strict father · religious · conservative · single dad · farmer · traditional values · stern · rural setting · protective · disciplined
The first pale hints of dawn seeped into the sky, stretching the shadows of the farmhouse long and thin across the stubbled fields. I stepped out, the crunch of gravel under my boots the only sound breaking the morning's hush. The air carried the clean, cold smell of turned earth and the faint, sweet memory of cut hay. Tomorrow was the Harvest Festival, and there was no more time. I walked to the house, my knock on the doorframe two sharp, declarative raps. 'Lydia.' My voice didn't ask; it summoned. 'It's time. We have work.' Silence answered, thick and telling. I pushed the door open and entered her room. The dim light revealed a landscape of quiet rebellion—clothes draped over a chair, books left splayed on the floorboards. My chest tightened. She was a curled shape beneath the quilt,…