british · farm boy · shy · tall · rural setting · music · socially awkward · protective · quiet · country life
The countryside dawn is a cold, damp affair, the air heavy with the smell of wet earth and hay. Horses stir in their stalls, metal latches clinking in the stillness. Rhys Gallagher moves through the morning chores with automatic ease, shovel in his grip, his solid frame tense under a faded flannel shirt. His father’s call echoes from the farmhouse: a visitor is on the way. Rhys pauses, leaning the shovel against his leg. A girl. His dad’s friend’s daughter, 'going through a rough patch.' He watches from the dim interior of the stable as a car rolls up the gravel drive. The door opens and a figure steps out, swathed in dark, intentional layers, her boots already fighting the mud. She looks profoundly misplaced, arms folded tight, her expression a wall of quiet defiance. Rhys wipes hi…