#outer range fic

[vivwritesfics]

Gamer Rhett with glasses 🤓 👀👀

this all came from that bit where ben mears is in the library and he's got those chunky ass glasses on and ugh he's so pretty i would jump his bones like mike ryerson jumped him outside the church (i mean thats not really how it happened by c'mon)

rhett needs glasses

he doesn't wear his glasses

its a mix of contacts when he's out or he doesn't bother and suffers through blindness (it makes for an interesting day)

rhett mostly wears his glasses when he's gaming

(he has an xbox, we know this for a fact)

i mean, can't you just picture it?

he could sit close to his tiny little monitor and make do

squinting through (he's not gonna wear contacts when just sitting in his room)

but his chair is covered in clothes

so the alternative is lay in his bed

long legs stretched out in front of him

glasses on his face while he games

the best part is when you're there

tired after a long day at work

(in my head its ranch handing, but doesn't matter)

laying against his chest while rhett games

he doesn't really have friends he games with, so doesn't bother wearing his headset

just laying there, in his glasses, gaming with you against him

there has been times where you have woken up, forgotten that you're in his bed and knocked his glasses off mid game

threw off his K/D ratio

oh rhett is mad into rdr

literally got his xbox to play the second one

rhett's horse is named after his irl horse

you assure her that he still loves her when he's talking about the game

you get rhett into Minecraft

it's not an easy two player game on his tiny monitor, but you two make do

rhetts favourite nights are when he can game, his arms around you, holding you in his lap while he games

you read in his arms, stopping between every round to ask for a kiss

[sebsxphia]

your (my) life with rhett abbott.

rhett abbott x reader.

￫ summary: a life with rhett.

￫ word count: 680.

￫ warnings: mentions of sex, some angst, children and fluff.

￫ authors notes: this is a collection of daydreams i have about my cowboy husband. my main masterlist can be found here! 💌

Rhett is a little awkward and shy. For a burly bull rider, when he first asked you out, his thumb moved between each fingernail to pick at it. His hands were twitching with nerves. From a first glance, he simply looked like a man asking a person out. His hands were by his sides and he stood tall.

His father told him to never look small, even though he made Rhett feel so small sometimes.

When you replied with a beaming smile that you would love to go out with him sometime, his cheeks became flushed with a warm pink, that spread over the tops of his ears and down his neck in a hot flush.

He gets grumpy too. His eyebrows knit together in a firm line. His eyes become stone and his eyelids grow heavy. He’ll focus on one particular spot of dirt on his jeans, not baring to look at anything else. He clenches his teeth tightly together and his jaw becomes firmly set.

But, he stands up for himself and what he thinks is right. However, it comes off as him being defensive and angry when really, he’s only trying to protect the things that he loves most. That being the life you’ve built together on your ranch and most importantly, you and your little baby girl.

Bonnie Abbott was born in the early spring. You spent many days in the summer standing on your front porch, with her in your arms and watching Rhett work not too far from your home. He couldn’t bear to spend long periods away from you both, so he always opted to do work closer to your home during the day.

You would hold her chubby little hand and wave it for her, humming in a sweet voice, “Wave to Daddy, Bonnie!”

You watch as your three ranch cats jump from the rooftops and fences of the barn. Your Anatolian Shepherd, Daisy, sits by your feet and keeps a careful and protective watch over both you and Bonnie. Robin, your Blue Heeler, is always quick on Rhett’s heels and trails around behind him, as he works in the hot and sticky Wyoming summer heat. Rhett whistles sharply between his lips and Robin is always quick to follow.

You still live in Wyoming, but you chose your ranch to be two towns over from Wabang. Rhett wanted to distance himself from his family, but he couldn’t leave them completely. He’s still holding onto this deeply entrenched guilt, that therefore causes him to tether to them.

He’s working on it though. He’s working on himself.

He doesn’t deny his mother and father of seeing his grandchild. You go back to visit when you can, but you normally leave after spending the day there. Rhett can only bear so many hours before the familiar and tell-tale signs of his set frown and tense jaw begin to appear. You still go back for occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are the only two occasions when you, Rhett and Bonnie will stay the night.

His old room is still there. It still comforts him.

You press up against Rhett in his small bed and keep him warm, whilst Bonnie sleeps soundly beside you both in her crib. His room is nearly identical to when he left it, but these small changes with you both now being in there with him, is what gives him the harmony to fall asleep.

You asked Rhett once if he would be gentle with you, as he had your beautiful naked body below him.

“Will you be gentle with me? Please be gentle with me.”

He gave you the love that you so dearly deserved. He calls you his “baby,” his “darlin’”, his love.

He is your dream. He is your cowboy, but a man who needs to be wanted. He needs to feel wanted. He gets so much validation from you, in every way. Emotionally, physically, sexually… And you give that to him without hesitation. He’s so over the moon with you. He’s so profoundly and deeply in love with you.

taglist: @beachbabey @tallrock35 @currentlybradshaw @unmistakablyunknown @iloveprettyboysblog @flames-thebitch @randomfandomgirl97 @kmc1989 @swiftsgirlfriend

tagging those who may be interested: @sunblchdfly @sugarcoated-lame @lewmagoo @peachystenbrough @floydsmuse @rhettmotel @mearslot @rhettabbotts @hangmanapologist @withahappyrefrain @castiel-barnes @sandbarbirdie

[aestheticaltcow]

Baby-Makin' (Rhett Abbott x Reader)

Kinktober 2024

(Divider credit @strangergraphics)

Watching Rhett try to ride a thousand-pound bull always did something to you. You were in the stands with Cecilia and Amy while Royal was talking to him about something. “He’s up next!” Amy cheered excitedly; you shared her sentiment as the announcer introduced Rhett over the speaker. 

When the gates opened and the bull busted through the arena, you watched as it tried to get Rhett off his back. Your gaze moved between Rhett and the clock. You felt nervous as you watched his arm flay about as the bull got angrier and angrier. The clock buzzed when Rhett had finally been thrown off of the bull. You watched as he landed on his shoulder awkwardly. You swallowed, hoping he hadn’t injured himself. “He did it! He won!” Amy cheered, pointing to the scoreboard where ‘Abbott’ appeared next to the number one spot. “Oh my gosh!” you cheered as you looked at the board and then back to Rhett.

As one of the announcers yelled out his victory, Rhett scanned the audience, looking for you. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw you standing in the crowd, cheering with his family. As he accepted his title, his eyes didn’t leave you. You smiled and blew him a kiss before mouthing, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ Rhett’s smile got progressively goofier the longer he stared at you. 

The rodeo cleared out, and you found Rhett at the ‘rider’s only’ entrance. “Hey cowboy. You did amazing!” you cooed as you wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Rhett hooked his hands under your thighs and effortlessly lifted you so you could wrap your legs around his hips. You squealed at the suddenness, “Always ride better when you’re watchin’ me, baby.” he grunted.

You giggled at his words and snatched the hat from his head, “I love watchin’ you ride, but maybe… you wanna watch me ride?” you teased, twirling his hair in your fingers. He laughed and moved you to his shoulder, smacking your ass in the process. You giggled and held onto the hat, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Rhett’s truck was one of the last ones in the parking lot that night. He walked up to the passengers door and put you down in it before messing with the bar under the seat to push it back. “You got a condom, baby?” you asked as he climbed on top of you, closing the door behind him. He shook his head and pushed your legs apart, making your skirt pool at your hips. “Then we probably shouldn’t baby.” 

Rhett shook his head, “I think tonight is the night I knock you up baby.” he grunted pushing your panties to the side before pushing his middle finger through your fold collecting the moisture that had began to pool in your panties the second you found him after the rodeo. You moaned at the feeling of his rough fingers rubbing your clit in sharp oblong circles. 

“You’re gonna knock me up tonight?” you swallowed. Rhett nodded as he leaned down to your ear to whisper, “I got to let everyone know who you belong to, princess.”

[withahappyrefrain]

8 or 58 for Bob or Rhett! ❤️💕

Thanks!! The list is excellent.

I went with number 8 for Rhett!

Rhett didn’t know why his mother insisted on getting a dog. It wasn’t as if they didn’t already have several ranching dogs. 

“It’s different! They essentially work for the ranch, they’re not a pet.”

So he wasn’t surprised when Ceceila brought home a cocker spaniel puppy. She would never go for a rescue, which is what Rhett wanted (as if he had a say). 

And Rhett certainly didn't have a say when it came to taking care of Bella. As the puppy grew, so did Rhett’s responsibilities. Amy lost interest when the dog was no longer puppy sized, and Cecilia got more involved in the church as a way to deal with the shitshow that was her eldest son. 

Which is how Rhett found himself driving Bella to the dog park. Because when the only shit to do is drink and watch bull rides, Wabang lost their minds over the new pet friendly park that was thirty minutes away. 

“Is it that important she goes?” Rhett mumbled when Cecilia told him of his new afternoon plans. 

“Of course! She has friends Rhett. And Bella will be so sad if she doesn't see her friends, won't you, pretty girl?” she cooed to Bella, who was currently sitting on the couch despite Royal saying that's exactly where he didn't want the dog to sit. 

But it was nice to break the monotony of his day. Plus, it meant going to the outskirts of Cheyenne, which was still more developed than Wabang. Hell, he could even stop by Taco Bell on the way back, a rare treat. Bella could have a bowl of their potatoes, just without all that fake cheese sauce. His ma would kill him if she found out she let Bella eat such ‘trash food’, as if her cooking was any better. 

So there he was, making his way towards the enclosed area, Bella tugging away. 

“Hey, quit it!” He grunted, already regretting this. Rhett had half a mind to just go to Taco Bell now but then Bella let out that whine, the one that tugged on Rhett’s heartstrings. 

He wasn't a monster, despite what folks insisted. 

“Alright, alright. We’ll go in. But just for a little bit and you better behave yerself,” Rhett instructed before opening the gate. 

Bella trotted in, immediately going up to several dogs to sniff. 

Rhett found himself a corner where he could keep an eye on the dog, but was away from other people. He felt out of place with his hand me downed Caharrat jacket and worn boots. There were several people in the park who he found cute, but like hell if he was going to go up and talk to them. 

After Maria left for the second time, Rhett imposed a ban on dating. At least for a while. After all, there’s only so many times a cowboy can try his best and get his heart broken in the end. 

So instead, he watched Bella, who had now found herself a friend. Out of all the dogs in the park, Rhett found this one to be the cutest; caramel color coat with black fur surrounded their nose, expressive ears that were just a little too big for their body and a tail that went one hundred smiles per hour. Had to be some type of pitt mix, given their bicycle seat shaped head, which was perfect for pets. That was the kind of dog Rhett would want. 

Bella seemed just as interested as Rhett, walking with the dog. Well, actually, more like following. He saw the other dog continuing to look back, seeing if Bella was still there. 

“Hey Bella, quit it!” Rhett grumbled. Not that she listened. Great. His first time here and Bella was going to get them kicked out. 

“C’mon Bella,” Rhett walked over to his mother’s dog, hoping he could just pick her up and take her home. 

But the other dog had different plans. As soon as they saw Rhett, their tail wagged furiously as they came up to him, practically begging for pets. 

Rhett Abbott was not a monster.

“Hey sweet girl,” He kneeled down, allowing the dog to seat themselves in between Rhett’s legs, “Is Bella bothering you? You want me to tell her to stop?”

The dog put his front paws up on Rhett’s thigh, gaining access to his face. Her breath wasn’t the greatest, but with a face like that, how could he be mad?

“I swear, she comes here for the people, not the dogs,” A sweet voice said. 

Rhett looked up, only to have his breath taken away by you. You, who were without a doubt, the sweetest person Rhett had ever seen. 

“Hey Bella girl!” You cooed, kneeling down to give Bella some pets, “I know you want to play, but Noodle is a covid puppy. She just wants pets.” 

“Well, Bella needs to learn how to listen. Least she could do,” Rhett replied as he continued to pet Noodle, who was determined to lick the side of Rhett’s face. 

“You must be one of Cecelia's sons?” Oh god. What had Cecelia already told you? His chances were already ruined before he could even start. 

“Uh yeah. ‘M Rhett,” he reached out to shake your hand, trying not to focus on how soft your skin felt. 

“Oh! The bull rider!” You exclaimed. If that was all Cecelia had told you, Rhett was never going to complain (out loud) about his mother’s cooking ever again. 

“Yeah, that’s me,” He barely got out, his cheeks heating up. 

“I also hear you’re the best Uncle to Amy,” there was a grin on your face, your eyes never leaving his. 

“Well, I’m her only Uncle,” Rhett mumbled, failing to realize the joke. 

Luckily you found it pretty cute. Along with the way he was so loving and gentle towards your dog. 

“It’s okay if Bella continues following Noodle around. Noodle doesn’t mind, especially if it’ll help her get more pets,” you assured, gently squeezing Rhett’s hand to remind him to let go.

“The spot I was in has a good view of the whole dog park….if you want me to keep an eye on them.” Why would you want to stand next to him, God, he was so stupid and-

“I would love to join you, if that’s alright!”

Oh. 

