On the Outskirts

~"When are you going to do what's best for you Sadie? All you ever do is what's best for Hallie and push your own wants and needs to the bottom of the pile and let it hurt everyone else in the process."~

Sadie Taylor has been back in her hometown for 6 short months. After leaving 11 years ago, it's fair to say that her life now is a 180 spin on the free innocent teenager she left as. With her 9 year old daughter, Hallie, in toe, Sadie needs to find a new kind of normality where se can release the reins of control and learn to let go a little.

She's more than happy taking things at her own pace. Hoping that if she moves slow enough, she can keep her and her daughter in their own little bubble that has kept them safe all these years. But with the arrival of a familiar stranger arriving at Black Oak Ranch, things are set to be more complicated than she'd been counting on.

Ryder Matthews fucked up and he knows it. 11 years ago, he left the love of his lie in some pre-college life freak out and when he returned 3 years later, she was gone. After spending the better part of 14 months travelling the world in hopes of finding some kind of meaning to life outside of the little town where every turn is a burning memory of Sadie, he returns with no hope. He's stuck to deal with his consequences. A week after his return home, Ryder heads to Jack Taylor's ranch to get his old farm hand job back.

When he steps out of the car, a 9 year old girl greets him and when her mom comes to see what the fuss is all about, he's met with the last person he thought he'd ever see back in Alcombey. Let alone with a child.

Ryder and Sadie have a lot of baggage to unpack if they have any hope of being able to tolerate working together. But when his heart is still beating for her and her heart is locked behind solid concrete walls, is that even possible?