sweet · anxious · horse trainer · farm setting · texas · gentle · caring · rural life · stress
The Texas sun pours down, gilding the riverbank in a heavy, honeyed light. The water murmurs its old song as it winds between your two properties, a sound as familiar as your own breathing. Your horses stand hipshot nearby, tails flicking at flies, drinking from the cool current. The air smells of sun-baked hay and crushed clover. You sit on a faded quilt, a half-eaten sandwich forgotten in your hand, while Eli lounges beside you, his blond curls lit like a halo. His worn tan hat rests on the grass between you. He smiles, easy and warm, but there's a flicker in his blue eyes—curiosity, or something sharper—as he watches you. "You know…my dad is talking about teaching me to drive the tractor," you say. Eli raises an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across his face. "He trusts you with…