[seeyalaterinnovator]

The Halocline - Rhett Abbott x Reader

Summary: Reader gets roughed up a bit, Rhett comforts her

Warnings: reader is the victim of violence, descriptions of wounds, descriptions of a panic attack, no spoilers for outer range

Word count: 1.9K

Authors note: My friend sent my a requests with rhett abbott saying "Hey, just look at me. Breathe." ... I shamefully finally got around to it.. so here we are...

Keep reading below the cut

The cool Wyoming night air brushed against your exposed skin, each step carrying you closer to the Abbott house. Certainly someone was here, if not Rhett, since he wasn’t answering his phone. You prayed he was just asleep or his phone had died, and that’s why he wasn’t answering any of your calls. The porch groaned under your feet when you hobbled up the steps, up toward the door. 

You knocked once. No answer. It was late, late enough that most of the house would likely be asleep by now, having to get up early tomorrow for chores around the ranch. Cecilia was a light sleeper though, that you could count on. So you knocked again, this time with a little more force. Still no answer.

“C’mon, Rhett!” You cried, voice hoarse from the sobs that wracked your body earlier, raw from screaming for any kind of help that never came. 

Your fist pounded desperately against the screen door, the tinny noise echoed into the open air and died off in the howling wind. There was always someone in the Abbott house, of course except when you needed them the most. “Shit.” You mutter under your breath.

Goosebumps rose along the flesh of your arms, the reddened welts from earlier burning as you sucked in a deep breath and tried to figure out your next move. Tears welled in your eyes as a hopeless feeling settled deep in your chest, but you refused to let them fall, not until you were somewhere safe again. Trembling, torn up hands reach up to scrub at your face as you turned toward the barn. 

You noticed a faint yellow light flickering through the cracked barn door, likely forgotten by someone earlier. It wasn’t the comforting embrace of Rhett, but it would have to do. The barn was far better than trying to walk back to the pit bar to get your car and risk running into Trevor again. God knows what he would try this time. Maybe if you were lucky one of the Abbotts would find you here in the morning when they started their morning chores around the ranch. 

So with a grunt, you slowly made your way over to the barn where you would hopefully hide out amongst the bails of hay. Your footsteps were heavy, weighed down with exhaustion as you crossed into the barn, the dusty smell of hay and motor oil hitting your nose. To your surprise, a familiar form was hunched over the back workbench, a white cowboy hat hiding a head full of sandy brown hair. You nearly could have collapsed from relief.

“Rhett?” You swallowed around the lump in your throat. 

“Sweetheart- what are you doin’ out here so late?” Rhett inquired, turning as he wiped his oil covered hands on an old rag. 

Stood in place, you couldn’t muster the strength to step any further into the light, to expose yourself to the careful scrutiny of his deep blue gaze. The sweet, lopsided smile that pulled at Rhett’s thin lips was discarded quickly, the tattered rag left on the dirt floor when he noticed the tear stained sheen on your cheeks. “Sweetheart? What happened?” His voice was heavier this time.

“I-..” All the air in your lungs dried up, leaving your chest deflated and empty. Paralyzed, your panicked gaze met his as you tried to choke in a breath. No air came though. Rhett saw your chest spasm with the effort of trying to suck in air. Quick to action, his booted feet carried him over to where you stood, though dread took pooled heavily in his gut.

“Jesus-” He gasped, his warm breath puffing out against your battered face. The first thing he noticed now that he was closer was the gash that marred your forehead, a steady trickle of blood trailed down the side of your temple and down your cheek. The second thing he noticed was the smattering of dark splotches that shadowed your skin, likely to be deep purple bruises by the morning. The third thing he noticed was you were without the sweater you always had on at this time of year. The neckline of your shirt was torn, seams ripped and stained crimson. You trembled in your spot, still frozen in place, skin peaked as shivers wracked your body. 

Rhett was quick to shuck off his jacket and drape it over your shoulders and tuck you into the warm fabric. His large, steady hands ran along the length of your arms, trying to rid you of the constant shivering. “Honey- who did this to you?” He kept his tone level, despite the anger that welled up inside him. 

You tried to answer, mouth opening around the Tillerson boy’s name, but all that came was a strained croak. Hot tears fell down your cheeks, burning as they rolled past the areas of broken skin. Hiccups soon took over, and breathing grew even harder. “Oh god!” You say between cries, grabbing a fist of hair and tugging at it hard enough that pain pricked your scalp. Anything to distract you from this drowning feeling that resided heavy in your chest.

With as much tender care as he could, Rhett grabbed a hold of your wrists and detangled your vice grip from your hair. His warm hands came to rest on your flushed cheeks, careful to avoid any area that looked cracked open. His touch was firm and steady as he squeezed just enough, holding your head steady and in line with his. “Hey..” He loosed a breath, barely a whisper as he searched your eyes.

“Hey, just look at me. Breathe.” He instructed in a collected manner, held you steady in his grasp despite thrashing like a bull against his hold. “Sweetheart, breathe for me. You can do it.” Wild eyes met his, and for the first time that night you finally felt safe. At first, your breaths came in frantic puffs, but you focused on trying to force the air from your lungs and exchange it for new air, inhaling deeply and blowing it out on a steady controlled exhale. 

“That’s it, good job. Keep goin’.”He encouraged, leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead, despite the dried blood that flaked against your skin. 

You stayed like that for a while, breathing in and out, until Rhett was satisfied that you weren’t going to pass out on him from a lack of air. Now that the adrenaline had eddied away,  your head throbbed in time with your bounding heartbeat. You winced, shying away from the light once again. “Rhett I-”

“Let’s get you inside and cleaned up, okay?” 

There was no fight left, so you allowed Rhett to guide you into the house and up the rickety steps to the first clearing, where his room was. His hand stayed put on your low back, a calming presence as he pushed you into the threshold of his room and shut the door, careful not to wake anyone as it creaked shut. 

First he pulled off his jacket from your shoulders, blue eyes roaming over your skin. Now that he was in better light, he could see the large welts that covered your arms, and how your shirt was ripped in more than one place. His lips pressed together to keep the questions at bay, now wasn’t the time for an interrogation. He needed to get you patched up and in bed. 

“Come on.” He spoke softly as he took hold of your hand and brought it to his lips before he tugged you toward the bathroom. 

You hovered awkwardly in the doorway, unsure what to do with yourself. That was okay, Rhett knew what to do - probably better than anyone else in this house. His hands peeled away your tattered shirt and tossed it aside. He helped you sit on the countertop before turning on the faucet. The sound of the water filling up the sink was the only noise as you watched him rummage through the closet in search of the well used first aid kit. Rhett made quick work, using a pack of gauze to clean up your forehead so he could assess the damage. He didn’t think you’d need stitches, but he held pressure for good measure. You sucked in a breath, trying to back away from his hand. He muttered a soft sorry while he leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to your forehead. 

“I was at the pit bar.” You mumbled, averting your gaze to your hands which gripped your thighs tightly. “I was just on my way out when Trever Tillerson wouldn’t let me past.” 

The words were heavy on your tongue, like you didn’t quite have the right words to say. Rhett didn’t stop cleaning your wound, needed to keep his hands moving so he didn’t do something stupid like track Trever down and kill him. You knew he was listening though. A muscle in his jaw ticked when you mentioned the name, he knew what kind of reputation Trever had.  “I tried to push past him, told him I wasn’t in the mood for his antics tonight. He didn’t like that.” The tears came softer this time, only rolling down your flushed cheek when you squeezed your eyes shut. “No one else was around, I tried calling out. He-”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it. Not right now.” 

“Thank you.” You sighed. 

Rhett finished cleaning your wound in silence, placing an antibiotic ointment over the open part and smoothed a bandaid over the broken skin. His hands firmly grabbed your hips and helped you off the counter, led you back into the bedroom. He grabbed one of his old t-shirts, knowing how much you liked to sleep in them. 

“Arms up.” He instructed, sliding the tshirt over your head and helped you slide your arms through the holes. He then knelt down before you, sliding off your jeans, his warm hands grazing along your thighs. You grabbed ahold of his shoulder to steady yourself as he helped you step out of the fabric. “There you go.” 

As Rhett stood back up, he looked down at you, his gaze uncertain. A line formed between his brows, his eyes bouncing between your own as if searching through your soul. He whispered a soft ‘c’mere’ and pulled you into his strong embrace. His hands wrapped tightly around your shoulders and tucked you against his chest. You inhaled deeply, smelling the familiar, comforting scent of leather and tobacco he always carried. This was what home felt like. You nuzzled into him, muscles releasing the tension they held onto. 

“I love you.” Those three words felt right, certain even. Despite the night’s events, you knew you would be okay as long as you had Rhett. 

“I love you too, sweetheart.” His pressed another kiss to the top of your head, and then tucked you under his chin. You listened to the steady beat of his heart, slightly faster than it usually was, as it thudded against your ear. 

It would be alright. This was your home. Rhett was your home.

[A/N]- this was inspired by the song The Halocline by Hippo Campus <3

[bobfloydsbabe]

arranged marriage au | rhett abbott x oc | sneak peek

Author's Note: This story it set at the turn of the 20th century, somewhere around 1899-1901. I haven't quite decided yet, but it's important context for this story. Women did not have a lot of autonomy at this time, which is reflected in Rhett and Lou's conversation in this sneak peek. Is the timeline right in a historical context? Probably not, but it's fiction, so I can do what I want. Enjoy!

Release Date: Unclear

“Louisa.”

“What?” Her face is all hard lines and thundering eyes. Something twists inside him at the sight of her ire.

“I don’t want to own you,” he says and steps closer, dirt crunching under his worn boots. “Your life is your own, even after we marry.”

She shakes her head, tears pooling in her dark eyes, making his chest feel tight. He yearns to move even closer, wrap his arms around her, and assure her that he doesn’t mean her any harm. Despite not having a choice, he wants to marry her. He wants to build a life and have a family with her.

He’s halfway in love with her already. He hopes one day she’ll love him too.

“You say that now,” she says, tears in her voice as she speaks. “But then I’ll argue or refuse to listen, and you’ll remind me you’re the man and you get the final say. You may not want to, but you will own me.”

Now he shakes his head, disbelief coursing through his veins. It’s the most preposterous thing he’s ever heard, and he hates that she thinks that way about him.

“Louisa,” he breathes, her name like a prayer on his lips as he closes the distance between them. “You belong to you. Not your father or to me or to anyone, and I’ll do what I can to prove it to you.”

She meets his gaze, bottom lip wobbling as she tries to hold back sobs. “You swear?”

He nods, lifts his hands and tentatively cups her cheeks. “I swear.”

Tension hangs heavy in the air between them, and without thinking, Rhett bends his head down towards hers. His heart thunders in his chest as their breaths mix, and heat blooms under his palms as Louisa’s cheeks grow red.

Their lips are a hair’s breadth from touching when a horse neighs, making her pull back and Rhett’s hands fall back at his side.

“I should get you home.”

He offers the crook of his arm, and she weaves her hand into it, letting him lead her to their horses. Their boots drag across the dirt, and Rhett helps her up on Sally, the reddish brown mare that belongs to his almost wife.

He settles on Blazer, and they begin the ride back to the Kinney Ranch.

“Rhett?”

If her scent didn’t linger, he might’ve forgotten she was even there. He looks to his right and finds her watching him, maybe even with a smile at the corner of her mouth.

“The house is lovely,” she tells him, tone shy and withdrawn for the first time since he’s known her.

likes are nice, but reblogs and comments are golden

TAGLIST: @bobgasm, @attapullman, @cherrycola27, @bradshawsbaby, @kmc1989, @keyrani

[thiswaytwoinfinity]

Emma's Epic Multi-Fandom Rec List: 'Top Gun: Bob' Edition

This is technically like, part 3.1 since I've been working on pulling a giant 'Top Gun: Maverick' rec list together, with all the daggers. I wanted to have this done a little while ago (because August was when I joined the TGM fandom, etc.) but frankly everything has been nuts and so I just figured it was better to share what I had ready rather than wait for the whole thing.

Please cut me some slack, my puppy just got spayed and she insists I hold her bone for her while she chews so I have like one free hand and two brain cells at the moment

I do my best to reblog as much as possible but sometimes I miss it so this is my attempt to make up for that and give all of the amazing creators on here the credit they deserve. Thank you all so much for sharing all of your work with us. This past year has been a long and difficult one for me, especially mental health wise, and being able to escape into these stories has been so valuable and important to me. 

If you read anything on here that you like, please reblog and/or comment on these pics to show the creators some love! 

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: While not everything listed here will include smut, many of these authors have 18+ blogs. Please, please, please respect their boundaries and DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM/THEIR CONTENT IF YOU ARE A MINOR.

Stories marked with ❤️‍🔥 contain NSFW content

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd 

Full of Surprises ❤️‍🔥 by @withahappyrefrain — You have to admire a fandom that takes one look at the bespectacled, quiet-seeming character and goes “This guy fucks.” I also had that exact thought when I first saw Bob Floyd (along with several other, increasingly filthy thoughts), so when I read this story for the first time I went “oh, yeah, definitely. This guy fucks and this is how he fucks.” Just like our beloved WSO, it starts out so charming and sweet and then gets so incredibly steamy and sexy. 10/10. And when you’re done, there’s an equally hot Part 2. 

Behave ❤️‍🔥 by @withahappyrefrain — Bob Floyd bicep choking. Let me repeat that, a little louder: BOB! FLOYD! BICEP! CHOKING! It’s even hotter than you think it is. 

