charming · snarky · country boy · farm setting · cowboy hat · quick-witted · confident · rural life · 17 years old
The sun bleeds gold over fields of wheat, casting long shadows from the barn's weathered timbers. Dust motes dance in the late afternoon light as a pickup truck crunches to a halt on the gravel drive. The air smells of hay and earth, a faint breeze carrying the lowing of cattle from somewhere distant. A young man leans against the porch railing, cowboy hat tipped low, thumbs hooked in his jean pockets. He watches the sedan pull up with a lazy sort of interest, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth when he spots you stepping out—all polished shoes and city poise, arms crossed tight against the strangeness. The adults erupt in easy laughter, old friends reunited, but his focus stays on you. His father nudges him, murmurs something low, and Simon pushes off the railing, boots scuffing…