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bobfloydsbabe · 4 months

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let it snow | rhett abbott x oc

a linger fic

SUMMARY: After an overnight snowstorm, Rhett and Lou are stuck in her cabin. Unsure where they stand with each other, losing electricity might force them to finally define the relationship.

WARNINGS: smut, oral (m receiving), aftercare, fluff. strictly 18+/minors dni.

WORD COUNT: 3.6k

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A/N: written for @lewmagoo's christmas celebration where i instantly jumped in to snatch the song let it snow for our favorite cowboy. this is my first time writing a bj, so please don't judge me too harshly. i had no idea what i was doing.

“Rhett?”

At the sound of his name, he drops the curtain and lets it fall back into place. Turning around, he finds Lou sitting up in bed. She’s rubbing sleep out of her eyes while stifling a yawn, and with her dark hair falling in messy waves around her face, Rhett thinks she’s never looked more beautiful.

“Thought you’d be gone by now,” she says, hands dropping into her lap. Her voice is still rough from sleep, and their activities the night before are probably not helping either.

“I was about to,” he tells her, crossing to her bed in long strides.

Her dark brows furrow, creating a cute divot in the middle that always makes him smile. Right now is no exception.

“But?”

“But,” he says, placing his knee on the mattress and leans in close, feeling Lou’s hot breath on his face. “My truck’s buried under at least a foot of snow, so you’re stuck with me.”

“We’re snowed in?”

The giddiness in her voice is obvious, childlike wonder rolling off her in waves as Rhett nods. She grabs his face, pulling his lips to hers, but not without knocking Rhett off balance, making him fall on top of Lou.

He wraps his arms around her naked back, the skin hot under his cold fingertips. He feels her grin into the kiss and suddenly wishes he wasn’t wearing his clothes. Getting lost in Lou is dangerously easy, more so now that he doesn’t have anywhere else to be.

Denver interrupts the moment, jumping up on the bed and joining in the excitement. Rhett pulls away from Lou and gets whacked in the face by a tail, making Lou laugh.

“Denny,” Lou squeals when he licks her face. Hearing her laugh and seeing her play with her dog sends warmth through Rhett’s chest. Some deep down part of him knows what it is, but naming it feels fragile and breakable. Like it would burst their comfortable bubble, but he’s not prepared for this to end.

“I thought he wasn’t allowed on the bed,” Rhett says with a grin, as he stands and strips off his jeans and t-shirt.

Denver faces Rhett, taking unsteady steps on the mattress and sniffs his now bare chest. He lets him. Denver has never shown any aggression or dislike for Rhett, but he knows the dog is distrustful of other people, especially men.

“He’s not,” Lou answers, eyes raking over every inch of his skin. He feels hot all over under her gaze. “But cowboys are.”

He smirks, knows it’s a smug sort of look. “Are they now?”

“Mhmm,” she hums. Sensing the change in mood, Denver jumps off the bed and trots over to the sofa.

Stripping out of his boxers, he climbs back in bed with Lou, kisses her lips, then down her throat. He gives in to the sweet taste of her and dozes off afterward, sweaty and with the smell of her hair tickling his nostrils.

When he wakes next, he’s alone. The place where Lou is supposed to sleep is empty and cold, and while he doesn’t see her, he can hear her voice.

“Yes, that is Rhett Abbott’s truck in my drive.”

He smiles to himself.

“I’m surprised you can tell,” Lou says into the phone she has pressed against her ear when she rounds the corner from the kitchen. “It almost blends in.”

She’s smiling at him when she notices his open eyes and mouths good morning at him. “Oh, shut up, Carrie, he does not.”

She turns back to the kitchen, Denver following closely behind. The cabin is bathed in bright white light from the open curtains and the stark snow from outside. Lou’s dressed in pajama pants and an oversized hoodie that looks suspiciously like the dark blue one he lost several weeks back.

Sitting up, he swings his legs over the side of the bed and pulls on his boxers. The cabin floor is cold under his feet, but he walks across it anyway, and wraps his arms around Lou’s middle from behind.

He feels her leaning into him as she finishes her conversation with Mrs. Taylor.

“Okay, that’s enough. Goodbye, Carrie.”

She drops the phone on the counter and Rhett places a kiss on the exposed part of her neck. “You good?” he mumbles against her skin.

“Yeah,” she says and turns in his arms. The darkness of her eyes will never not be shocking to him–they look like bottomless lakes hiding a long forgotten secret. “Mrs. Taylor’s just teasing me about you.”

“Me?” he asks, still surprised that Mrs. Taylor even knows his name.

Lou grins and wraps her arms around his neck. “Yes you, cowboy,” she says and raises to her tiptoes to kiss his lips.

He takes a step, forcing Lou back against the counter, and runs his tongue along the seam of her lips. She opens for him without hesitation as her nails scrape along his scalp. He could get used to this, kissing her senseless in the kitchen in no rush to be anywhere else.

Lou ends his daydream by pulling away. He only chases her lips for a second, hooked on the taste of her.

“Get dressed,” she instructs him, shoving against his chest gently. “Denver needs to go out and we need to bring firewood in to dry.”

Denver loses his mind as they get dressed. He leaps across the floor, tail wagging wildly, and panting like he’s just run a marathon. The bond between Lou and her dog is incredible, so in tune with each other that they hardly even notice Rhett coming up to them to pull on his worn boots.

“You’re gonna freeze to death,” Lou says as he puts on his coat that miraculously made it on the peg as opposed to the middle of the floor, where it usually ends up when he comes to the cabin.

He shrugs, leaning down to peck her lips. “I’ll live,” he mutters, giving her a second kiss. “Don’t have to worry about me, darlin’.”

Lou makes a vaguely disgruntled noise, but doesn’t argue with him further. It’s sweet that she cares, makes his stomach do somersaults and his cheeks feel warm.

Outside, Denver dives headfirst into the mountains of snow. The white parts of his fur blends in while the black stands in contrast. He looks like he’s having the time of his life as he trots alongside them, and Rhett’s almost certain the dog is smiling.

“Don’t you have plenty of firewood inside?” He asks when they arrive at the piles stacked against the back of the cabin.

Lou takes a crate and starts putting logs of wood into it, her breathing coming out like a fine mist while she works. Rhett wants to help, but he feels like he might just be in the way, so he hangs back.

“Apparently the frost is causing power outages right now, so there’s a chance it could hit us too. The backup generator has seen better days, so this is just in case.”

Denver bops his nose against Rhett’s leg, looking at him expectantly. He reaches down and scratches him behind the ear, making him elicit satisfied noises.

“He likes you,” Lou says and takes a step closer.

Standing back to his full height, he wraps an arm around Lou’s shoulder and pulls her to his side. He presses a kiss to her temple. “Can’t imagine why.”

“Alright, cowboy, you get the crate and let’s go back inside.”

“You bossing me around now?”

Grinning, she trudges through the snow back to the front door. Rhett shakes his head, but hauls the crate back to the door without protest.

They lose power around 2 pm.

One minute they’re watching a movie, some holiday house swap romcom Lou insisted he had to watch, and the next the cabin’s dark and quiet.

“How long does it take for the backup generator to kick in?” he asks, and presses a kiss on the top of Lou’s head.

“I’m not sure,” she says, sitting upright and reaching for her phone on the coffee table. A notification pops up on the screen and Rhett reads it with her, frowning.

“We better get a fire going.”

He’s not much help, just hands her the logs and the matches under the watchful eye of Denver, who stands next to him with his eyes trained on Lou.