Whodunit? by @attapullman — Fun fact: my absolute favorite genre of fiction (books, movies, games, you name it) is a whodunit mystery. So, naturally, I have been obsessed with this series ever since Mo started teasing it way back when, and I love everything about it. Bob and Fanboy are the perfect goofy amateur sleuths, the teasing hints of cameos from all of the other Daggers keeps you on your toes and there’s a dose and campy ‘80s nostalgia running through the whole thing that I adore. It’s just pure, giddy fun. 

The Neighbor!Bob Universe ❤️‍🔥 by @attapullman — I am on record as adoring every single version of Bob that Mo cooks up, but neighbor!Bob holds a special place in my heart. He’s so handy and confident and sexy and he needs help dodging the firtations of all of the older women in the neighborhood who are equally obsessed with him! My bff and I once joked that the perfect man could build you a table and then do both you and your taxes on it, and well, that’s neighbor!Bob to a tee. 

do you wanna make somethin' of it ❤️‍🔥by @theharddeck — Hi, hello, are you looking for a Bob fic so hot it will MELT YOUR ENTIRE BRAIN? This is that fic. Bob has a secret side hustle as your favorite audio erotica performer (username: BullRiderRhett) and he is just as brain-scramblingly hot in person as he is in your headphones. I finished this fic and said out loud, to nobody, “omg I need him.” And because the universe is kind, there is an equally scorching sequel. 

you don’t have to be a star by @sunlightmurdock — Sweet, perfect Bob deserves a sweet, perfect fic where he gets to hear all about how lovely and wonderful he is, just the way he is. Fluffy and warm and the kind of story that gives you the urge to kiss him all over his perfect little face. 

Something in the Orange ❤️‍🔥by @sorchathered — I’m a sucker for a “right person, wrong time” situation and this one is a gut-punch of angst followed by a swoon-worthy reconciliation. I imagine it would be impossible to ever truly move on from Robert Floyd. 

Delicate ❤️‍🔥 and I Want Your Midnights by @laracrofted — *Tyler Owens voice* Are y’all ready to pine? Bob Floyd is an absolute dream boy and he’s at his most hesitant and lovestruck in these two gorgeous stories. These give me the same like, sinking stomach-feeling I get when I stare at pictures of Lewis for too long — like just the tiniest bit of melancholy that makes the whole experience sweeter and more emotional. Does that make sense? It’s one of the highest compliments I can give. 

Covering the Classics ❤️‍🔥by @roosterforme — BOB AND ANNA! ANNA AND BOB! I COULD SCREAM ABOUT THESE TWO FOR HOURS! I love them, this is such a beautiful, heart wrenching, emotional roller coaster of a story about learning how to find yourself and your people after heartbreak and trauma. Anna is such an interesting, complicated character and Bob meets her at every turn with love and tenderness and the biggest open heart in the world. (And also the steamy scenes are BEYOND, like, damn, Bob, neither Anna nor I was ever gonna be able to resist you.)

I Heard Screaming ❤️‍🔥by @oncassette — Yes, it’s a classic fanfic trope — I heard noises and walked in on you enjoying some *private time* while thinking about me — but it’s a classic for a reason. I love it and I reread it all the time. 

Four Eyes ❤️‍🔥by @promisingyounglady — I’m going to quote what I wrote the first time I reblogged this wildly, delightfully, insanely filthy fic: “I need to sit in a dark corner and replay this fic in my brain like a movie now.” It’s that good

Misc. Lewis Pullman Characters: 

Dancing Beneath the Moon ❤️‍🔥by @delopsia (Rhett Abbott) — Del is *the* Rhett Abbott fic writer, in my opinion, and choosing just one of their fics was so much harder than I thought. But ultimately, I’m still so spellbound by this one, where Rhett is a ghost haunting the former Abbott ranch. It’s atmospheric and moody and gorgeous and the pining is top notch — as is the image of Rhett being a grumpy, mischievous house ghost. Also please check out their Floytt universe which I also adore. 

Coyote ❤️‍🔥by @delopsia (Miles Miller) — An omegaverse with a twist! The reader is a wolf being married off to broker peace with another prominent wold family … only to run away with the sweet, gentle coyote who works at the desk of the El Royale.  Dip You in Honey So I Could Be Stickin to You ❤️‍🔥by @laracrofted (Harrison Knott) — Harrison Knott, the man that you are. And the man that you are in this fic, specifically. I need him desperately. Carnally. In a way that is concerning to feminism.

[mothdruid]

Love in the Saddle

pairing: Rhett Abbott x fem!reader

summary: the two of you didn't mean to forget about valentine's day, but to make up for it you decided to have a day of riding together.

wc: 2.3k

warnings: fluff!!!! allusions to smut at the end

a/n: happy valentine's day!!

A loud huff passed through the air of the barn. You chuckled and ran the front cinch through the buckle, tugging it lightly after Teaspoon let out another huff. It was a shockingly warm day out, which was good for you and the horses. Teaspoon shook her head from side to side for a moment. Her auburn hair shook about, catching small bits of sunlight through the doorway.

“That so?” You finished the front cinch before moving to the chest strap. You buckled the chest strap into place, having made sure it was snug but not too tight on her. Teaspoon stomped her front right hoof lightly on the dirt. “Excited for the sun? Cause trust me, I bet Sterling is too.”

There hasn't been much sun around within the last few months. Snow had been dusting the ground for months, making it hard to take the horses out. It wasn’t that you couldn’t, it’s just neither you or Rhett were fans of long cold rides. You kept their exercise up though, letting them out into the gated field and taking them into the big round pen. You had been taking them on actual rides more recently since the snow had started to melt, leaving cleared areas of pasture for long rides.

Which is what was happening today. A long ride with Rhett. The two of you hadn’t had a lot of time lately for each other. Rhett had been helping more and more at his parents' place. Royal had started to pester Rhett about needing to get the cattle out on the pastures. Which Rhett hadn’t had too much of an issue with at first, but then it changed into helping with rebuilding fixtures and god knows what else. You had been busy with your own work as well, doing some land survey and mapping. By the time the both of you were home, you were both beat and just wanted to melt into the bed.

By the time Valentine’s Day rolled around you were both flustered, having forgotten. So, Rhett made it a point that the following weekend would be a weekend for the two of you. No jobs, no family, no responsibilities except for each other.

You grabbed the back cinch, pulling it up and tightening it, then threading it through the buckle. After placing the bridle on her head, placing the bit in her mouth and draping reins back around her neck, you gave her a pat of encouragement.

“That’s my girl,” you praised, rubbing her neck.

Rhett was still in town, that you knew of, having said that he had a few errands to run. You took it upon yourself to saddle the horses up, wanting to get right into the quality time he had promised you. You couldn’t help it. You missed him, missed your big strong cowboy. Missed his gruff and grit, and the way it all melted away for you. That soft man that not everyone got to see, the one that came out for you and only you. The goofy little smile he gave you when you laughed a little too hard, or the way he would encapsulate you in the kitchen and sway with you back and forth. Yeah, you missed the sex and being physical regularly. But you really just missed him.

“Stay,” you told Teaspoon after leading her outside.

Sterling was more than excited for you to pull him out. He let out a loud whinny, and shook his head. You smiled and gave him a few pats of excitement. A part of you thought that the horses might be more excited about the little ride today than you or Rhett. You have Sterling a sugar cube, the same you had done with Teaspoon after pulling her out. You had placed the saddle pad and turned around to get the saddle when you saw him. You hadn’t even heard the truck pull in.

“Saddling my horse now?” Rhett let out in his gruff voice.

“Hope that’s not a problem,” you chirped back.

“Thought I would be the only thing you ever saddled up,” Rhett started walking towards you, one arm behind his back.

“Well, if you’re lucky I’ll saddle you up later too,” you gave him a wink, “what’re you hiding?” You went over to where you had placed Sterling’s saddle earlier while getting Teaspoon’s out. Just as the leather was about to touch your hands, Rhett stopped you. His calloused hand wrapped around your wrist.

Rhett pulled your attention from the saddle, guiding you to turn towards him. As you turned to him, the arm behind his back came into view. It was a small bundle of flowers, a bundle of wildflowers. There was a simple small cream colored ribbon holding the collection of wildflowers together. You could make out the off white of the baby's breath, bright white and yellow of the daisies, the soft pink of a flower, and some purple tones of lavender. It made your heart swell seeing the flowers in front of you. Rhett had never been one for buying flowers, but he had a habit of buying them for special occasions.

You went to speak, mouth opening only for Rhett to stop you from speaking. “They reminded me of you.”

“Rhett,” his name was the only thing you could say. Maybe it was because you two hadn’t spent any quality, but the swell in your heart had multiplied at his words. Rhett had never been the best with emotions, but you had seen so much from him over the years. “Thank you.”

Rhett smiled softly, leaned forward, and placed a kiss on your cheek. He felt your fingers creep around the base of the bouquet, brushing against his. Rhett could never get over the way how your hands were still so soft compared to his. You always told him that it was because you moisturized, but he was just convinced that you were perfect with or without lotion.

“Go get Teaspoon warmed up,” Rhett nodded towards the Teaspoon, who was now peeking around the corner of the doorway at the two of you.

“‘Kay,” you gave him a smile with a small nod as you fully took the bouquet from him.

The sound of him moving the saddle hit your ears as you got to Teaspoon. You turned for a brief moment to look at him, fastening the front cinch and whispering to Sterling. The words were indecipherable, but you could hear the gruff of his voice no less. A huff broke your train of thought, pulling you back to face Teaspoon. She took a few steps forward only to shake her head up and down. A toothy smile broke out across your face, amused by her response. It was in moments like this that she felt like a child, being able to read the room between parents.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” you chuckled.

Your fingers wrapped around the left side of her bridle, then guided her away from the stable. Her steps were heavy next to you, hooves digging into the barely warmed dirt below her. When you stopped you undid the ribbon around the flowers Rhett had got you. You tied one end of the ribbon tightly around the stems of the flowers, keeping the bundled with as little length needed. The other end of the ribbon was being tied around the horn of your saddle. Once done, you stepped back to look at it.

“How���s that girl?” All Teaspoon did was barely tilt her head in your direction, looking back ahead without a sound. You rolled your eyes, “I’ll take that as a ‘fine’ then.”

You gripped the horn with one hand, grabbed the back of the seat, and placed one of your boots into the left stirrup. After a few readying bounces, you launched yourself up and swung your leg around to get your other boot into the stirrup. After shifting to get a little more comfortable, you gathered the leather reins in your hands. A tug to the right side of the reins had Teaspoon moving, taking heavy step by heavy step in the direction you’d chosen. As you had started to take a lap around the dried out grass, Rhett led Sterling out of the stables.

Rhett adjusted his cowboy hat after getting up in his saddle. A part of you wished he would have left the hat in the stables, hair out on display for you. Either way you knew you’d be seeing it sooner or later. Those light brown locks that had you daydreaming, imagining the feel of them between your fingers and tugging on them ever so lightly. Once he was half way over you noticed him moving towards you. He had one hand on the reins, the other resting on the horn of the saddle.

The two of you happily moved over to the gate, Rhett hopping down to unlatch and open it. After that the two of you took off in the large expanse of pasture. The sun was shining down intensely in the open space. Sterling’s gray mane was shimmering, Teaspoon’s looking like rays of sunshine. There was a soft crunch of dry grass under the hooves of the horses. It was obviously one of the first days of spring peeking through the veil of winter.

It started as a small trot between the two of you, taking your time to just bask in each others presence. It had been a while since you two were allowed to just ruminate with each other. Being able to be out in the pastures again was exhilarating, almost like a kid in a candy store. There was so much space to run and go, it’s like the possibilities were endless. The trot quickly turned into a gallop, then a race. Laughter bubbled from the both of you as your horses sprinted. The flowers Rhett had got you were resting against your knee, bouncing every now and then depending on the gallop. With each small nudge from them you were reminded of why he got them. Once you were finally ahead of him a small bit, you decided to call it.

“I win!” You shouted and looked back at Rhett. He was wearing a frown already, eyebrows knitted together.

“We didn’t even choose a finish spot!” Rhett yelled back amidst tugging on Sterling’s reins.

“Doesn’t matter,” you jested, guiding Teaspoon around and back towards Rhett.

Rhett relaxed back and let out a huff. He stopped Sterling next to you, Rhett’s eyes locked with your own. You feigned an innocent look, trying to act as if you didn’t randomly decide with the race was over. There was a smirk starting to form on Rhett’s face, making one start to form on your own face.

Appreciation was flowing through your veins, keeping your heart beating in that very moment. All you could do was stare at him and take in the features that you had spent days, weeks, months, even years memorizing. No matter what part of life he was at, he was always catching your attention. When the two of you were on the playground in kindergarten, across the lunch room in high school, how he looked after a bull ride, and even now, looking at you with a smile and smitten gaze. You leaned in, hoping he would too.

His lips met yours halfway, closing the gap between the two of you. It was anything intense, the position and space preventing that from happening, but it was loving anyways. Lips ever so soft, especially after he actually started using the lip balm you had bought him. Rhett smelled like it too, honey butter. It was the only scent you thought that wouldn’t be too bothersome. You pulled back slightly, leaving about an inch or two between your face.

