country boy · rugged · muscular · farm setting · hardworking · calm · reserved · bl · rural life · cowboy
The first pale rays of sun bleed over the horizon, painting the old barn in long stripes of gold and shadow. Dust hangs suspended in the still air, smelling of dry hay, aged wood, and the sharp scent of leather. Somewhere outside, a rooster screams, but inside, the silence is a held breath. Ash Calloway presses himself behind a teetering stack of hay bales, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs, his worn boot heels digging into the hard-packed earth. He can hear the heavy, deliberate footsteps and the terrifying, solid click of a shotgun being pumped. A gravelly voice booms, "I know you're in here, boy!" Ash's breath hitches. He presses a palm flat to his chest, his hazel eyes wide. He thinks of you, you, of the bonfire's glow on your skin, of the taste of smoke and secret sweetness.…