Afterward she rummages through several drawers looking for candles, and answers a phone call from Carrie Taylor, probably to give an update on the backup generator.

“I brought in wood this morning,” Lou tells her.

Rhett listens to their conversation. All he heard from his family today was when Royal called to shout about where the hell he was, and how behind they would be on ranch chores now that he wasn’t there. It’s moments like those that make it hard not to envy Lou’s relationship with the Taylors. They care about her, check in on her and make sure she’s alright, and the Taylor boys adore her like a big sister.

It’s bad news. The generator isn’t kicking in and needs to be replaced sooner than later, so they’re stuck without power for the foreseeable future.

“Carrie said we’re welcome at the main house,” Lou says while she lights candles on various surfaces. “We’d have to make our way through the snow somehow and they don’t have power either, but they’re more stocked up on groceries and blankets than I am.”

“Do you wanna go?”

She contemplates for a moment, that crinkle between her brows appearing. “No,” she says finally and wraps her arms around his waist. “At least not yet.”

“Okay,” he mutters and kisses her hair, enjoying the scent of her lavender shampoo. He excuses himself to go to the bathroom and looks at himself in the mirror while washing his hands. He still looks the same. His brown hair is messy and in need of a trim, blue eyes, and a hint of stubble along his jaw. He looks taller, though, like he doesn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He dries his hands, opens the door, and leans against the doorframe, watching Lou get settled on the couch. She’s surrounded by candles, bathed in the glow from the fireplace, and she’s running a hand over Denver’s fur while he snuggles into her.

Rhett can’t help but smile at the view, a longing he can’t quite describe settling deep inside his chest. It’s unfamiliar, but not entirely uncomfortable.

Lou opens a book, but closes it again when she realizes she can’t see the words clearly. Hearing Rhett’s footsteps behind her, she throws a quick glance over her shoulder. “Were you okay in there? I should have given you a candle.”

Smiling, he holds out his hand to her. Lou looks up at him, eyes confused, and that divot between her brows looks deeper than usual.

“Dance with me?”

She grins and warmth spreads through his chest. “You dance?” she asks, but lets him pull her to her feet, anyway. The book that was on her lap hits the floor with a thud.

“Not really,” he admits, placing his hand on her lower back. “But I can sway.”

“Swaying works,” she says and rests her head on his chest, cheek pressed against the place where his heart thunders.

They move like that for what feels like ages, only illuminated by fire and candlelight. Denver naps on the couch, unbothered by the cold and relative darkness. Rhett is scared shitless of how natural this feels. Not just being with Lou in those stolen nighttime rendezvous moments, but like this, living with her.

“Rhett?”

He hums in response.

“What are we doing?”

He frowns. “Dancing,” he replies, squeezing the hand of hers he’s holding. “I thought that was obvious.”

She lifts her head from his chest and looks up at him with those unnervingly dark eyes. “No, I mean, what are we doing, like, together? Are we dating? Friends who have occasional but really good sex or just people who have sex because we’re lonely and need a warm body to get lost in?”

He’s so surprised by her question that he stops moving. How can she not know? He hasn’t said it, but thinks it’s obvious that he feels something for her.

He takes a deep breath, mentally preparing to put his heart on the line. “This is real to me,” he tells her seriously. “This is not just physical, even though that part is great. Lou, I used my niece as an excuse to ask you to come see me at the rodeo.”

“You did?” She’s smiling now, and Rhett feels like his heart has grown to ten times its normal size.

He nods. “Kinda. She wanted to see you again, but so did I.”

She chuckles, but there’s a wetness in the sound that makes him realize she has tears running down her cheeks. In his defense, it’s hard to see in the firelight.

Reaching down, he wipes the tears away. “I’m yours, Lou Kinney. If you’ll have me.”

She rises to her feet, cradling his face between her hands and kisses him. Deep and real.

It occurs to him that this is what comfort feels like. He’s not just a warm body, not just a good time. Lou likes him, wants him. All of him, even the messy parts and the things he can’t change, and he feels her pour that knowledge into him as they kiss.

Placing his hands on her waist, he pushes her back towards the bed, and she stumbles with him. She laughs and licks into his mouth until the back of her knees hit the bed and she falls on her back.

He stands at the foot of the bed, watching her lie there. Dark hair fanned out like a halo around her face. Expectant and excited smile on her face, and that double chin that appears from this angle is still one of the things he likes most about her.

He crawls on the bed and hovers over her, watching as she bites her lip, driving him wild. “Do you know what you do to me?”

She smirks, hands roaming over his neck and chest. Leaning up, she captures his mouth in a breathtaking kiss that makes him drop on top of her.

She giggles into his mouth, one of the sweetest sounds he’s ever known. “I can feel it,” she breathes against his lips. Her hand travels down his chest, down his abdomen, and he can’t help the hiss that escapes his throat when she presses her palm against his hardening cock. “Ready for round three, cowboy?”

He pants into her mouth as she rubs her hand against his clothed cock. “Thought it was round two,” he mutters through strangled breaths while his hips start grinding against Lou’s hand of their own volition.

“I’m counting last night,” she tells him and flips them over so he’s on his back. He whines at the loss of contact with his cock, but he’s amazed at Lou’s strength.

She places open-mouthed kisses to his cheek, his throat, pulls at his t-shirt to expose his collarbone. His hands rest lightly on her hips, never pushing her or demanding more.

Her mouth is fire on his skin, and the part of him that longs to decide how this goes is awfully quiet. He’s surrendering to Lou’s touch and doesn’t hate it.

She moves further down his body, pushing the bottom of his t-shirt up, exposing his skin to the cold air, and she kisses the ridges of his abdomen. He’s powerless, lost in the knowledge of where this is going and loving every second.

Reaching for his jeans, she undoes the button and pulls the zip down. He’s panting and so desperate for her hands on his cock again that his hips jerk at just the slightest brush through the fabric of his boxers.

“Someone’s sensitive,” she hums with a breathy chuckle against his pubic bone.

He groans, pulling at his own hair to avoid pushing Lou too far. He wants her hands and mouth on him, wants her to suck his soul from him and thank her for choosing him afterward.

He groans again. “You’re killing me, darlin’.”

She looks up at him, dark eyes hooded with lust and mischief. “Take off your pants then,” she commands. “Let me put you out of your misery.”

He doesn’t have to be told twice. Sitting up, he rids himself of his jeans and boxers in record time, but doesn’t lie back immediately. Instead, he reaches for Lou, kisses her lips, and pulls the hoodie over her head, sending it to the floor in the pile with his own clothes.

She pushes at his chest until he’s laying on his back, eyes concentrated on the ceiling. Lou kisses his exposed skin, scrapes her teeth across his hip bone and smoothes it over with her hot tongue.

He’s rock hard, and desperate to be touched. For her hands, her mouth, literally anything to satisfy him somehow. Her palms are hot on his exposed thighs and his breath hitches every time they get close to where he wants her the most.

He’s on the verge of begging her to touch him when her mouth closes around the tip of his cock. Letting out a strangled moan, he grips the comforter and gets lost in the feeling of Lou’s tongue flattening against the underside of him. Her hand holds on to the base, the parts she can’t reach with her mouth, and Rhett swears he’s in heaven when she starts bobbing her head.

His moans fill the air and babbling sounds that are supposed to be words fill the air. He’s pretty sure he’s never gotten head like this before. He likes to guide the women who suck him off, but Lou knows him and knows what he likes, and he can’t find it in himself to be embarrassed about letting her lead.

