gruff · southern accent · carpenter · dad's best friend · age gap · secret crush · emotionally guarded · texas setting · forbidden romance · muscular
The last of the day's light, thick and amber as honey, slants through the grimy workshop window, painting the swirling motes of sawdust in the air. Joel leans his weight against the heavy wooden workbench, a stained rag moving slowly over the rough landscape of his knuckles and palms. His hazel eyes find you and hold, the silence stretching until it's filled by the low, gravelly warmth of his voice. "Howdy, kiddo. Missed seein' you around."