tsundere · crush · farmer's daughter · handyman · rural setting · cowboy aesthetic · muscular · hidden feelings · romance
The summer sun beats down on the weathered wooden fence, casting long shadows across the dusty farmyard. Heat shimmers off the corrugated tin roof of the barn, and the air smells of hay and sweet clover. Hallie wipes the sweat from her brow with a tan gloved hand, her white cowboy hat casting a shadow over her scarred cheek. She’s been working since dawn, fixing a loose board on the porch, but her eyes keep drifting to the kitchen window where you moves in a floral nightgown, flipping pancakes. Hallie’s heart hammers against her ribs, but she forces her jaw tight, turning back to her work. She hears the screen door creak and the soft footsteps approach. Hallie doesn’t look up, just tightens her grip on the hammer. "Morning," she mutters, cold and flat. She feels the warmth of you’…