She pulls off him with a loud pop, making Rhett almost whine at the loss of her mouth, but she just grins and leans up to kiss him. He can taste his own pre-cum on her tongue.

“Scoot up a little, cowboy,” she says, her voice deep and sultry. She’s a little out of breath and he can just about make out saliva in the corners of her mouth. The sight is mesmerizing.

He does as he’s told, leaning his back against the headboard, and Lou crawls up the bed with him. Kisses his lips once before returning her attention to his cock. The red and swollen head is covered in an obscene amount of pre-cum, and he’d be embarrassed if Lou didn’t lap it up like it’s her last meal.

“Fuuuck…” he mutters and fists the comforter when she takes him back into her mouth and hollows out her cheeks. “That’s it, darlin’, so good for me.”

She reaches for his hand and places it into her hair, then looks up at him and gives him an encouraging nod. She knows he wants to feel her head moving under his palm as she brings him to the edge. He’s so in love with her that he takes back some of that control he gave up so willingly.

“So good,” he mumbles, followed by a strained groan as he tries to hold on just a little longer. She’s gripping the base of his cock tighter, letting him move her head up and down on him, and he’s fascinated with the sight. “Doing so good, baby. Fuck, I’m so close.”

He pushes her head a little too hard, making her gag and splutter. He tries to stop, but she holds his hand in place. Their eyes meet and she gives him a nod, encouraging him to keep going. So he does.

His thighs tremble as her tongue flattens against the vein on the underside of his cock, and he’s right there on the edge. “Shit, baby, if you keep going I’m gonna cum.”

She doesn’t stop, determined to get him off with just her mouth, and he’s in awe of her as she works him to the edge. Then he’s spilling over into her mouth with a drawn-out moan, and she swallows as much of his cum as she can.

“Oh my god,” he mumbles and throws an arm over his eyes. His whole body still vibrates with the aftershocks of his orgasm, all his limbs completely drained of energy.

Lou gets off the bed and goes to the bathroom. He can hear her rummaging around, the faucet turning on and off, and she comes back holding a damp washcloth. “Here,” she says when she reaches the bed. “You need to clean up.”

She sits on the edge, watching him hiss at the touch to his sensitive cock, and accepts the washcloth once he’s done. He’s never been with anyone who makes a point of cleaning him after sex, but Lou always has, and he likes that about her.

After throwing the cloth in the wash, they climb under the covers, and Rhett takes Lou into her arms. She rests her head on his chest and breathes him in.

“Can’t believe I’m your girlfriend now,” she says, stifling a yawn.

Rhett smiles to himself, pulling Lou just a little closer. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too.”

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TAGLIST: @joaquinwhorres, @bradshawsbaby, @kmc1989, @callsign-magnolia, @cherrycola27, @desert-fern, @purplevortexx, @fandom-princess-forevermore, @eternallyvenus, @hangmandruigandmav, @keyrani, @linkpk88, @attapullman, @sebsxphia

#rhett abbott #rhett abbott x oc #outer range #rhett abbott fic #outer range fic #lewis pullman #otp: rhett x lou #oc: lou kinney #fic: linger #holiday fic #writtenbyme #mywriting #helenawrites #madebyme #helena writes

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bobfloydsbabe · 8 months

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heartbeat | rhett abbott x oc | a linger blurb

SUMMARY: Lou has news to share with Rhett

WARNINGS: pregnancy

WORD COUNT: 740

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A/N: I word vomited this last night and decided to share it even though it's waaaaay down the timeline of the actual fic. I'm adding everyone on the official Linger taglist, as well as the people who showed interest earlier. Enjoy!

“Rhett?”

“Yeah?” he answers without turning around from where he stands at the sink, washing their mugs from earlier that morning.

Lou wrings her hands, heart beating wildly in her chest. “I have to tell you something.”

She watches his shoulders tense, his entire body going rigid. He reaches for a dish towel, drying his hands as he turns around to face her. His expression is stony, his eyes hard, and his mouth is a straight line. Lou’s stomach clenches and she feels sick.

“What’s going on?”

Tears prickle in her eyes. She can tell Rhett is primed for bad news, maybe even betrayal–so used to being put aside for the sake of others. “Will you sit?”

Putting the dish towel down, he crosses the room and sits on the couch. Lou sits on the coffee table, facing him, their knees bumping against each other, making her chuckle. She peers up at him, hoping to see the tension gone from his shoulders, but no such luck.

She opens her mouth, but Rhett beats her to it.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

Lou flinches, drawing back. “What?” It’s like a gut punch and the word sounds breathless.

He keeps going. “I know this isn’t the life you wanted, but we can do something else. We can leave Wabang, just don’t leave me–”

To make her usually quiet and gruff cowboy stop talking, she places her palms on either side of his face, pulls him to her and kisses him.

His shock is palpable from the way he freezes, but he recovers quickly, and kisses her back with a fervor that reminds her of their first kiss. His hands cradle her neck, move into her hair, and she holds onto the front of his t-shirt like her life depends on it, keeping him close.

Out of breath, she pulls away and stares into those bright blue eyes she loves so much.

“I’m not breaking up with you,” she whispers, giving his lips another quick peck.

“Good,” he says, voice rumbling and finally the corners of his mouth turn up. “You scared me.”

Her heart aches for him. He’s so used to being pushed aside for the sake of others and their needs that he’s terrified of people leaving. If Lou could go back in time and convince little Rhett that he deserves to take up space, that he’s loved and cared for, she would do it without a second thought.

“I’m sorry,” she tells him. “Can I tell you the thing now?”

He chuckles, pecking her lips. She takes that as a yes.

She leans back, reaching around to the back pocket of her jeans, and hands Rhett the stick with a very clear message on it. He takes it from her with an adorable furrow between his brows. Flipping it over, his eyes dart to the little display immediately.

His eyes grow to the size of teacups as his head whips up. “You’re pregnant?”

His voice is small, serious but anxious, and Lou doesn’t blame him for that. It’s a lot to process, and completely unexpected. Unplanned too.

“I am,” she confirms. “Dr. Bailey thinks I’m about 10 weeks along.”

He looks down at the test again, running his thumb over the display that clearly tells him it’s real. PREGNANT.

He’s so still that Lou almost thinks he’s having a stroke, but then a drop falls on his hand and she realizes he’s crying. Reaching for his hands, she brings them into her lap and it looks comical with her much smaller ones holding his.

“Rhett,” she says. “Please say something.”

He lifts his head then, tears trickling down his cheeks. “We’re gonna need a bigger place.”

Lou laughs. He’s not wrong. She takes the test out of his hand, puts it down on the table next to her, and crawls into his lap, her thighs on either side of his. Snaking her arms around his neck, her fingers play with the wavy ends of the hair at his nape.

“Tell me you’re happy about this,” she whispers, pulse racing.

“Darlin’, these are happy tears,” he tells her matter-of-factly as his big, warm hands land on her hips. “Can’t believe we’re gonna have a baby.”

One hand slides to her belly where a new life is growing, half Rhett and half Lou. All love.

“I love you,” she says, leaning her forehead against his. “You’re gonna be an amazing dad.”

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bobfloydsbabe · 8 months

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Back again to share that I just thought of Rhett riding a horse around the property with his little girls sitting in front of him.

Also Denver being protective of Hazel & Olive and always sleeping between the cribs or at Rhett's feet if he's holding them.

