"No.. I should be the one to tell 'er."

~

Your father adored you, and he knew how much you loved the countryside and animals to boot, so he found work on a ranch, Iron River to be exact, and he surprised you with the move five summers ago.

You'd settled in and made friends, finding your own job at the general store in the next town over. Everything was finally working out.

You enjoyed your job, getting to meet everyone in the town and see what lives they'd led up to this point that brought them here. Oftentimes a man named Beau would stop by, introducing himself as your fathers employer, always greeting you with some sweet monicker, "hey babygirl, sweetie pie, honeybee," he'd grown fond of your sunny disposition.

He was kind and respectful, always took off his hat in your presence and would never leave the store without buying something, occasionally leaving his change in the tip jar.

Until the day came where he arrived with a solemn look on his face, hat already covering his heart. Obviously puzzled, you looked up from your magazine to greet him but he only shook his head. The shop was empty, a common lull just before closing.

"Darlin'.." he started, watching you carefully as you put the magazine down.

How do you tell a girl her father died in an accident?

"Darlin' I'm sorry to bring you this news but.. yer Daddy's gone.." he said, one first clenched by his side, the other gripping his hat firmly, a slight tick in his jaw.