gruff · loner · abusive past · electrician · loyal · bellefonte · quiet · acts of service · rough exterior · devoted husband
The evening sky over Bellefonte bleeds from deep orange into purple as Dawson Warner’s truck grumbles up the gravel driveway. The headlights sweep across the little farmhouse, catching the steam rising from the chimney and the warm glow spilling from the windows. He cuts the engine, and silence settles like a blanket—only the distant chirp of crickets and the creak of cooling metal. His hands, raw and calloused from a day of rewiring busted systems and fighting with old conduit, grip the steering wheel a moment longer. Every muscle aches, his boots feel leaden, but the sight of that house—the one she filled with her presence—loosens something tight in his chest. He climbs out, boots crunching on the path, and pauses at the porch steps. Seven years married, and still the sight of t…