My brain has been all twin girl dad Rhett for days now, so I took your second headcanon and ran with it. So, enjoy this cute and sappy 500 word blurb. Love you!

“Hey,” Rhett half-whispers as he picks Hazel up from her crib, holding on to Olive who’s already on his other arm. “There we go.”

Juggling one baby is hard, but twins are a different thing entirely. He manages, though, and after three months, he may even have the hang of it. So picking up both of them, carrying them downstairs and out onto the porch, doesn’t feel all that intimidating anymore.

He sits on a chair, adjusting his hold on each of the girls, and leans back. The weather’s getting colder now, but on this day the sun beats down from a bright blue sky, not a cloud in sight, and there’s nothing Rhett likes more than this view and his daughters nestled against him.

The sound of paws padding across wooden floors comes from inside the house, and the next moment Denver, the black and white Border Collie, appears on the porch. He’s much older now than when he first met Lou and her loyal companion, his muzzle growing whiter by the day.

Denver raises his head, sniffing each of the girls’ hair, and then settles at his feet. Rhett remembers the first time he found Denver sleeping between the cribs, keeping watch over the youngest and most vulnerable members of his pack. His family. He’d taken a picture and Lou cried when he showed her.

Knowing Denver would protect them with his life makes it easier to sleep at night.

He’s not sure how long he sits there. Both his daughters wake up at some point, making Denver shoot to his feet to check on them. He sniffs their heads again and leans his muzzle on Rhett’s thigh, just looking at the girls as they coo and smile. Hazel even grabs hold of one of his ears and yanks hard, but Denver doesn’t flinch–he just places a gentle lick on her cheek.

Eventually they fall back asleep and Denver settles back down. His arms are sore from holding them so long in the same position, but he doesn’t have it in him to move. Not even when Lou pulls into the driveway.

He watches her walk around the truck, taking in the sight of him. A fond smile spreads across her beautiful and tired face as she crosses the drive and joins him in the chair next to his.

“Want me to take them?”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Maybe just one,” he agrees.

Standing, she reaches for Olive, who’s closest and once the weight is off him, blood rushes back to his fingers, and he can finally adjust Hazel’s position.

He turns his head towards Lou, who’s smiling down at her sleeping daughter. Rhett feels his heart swell at the sight, and his thoughts drift to the velvet box in the back of their closet wrapped in an old flannel.

They’re doing everything backwards, but Rhett doesn’t mind. It fits who they are. Restless souls who found each other at the right time, and the life they’ve built only makes sense with her.

It will only ever make sense with her.

TWIN GIRL DAD RHETT SUPREMACY. That's it. That's the thought.

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bobfloydsbabe · 4 days

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arranged marriage Rhett just has a portrait of her and a dream, to have the sweetest little wife there is who loves him for HIM, not his family’s land

Absolutely, my dear anon. The marriage was arranged when he was just a kid, but that doesn't stop him from getting around. He doesn't know who the woman is or if he'll even like her. In fact, he spends his youth pretending he has a choice in the matter, and sometimes, he even begs his parents to end the agreement, but they never budge.

Then one day, when he’s in his mid-twenties, a letter arrives. It's from her. She's of age and has been for a while, actually, but now she's ready to settle down. She asks him to call on her. Inside the letter is a photograph of her, black and white, but he can tell she's pretty. Prettier than he imagined. He wears his Sunday best and ignores the knot in his stomach on the ride over.

He meets her and is immediately smitten. He expects a meek young woman, but she holds her head high and proud. Mind you, she's inexperienced and innocent as the day she was born, and once they're married, he teaches her all about pleasure and being wicked. He relishes in corrupting her and becomes borderline obsessed with breeding her.

He loves her, but it takes a while for him to realize the feeling is mutual. It's when she stands up for him with his parents that he knows. They married to make sure her family had more access to land, and the Abbotts have access to her family's fortune, so love wasn't in the cards for them. It's a happy accident when they do fall in love.

Thank you for indulging me, anon, and I'm so sorry it took me a couple of days to reply. I appreciate you!

#mail #answered #anonymous #rhett abbott x oc #rhett abbott #rhett abbott fic #arranged marriage au #historical romance au #outer range #outer range fic #otp: rhett x lou #oc: lou kinney #lewis pullman

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bobfloydsbabe · 3 months

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I wish you would write an arranged marriage AU fic with Rhett and Lou. I can see Rhett coming off as so stoic but on the inside, he's just worried he's going to look like a fool in front of her! Also idk why but arranged marriage AU and Rhett just sounds like they go together

I have been staring at this all day because it's actually such a good idea for Rhett and Lou. Make it happen at the turn of the 20th century for extra intrigue. I went a little overboard and actually wrote a ~400 word blurb. Enjoy ✨

It’s for the family, Rhett reminds himself as he stands in the main lounge of the Kinney home. He’s trying not to bite the inside of his cheek or pick at his cuticles with little success.

“She’ll be down in just a minute,” Owen Kinney says as he comes back into the lounge. It’s not encouraging that it’s taking her this long to come meet him, especially because it was her letter that set these events in motion.

Despite being arranged while he was still a baby, he has never met his future wife. Apparently Louisa Kinney is a great beauty with dark hair and even darker eyes, and her photograph certainly reflects that. It’s burning against his chest from its place in his breast pocket.

Rhett opens his mouth to say something–anything–to his future father-in-law when he hears voices on from the stairwell.

“Mama, there is no need to fuss,” a voice scolds.

“You must look your best, dove, or he might not marry you.”

Owen gives him an apologetic look, but Rhett’s heart pounds in his chest. Louisa’s voice sounds like a song calling him home, and he admires her for telling her mother off.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” she scoffs, finally entering the lounge in a flurry of skirts and huffing sounds. Spotting him, she stops in her tracks. “You must be Rhett Abbott.”

He’s stunned. Mesmerized. He has a photograph of her, but it doesn’t compare to the woman standing in front of him. Dark hair pinned up the in fashion of the season, but with unruly curls falling out in several places. Her eyes aren’t just dark, but nearly black and expressive. He feels scrutinized under her gaze. Seen.

She’s watching him, waiting for a response.

Clearing his throat, he offers her a quick bow. “Forgive me, miss. Yes, I’m Rhett Abbott.”

“I see,” she says and folds her hands in front of her skirts. “I suppose you’ll do.”

Her mother gasps. “LOUISA!”

While she’s apologizing, Rhett tries to suppress the smile threatening to spread across his face at her impertinence. Suddenly, an arranged marriage doesn’t sound so bad if he’s marrying a woman like her.

i wish you'd write a fic where...

#mail #answered #withahappyrefrain #rhett abbott #rhett abbott fic #rhett abbott x oc #otp: rhett x lou #oc: lou kinney #fic: linger #fic: linger (arranged marriage au)#lewis pullman

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bobfloydsbabe · 8 months

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Dad!Rhett FatheroftheYear!Rhett Daddy!Rhett

I need it all yesterday

Ask and you shall receive. Self-control? Never heard of her.

Pushing the door to the nursery open, she finds Rhett in the rocking chair with both girls in his arms. He’s humming a tune she can’t quite place, and Olive pushes a tiny palm against his bare chest as if asking him to stop.

They’re going to be so embarrassed when they grow up and Rhett sings along to the radio. The man can’t carry a tune, but his gravelly voice will be a comfort to his daughters as much as it is to Lou.

She leans against the doorframe, wondering how it’s possible to be even more in love with him than she already is. “Hey,” she says, keeping her voice low.