“I missed you,” he whispered, as if he didn’t want the horses hearing.

“I missed you too,” you replied, then gave him a soft peck on the lips.

Before he could pull back fully, you snatched his hat off his head, placed it on your own, and took off. After a small chase you both came to a stop. You couldn’t help but smile, a playful thread weaving through you. Rhett stopped Sterling, hopping down, and walking over to you with Sterling’s reins in hand. You followed suit, getting down from Teaspoon and guiding her over near Rhett with you. Rhett looked at his hat on your head, flicking the brim of it up with his finger. His hair was a windblown mess, but you loved it.

“I think you got something of mine,” Rhett’s voice dropped, kindling a fire inside of you.

“Do I? I don’t remember taking anything from you, Mr. Abbott,” you feigned innocence again, something Rhett loved.

“I’m pretty sure you do, ma’ma,” Rhett ducked his head to look below the brim of his hat more. He was practically eye level with you now. “Hat looks pretty familiar t’my own, and y’know what they say ‘bout wearin’ a man’s hat,” he was laying it on thick now, letting his Wyoming drawl seep into his words.

“I don’t think I do,” you cascaded your fingers down his flannel clad chest, “might have to tell me.”

“I think I’d be able to do that,” his free hand snaked around your waist, tugging you closer to him.

“You could show me too,” you leaned towards him and ghosted you lips over his.

“Course ma’am, whatever you’d ask of me,” Rhett’s breath was hot against your lips.

Just before you were about to press your lips to his, Sterling let out a loud huff and Teaspoon whinnied. The both of you pulled back a little, chuckling at the horses. Rhett leaned over and pressed a kiss to your cheek quickly. His hand slipped from your waist, making you miss the warmth of his touch immediately.

“I can tell ‘nd show ya back at home, if you’d like?” Rhett teased, keeping the character up.

“I’ll have to take you up on that offer, Mr. Abbott.”

[sushiwriterhere]

right where i want you

summary: "Standing there, staring at the cotton balls in the trash, some part deep inside of you decides that it’s now or never with Rhett."  rating: explicit (18+ mdni) pairing: rhett abbott x f!reader word count: 6.1k warnings: sub!rhett, pseudo enemies-to-lovers!, mentions of violence, choking, dry humping, overstimulation, aftercare, potentially ooc, no use of y/n.  notes: uhhh walk him like a dog bitch walk him like a dog🗣😼 i'm not even gonna lie to y'all i've never seen outer range but lewis pullman is in my brain. pls let me know what u think! thank you to @sebsxphia for encouraging my rhett brainworms and to @rhettabbotts for reading a snippet ! my other works are here tagging: @lewmagoo @wkndwlff @bobfloyds @sometimesanalice @bradshawsbitch @roosterbruiser @withahappyrefrain @theharddeck - pls let me know if you'd like to be added or removed!

You work a comb in steady, circular motions over your horse’s coat, watching as the dust and pollen raises into the soft afternoon light. Just under the background noise of the stable, you hear boots crunching and you immediately know who it is. All your time away hasn’t changed a thing, it seems. 

“Rhett Abbott you leave me alone or I’ll yell at the top of my lungs, I swear.” You don’t even turn around to look at him, as if not making eye contact would mean he’ll leave. He won’t. And he never does.

“How’d ‘ya know it was me?” You hear the way he kicks at the dirt of the barn floor with his boots absentmindedly, and you try to not let his presence rile you up too much since you know that’s what he wants.

You still don’t turn around to face him. “Because y’never leave me alone.” 

“I’m jus’ sweet on ‘ya. Couldn’t help it if I tried. Besides, missed ‘ya while ‘ya were away at that fancy east coast school o’ yours.”

“Well, have you tried?” You ignore the second part of what he said–you’re back for the summer, and you really haven’t been gone all that long even if your parents act like you’ve come back from the dead.

That pulls a laugh from him. 

For as long as you can remember, Rhett Abbott has been a pain in your ass. You were slightly younger than him but that somehow never stopped him from always finding a way to be in your presence. Your dad being Wabang’s sheriff didn’t seem to deter him either, especially when your dad started getting real prickly about having boys around. 

“Nope,” He lets his lips pop dramatically on the ‘p’ sound, then pauses as if to consider his next words, “Plus, you’re real cute when you’re mad.”

All you want is to turn around and throw the rubber brush you’ve got clenched in your fingers at his stupid, smug, face. You know the exact expression he’s wearing in that moment because it’s the same one he’s had every other time he’s taunted you. 

“Decide if you love me or hate me, Rhett Abbott. Quit wastin’ my time.” You hiss, and this time you do turn around. You refrain from throwing anything at him, though. 

“Aw, don’t get too upset now,” He pushes himself off the stall door he’d been leaning against and makes his way into your personal space.

You level him with a scathing glare before going back to grooming. Even the way he breathes around you seems to raise your hackles and you wonder if all this tension is ever going to resolve itself. If he’s ever going to leave you alone.

“I didn’t come by to bother ‘ya, honest.” He murmurs.

You don’t grant him a response, but he stays where he is, undeterred.

“I wanted to see if you’d come out tonight, everyone’s been missin’ ‘ya. Whole town’s in uproar that you’re back.” 

“I’ll think about it.”

That seems to satisfy him as a grin spreads across his face and he spins on his heel, whistling jauntily as he strolls out of the stable.

You’re loathe to admit it, but it makes something twist in your stomach at the thought that Rhett came by to invite you out, to tell you he missed you. That everyone missed you. You shove that feeling down, though. Rhett’s always just been a nuisance and the fact that he seems to have gotten far handsomer while you’d been away is not part of your calculus.

-

For all his insistence that he actually likes you, has been thinking about you this whole time, Rhett sure is more than happy to let some buckle bunny cuddle up to him. You swallow something down, not jealousy, but what feels like a lump in your throat. He’s a liar and you’re a fool. Rhett Abbott will never be anything but a good for nothing, sonofa—

You storm out of the bar in a huff, not noticing the way Rhett’s eyes follow you over the head of the bleach blonde who’s grasping the collar of his flannel. 

In missing Rhett’s gaze, you also miss the way James Earl follows you out. By the time you’re in the parking lot, it’s too late to turn around. James is between you and the door. 

He calls your name and it makes all the hair on the back of your neck stand up, “Wait up!”

“Leave me alone, James.” You really don’t want to deal with him right now, you don’t want to deal with any men, for that matter. 

“I said wait.” His voice turns acidic and you pause before turning around slowly. There’s nowhere else for you to go but back into the bar, and you’re certain he won’t just let you walk off while you try to call your dad.

“Now that you’re back, I’m going to take you out to dinner.” James looks almost like he has good intentions, but you haven’t lost touch with the way news travels in Wabang just because you were separated by a few states. 

You know what the girls who stayed behind say about him. You heard the stories in high school about how he treated his girlfriends–always holding their arms too tight, a little too possessive. There’s nothing about him that you like, or even want to tolerate, at all.

“No, thank you, James. I really should get going.” You try to sound sweet, try to turn on the charm in hopes that he’ll change his mind. 

You turn your phone over in your hands, unlock it, and try to act nonchalant. You remember the Swiss army knife tucked in your bra if things get rough. 

His demeanor switches in an instant.

“You think just ‘cause you’re the sheriff's daughter you can just walk around like you own this place, huh? Too good for us with your fancy college? All of Wabang swoonin’ over a stuck up, prissy, little bitch.” The words are like poison, but you try to stand your ground, “Why I ought’a teach you a lesson.”

When James stalks your way, one hand starting to reach for you as you reel back in fear, you realize just what he intends. The world slows to a molasses, you’re outside your body as you freeze, unable to do much but witness what you know is about to happen to you.

Instead of James’ hand around your wrist or in your hair, Rhett’s voice breaks the moment, “Earl, I’ll make ‘ya sorry ‘ya ever look’d at ‘er if ‘ya don’t step away right now.” 

There he is, illuminated by the bar deck lights, one hand on his belt as he stalks into the parking lot. You’d call him your savior if you don’t blame him somehow; if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in whatever girl was giving him attention in that moment maybe you wouldn’t be here. 

“Like hell you will, Abbott. Leave us alone, this is none of your business.” James whirls around, his attention momentarily off you.

You think you can make your escape, make it back inside the bar where there are more eyes and call your dad to get him to pick you up. Instead, you watch as Rhett and James come face to face, both acting like macho idiots. 

They soil your plan for a hasty escape. It’s Rhett who makes the first move and shoves James, hard. In a split second they’re yelling obscenities at each other as Rhett grabs him by the collar to shake him and clock him across the face. His knuckles split open on James’ face and you aren’t sure if his nose is broken from the blow or not. 

“Stop it!” You try to at least get Rhett’s attention, maybe use his feelings for you for good, but it does little as James tries to gain the upper hand. “Rhett Abbott you fool, get off’a him!”

All at once, a few other patrons spill out of the bar doors at the commotion. You’re standing a few feet back from the pair as they tussle; there’s blood strewn in the dirt and you hope not too much of it is Rhett’s. Suddenly they’re being pulled apart.

You march up to James and stick a finger in his face as he struggles against the men holding his arms, “You ever try that shit with me again I’ll make sure my daddy gives you exactly what you deserve.”

His face is twisted up in a snarl, and he looks like he’s considering spitting in your face, “Still hiding behind your daddy? Figures.”

He’s hauled off in a moment before you can respond, no doubt to get cleaned up and have someone take a look at his nose. Maybe even to face your dad. You whirl around to start shouting at Rhett next, but he’s simply standing there, hands hanging loosely by his sides. No one’s restraining him anymore, they’re all dealing with James you guess, and you realize that it’s just the two of you in the parking lot at that point. 

You make your decision in an instant, “Give me your keys.” 

You don’t get closer to him, you just hold a hand out and look at him expectantly. Rhett doesn’t move. 

“Rhett Abbott, you damned fool, give me your keys so I can take your stupid ass home.” 

He has the audacity to smile wolfishly at you, cheek bruising, and say lowly as he walks to you, “Tryin’ to take me home, sugar?”

Snatching his keys from his fist, you turn around without responding. You don’t check if he’s following you, some part of you knows you don’t need to. 

You climb into the drivers side of his truck and start it, only barely waiting for him to get in and buckle up. Switching it into gear, you start driving. It’s deathly silent in the cab as you drive, ignoring far too many traffic laws along the way for someone who was raised by the sheriff. Rhett fidgets in his seat next to you. 

As you weave down the back country roads to his place, you distantly recall the time during high school when he’d bought the truck. All week, girls had flocked to him, begging him to teach them to drive stick (they all already knew) or even just sit in the back. Trucks were a dime a dozen, but Rhett Abbott’s was special in the eyes of all the future buckle bunnies. 

You’d watched the chaos from afar until he’d lifted his gaze from the girl tugging at his flannel to look at you. You’d looked away quickly, too embarrassed to be caught staring at him despite your continued insistence you didn’t like him in the slightest and that he never crossed your mind.

He never did end up giving any of the girls a chance. He wouldn’t even let them touch the keys.

Now here you are, driving his truck like it’s your own without a single complaint from him. 

When you pull up to his house, you get out the same way you’d gotten in–without a word and barely waiting for him to catch up to you. It’s almost instinctual, the way you grab the house key from next to the truck one, unlock the door and shove inside, only knowing that he’s inside too because of the way the door slides shut softly instead of slamming. 

Once inside, you flick on the kitchen light and round on him, “Now why’d ‘ya have to go and start shit with James Earl, huh?”

Rhett looks like he’s just been scolded by his mother for leaving his socks on the floor at his ripe age, and he scoffs harshly. You don’t miss the way his knuckles are split and crusted in blood. There’s a bruise blooming high on one of his cheeks. 

“I’m the one startin’ shit? He was tryin’ somethin’ with you!” He takes a step toward you but you don’t move, “Earl’s a piece of shit and he got what was comin’ to him. I don’t regret a goddamn thing.”

“I had it handled.” Your defense is instinctual–knee jerk, even—everyone wants you to be fragile, to be something that needs protecting, and you’re sick of it. 

“Did ‘ya?” You’re toe to toe now, and his shoulders are heaving. “‘Cause what I saw said somethin’ else.”

For a moment, you think he might kiss you. It takes all of your mental effort not to shove him and start shouting at him for how stupid he is, so instead you raise a single eyebrow and plaster on your most disapproving expression possible. 

“I’m not arguin’ with you, Rhett Abbott. Get your damn first-aid kit and lemme clean ‘ya up.” 

For once in his life, he listens to you. Eventually you find yourself kneeling in front of him as he sinks into the couch. You’ve turned on one of the living room lights, but there’s still just barely enough light to make out the details of his face and the way he tore up his knuckles on James Earl’s nose and cheeks. 

“Now keep bein’ all tough, I better not hear ‘ya bitchin’ about the antiseptic hurtin’.” You don’t have it in you to actually hurt him though, so you keep the press of the rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton balls gentle. 

He draws his shoulders up by his ears regardless, hissing lightly when it stings. Thankfully, only his pinky knuckle is actually split open on his right hand, so he won’t be entirely useless at work. His left hand is in worse shape, with three of his knuckles bubbling blood where he managed to cut them open. Both hands are bruised.

