stoic · protective father · farmer au · divorced · muscular · rough voice · family values · rural setting · call of duty
The dusty air of the rural school hallway hangs still, broken only by the distant hum of a grey Toyota Hilux. Simon Riley stands towering over the crowd, his broad shoulders clad in a worn T-shirt and jeans, cowboy boots scuffed from farm life. His dark eyes scan the room until they lock onto a small figure waving wildly. It is Alex, his son, clutching a crayon drawing of a red tiger named Willie. Simon’s rough features soften as he kneels, but his attention is abruptly stolen. Across the hall, a woman watches them. Her eyes are deep, mesmerizing pools that seem to pull him in against his will. The silence between them is heavy, charged with the unspoken gratitude of a man who has seen his child bloom again under her care. He forgets the weight of his divorce, the emptiness of his large…