The humming stops as he looks up at her, eyelids heavy from lack of sleep. Still, he smiles. “Hey.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I…” he stops himself, sighing deeply. “They weren’t crying. I just wanted to hold them.”

Girl Dad Rhett, but make it Twin Girl Dad Rhett. Hazel and Olive are so lucky to have him as their dad, and Lou is so fucking lucky to have a sexy daddy like him.

#mail #answered #joaquinwhorres #rhett abbott x oc #rhett abbott #otp: lou x rhett #oc: lou kinney #fic: linger blurbs

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bobfloydsbabe · 6 months

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I'm thinking about Twin Girl Dad!Rhett tonight and how those kids will never be without love. They'll grow up in a house filled with warmth and laughter, on a ranch with plenty of space to run, horses to ride, and dogs following them around. He takes them out to get cowboy boots and hats, and uses one of the many pictures he took as his lock screen. He teaches them to ride bikes and kisses the pain away when they scrape their knees. He eventually teaches them to drive too, and he can't help but smile and shake his head when they start arguing over who should be allowed to borrow his truck.

Just Twin Girl Dad!Rhett never letting his girls feel the kind of distance and coldness he grew up with. They will never doubt how loved and wanted they are.

#helena rants #rhett abbott #twin girl dad rhett #he's back #and i love him #rhett abbott fluff #oc: olive abbott #outer range #oc: hazel abbott #oc: lou kinney #otp: rhett x lou #fic: linger

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bobfloydsbabe · 1 year

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LINGER | rhett abbott x oc | chapter 2

two: something in the air

SUMMARY: Rhett Abbott is stuck. He rides bulls, works on his family’s ranch, and probably drinks more than what’s good for him.

Lou Kinney is aimless. She never stays in one place for long, driving from state to state, and picking up odd jobs along the way.

So when she shows up in Wabang, Rhett’s life tumbles into free fall and Lou’s not sure she trusts herself to catch him. But maybe these two lost souls find exactly what they didn’t know they were looking for: each other.

masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

WARNINGS: angst, bull riding inaccuracies, horses/ranching inaccuracies, i don't understand american culture but i try.

WORD COUNT: 3k

JOIN THE TAGLIST (google form–no personal info required)

special thanks to @wkndwlff for helping me name some side characters, being a reference point to everything about the show, and for listening to me rant about this for hours on end. You're a darling!

He comes home to a dark and quiet house. There’s a candle burning in the windowsill that his Ma must’ve forgotten before going to bed. He blows it out for her, engulfing the house in blackness.

He drags his feet up the stairs, the scraping of his boots on the wooden floors sounding like a marching drum in the darkness. He shouldn’t. His Ma always told him to lift his feet, but they’re all asleep so it won’t bother them.

Not that he cares. He’s usually too drunk to see straight.

Not tonight, though.

He walks into the bathroom and looks at himself in the mirror. His Ma’s been complaining about his hair for a while, but he likes it longer. It makes him look older, and it curls at the nape. The girls seem to like that there’s something to tug on and he likes it when they do.

He brushes his teeth slowly, pacing as much as the small bathroom will allow.

He spits the toothpaste out, watching as it disappears down the drain with the water. His eyes return to the reflection in the mirror, and it’s a sad sight staring back at him.

He always meant to get out of Wabang. Maybe go to college, get a degree, make something of himself that didn’t involve the ranch or his family. Make a name for himself somewhere no one knows him or expects anything from him. But all he sees now is a guy who rides bulls to win his father’s love, who’s always played second fiddle to his brother, who’s a good-for-nothing cowboy.

He turns the faucet back on and splashes water in his face, trying to wash away the pathetic boy in the mirror.

He closes his eyes and imagines getting out, but he only allows himself the indulgence for a few seconds before he turns the water off and shakes his head. The only person he can’t bear to leave behind is Amy.

When he walks back to his room, he lifts his feet. It’s only midnight, after all. Once inside, he toes off his boots, gets undressed, and falls into bed. The bedframe creaks and complains as he adjusts on the shitty mattress that should probably have been replaced a decade ago.

Placing a hand behind his head, he stares at the ceiling. He listens to the sounds of the land that surrounds him. A horse whinnying in the stables, a sleepy cough from someone in the house, the hallway clock ticking away outside his door.

His thoughts turn to Lou. She’s an outsider, yet somehow, she fits right in as if she’s been here the whole time. She knows this life. She knows ranching; she knows about bull-riding; she knows how to make small-town people, like Patty and Old Man Arthur, smile and laugh. She puts people at ease in a way only someone who’s familiar with towns like this does.

Beyond that, and the fact that she has a dog, he knows nothing about her. He doesn’t even know the color of her eyes, but he thinks they’re dark. Probably brown.

He turns on his side, the good one where his shoulder doesn’t hurt, and closes his eyes. He thinks it’ll be a while, considering he’s not drunk, but sleep takes him almost immediately.

He wakes up well-rested but sore. His shoulder is still achy and stiff, but it’s a lot more manageable, and his lack of a hangover probably has something to do with it, too.

Only his Ma is up when he comes downstairs freshly showered and dressed for the day. He pretends not to notice the shocked look on her face and appreciates that she doesn’t comment on it.

She pours coffee into a mug and hands it to him. “Thanks,” he mutters and sits at the dining table.

She leans against the kitchen counter, looking at him with skeptical eyes. “When did you get in?”

“Around midnight.”

She smiles into her coffee cup, and Rhett swears he hasn’t seen that directed at him in months.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she replies, but the smile doesn’t fade. “You just don’t smell like a distillery for once.”

“I can swim in a whiskey barrel if that helps.”

His mother laughs, and the sound bounces off the walls, filling the room with lightness. Her face has been etched with seriousness for far too long, and watching her smile sends relief flooding through his system.

Heavy footsteps on the stairs tears his attention away. Perry stops at the bottom of the stairs, watching his brother and mother in the kitchen making jokes and laughing. Rhett knows it’s a foreign sight.

“Mornin’,” Perry says, eyes slightly narrowed.

Rhett hums in response just as Amy slips under Perry’s arm and bolts for a seat at the table. Ma kisses her cheek, placing a plate of toast in front of her she tears into immediately.

Rhett ruffles her hair, and she shakes him off with a playful look on her face. Those big eyes shine with innocence and if he could bottle it up, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

“Is Dad already out there?” Perry asks, as if their father hasn’t been up at the crack of dawn all his life.

Rhett shakes his head and rises from his seat, snatching a small corner of toast off Amy’s plate.

“Hey!” she protests. “Get your own.”

Royal sends him to the south pasture to check the fences. He rides along the fence, his breath comes out in a puff of hazy smoke, and enjoys the warmth of the morning sun on his face.

An unexpected sound pulls his attention. He turns his head towards it and spots Lou in the distance. She’s on horseback, Stetson on her head, and her dog running alongside her.

They make eye contact, and Rhett raises his hand in a small wave. He wants to approach, talk to her again, hear her laugh and finally determine the true color of her eyes.

She decides for him as she guides her horse, a beautiful red one with soulful eyes, towards him. Her dog falls behind, sizing him up, and Rhett has never felt more under the microscope than under the watchful eye of the black and white dog.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she says once he’s in earshot, smile wide and friendly on her face. It makes her look younger.

“Yeah,” he agrees.

Once they’re right in front of each other, he can finally tell that her eyes are brown. Deep, like the desert on the darkest night of the year. Stunning.

