Beauty and The Beard

<p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Leaf</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Grief is a complex thing to experience. Since losing my husband I've let it call the shots. It's been in control so long that I've almost forgotten what it feels like to have someone hold me tight at night or share a secret smile with.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>But a beautiful young model shows up at my lodge. He's eager to learn about the outdoors and experience life outside the city. The more we laugh and share secrets under the stars the more he makes me want things that I've kept buried for too long.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>He's more than my first impression; he's intelligent kind eager and fiercely protective. He's only supposed to be here for a month but he's chipping at the walls around my heart.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Now that I'm falling for him I need to convince him to stay but we're from two different worlds.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Could a beauty like him be happy in the mountains with a bearded widower like me?</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Sasha</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Being a model assumes you're all looks and no brains. Well I'm done playing the part of the pretty boy. The flirt. The easy target. No more cowing to the demands of others. It's time to figure out who I am and what I want from life.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>I'm heading to the mountains for a month to discover the kinder side of life-if there is such a thing. I want to heal my wounds and use the wilderness to search my soul for where I should go next.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>When I arrive at the lodge the sexy lumberjack with the sad eyes immediately captures my attention. He's incredibly thoughtful and he emboldens me to be me. With his encouragement I'm doing things I never thought possible like learning to fish... and catching feelings instead.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>We lead different lives but even though I didn't come here looking for love would he want a beautiful mess like me to stay?</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)><u>CW:</u></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> </span><em style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>mention of spousal death off-page past sexual and emotional abuse</em></p>