He doesn’t comment on your position at his knees. 

“Earl’s nose better be fuckin’ broken.” Rhett finally breaks the silence as you finish cleaning his hands. 

You don’t grant him with a response. Instead you stand to your full height and make your way to the kitchen to throw away the cotton balls now soaked with his blood. Standing there, staring at the cotton balls in the trash, some part deep inside of you decides that it’s now or never with Rhett.

When you return to him, he hasn’t moved a muscle. He simply tips his head back to look at you. Slowly, you put one knee up on the couch next to his thighs, then the other, and all of a sudden you’re kneeling over his lap. The hem of your dress just barely brushes his jeans. He looks like he’s holding his breath and he barely exhales when you let your full weight rest on him.

“I need to make sure he didn’t break yours.” It’s a lame excuse and you both know it, but you know he won’t call you on it, not when your bare thighs are warm against his denim-clad ones. 

He smells like outside, like the evening sun, and something that tickles your nose; it’s uniquely Rhett. Privately, you wonder if all his clothes smell like him, and if they carry that scent even when he hasn’t worn them in a long while. 

Shifting in his lap, you cradle his face and turn it toward the light. As if he’s trying not to spook a wild horse, he very delicately places his hands on your thighs. He doesn’t grip them, doesn’t let his fingertips twitch, just rests his calloused palms against your bare skin.

“Looks fine to me.” You breathe out, realizing how close your faces are.

“I’ll pretend that was a compliment.” He’s trying to sound flirtatious, trying to sound like the casanova his reputation makes him out to be, only he’s breathless and his face is flushed and you can feel his pulse racing.

You hate when men think they can just take control of you in bed because they’re a man and you’re not. But with Rhett, you can tell you’ve got him right where you want him by the way his Adam's apple bobs in his throat and the way his hands rest on your thighs, fingertips just barely brushing the hem of your dress. 

Letting go of his face, you brush imaginary dust off his shoulders before letting one hand rest flat on his chest, and threading the other up into his hair. It’s silkier than you ever imagined despite the way you know you can safely assume he does jack all to take care of it. He’s so damn pretty it makes your chest ache.

Both of you are silent, only the sounds of your breathing barely audible. Ever so gently, you slide your hand from his hair to the base of his neck. He’s like a foal in the way you’re unsure of how he’ll react to your hand placement, a new sort of touch. His heart hammers in his chest beneath your palm.

He doesn’t bolt or react strongly. Instead, he swallows thickly against your hand, blinking slowly at the sensation of your fingers tucked neatly around his throat. You’re not squeezing in the slightest, just letting your fingers rest around the warm, tanned, skin of his neck.

“Are you going to behave, Rhett?” Your voice is low over the sounds of the night outside.

He nods as you flex your fingers gently, testing the waters, and his eyes flutter shut. Rocking your hips experimentally, you feel the way his grip tightens on your thighs and the way he’s hard against you. 

He likes it. He likes the way you’ve got a hand around his throat, the other resting gently on his chest. He isn’t fighting you, he isn’t arguing–for once in his life, he’s quiet in your presence. 

The realization of how obedient he’s being sends a skittering sort of arousal through you. You see yourself pulling on jeans tomorrow and finding his fingerprints on you. You see him staring at himself in the mirror in the morning, lost at how to cover up the evidence of what you’d done to him the night before.

“You’ve spent all this time pullin’ my pigtails, and now that I’m here you can’t even form words.” He keeps his eyes closed and nods ever so slightly.

You want to hate him. 

Oh how you want to hate Rhett Abbott. You want to hate the way he’s spent the last however many years following you around like a stray dog, poking fun at you and riling you up, just to have your attention. You want to hate the way he probably spent more time chasing boys off than your dad did. More than anything else you want to find it in you to feel something other than the way he’s burrowed himself under your skin. 

“Whatever,” His voice is strained and he clears his throat before opening his eyes again, “Whatever you want, sugar. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“And if I want to get up right now, and never see you again?” You aren’t going to make this easy on him. 

Yelling at James Earl is one thing, almost beating him to a pulp is another. You can protect yourself, you’re not a damsel in distress, and above all Rhett needs to learn his place. You’re grateful he was there, you are. But you didn’t need him to go and get in trouble on your behalf.

“Now, sugar, I find it hard to believe—”

You move as if to stand up, going to remove the hand from his neck to use one of his shoulders as leverage. Before you can get far, really even one inch away from him, one of his hands is flying from your thighs to clutch at the wrist of the hand that’s leaving his throat. He holds you there, and you can feel the way his pulse is racing. He maintains the way he stares into your eyes, but this time his are wide, almost as if in fear that you’d actually get up and leave. 

“Try again.” You don’t change the way half your weight is off him, but you let him hold your wrist.

“Whatever you want, goes.” He swallows slowly before speaking again, “Will you just–Will you please sit back down?” 

He doesn’t let go of your wrist.

You ease yourself back into his lap and run your free hand in between you till you reach his erection. It sends a thrill through you to feel just how excited he is by all of this. You want to hear him say please again, you want to see how far you can push your luck with him in the palm of your hand. You want him to beg.

You laugh lightly, if not a bit cruelly, as you squeeze his cock over his jeans, “Does this turn you on, Rhett?” You pause to watch how his pupils dilate at your tone before pressing on, “Not much of a big, bad, man now, are ‘ya?”

To your surprise, that doesn’t set him off. Most men wouldn’t let you put your hand around their throat, much less question just how much of a man they are. But he barely reacts beyond his chest rising and falling, his hands moving back to fully settle on your thighs and this time, gripping tightly. 

“Like I said, whatever you want, sugar–I just want ‘ya to use me. Be good for something,” He licks his lips and exhales shakily, “Be good for you.” 

Jesus. His sincerity bleeds through in the way his face is flushed and he maintains steady eye contact. He doesn’t waver for a single moment. 

Something sick twists in your chest. Never before has a man been so willing, so pliant, for you. They’ve always tried to take what they want from you, always tried to make you submit. But what you actually wanted was this, Rhett’s eyes gazing pleadingly up at you while you sit in his lap. 

“So this is what you wanted all along, huh? Always following me around, playing pranks on me, just wanted me to get my hand around your throat and use you?” You’re goading him on, trying to discern exactly what he wants you to say, what he’ll let you get away with. 

With that, you lean close as if to kiss him and he closes his eyes lightly in anticipation, but at the last second turn your head so you can drag the tip of your nose across his cheek. The shudder that runs through him at the feather-light sensation is delicious; it makes you laugh lightly at how affected he is. His breaths are starting to come heavier, already betraying him if he tried to hide how badly he wants this. But he isn’t hiding, not in the slightest.

Now that you’re this close to him, the scent of him is overwhelming. It floods your mind and makes you almost lightheaded as you realize just how badly you want him. Part of it is that he’s so pliant, so willing, but the other part is the truth of the matter that you finally have to admit to yourself: you don’t hate Rhett Abbott. 

In fact, his whole years-long performance has only meant that his constant presence is lingering somewhere at the forefront of your mind regardless of whether he’s around or not. When you’d gone off to college, those nine months had been odd without him around. You’d half expected him to show up to walk you between lecture halls or push some frat boy off you at a party.

(What you don’t know is that Rhett did almost go out to visit you. He’d looked at plane tickets, at how long it might take him to drive. He decided against it when he remembered every time you’d rejected him or told him to, very unkindly, “fuck off”.)

“Can I kiss ‘ya?” His voice is rough and he licks his lips again, like it’s a nervous habit. 

You press a gentle kiss to his cheek and giggle softly to yourself when he whines and says, “That’s not what I meant and y’know it.”

Finally, you press your lips to his. They’re soft and warm and he’s so much better of a kisser than everyone else you’ve been with that it almost knocks the wind out of you. But he keeps you grounded, especially when his hand moves up to your jaw so he can coax it open. The way he licks into your mouth makes you let out a startled gasp. 

You don’t expect it to feel so good. It’s one thing to sit in his lap and flirt, it’s a whole other to taste him and understand why girls chase him endlessly. You can’t stop the way your hips move against his and he keeps one hand on your thigh while the other goes to your tits. His hand dwarfs your chest and he gropes you haphazardly. 

“Fuck, you’re even better than I imagined,” He sighs, pushing up against the hand that’s still around his throat. 

“I haven’t even taken my clothes off, Rhett.” You tease, wanting to see how far you can push him, see if you can still get a rise out of him.

But it seems he’s given up the fight now that you’re right where he wants you. He smiles gently as he pulls back to look you in the eyes, “I could finish in my pants like a damned teenager with you like this, sugar, doesn’t matter.”

Rhett Abbott, womanizer, absolute menace in your life, admitting that he’s got it so bad for you that he could come in his pants just from having you near him? You could’ve guessed that he wanted to fuck you, but you always thought it would be more of him getting his rocks off and letting you fend for yourself. It never would’ve occurred to you that this is how he’d be in the moment. Him admitting how weak he is for you makes your head spin.

You press yourself ever closer to him, licking into his mouth and trapping his hand between the two of you where it had been stroking your nipples through the thin fabric of your sundress. He manages to free it, though, and slides it down your side to where your thigh creases. He wraps it around you there and the the sheer size difference between his hand and your hip makes a twisted sort of want course in your veins.

The first press of his thumb against your clit through your panties sends a jolt through you. He keeps your hips moving in a steady rhythm against his as he works steady circles over your clit. His other hand won’t stay still as it runs up and down your back, rubs your nipples, yanks on the tips of your hair ever so slightly. It’s mind-numbingly filthy, the quiet of his house filled with both of your gasps and moans, your hand still on his neck. 

“Cum for me, sugar,” Then, as if he’s anticipating your chastisement, he adds, “Please.”

Your orgasm rips through you like white hot lighting as you gasp into his open mouth and he moans right along with you. You realize you’re chanting his name over and over like a prayer, completely unwittingly. He doesn’t let up with any of his movements, prolonging your pleasure til it folds into something more biting, just on the edge of overstimulating. 

“Fuck, Jesus,” He gasps, and after a moment, “I’ll be thinking ‘bout that til I die,” He rasps out, settling both of his hands on your hips and leaning his forehead against yours. 

You want to tease him about taking the Lord’s name in vain but you hold back. For a moment, it’s quiet. Your hips are still against his as you take in what just happened. It begins to dawn on you that he’s still hard under you, but he isn’t making any moves to change that. 

He starts to shift under you like he’s considering standing up but you stop him by leaning into him. 

“Ah ah, I’m not finished with you yet,” His eyes snap to yours in surprise.

“Rhett Abbott. Tellin’ me I could make you cum in your pants like a teen boy?” You lean back ever so slightly with a light snarl on your face, finally tightening your fingers to a tight grip in a way that makes his eyes glaze over, “Prove it.”

Pressing the heel of your palm into his crotch, you watch as he eyes scrunch shut and he grinds up once, twice, three times before a he releases a shaky exhale. You watch as he comes, as he pants and whines through his orgasm, the denim under your hand growing warm and wet. He doesn’t stop grinding and thrusting up against your hand til it draws a pained moan from him. 

“Can I–Can I keep going?” He tries to make eye contact but his eyes are too unfocused from pleasure, “Like it when it, ah, when it hurts.”

God, this is what you’ve been missing out on the whole time? You let yourself rock steadily in his lap as he grinds up against your hand and leans forward to kiss you messily. You wonder if he let the other girls he’s been with do this to him. But something tells you that isn’t the case–you really don’t want it to be.

The whines and gasps he’s letting out as he’s writhing below you are something from your most far-fetched fantasies. You’re only slightly stunned as you feel him get hard again below you, though it seems to draw out the pain more than the pleasure given the way his face twists up and the hiss he lets out. All at once he settles; and then he goes to lift your wrist away from his crotch. 

It’s terribly tender, the way he pulls away from you to press a kiss to the palm of your hand and smile widely at you. You almost get whiplash.

“What are you playin’ at?” You can’t help but settle back into your old ways–the Rhett Abbott you’ve known for so long has only really been around to aggravate you, the heartfelt way he’s looking at you sets you off kilter. 

When he laughs at the way you’re starting to get irritated, you try to pull your hand from his to no avail and it makes the heat rise in your face, “Knock it off, Rhett. You’re bein’ an asshole.”

But he just keeps smiling at you as he pulls your other hand off his neck so that he can place both on his shoulders and cradle your face, “You’re so beautiful.”

As if anticipating the way you’re going to react to his words, he pulls your face to his so that he can press your lips together once again. It’s nothing like before. Before it was all tongue and your lips barely meeting through the gasps and moans being pulled out of you. This time it’s something so warm, so delicate, it makes your chest hurt in a different way. 

“I hate you, Rhett Abbott,” You manage to gasp out once he pulls away fully, a sparkle in his eyes. It doesn’t have any heat to it, lacks all the rage it used to–this time, it just sounds like you might be trying to tell him you love him. 

He ignores you in favor of standing with you still in his arms and declaring, “Come on, let’s go get cleaned up and go to bed.”

Somewhere between your orgasm and when he kissed you that final time, you think he might’ve figured it out too–that you don’t hate him and maybe you never have. Because you let him carry you through his dark home without protest. You let him undress you wordlessly, without fanfare and without ogling your naked form. He simply drops your soiled clothing into a laundry hamper and starts undressing himself.