They ride alongside each other for a while in comfortable silence, only a fence separating them. Hooves heavy on the wet ground from a bygone rainfall he missed during his long sleep, and the jiggle of the collar on Lou’s dog as it runs ahead of the horses.

“What’s his name?” Rhett asks, mostly because he doesn’t know what else to say.

“Denver,” she replies, a small smile on her face again. “I call him Denny most of the time, though.”

The dog halts at the sound of his name, looking over his shoulder at Lou and Rhett. She whistles, a different tone to the one he heard the first time he saw her, and the dog keeps going.

“You riding this Friday?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Gotta do well if I want to move up.”

It’s been on the books for weeks and yet he’s surprised she knows about it. It’s a local event, but it counts towards his score to get the regional competition.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she replies, and she sounds so confident he almost believes it, too. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Better.”

Up ahead, Denver barks at what appears to be a stick on the ground, making Lou shake her head at him with a breathy chuckle. “Silly dog,” she mutters.

Silence stretches between them again, but it’s comfortable. He doesn’t feel the need to fill it this time. He feels Blazer’s muscles move with every step he takes, listens to hooves hitting the ground softly, Denver’s collar jiggle, and somehow the air in Wabang doesn’t feel so stifling.

Maybe he’s imagining it, though. Wouldn’t be the first time.

“You coming to the rodeo?”

He turns his head to Lou, his ears burning hot at the question he’s just asked. He expects to see a smile on her face, but her mouth is in a straight line, jaw clenched, and she’s fiddling with a loose stitch on the reins in her hands.

“I don’t know,” she finally says, barely perceptible shake of her head. “Haven’t been to one in years.”

Rhett hums. He watches as she keeps fiddling with the reins, similar to the way she picked at the label on her beer bottle last night until it was gone. Nothing but a pile of tattered paper on the counter.

“Amy’ll be there,” he tells her. “I’m sure she’d be happy to see you.”

It’s a long shot, and a cheap one at that, but he can’t help it. Something tells him it’s important she comes to the rodeo, to see him ride, and maybe even cheer for him.

“Hunter has been begging me to go,” Lou says with a ghost of a smile back on her face. Barely there but present, and his chest feels lighter. If he’s not mistaken, Hunter is the younger of the two Taylor boys.

“Now you have to go,” he says. In the distance, Denver comes to a halt and waits for them to catch up.

“You think so?”

He grins. “I know so.”

She chuckles as she checks her wristwatch. “I have to head back,” she tells him and whistles in yet another tone that makes Denver come running to her. “I have a new client arriving in 10 minutes.”

“Yeah, alright,” he mutters.

He watches her gently pull the reins away from the fence, and her mare obediently follows the command. Lou softly kicks her heels into the horse’s rounded belly, making it set into a trot.

“See you around,” she shouts over her shoulder, waving a hand in the air.

Rhett’s eyes follow her retreating figure until she’s out of sight, swallowed by the fog that’s finally lifting, making way for bright and clear day.

The day of the rodeo rolls around a few days later. Humidity hangs in the air, with dark autumn clouds looming, threatening the possibility of a good ride for him. He silently prays for the rain to hold off until later.

Royal talks about Rhett’s stats and how many points he needs to move up as they walk towards the area for riders. Amy skips ahead of them, Perry not far behind, and his Ma seems to have gone off somewhere on her own.

“You’ll need to last those eight seconds tonight,” Royal says.

Rhett grunts as way of a reply, but his mind is miles away. There’s something different about tonight that’s setting him on edge, but it’s not the nerves he usually experiences before a ride.

Royal leaves him to get ready on his own. Rhett pulls his chaps on, secures them, grabs his gloves and safety vest, and goes to the fence to watch his opponents ride. The bulls seem wild tonight, bucking more than he’s seen any of them do in a while.

A coordinator calls his name, letting him know it’s time to get to the chute.

He slips the vest over his shoulders and as he’s securing the velcro straps on his side, Lou appears in his periphery. He’s close enough to the edge of the area reserved for riders that she can come to him, only separated by a rope.

“You came,” he says.

“Yeah,” she agrees, looking over her shoulder towards the stands. “Hunter is very convincing.”

“You should find Amy,” he tells her. “She keeps begging my brother to take her to Oak Creek for a lesson.”

The sound of Lou’s quiet laugh bounces around his chest and settles in his stomach. He can’t help the corners of his mouth turning upward.

“She’s more than welcome,” Lou says. “I just wanted to wish you good luck.”

He cocks his head slightly, eyes trained on hers. “Yeah?” She nods. “Thank you.”

The coordinator calls him again, and when he makes eye contact with him over his shoulder, Rhett knows he can’t push it any further. He looks back at Lou, and opens his mouth to say something, but she beats him to it.

“You got this,” she says, reaching up to his hat, taking hold of the brim. His breath hitches, thinking she’s going to take it off him, but she just adjusts it. Heat rushes to his cheeks.

Her hands fall back at her side as she meets his eyes. Rhett barely hears the announcer on the loudspeaker saying he’s next because the only thing that exists is him and the woman with the soft smile in front of him.

“I gotta go,” he says eventually, not sure how long has actually passed.

Lou nods, wishes him one final good luck, and turns around, heading towards the stands to rejoin the Taylors.

He weaves in and out of people and trailers to get to his chute. He tapes the glove to his hand before climbing up the ramp, easing himself down onto the bull where he wraps the rope tightly around his hand, taking deep breaths as he does. The black bull writhes in the chute, ready to buck him off as soon as he gives the go ahead.

He gives the nod of approval and the door springs open. His bad shoulder aches as he’s thrown around, but he holds on with all he’s got. Eight seconds feels like a lifetime when you’re on a bull.

He hits the sand with a thud loud enough that he can hear it over the crowd cheering, the announcer’s voice ringing in the air, and the stomping of the bull he just got tossed from.

He flexes his fingers inside the gloves before pressing his palms flat against the ground. He pushes himself up, slowly getting to his feet until he’s standing at his full height, eyes flicking towards the raging bull as it’s wrangled into a pen behind the ring. It was a mean one tonight.

He rolls his shoulders as he looks at the scoreboard, finding his name at the top. He did good, but there are more riders after him, so it’s still not a done deal. He could use the money, though. The points, too.

As he climbs over the fence to get out of the ring, his eyes turn to the stands where he sees his family still cheering for him, and he lifts his hand in a wave. Say what you will about Rhett’s family, but at least they show up at his competitions and roots for him.

The rest of the riders are halfway decent, and by the end of the night, Rhett is in second place. That new kid he can’t remember the name of beat him by the skin of his teeth, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Rhett’s still young, but it stings that this kid, who looks fresh out of high school, did better than him.

He joins up with his family, who all congratulate him. Royal gives him tips on how he can do better next time, but it sounds more like he’s reprimanding him like he did when he was ten.

Rhett knows the first prize money would have been better for the ranch, and he tries not to resent them for spending the money he’s earned by putting himself in harm’s way. Some days it’s easier said than done.

“I saw Miss Kinney,” Amy tells him, her eyes bright and smile wide. “She said I could come see her work.”

“That’s great,” he says, ruffling her hair.

“You coming with us?” Cecilia asks, probably hoping he won’t go to the bar this time. He’s sure some part of her knows it’s a lost cause.

“Nah, I’m gonna stick around,” he says, and ignores the displeased look on his Ma’s face.

They say their goodbyes, and when they step out of the way, Lou is walking towards him. Her boots kick up dirt, her hands buried in the pockets of her jacket, and she’s taken her hair down so it frames her face.

