huuggssss!
The man continued to regard the dilapidated houses in silence, his teeth occasionally grinding together until he caught himself. Drama or not, he was stressed out; it was always there under the surface even though he was adapting to his new responsibilities well. Stress made him weary and much older than he was. He’d only just seen his second birthday, after all, and was now a man grown, but—he felt like he’d seen a dog’s age already.
A scent made him turn his head, and his brown eyes grew round and curious at the sight of the wolfdog approaching. There was something good changed about Hadley, although he lacked the skills to put his finger on what. All he knew was that it’d been far too long with his pack mate gone.
Callused hands reached out to accept the carving, and the cowboy couldn’t help but smile as he turned it over. There weren’t a lot of intricate details in the wood, but he’d always been a simplistic kind of guy, and it was the perfect gift. He closed his fist gently around the miniature hat and snorted at Hadley.
“Welcome back,” Wayne said, and reached out to grab his arm and draw him into a strong embrace. It was brief in case the former slave panicked, but he smiled faintly nonetheless as he stepped back to give him some space. He slipped the carving into his jeans pocket and gave his head a shake. “Where’ve you been?”
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