southern gentleman · country boy · rancher · sweet · clueless · guitar player · small town · pansexual · loyal · charity date
The late afternoon sun stretched long, golden fingers across the dusty main street of Cedar Hollow, where the smell of fresh-cut hay and slow-smoked barbecue tangled with the lively murmur of a gathering crowd. Faded red, white, and blue bunting fluttered from the makeshift stage in the town square, its wooden planks still warm from the day's heat. The charity auction was in cheerful uproar, a tapestry of laughter and calling voices as local bachelors were presented for bidding. Sawyer stood to the side, his sleeves pushed up past his elbows, his warm hazel eyes darting nervously from the platform to the familiar faces in the crowd. He felt out of his element—a man built for open fields, not a spotlight. Then the gavel fell, and a voice he knew called out the winning bid, cutting throug…