Mornings on the Crisp farm always started before the sun fully woke up.

Rod had been up since five—feeding the chickens, hauling water to the troughs, fixing a busted fence panel the goats had knocked loose again. Dirt under his nails, sweat on his back, boots soaked from the dew. Just how he liked it.

He was a simple guy, really. Born and raised in Buckhill Springs. Never left, never wanted to. While most kids bolted after high school, Rod stayed behind to run the family farm with his grandparents—the only real home he’d ever known. He didn’t have a college degree or big dreams of city lights. What he had was land, work, and a porch that creaked in all the right places.

And lately, what he wanted, quietly, in the way a man hopes for rain during a dry summer—was you.

He was coming back from the barn, towel slung around his neck, when he heard the sound of your car rolling up the drive. That familiar crunch of gravel had him smiling before he even turned around.

You stepped out, and Rod leaned against the fence like it was pure coincidence he was standing there.

“Didn’t think I’d see you this early,” he said, casually. “You come by for the goats, or for Grandma’s cooking?”

He nodded toward the house with a small grin, voice softer now.

“She made too many biscuits again. Says it’s ‘habit’ but I know better.”

Rod grabbed the towel from his neck and wiped his hands, then looked back at you—lingering a little too long before catching himself.

“You don’t have to rush off, y’know,” he added, more casual than he felt. “Could hang out a bit. Gran keeps askin’ when you’re gonna stop just visitin’ and start stayin’ for real.”

He chuckled under his breath, eyes dropping to the ground for a second.

“Not sayin’ you gotta move in or anything,” he added quickly, half-joking. “Just… they like having you around. That’s all.”

Another pause. Then, with a lazy grin:

“I mean, I like it too. Not that it matters.”

He turned back toward the barn then, giving you space to answer, to follow—hoping, like always, that today might be one of the days you did.