You watch him strip as he turns on the shower and gestures for you to follow him in when he steps in. For just a second you stare at him, halfway in and halfway out from under the stream of water, the way he’s staring at you expectantly. 

He still has that bruise on his cheek from where James Earl hit him what feels like a lifetime ago. His knuckles are still split in some places, just turning that particular shade of red in others. He’s a goddamn vision under the yellow and white fluorescent lights of his bathroom. It makes you want to hold your breath for fear that you’ll disturb the moment somehow.

The shower proceeds without a hitch. It’s oddly lacking sexual tension, though you notice that he’s still half hard. You have half a mind to sink to your knees and suck him off, just to prove your point, just to show him you mean business. But the way he gently washes you as if he’d done it a million times before stops you. You let him clean you up between your legs without a protest.

When he opens the bathroom cabinet to reveal various creams and lotions after you’ve both stepped out and wrapped yourselves in towels, you feel yourself start to get angry. Is he seriously showing you all the products he buys for all the other girls he brings home?

Instead, he smiles sheepishly at you and rubs the back of his neck, “You always smell so good, I spent ages tryin’ to figure out which one you were usin’. Just bought all of ‘em at some point.”

You feel floored as the fight leaves your body. You don’t have a way to be upset about that. Wordlessly, you pick up one of the bottles tucked in the second row and hand it to him. 

“It’s this one.” 

The grin that spreads over his face is one of such genuine happiness it makes you want to squeal and run for the hills at the same time. You wonder distantly if he’ll ever stop making you feel like that–simultaneously like a trapped animal and like you’re the only girl he’s ever seen. You wonder if this (there’s a ‘this’?) will last long enough for you to find out.

He lends you one of his shirts and you’re pleased to find out that it does hold his smell. It sits long on you, settling around your knees, making you feel just a bit like a sexy ghost with the way it hugs your chest. He pulls on a pair of briefs before flicking off the overhead light and then throwing back the covers and patting the space next to him.

“You’re a vision for a blind man, sugar,” His voice carries through the otherwise silent room, “Now come to bed.”

It’s something out of a daydream, climbing into bed with Rhett Abbott. You’re immediately enveloped in his scent, the way his arm lays heavy around your waist and pulls you close to him. For once, you don’t fight him.

“You okay there, sugar? Been awfully quiet.” His voice is low right next to your ear before he turns away momentarily to turn off the bedside table light. His arm is back around you in an instant.

Wiggling yourself around in his arms, you turn so that the two of you are nose to nose. He smiles that smile again, the one that fills you with warmth and makes your stomach twist. There’s barely enough light from outside to really see him as your eyes adjust to the dark, but you know his face.

“I don’t think I hate you.” 

He starts laughing. It shakes his shoulders and makes the bed creak. His eyes screw up and you can feel the way his stomach moves against yours. You feel your shoulders go up by your ears and you try to pull away, embarrassed that he’s laughing.

“I’m sorry, sugar, c’mere,” He tugs you even closer to him than before, if possible, “I’m not laughin’ at you, I’m laughin’ only ‘cause I never hated you. I don’t really think you hated me either.”

“Hey!” You’re indignant, “Rhett Abbott, who’re you to tell me how I feel?”

“Alright, alright, sugar, I’ll take ‘yer word for it. My heroics do it for ‘ya?” You barely catch the way he winks at you in the dark, but it makes you want to bite him in retaliation.

“The way you almost got the snot beat outta ‘ya? Sure.” Scoffing, you turn yourself over so you’re facing away from him again, only you don’t move out of his arms. 

He huffs lightly in protest, but lets it go in favor of nuzzling into your hair and pressing his lips to the crown of your head. It sends a warm sort of heat through you. You’re not ready to fully give in to him yet, but you think he might be growing on you. You’ll just have to see.

[rhettmotel]

congrats on 50! 💜 for drabble day… “shut up and love me.” perhaps?

Thank you so much for this!! I'm sorry it's taken ages; this last month has been horrid for me and my mental health, and I feel I'm just getting back into the writing groove ❤️ Thank you for your patience!!

Rhett was having a bad day. He had been in a bad mood since getting back in from his chores with Royal. As always, Rhett had gotten chewed out for a mistake that cost them a bull, and as always, Rhett was adamant that it wasn't his fault.

"Why's it always me? I mean, it could've been Perry's fault, but no, he always comes straight for me."

Normally, you were always on Rhett's side. He did make avoidable mistakes, but you also knew that his family tended to use him as a scapegoat to focus on instead of dealing with their real problems. This was not one of those times. You were there with Rhett last night, you two had been fooling around in the field and didn't close the gate when you finally decided to move into the house and stop the teasing. You were sure he wouldn't remember you asking if you should latch the gate, his blood wasn't exactly in his head, he barely mumbled out "it's fine," before tossing you over his shoulder. You didn't argue. Just let him rant. Usually, he just needed to complain and get drunk, and it would all blow over in a few days, so you just hummed in noncommittal acknowledgment and took another bite of your sandwich.

Unfortunately for you, it did not blow over in a few days. By the end of the week, Rhett was still ranting about it and even muttering under his breath after every time his dad walks away. You’re supposed to be going on a date, to a drive-in movie and while actually watching the movie wasn’t really in your plan, neither was him ignoring the kisses to his neck to keep ranting about how no one thinks he can do anything right.

“Rhett… Rhett,” You huff, trying to get his attention, placing both your hands on his cheeks and forcing him to look at you. “I get it, families can be frustrating, but it’s done with. It’s been a week, time to move on.”

Rhett’s jaw clenches at that and for a moment you think he might start arguing with you now, but he doesn’t say anything at all, just looks at you while the bone in the side of his jaw pops.

“We can just forget about it,” you continue. You knew that that would only last until the next time something like this happened, but it worked for now.

“Yeah, but…” he starts again, taking off his cowboy hat to push his hair back with his fingers and then set it back on his head.

You waste no time in cutting him off. “Rhett, do you want to fuck me in this semi-public drive-in?” You ask bluntly.

“Yes,” he says with a quick nod and a thick swallow.

“Good,” you smirk, climbing over the middle console of the truck and into his lap. “Now, shut up and love me.”

[ereardon]

Colors [Rhett Abbott x Reader]

Summary: Life with Rhett started as a rainbow and nosedived into darkness after a catastrophic loss. Will you ever be able to see in color again?

Pairing: Rhett Abbott x Reader

Warnings: References to stillbirth and unhappy relationships

WC: 1.2K

A/N: This was written quickly without proofing so apols for any errors! xx

Rhett’s eyes caught yours across the room. 

That dark, smoldering slate blue that melted the moment your eyes met. For a second, you were throttled back to five years ago, the first time the two of you caught eyes. 

How the smoke had filled the dimly lit back room of the bar, and you pushed your way through the throng of people to a pocket of air, only to stumble on the edge of a pool stick that someone had laid on the ground, large hands catching you just as you were about to fall. 

The way his voice felt like velvet unraveling against your skin. He said his name, and you said yours, too. And somehow, in the middle of the bar, with all of the voices and the sound of shattering glass and the dull beat of the old stereo system, the two of you were alone on a desert island. Just his fingertips on your arm, his small pink lips turned up in a cheeky grin, hair curled around the edge of a cowboy hat as your blood raced through your veins. 

And the moment the two of you broke apart, the noise started again, swelling, unbearable. It swallowed you whole, and Rhett too, and you were once again lost in the crowd. 

But later, once the crowd had died down, you widened your eyes over the orange light of the end of the cigarette. His hands in his pockets, his jaw sharp as the knife in your boots as he appeared on the fringe of your vision. 

He wanted to leave together. And you should have known better, but that was never your strong suit. 

He fucked as good as he looked, the cold metal of his belt buckle digging into the back of your thigh where he had pushed his pants down, your hands spread out on the dusty hood of the old Ford truck your daddy had bought you, Rhett’s hands tight across your tits as he groaned into your ear. And when he came inside of you, you let him. Because in that moment, he was paradise on earth. 

From that moment on, there was no going back. Your life had splintered into two eras. There was before Rhett and with Rhett. 

Later you would find there was a third era. After Rhett. 

In your life with Rhett, things took on a patina in your mind's eye. The way he would twirl your hair around his finger as the two of you bumped down the dirty road going over the speed limit, windows open, air whipping at your face. There was an antique quality in the way your memories of Rhett played over in your mind: how he would scurry out of bed in the cold mornings and bring you coffee in bed. The way he smelled after a day on the ranch. The first time you two spent Christmas together, unwrapping gifts in front of the fire, and later, unwrapping each other in the darkened bedroom you shared. 

Not unlike the orange of the cigarette tip that night you first met, the sky was flooded with dulled citrus smears the first time Rhett said he loved you. You remembered every single second that felt like a lifetime before you replied that you loved him, too. You remembered the relief on his face when you said it back. The way his lips felt against yours. Somehow different. Like you owned a part of him. 

He had taken a part of you, too. 

But then days stretched in the haze of tropical glow began to dim. And your lives were no longer sunsets or sunrises, only the darkness that enveloped the witching hour. Gone was the sweet whisper of wind at dusk. Instead, it had been replaced by the oppressive blanket of silence that held stillness in the early hours of the morning. 

Gone was the laughter that had permeated the walls of the small apartment the two of you rented above a neighbor’s garage. Instead, it was replaced by fights. Starting small, but growing. Like the bags beneath your eyes. Like the number of times Rhett stopped at the liquor store after work. 

And then, the line turned pink. And so did the second one. And you cried, an unknown feeling crawling into your gut. And so did Rhett as he held the onesie you had bought down at the flea market in his rough, calloused hands. 

For a while, the rosy hue was back. Maybe it was the walls of the nursery after you painted them dusty pink once the ultrasound confirmed it was a girl. But there was something else, too. It was the way Rhett looked at you. Like you were coming up for air after a tough swim. Like around you, he could finally breathe. 

The twilight that had settled over the two of you before had never been as dark as the midnights that sat on your shoulders the day you stood above the world’s smallest coffin. Watched as they lowered it into the ground, practically a shoebox. Felt the Earth cave in as dirt was shoved on top of your heart, buried ten feet in the ground as you drove away and left a piece of you back there under the oak tree. 

You wilted in the darkness, rarely coming up for fresh air. Rhett tried, but he couldn’t stay. He was sucked down by it, absorbing your toxins, sacrificing himself. 

You watched him walk away in the middle of the day, sun high in the sky, but it was still dark inside from your chair by the window. 

You heard the rumors about him and the Olivares girl. What they did at the bar. The same bar where the two of you had first met. 

And finally, one day you woke up and the air wasn’t heavy with particulates. Instead, sunlight flooded your eyes. It was a new kind of light. Gone were the pastels of sunset. This was brighter. It practically burned. 

You let it burn you. A part of you wanted it to. 

But instead, you grabbed your phone to call him. Because he was the only one who understood what it was like to live in black and white and suddenly see color. He had done it once before, the night he met you. 

Your eyes caught his across the room. He stood, that familiar gait. The hat molded to his hairline, the way his jeans clung against him tightly, the pink lips that had kissed you and told you stories and whispered to you in your darkest moments. 

It was bright. So bright it practically stung. And then Rhett took one step closer, and the lights faded. It was just him, standing in front of you, in living and breathing color. 

He held out his hand, the skin warped by the sun, veins bulging against bone, nails greased with dirt. You felt him across every inch of your palm as you returned the gesture. 

And then he smiled and the world burst into shards of crystal rainbows all around, illuminating everything around you. 

He leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Rhett closed his eyes, but all he could see was color. 

Tagging a few people I think may like this!

@bobfloydsbabe @cool-ultra-nerd @blue-aconite @rosiahills22 @bobfloydssunnies @sebsxphia @floydsmuse @topherwrites @lewmagoo @djs8891 @na-ta-sh-aa @spinning-away @fairyheart

[vivwritesfics]

I need a part 2 to if your daddy knew where both families find out about them and their reactions

This is a blurb because I'm not feeling it lmao

The fic

"Guys, please!" She begged as they headed out to the truck. "It's not his hat! I just found it!"

Luke let out a laugh as he shook his head. "You can tell us the truth, or you can come with us," he said and opened the door to the truck.

"She's coming with us," Trevor said, marching her forward and into the truck. He sat her between them, keeping her trapped as the four of them sat off towards the Abbott Ranch.

She was gonna throw up.

Rhett saw them coming. His hands were wrapped around his reins, ready to climb into his saddle when the Tillersons truck pulled into the ranch.

"Ah, fuck," he said as they parked up outside of the house and climbed out.

As quickly as he could, Rhett put his horse back into the barn. "Sorry, girl," he mumbled as he patted her neck quickly. And then he was marching off, heading back towards the house.

When he approached his mum was there, talking to Billy, Trevor, and Luke as they tried to force his way in. She was behind them, holding his hat behind her back.

She turned first, pretty eyes lighting up. But she didn't run towards him, like he would have liked. Her brothers turned after that.

"Abbott," Trevor barked. He snatched the hat from her hands and pushed it against Rhett's chest. "You left this with my sister."

It was game over on their little charade, wasn't it? And Rhett was fine with that. He looked at the Stetson in his hands and then looked past Trevor, at her. "Looks better on her, anyway," He said and placed it on his head.

