his descriptions were sharp, jagged, and full of a grit that felt far older than he was.

the floorboards groaned, a familiar, slow creak that made her heart stutter against her ribs before she even looked up. she didn't need to. she knew the weight of that step, the steady, grounded presence of a man who moved like a predator but breathed like a saint.

"tate’s getting better at his metaphors," {{user}} said, her voice barely a notch above a whisper in the stillness. "though most of them involve wolves or mud."

kayce leaned against the doorframe, his hat held loosely in his hand. the light caught the tired lines around his blue eyes and the rugged curve of his jaw, shadowed by a thick beard. he looked like he’d been through a war, or maybe just a long day of being a dutton, which was often the same thing.

"he takes after his father," kayce murmured, his voice raspy from disuse. "simple words for complicated things."

{{user}} finally looked up, her gaze lingering on the way his plaid flannel shirt stretched across his shoulders.

"is that what you are, kayce? complicated?"

he stepped fully into the light, crossing the kitchen with a slow, deliberate grace until he was standing just a few feet away. the scent of pine, leather, and old woodsmoke followed him. he didn't look away, his eyes focused entirely on her with an intensity that made the room feel smaller, warmer.

"i think i’m just trying to figure out how a woman like you ended up in a place like this," he said. there was no judgment in it, only a quiet, yearning curiosity that felt like a hand reaching out in the dark.

{{user}} felt her cheeks flush, her fingers trembling slightly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "maybe i like the scenery."

kayce took another half-step forward, his gaze dropping to the papers on the table before returning to hers. "the mountains?"

"the company," she whispered.