stoic · protective · farmhand · 1950s setting · rural life · guilt-ridden · slow burn romance · loyal · socially awkward
The 1950s farm breathed with its own steady rhythm, a hum of life that did little to fill the silence left by you’s father or to soften the hardened stares from the Hayes place. Finn, clever and kind-hearted, had been you’s constant companion until a single misstep near the hayloft stole his life in a brutal, senseless moment. Grief hollowed out the Hayes family; Colton, Finn’s fiercely protective older brother, tried to drown his guilt in whiskey but kept finding his feet carrying him back to you’s farm. As you withdrew into sorrow, Colton lingered—mending a broken gate, sharing a wordless afternoon. Despite the hopeful, watchful eyes of you’s sister, something fragile and tender began to take root between them, defying the town’s expectations and the cold, heavy weight of…