Suddenly, Trevor had a hold of his shirt. He pushed him, pushing Rhett to the ground.

His fist connected with Rhett's face, but Rhett easily turned the two of them over, trapping Trevor beneath them. He hit Trevor only once, to keep him on the ground.

He stood up and pushed himself off. Her eyes were on him as he strode towards her. "Luke, Billy," he said, nodding at them, daring them.

And then he looked at her, the prettiest grin splitting across his face. "Darlin'," he said and pulled his hat from his head. He placed it on her head and leaned down to kiss her.

Her arms wrapped around his neck. "Rhett," she whispered against his lips. Her family knew, and she didn't give a single fuck.

[sebsxphia]

gentle, rough and loving.

rhett abbott x reader.

￫ description: rhett abbott’s aftercare is the final piece to the puzzle you need.

￫ word count: 2.5K.

￫ music: listen to the incredible and beautiful playlist made by @laracrofted for this fic here! 💽

￫ c/w: endings of smut, endings of BDSM/rough sex, mentions of BDSM, rope, derogatory language used towards reader, one mention of no previous aftercare in previous relationships, sub space, soothing injuries, kissing, swearing, rhett giving you proper aftercare, rhett being an absolute sweetheart and fluff, fluff, fluff.

￫ a/n: i’m dedicating this piece to the wonderfully talented @lewmagoo. their writing is absolutely phenomenal, and what always gets me most, is the beautiful aftercare that they write. therefore, this piece was born! please kindly check out their writing, i cannot recommend it enough! <3 i hope you enjoy! <3 my main masterlist can be found here! 💌

Gentle, rough and loving are the three words you would use to describe what it felt like to make love to Rhett Abbott. He had your face pushed down with one hand, onto the hard and cold floorboards of your living room floor. His other hand was gripping at your hip so hard, you knew his fingertips would leave bruises. Yet, the hand that was pressed on your face had his fingers curling round to the rise of your cheek, so the wooden floorboards wouldn’t hurt too much. The hand on your hip worked to steady your wrecked frame, so you would never fall forward and hurt your neck.

He had secured your wrists tightly together with some rope. The rope itself wasn’t some tattered and fraying rope that he had found in his barn, no. Rhett had insisted that he purchased proper bondage rope. Your safety was of the upmost importance to him, regardless that he was treating you like a common whore in this very moment. He used his extensive, and ever growing knowledge of cowboy knots, to tie your wrists together and let them rest on the arch of your back. It was the perfect centre of gravity so that you wouldn’t topple over when his thrusts became particularly rough.

At the beginning of your relationship, before any rougher type of sex had occurred, you explained to Rhett your prior experience of aftercare with previous partners was, minimal, to say the least. It was during the quiet confines of your shared bed during one moonlit night. You remember the look on his face, shadowed gently by the moonlight filtering in through your lacy curtains. His face contorted into hard lines above his eyebrows, yet his eyes still wore a soft and loving gaze for you. He was both angry beyond belief that no one would take care of you like that, and deeply consoling to your fears and hurt.

“I promise you, I’ll never let that happen to you, m’love. You’re safe with me. I hope y’ can come to trust me, in time.”

He understood that he had to earn that trust from you in time, and he made a promise to himself that gentle night that he would.

A year later and Rhett had kept his promise.

After the scene was over and he came down from his own ecstasy inducing high, the word loving, was about to replace the word rough. He could still hear your faint whimpers that escaped your mouth in time with your body twitching from your heightened sensitivity. With heightened caution, he slowly slipped his fingers out from under your cheek to allow for your face to gently meet the floorboards. His other hand still had a hold on your hips to steady you, but his moved his fingertips an inch upwards so he wouldn’t press down on the particularly sore points. His hand from your face traveled over the base of your skull, along your spine in your neck and dipped in between your shoulder blades. This was when you first registered his voice.

“Darlin’, can y’ feel that? Feel my hand on your neck?” You let out a small grunt in response. You had intended it to be a hum in agreement, but with lack of water it distorted your voice. He understood your tone none the less and made a mental note to get you water as soon as he was able. He continued to trace your spine with his hand until he reached your tied wrists. He was allowing you to feel his gentle touch, to remind you that his far rougher touch was finished now. His fingertips reached your bound wrists and you heard him speak again.

“I’m goin’ un-tie your wrists now, darlin’. I won’t let y’ go, I promise.” He worked his set of fingers nimbly to un-tie the knots. He only ever used knots that were quick and easy to un-tie, especially with one hand. As you felt the rope be pulled out from underneath your wrists like a table cloth off a table, your wrists went limp and they slid down your hips. Rhett was quick to grasp onto them to allow your centre of gravity to stay. You huffed out a groan that he could only register as, exhaustion.

He made another mental note. “Your poor back and wrists, they must be so sore. Cream, after water.”

“Shh, m’love. I know, I know. I’m goin’ turn you over now, okay?” The hand on your hip guided you down to the floor and then slid round to your belly, to turn you around to face him. The gentle hold on your wrists let go momentarily before he gathered them back in his hand to rest on your stomach. He had you turned over and now sat in his lap, as he sat on the floor. He had one hand resting in between your shoulder blades, allowing him to hold you up right and see your face. Your cheeks were flushed a rosy red, with tear stains tracking down your flesh. Your eyes were drooping and completely glazed over, and you wore a cock drunk, lopsided smile.

He was proud that he could fuck you so good that you would end up as a wreck like this, but that was done now. It was now his responsibility to be gentle and loving with you, and take care of you.

“Can you tell me your name?” Rhett avoided using any pet names that would be used during a scene like that, as to not push you into subspace any further.

“Bambi?” You croaked out with your eyebrows furrowing slightly. His lips quirked up in the corner of his mouth, but he kept it hidden from you.

“That’s not your name right now. Can y’ tell me your name?”

Your brow furrowed deeper and you inhaled a shaky breath. Your glazed over eyes scanned his face and he felt a wave of relief when he saw your eyes crinkle in the corners ever so slightly. It was a tell tale sign that you were coming back around and you remembered Rhett as your lover and someone who was safe, to you. You called out your own name and he placed a softening kiss to your forehead with praise.

“Atta’ girl.” He beamed in delight. “That’s your name ‘nd I’m here to take care of y’ now, okay, darlin’?” You nodded in response and removed your hands from his to grab onto the collar of his plaid shirt. You buried your face into his neck, letting your cheeks scratch over his stubble and your nose inhale his familiar scent, grounding you further.

“Rhett, Rhett, Rhett…” You mumbled incoherently into his flesh.

He smiled to himself and moved his hand to cradle your head. “That’s right, sweetheart. It’s me, you’re safe now. I’m gon’ take y’ upstairs ‘nd get y’ cleaned up, okay?”

You nodded against his shoulder and let him scoop you up under your thighs, allowing himself to get off his knees and cradled you next to his torso. He carried you up the stairs to your shared bedroom, letting you down softly onto the mattress below. He shed his own plaid shirt and instructed you to sit up briefly. He guided your arms into the sleeves and wrapped it around your bare chest, noticing you were shivering slightly. You held tightly onto his biceps as he pulled away from you. There was a look in your eyes, a pleading desperation for Rhett not to leave you. He recognized it instantly and reassured you within a second.

“I jus’ need to get y’ some water and ointment first, m’love. I’m gon’ be ten seconds.” He pressed another praising kiss to your forehead. Your glazed over eyes looked almost tearful and it caused his stomach to drop through the floor. It teared at his heartstrings, knowing that you entrusted him so deeply like this.

You watched as he left your bedroom, with the glass from your nightstand in his hand. You kept your eyes intently focused on the doorway and awaited for his return from the bathroom. You heard the faucet running and the pipes shaking throughout the rest of your home. When he returned, you held out your hand, as to beckon him for his reassuring presence. He squatted down by the bedside and handed you the glass. He reached up to brush the hair out of your eyes, looking up at you with a prideful smile when you gulped down the soothing liquid within seconds.

“I’ll get y’ another glass in a bit. Can I have your wrists first, please?”

Rhett was well aware of the fuzzy headspace that you could be in. Regardless of the stage, he understood that you may be unable to communicate back to him. Therefore, asking for your permission, or telling you what he was doing was always first on his mind.

You held out your wrists and let him take them delicately into his own hands. His calloused fingertips had always been rough, since the day you met him, but somehow, when they were drawing over your skin it seemed as though it was a featherlight and tender touch. You adored how your rough and tough cowboy, could be so gentle and loving.

He moved the ointment over your wrists and asked you to sit up next so he could soothe your aching back. He could feel your eyes fixated on him the whole time. You were tracing and following his every move. But he knew it wasn’t because you didn’t trust him, it was because you were finally receiving the proper aftercare that you deserved and you wanted to burn it into your memory forever. He could feel how your body was keening into his loving touch, with every simple swipe and stroke of the cooling ointment. When his fingertips ran over your wrist, he could sense your pulse coming back to a resting rate, which pleased him greatly.

When the pain points that he was aware of were covered, he moved onto your needs that you perhaps hadn’t yet communicated to him.

“Darlin’, can y’ tell, or point, to any other parts that hurt, please?” You out stretched your finger to point at your knees and he let out a quiet chuckle to himself. “Of course. I’m not surprised, y’ took me s’ well, sweetheart.”

He moved up and onto the bed, and caught your gaze in the process. Your eyes had lit up and sparkled brightly at his sweet praise. Your mouth was parted with an anticipated smile.

“I— I did?”

Your fingers twiddled with one another in your lap. He recognized how your body language shifted and the look you wore on your face. You were asking for praise and reassurance, something that you had never had prior.

“Oh, m’love,” he scooted up to where you sat against the headboard. He knelt next to you and took your face in his hands again. “You did incredible for me. I’m s’ proud of you. You’re such a good bunny for me.” He leaned down to gingerly press a kiss to your cheek but your lips met his instead. You hovered mere millimeters away from his lips and you swore you could’ve felt a zap! of electricity connect you both. You felt his warm breath fan over your lips and you gazed up at him through your lashes.

He swallowed thickly and his voice got caught in his throat. “Can I kiss you, darlin’?”

“Please, Rhett.” You breathlessly pleaded. He leaned in to meet your lips and your body almost went limp against his. The first loving kiss that came after a particularly rough fucking, was always the final piece to the puzzle. Like clockwork, you came back around and you were now fully understanding of your surroundings and who you were with. You were with your Rhett, who was gentle, rough and loving.

He pulled away, with you both letting out a small gasp at the sudden contact of air. He held your gaze for a couple of moments longer. He loved the way how you keened into his touch, how you were moving your face to press your cheeks harder against his large hands.

“Let me finish taking care of your knees, ‘nd then I’ll cuddle up close to you, okay?” You nodded in his hold and let him slip away, back down to your legs.

Moments later your body was smoothed out with the ointment, you had another glass of water down you and you had been moved back into Rhett’s arms. He’d pulled out your old laptop from underneath your bed to watch something easy, alongside some emergencies snacks for occasions such as these.

He had taken his plaid shirt off you at your request. You wanted to feel the ever comforting feeling of skin on skin contact. He was sat back against the headboard with you in between his legs. His broad and toned thighs were locking around you and keeping you protected. His hands ran up and down your arms in soothing strokes, and sketched out mindless shapes on your flesh. He occasionally dipped into the snack you had in your hand to feed you one or feed himself, which always earned a giggle from you.

“Do y’ want a bath after this, darlin’? I’ll give y’ a proper massage too, the lavender oil and everythin’.”

Your head rolled back into the crook of his neck and onto his shoulder. You let out a satisfied hum and looked upwards towards Rhett. Your hands moved to cradle the back of his skull and toy with the lick of hairs at the base of his neck. He craned his face down to catch your satisfied, yet still drooping gaze.

“Please, lover.” You paused for a second and sucked your bottom lip in between your teeth. “You’re s’ gentle, rough and loving to me.”

If your hand was on his chest right now, you’d be able to feel his heart beating in double time. So fast, it could burst right through his chest. Your trust was solidified in Rhett and it made his heart feel as though there was a bed of wildflowers blooming inside of him.

“Anythin’ for you, m’love. I’ll always take care of you.”

“I’ll always take care of you too, cowboy.”

Your own statement was as true as his. After a particularly rough ride and having his knees scraped and his shoulder pushed out of his socket, you would be there. Your hands would roughly grip at his chest and shoulder to pop the bone back in its place, but your hands would turn gentle as you pressed the cotton pad to his bloodied knees. You would lovingly run your hands through his hair as he lay with his cheek pressed on your bare chest, when the exhaustion would wrack his body entirely.

You loved and cared so deeply for each other, that you both knew no one would, or could, ever match that.

taglist: @beachbabey @tallrock35 @currentlybradshaw @unmistakablyunknown @iloveprettyboysblog @wkndwlff @flames-thebitch @randomfandomgirl97

tagging who maybe be interested: @sunblchdfly @bradshawsbitch @rhettabbotts @bobfloydsbabe @bobfloyds @peachystenbrough @sugarcoated-lame @sushiwriterhere

[aestheticaltcow]

Virginity

Rhett Abbott x Reader

Outer Range Master List

You moaned softly as Rhett pulled you onto his lap that afternoon. 

