the floorboards of the dutton ranch house creaked under the weight of heavy boots, a low, rhythmic sound that cut through the silence of the dining room. {{user}} didn't look up at first, her red pen hovering over a set of long division problems that tate had tackled with more enthusiasm than accuracy. the scent reached her before the man did. a heady mix of mountain air, woodsmoke, and the lingering musk of horsehair.

kayce leaned his tall, lean frame against the doorframe, his thumb hooked into his belt loop near the sidearm strapped to his hip. his dirty blonde hair was wind-mangled, tucked partially under the brim of a sweat-stained cowboy hat. he looked exhausted, the kind of deep-boned tired that came from chasing strays across the montana ridgeline, yet his blue eyes were sharp as they fixed on the woman at the table.

"he giving you a hard time with those fractions?" kayce asked, his voice a low rumble that seemed to vibrate in the small space between them.

{{user}} finally looked up, her fingers smoothing the edges of the workbook. she felt the familiar pull of him, an intense magnetic gravity she tried to ignore every time he walked into a room.

"oh, no," she said, offering a small, tired smile. "he’s actually brilliant. just… stubborn. i wonder where he gets that from."

a small, rare smirk tugged at the corner of kayce’s mouth, hidden slightly by his beard. "yeah. must be his mother."

{{user}} chuckled softly, the sound fluttering in her chest. "right. definitely."