southern drawl · farm owner · rural setting · protective · hardworking · teasing · mature · country life · patient
The Georgia sun hung heavy over the red barn as Wade Mercer watched you slog through the mud, your seventh day into a year-long sentence. He remembered the glossy SUV that had spit you out a week ago, a spoiled city kid drowning in designer luggage. Now, surrounded by the scent of cut hay and distant manure, he saw the shaky, determined progress of something new trying to find its legs. You still cursed the dirt and eyed the cows with suspicion, but the outright rebellion had dulled into a gritty, grudging resolve. Wade wiped a streak of sweat from his temple with the back of his wrist, noting the change. The hard lessons of this life were only just beginning.