When you told him how you hadn’t gone camping since you were a kid, he was more than happy to find a quiet spot in the woods outside the ranch and prepare for a camping weekend. After setting up a tent and an area to light a fire that evening, Rhett put an arm around your shoulder, and one thing quickly led to another. 

Rhett’s hands slipped under your t-shirt as he lay back on a blanket, bringing you with him. Your nerves lit up as his hands traveled up your spine to the hooks of your bra. The pleasure of the feeling, mixed with that of Rhett’s slightly chapped lips, was irrefutable perfection. His movements were eager and wanton. He’d never call you a tease, but the two of you had gotten hot and heavy a handful of times, but things never went past making out or some light petting above the clothes. Whenever he tried to get to the next base… you’d suddenly have to go home because you had an early morning shift or were tired. He was starting to think that maybe you were that into him. 

You were responsive to his touch that afternoon. You met his hungry kisses just as hungrily you ran your hands along his shoulders and down his biceps, squeezing slightly before running your hands back up to his shoulders and then down his chest. Rhett was strong and toned from working on the ranch and from riding. When he managed to undo the hooks of your bra, you felt yourself tense. He’d been trying to initiate sex more frequently, and as much as you wanted to give in - you didn’t know how to tell him you were still a virgin at 25 years old. 

Rhett’s hands brought the back of your t-shirt up, exposing your skin to the sun's rays that had managed to make it through the tree line. He gently pushed his tongue into your mouth as he held you protectively. You had your hands flat on his chest, partially frozen. Rhett noticed your hesitation and pulled his mouth away from yours. " Are you okay, pretty girl?” he asked apprehensively, leaving his hands where they were on your back. You swallowed and hid your face in the crook of his neck, making Rhett chuckle lowly. “Makin’ me nervous here, baby…” 

You whined against his skin, unsure of how to proceed. “We don’t have to do anythin’,” Rhett whispered as he lovingly rubbed your back. As disappointed as he may have been, he refused to let you see it. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure you into having sex with him. 

“I’m a virgin…” you murmured, silently hoping Rhett wouldn’t abandon you in the woods.

“You’re… a virgin?” Rhett sputtered, surprised by the information. Suddenly, things made sense to him. He nodded and squeezed you a little tighter. “It’s okay?” he cautioned. His response made you pull back and look at him.

“Is it?” you asked again. 

Rhett nodded, “Kinda makes me feel better.” you shot him a quizzical look, confused by his comment. “I was startin’ to think you weren’t attracted to me or somethin’..”

You shook your head. “Of course, I’m attracted to you, Cowboy.” You laughed and moved a hand to cup his face. He grinned and leaned against your hand. His eyes were soft and curious.

“Can- can I be your first?”

You nodded slowly as you bit your lip cautiously, “Not in the woods, but, yes, Rhett. I’d really like that…”

[finnydraws]

Girl Dad Rhett/reader

Pairing: Rhett Abbott/ Female Reader

Word count:575

Description: Life with a lovely cowboy, who loves you and your child very much

genre(s) fluff, slice of life

Warnings: mentions of pregnancy/childbirth, mentions of not great parents and insecurities.

Rhett was terrified the first time you told him you were pregnant. His brain just showing him bad memories of his childhood, and of the way Perry treated Amy. He was so uncomfortable with it, that he blocked it from his brain and you had to tell him another 4 times before we was ok.

He starts treating you so gently, don’t expect to go ANYWHERE without this man following you.

The bathroom? He's right outside the door. You’re cooking? He’s there, burning whatever it is you let him help with. Don’t even think about trying to go into town without him.

He buys and stocks up on all of your cravings.

He goes to every. Single. Appointment. At one point Royal asks him to help around the farm and halfway through the task, Rhett leaves him with no warning to get to the appointment on time.

Cried like a baby when he saw you were having a little girl (even though he thought he wanted a boy at first he couldn't imagine anything other than his life with his daughter)

He builds and paints all of her furniture, shades of green and yellow while you draw designs onto the wall. Rhett won't let you touch the paint. Something about chemicals.

When it's time to start buying clothes he needs a second to collect himself after seeing just how small the shoes are in his big hands.

He spends ALL his money on clothes, toys, pillows, blankets. Books, you name it.

At one point he’s half asleep and asks if you think he’ll be the favorite parent, asks if she’ll even like him, and if he can take care of feeding/ comforting her at night.

Tells every person in town about his daughter and keeps the latest ultrasound on his person.

Invites so many people to the baby shower (most people don't come but he invited them nonetheless)

Does not invite perry, he actually tells perry he better not show up.

When you go into labor he panics for a good 10 minutes before packing you into the truck, and speeding to the hospital, if a cop tried to stop him he wouldn't know.

Your baby Iris Cecile Abbott is born at 3:42am on June 10th, about 16 hour later

Y'all steal everything from the hospital room (babies are expensive and if you're already gonna pay for you might as well use em)

Rhett calls his mother to tell her first, bawling as he holds his daughter that he swears has your eyes

Iris is a daddy's girl as she grows up 100%, begs him to take her around the property and look for toads or snakes. He teaches her to ride a horse and she goes into the rodeo (tie down calf roping when she's older, and barrel racing)

Every time Iris competes, Rhett's the loudest one cheering, he definitely shouts stuff like “that's my baby!” and “go on baby! Get em!”

When she hits puberty Rhett nearly cries because he thinks his baby won't want to hang around him anymore

Will check in on her in the middle of the night, make sure she's ok and sleeping well

He 100% tries to intimidate her partners so only the good ones stick

Definitely spoils her though. If she did something small like failing a class she knows she can just say “I'm sorry daddy, I'll do better next time” and he's gone

[lewinblue]

The Bookkeeper and The Cowboy || Pt 1

WC: 1.6k

Summary: A new bookstore is making its way into Wabang and has everyone gossiping. Some are excited, the kids are happy, some are grumpy and Rhett, well he’s just a little bit curious.

A/N: This was originally going to be one part. I have no self control, though, so it’ll probably 2 or 3

Wabang, Wyoming is a small town with people who knew each other, and parents and grandparents who likely knew each other. If you lived there you likely never thought of leaving. If you grew up in the dusty old town it likely never occurred to you to leave.

Everyone knew each other, every building was known and every person who ran it was known by name. Everyone knew that Maren at ‘Maren’s Marvelous Hair Salon’ was a gossip and that Joe who worked at the butcher's was vulgar but still kind and would likely give you an extra slice of your favorite place of meat. Everyone knew the teachers. Ms. Kay, who was secretly seeing Luke Tillerson, and was teaching second grade. Everyone adored her. She was kind, sweet, and gentle with her students. She waved and smiled at the parents of her students. Unlike the high school teacher Mr. Daughtery. The older man never smiled and was always found with a cup of coffee in his hand. When someone addressed him he only grunted and turned away. Some wondered why he hadn’t retired yet or found another job but most of the time, people just ignored him.

It was no wonder that Rhett Abbott didn’t notice that new building being put up right away. No one had bothered to mention it to him. His dad was working him to the bone and when Maren caught him running errands for his dad for the ranch she never mentioned it.

Rhett only became aware of the new building when he went into the tractor supply store to pick up feed for the animals on the ranch. Old man Waters (no one knew his first name anymore, he could have been the first one in the town for all anyone knows) mentioned a new bookstore that was in the works down the street. He didn’t say it in a grumble or in a way he detested a new business. No, he seemed rather…happy about it? Supposedly his granddaughter loved spending time over there after school even though it wasn’t completely finished. Every time he saw her she chatted nonstop about the new owner and the books and even how the building was coming along.

Rhett nodded and tipped his hat, making sure to say thank you because if there was one thing Cecilia Abbott did right it was to raise her sons with manners. After he stocked the bed of his truck full of feed for the animals and some other things for the ranch, Rhett sat in the truck for a minute longer than usual. He could see the budding store from here and he couldn’t deny that the curiosity got the better of him.

If he took a bit longer to get home than usual it definitely wasn’t to see the new bookstore. It was cream and green and on a hanging green wooden poster it read ‘Cover to Cover’. It was clever and left a small smile on his face for no one to see but himself.

When Rhett finally arrived home it was dark and his mom was just about to finish cooking dinner. Mashed potatoes and pork chops it looked like again. He knew better than to complain, it was Perry and his dad’s favorite meal.

As the plates were being served Rhett reached over to playfully mess with Amy’s hair which made the young girl giggle and her father grumble which only added to the satisfaction Rhett felt. He and Perry could argue from sun up to sun down, never agreeing on anything. Mostly on Rhett’s life choices but he couldn’t deny that Perry did one thing right at that was to make Amy. He adored his niece, her laugh, her adventurous spirit, and her no-nonsense attitude that developed before she could talk.

“Did you pick up the feed for the horse?” His dad grumbled in a question.

Rhett knew not to take it personally. It was just how his dad spoke. He was all hard edges and no soft-spoken words. Those were saved for his wife his his granddaughter. Sometimes, when he was younger, Rhett, wondered if Royal even saw him and Perry as sons and just as extra hands to help around the ranch.

“Yeah,” he said, just as gruffly after swallowing a dry pork chop. “It’s all in the bed of my truck.”

“It took you so long. Thought you might be visiting one of your little bunnies.” Perry smirked and Rhett bit his tongue.

“I was catching with Old Man Waters, while I was there,” Rhett said, despite not owing his brother a reply. His mom was still at the table and didn’t want the conversation to turn into something inappropriate.

“I wanna see a bunny,” Amy said innocently.

Rhett looked at Perry and raised an eyebrow. Once he saw his brother's cheeks turn pink he knew he won.

“It’s not those kind of bunnies, darling.” His mom said and pointedly looked at Rhett for the next bit, “I wouldn’t want you catching anything from those bunnies. Who knows where they’ve been.”

Clear to change the subject Royal jumped in, “What did you and Old Man Waters talk about?”

“Not much,” Rhett tried for nonchalance. He didn’t want his dad to see how much this particular subject interested him. “He said that someone is building a bookstore, it’s not fully done, but he said that his granddaughter loves it already.”

Royal hurmphed at the idea. He stabbed his food before saying in a grumpier tone than usual. “What happened to kids reading at school or their parents reading to them? If you ask me it sounds like some yuppie bullshit.”

“I think it’s nice that there’s a place for people to get books and hang out when they're not working.” His mom said placatingly.

“That’s until more people move to Wabang and new houses and apartments are built and we’ll even have a Starbucks.”

“I only said Old Man Waters said it, doesn’t mean it’s true. It could go under in a month.”

Nothing else was said for the rest of the meal. Everyone could tell that the tonal shift had changed and even young Amy didn’t look up from her plate.

When all the plates were in the sink Rhett offered to help his mom clean them. As if his dad and brother ever would, Cecelia shooed Jim off knowing that he would have to be awake before the sun came up to help his dad with the ranch.

He kissed his mom good night, skipped his after-dinner beer, and took the stairs two at a time. It was quiet except for the quiet noises coming from the bedrooms. His dad was talking nonsense, nothing unusual there, Perry was already snoring. From what? Rhett had no idea he wasn’t the one running around town and as far as he knew their dad had been taking it easy on Perry when it came to the Ranch.

When he passed by Amy’s room it was dead silent. Amy was never silent. Before he could think about it he gently tapped on her bedroom door and moments later Amy stood looking up at him.

“Hi. Uncle Rhett,” she smiled.

The end of his lip quirked and he asked. “How did you know it wasn't your dad or grandpa?”

She rolled her eyes and he realized fast then he liked that Mentions that Amy might like that his sweet little niece Amy was growing up.

“Grandpa pounds on the door like I can’t hear him. Dad just barges in. You and Grandma are the only ones who knock like normal people.”

Rhett nodded at that. It seemed about right the two of them had been doing it his whole life. Maybe for her birthday he’ll get her a lock and install it for her.

“You were quiet at dinner. I wanted to know what was up.”

The girl was quiet for a moment. Long enough for Rhett to start to worry. Amy was never quiet for too long around her uncle.

“I wanna see the bookstore.” She mumbles, nearly whispers. As though she’s afraid Royal will hear her from down the hall.

Rhett made an inquisitive noise, leaned on the doorframe, and crossed his arms. He waited for Amy to continue and after a moment she did.

“A few of my friends have been over to see it and all of grandma and grandpa’s books are boring. The school library’s books are falling apart.” She said this all in one gust of air. “I want to see what it’s all about but Grandpa knows everyone in town and they’ll tell him.”

“Your grandpa doesn’t know everything,” Rhett said with a smirk, thinking back to his childhood and teenage days when he managed to get with a lot more than his parents realized.

At her still-present frown that tugged on his heartstrings, Rhett said without thinking, “I’ll take you there. I drove past it on the way back home and maybe I could pick you up after school and bring you to the s bookstore.”

“Really?” Amy exclaimed and shy he’d herself so as not to wake anyone. She looked around to check that no one else moved around and then looked up at her uncle. “You would do that?

“If you get some sleep tonight and are good in school tomorrow, I’ll be right outside waiting for you.” He swore.

Of course, he wanted Amy to be happy and his father's disdain for any new business from outsiders was irksome. However, when he drove by the cream and green cozy-looking shop he couldn’t help but feel his curiosity peek. His niece wasn’t the only one who wanted to go, he wanted to go into the bookstore too.