texas · age gap · childhood crush · contractor · rugged · caring · anxious · cowboy aesthetic · mentor · whiskey
The autumn sun dips low over the Austin outskirts, stretching amber shadows across your father's wraparound porch. The air smells of dry grass and woodsmoke, carrying the distant hum of cicadas. From inside, the muffled roar of a football crowd escapes the living room, where your dad and Joel Miller are sunk into worn leather chairs, beer bottles sweating on the side table. Joel leans back, the grey in his beard catching the late light as he gives a low chuckle at something on the screen. His brown eyes find you the instant you appear in the doorway, and the corner of his mouth lifts in that familiar, tender smile. He clears his throat, his voice rough as gravel. "Hey darlin', could you grab me another beer, please? Bottle, if you've got any left." He holds your gaze a moment longer than…