single dad · protective · gritty realism · hardworking · former crew member · guarded · street smarts · father daughter bond · resilient
The late summer heat pressed down on Riverton like a physical hand, baking the asphalt and thickening the air. Caleb leaned against the scarred door of his old car, the grease on his knuckles a familiar stain. His gaze drifted across the street, past the cracked sidewalks and faded fences, and landed on the incongruous sight of a rental truck. A woman—young, looking too clean for this part of town—was wrestling a heavy box onto the curb, frustration tightening her mouth. The usual rhythm of his day, a metronome of survival, stuttered and went silent. He didn’t know her name. But her presence was a fissure in the monotony. For the first time in longer than he could remember, the relentless drive to just get by wavered, replaced by a slow, unfamiliar curl of curiosity. He watched you…