“Hey,” he says when she gets close enough.

“I guess congratulations are in order,” she says, stopping in front of him. “Didn’t I say you could do it?”

He huffs out a humorless laugh. “I didn’t win.”

“But you placed,” she points out as another rider walks past them toward the parking lot.

“You coming for a drink, Abbott?” He asks, walking backward until Rhett yells his agreement.

He turns his attention back to Lou, who’s pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, and his eyes trail the movement of her hand.

“What do you say?”

She frowns, tilting her head to the side, and Rhett wants to smooth out the crinkle between her brows. “To what?”

“Wanna get a drink?”

She tilts her head further, but there’s a teasing smile at the corner of her mouth. “Only if you’re buying,” she says, spinning on her heel and starts walking towards the rows of trucks in the distance.

He shakes his head, a grin so wide it almost hurts. “Yes, ma’am,” he says and catches up to her in a few long strides.

“I carpooled with the Taylors here, so you’re driving, too.”

A/N: The next chapter is going to be all from Lou's perspective, so we get to know her a bit more. Thank you so much for reading, and don't forget to reblog if you liked it!

TAGLIST: @wkndwlff, @joaquinwhorres, @fandom-princess-forevermore, @chicomonks, @thedroneranger, @dhwanishah09, @callsign-cacti, @chickensarentcheap, @lt-bradshaw, @cherrycola27, @hismissharley13, @bradshawsbitch, @yanna-banana, @phoenixhalliwell, @rhettabbotts, @laracrofted, @everbizzare, @t-nd-rfoot, @callsign-joyride, @angelbabyyy99

#rhett abbott #rhett abbott x oc #rhett abbott x reader #rhett abbott fic #lewis pullman #oc: lou kinney #outer range #otp: lou x rhett #fic: linger #chapter update #helenawrites #writtenbyme #mywriting #madebyme #still nervous as fuck to post this

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bobfloydsbabe · 1 year

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LINGER | rhett abbott x oc | chapter 1

one: hey cowboy

SUMMARY: Rhett Abbott is stuck. He rides bulls, works on his family’s ranch, and probably drinks more than what’s good for him.

Lou Kinney is aimless. She never stays in one place for long, driving from state to state, and picking up odd jobs along the way.

masterlist | next chapter

WARNINGS: alcohol consumption, horses/ranching/bull riding inaccuracies, i don't understand american culture but i try.

WORD COUNT: 2.5k

JOIN THE TAGLIST (google form–no personal info required)

He’s sitting in his truck in the parking lot of the general store the first time he sees her.

She’s wearing jeans, sensible boots, and a denim jacket. Her dark hair is in a soft braid that rests against her back. He watches her open the door to the cab of her truck. She whistles once and a black and white dog effortlessly jumps in, crawling across the bench seat and lies down.

Rhett doesn’t recognize her, figures she’s passing through town like so many before her. No one stays in Wabang unless they were born here, and this girl definitely wasn’t.

So, safe to say, Rhett’s a little surprised when he sees her nursing a beer at the Handsome Gambler later in the week. Even more so when he stops by the diner for coffee and lunch a week after that, and sees her laughing with Patty, who owns the place.

She offers him a small acknowledging nod when she passes him on her way out, her dog trailing behind her happily. Patty rarely allows dogs in her diner.

A month passes before he learns her name. He’s walking into the feed store when he hears Old Man Arthur call her Louisa. She corrects him and says it’s Lou.

She’s walking away, her dog once again following closely behind, when Rhett comes up to the counter to pick up their order.

Lou suits her, he decides.

A few days later, Amy comes skipping into the house, waving a piece of paper in the air with a bright smile on her face. Her friend from school is having a birthday party at Oak Creek Ranch, and Amy’s one of the select few invited.

Oak Creek went up for sale when Rhett was seventeen, and the Taylors bought it about a year later. A local family who traded their jobs as a nurse and a veterinarian for ranch living. They opened an equine sanctuary and rehabilitation center that’s become popular with people from across the state.

He didn’t know you could host a kid’s birthday party there, but as his truck winds down the dirt path to the Oak Creek driveway, he sees a banner announcing Sydney’s 9th birthday.

He’s late to pick Amy up. Perry was supposed to, but he was too drunk to drive. Rhett tries not to be mad at his brother, but it’s hard not to be when he’s neglecting his daughter.

He passes endless pastures and folds with grazing horses. A large barn comes into view, along with an even larger stable building. He knew the Taylors had renovated the place when they bought it, but it’s nearly unrecognizable to him now. He remembers having his first beer on the front steps of the then abandoned house when he was fourteen.

Seems like a lifetime ago now.

He pulls up next to a line of trucks in various stages of disrepair, but most pickups look worse for wear around here. Rhett looks at the house and spots Mrs. Taylor through a window. He can’t remember her name, but he knows she has two boys who are a few years older than Amy.

He lifts a couple of fingers in an acknowledging gesture, and even though the sun is high in the sky, he sees her smile as she waves back. The Taylors are good people.

He looks around, and a few feet away, at the end of a downtrodden path, is a metal round pen where he spots the back of his niece’s head.

Rhett gets out of his truck and makes the short trek down to where Amy stands on the fence to see over it. As he gets closer, he sees Louisa stand on the inside of the pen, her back turned to a black horse trotting wildly behind her.

She doesn’t flinch when it whinnies.

“Hey,” he says quietly, coming up next to his niece to watch the scene before him.

“Uncle Rhett,” she exclaims, giving him a hug as best as she can without falling off the fence. “Look!”

A smile tugs at the corner of his lips at her enthusiasm before he turns his attention back to Louisa, and the horse that has now slowed down to a walk. Rhett sees the fear in its dark eyes, but there’s a level of curiosity, too.

Louisa still doesn’t move, but casts her eyes upward, meeting his for a brief second. She smiles at him, and his insides feel funny.

The horse takes tentative steps towards Louisa, and all the muscles in Rhett’s body tense, ready to step in if something should happen.

But nothing does. The horse walks towards the center of the pen, and finally, after what feels like minutes but was probably only a few seconds, it stands at Louisa’s side and nudges her arm with its muzzle.

Amy cheers quietly as to not disturb the moment in front of them.

A grin splits Louisa’s face in two, and Rhett watches her dig into her pocket for a treat that she offers to the horse. The wind carries the sound of her soft praises as the horse chews the treat and lets Lou run her hands over its muscular body.

“That was incredible, Miss Kinney,” Amy says as the woman approaches the fence, horse trailing calmly behind her.

“Lou,” she corrects. “Storm’s a good boy,” she replies, casting a look at the black stallion behind her. “He just needs someone to give him a chance to be good.”

“Sorry, I’m late,” Rhett says before Amy can say something else.

“It’s no problem,” she says, and he can tell she genuinely means it. “Sydney only got picked up five minutes before you got here.”

“Thank you,” he saying, nodding at her slightly before turning his attention to his niece. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Amy agrees and jumps off the fence, landing on the ground with a thud. Rhett offers a small wave goodbye to Lou, who’s watching him and Amy as they walk back to his truck.

“Bye, miss Kinney!” Amy shouts and waves at the woman who offers an enthusiastic wave back. Amy closes the truck door, and the world goes quiet.

He waits for her to put her seatbelt on and then makes his way back down the drive, the same way he came. “Did you have a nice time?”

