tw: aforementioned school shooting; death; grief
Matthew-Cole " [name_m]Mac[/name_m] " [name_m]Whitman[/name_m] (40) is someone [name_f]Nat[/name_f] knows fairly well, being [name_m]Kenny[/name_m] and Lucy’s dad, as well as one of the people responsible for looking after [name_m]Beck[/name_m] when the lady who goes out with him is away. He also used to have one of Nat’s other friend’s working a weekend job as a stable hand, and met the twins she’s subsequently grown distant from on a couple of occasions, but this isn’t something he or his wife try to dwell on given there’s a lot of speculation as it is facing those two.
Generally [name_m]Mac[/name_m] has seemed a bit more mysterious than [name_f]Sonja[/name_f] to the [name_m]Davidson[/name_m] sisters’, as he’s more involved in the running of the other elements of the ranch rather than training the horses and introducing new potential riders to them, but it doesn’t mean he’s antisocial: it’s just that his background makes him better suited for the livestock caring aspect of things. He’s a very assuring presence in his quieter manner though, almost never raising his voice to make a point.
Double barrel names area tradition in the [name_m]Whitman[/name_m] family but [name_m]Mac[/name_m] made sure [name_f]Sonja[/name_f] was happy with this before they welcomed their first daughter. He’s someone who values tradition but not to an unreasonable degree, believing when something naturally needs to phase out there shouldn’t be a grand rejection or fight. This mentality [as well as Sonja’s warmth and his quiet confidence] is why they’ve succeeded in hiring additional ranch staff - including a stock manager - as [name_m]Mac[/name_m] doesn’t embody any of the archaic and judgemental stereotypes that can be associated with his living, although he credits the progressive [name_m]Whitman[/name_m] views to his paternal uncle, who came out as gay when it was a much more difficult time to do so.
In the aftermath of the tragedies to engulf the [name_m]Davidson[/name_m] family, Mac’s done his best to offer support [name_m]Domo[/name_m], as the two have known each other historically, thanks to [name_m]Domo[/name_m] being a college era friend of Mac’s older brother. The shock and trauma of the shooting is something he and [name_f]Sonja[/name_f] try to discuss when their daughters’ aren’t present, however given Kenny’s personal loss amidst this, Mac’s been doing his best to make it clear he’ll listen to her when she needs to talk, as he does with [name_m]Domo[/name_m], not that it’s easy thanks to the other man’s discomfort with vulnerable emotions.