“The best,” she says excitedly, launching into a long talk about everything that happened at the birthday party. She briefly mentions her other friends, the cake, and the presents, but most of her endless chatter is about Lou.

“That thing she did when you got there is called join up, and it’s so cool. She just turned around a let Storm do whatever he wanted until he trusted her enough to come. It was awesome!”

He chuckles as he opens the front door to the house, letting Amy duck under his arm to go inside first.

His Ma’s in the kitchen, placing plates on the dining table, but it’s only set for four. Perry is probably sleeping off his bender upstairs, the whole room reeking of alcohol and sweat.

Rhett frowns at the thought and tries to push the brewing rage down. He’s not above day drinking, has done it many times, but he would never do it over taking care of his kid.

It’s a realization that has crept up on him in the months since Rebecca disappeared and Perry changed into someone barely recognizable. He’s putting his misery above his daughter and there’s no one Rhett wants to protect more than his niece.

He kisses his mom’s cheek in greeting and goes upstairs to clean up before dinner, the sound of Amy talking about Lou fading with each step he takes. There’s something about her innocence that tugs at Rhett’s heart and makes the faintest smile spread across his face.

A couple of days later, Rhett rests his head against the rim of his beer bottle, trying not to move his bad shoulder too much. It’s been bothering him for a while, but the bull got the better of him tonight and he took a bad fall.

The slide of glass along the bar top makes him lift his head. In front of him is a shot of tequila that he downs with a nod towards Jimmy, who’s been a bartender at the Handsome Gambler since before he was born.

Homegrown cowboy almost lost the rodeo tonight. He’s lucky he didn’t.

“It’s Rhett, right?” A soft voice says as a warm body sinks down on the seat next to him.

He hums in agreement, turning his head slightly to face her. He recognizes her voice immediately. It’s been ringing in his ears since he first heard it a few days earlier.

“Amy hasn’t shut up about you since her visit,” he says. It sounds harsh even to his own ears, and he could probably have found a better way to say it, but she seems unfazed.

He wants to ask her name, even though he already knows it. Just to hear her say it.

She smiles, and he could be imagining it, but it looks like her cheeks flush pink. The odd lighting in the bar makes it hard to tell.

She looks down at her hands, then meets his gaze. “She’s interested in the work,” she says finally. “I’m sure she’d talk about anyone who did it.”

Rhett’s not so sure, and he almost says as much.

She orders a beer and wraps her small hands around the glass, immediately picking at the label with her long fingers.

Rhett doesn’t know what to say as the silence stretches between them. There’s a million questions he wants to ask, but all he does is watch, and by the time he’s built up the courage to say something, Lou beats him to it.

“Heard you had a good ride tonight.”

A snort escapes him. “You heard wrong,” he says, sipping from his bottle. He grimaces as the stale beer hits his tongue.

“But you’re moving up, right?”

He tilts his head at her, looking at the paper graveyard surrounding the beer bottle still in her grasp. “Yeah.”

“Then it’s a good ride,” she decides and raises the bottle to her lips, taking a long sip. His eyes trace the lines of her throat. He likes the way her hair graces her shoulders, and he wonders if it feels as soft as it looks.

“You think so?”

She nods, brushing hair behind her ears. “I know so.”

He’d forgotten all about his sore shoulder until he shrugs and a jab of pain courses through it. He half-heartedly suppresses a groan at the strain, but the woman beside him catches it.

“You should take it easy,” she says, eyes flicking from his face to the hand he’s placed on his shoulder as if that would soothe the ache. “Joe said you took a tumble.”

He supposes tumble is one way to describe being thrown off a bucking bull after barely lasting eight seconds.

His brows knit together. “Joe?” There are about seventeen people named Joe in this godforsaken town.

“Taylor,” she clarifies.

“Your boss.”

“My boss,” she agrees.

Silence falls between them again, but Rhett feels less awkward this time. He drums his fingers on the wooden counter and watches Lou sneak a glance down the line of the bar, only to wipe the tattered scraps of the paper label onto the floor.

He raises a brow at her.

She puts a finger against her lips to shush him as Jimmy comes back down towards them.

“Can I close out my tab?”

Rhett tips his hat down a little to hide the grin he’s sporting, but his success seems doubtful as his body shakes with a quiet chuckle.

He feels, rather than sees, Lou jump off the barstool next to him. Her hand skims along his back as she passes, a touch so light he can’t tell if it was on purpose or not.

A shiver runs down his spine as her touch leaves him. He waits until she’s gone and the door clicks shut to push his hat back up and ask Jimmy to close out his own tab.

He’s going to call it a night. Sitting alone at the bar doesn’t seem as appealing as his bed right now, but he doesn’t understand why.

After a ride, he would normally go looking for some woman to screw hard and fast, just to let off some steam, but not tonight. Tonight he’s just tired and sore and his ego is a little bruised because some new kid placed ahead of him.

He steps outside the bar and feels the cold Wyoming air hit his face.

“You come here often?”

Rhett jumps a good few feet in the air as the sound of laughter fills the quiet outside the bar. His heart races furiously in his chest, watching as Lou clutches her stomach, wheezing for air.

“Scaredy-cat,” she comments through uneven breaths as she regains her composure.

He looks over his shoulder, contemplating going back inside for another drink, just to settle the nerves Lou sparked to life. He can still hear the rushing of his pulse in his ears.

When he looks back at her, she’s already walking across the street to a faded yellow truck that has definitely seen better days. His feet carry him towards her before his head can register the decision to do so.

She reaches out to open her the driver’s side door, but Rhett’s arms are longer, so he yanks it open before she can. She startles, spinning around to face him.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me!”

He pulls open the truck door more with a grin threatening at the corners of his mouth.

“Not so funny when it’s you, huh?”

She huffs out a laugh as the tension leaves her shoulders and she hangs her head for a moment, letting it rest on his chest. When she lifts it again, he catches a whiff of her shampoo. She smells like summer.

She meets his eye, mischief and laughter radiating off her. There’s freedom in her eyes, making something in his stomach twist.

She climbs into the cab of her truck and lets Rhett close the door for her. She keeps her eyes on him as he takes a few steps back and the engine stirs to life at the turn of her key.

“Say hello to Amy for me,” she instructs him, and throws the old rust bucket in drive.

He watches her truck disappear down the main road until the taillights are no longer visible.

He can’t read her, not that it’s his strongest suit to begin with, but for someone who keeps to herself, she seems to be making an impression on the residents of Wabang.

He shakes his head, trying to will the hot feeling in chest to go away. As he reaches his own truck, he wants to blame the alcohol, but some part of him knows that’s far from the truth.

A/N: I can't believe it's finally here. I've been so excited to share this story with you, but I'm also nervous because this is so different for me, both in terms of style and tone. Comments and reblogs make the world go around. I hope you enjoy! (does this mean I have to watch the show now???)

TAGLIST: @wkndwlff, @joaquinwhorres, @fandom-princess-forevermore, @chickensarentcheap, @bradshawsbitch, @dhwanishah09, @lt-bradshaw, @phoenixhalliwell, @chicomonks, @cherrycola27, @mikaymeee, @callsign-cacti, @laracrofted, @thedroneranger, @yanna-banana, @rhettabbotts

#rhett abbott #rhett abbott x oc #rhett abbott x reader #rhett abbott fic #lewis pullman #outer range fic #outer range #oc: lou kinney #otp: lou x rhett #fic: linger #helenwrites #writtenbyme #mywriting #madebyme #i'm so nervous wtf #i have to watch the show now right?#please like this

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