A/N Hello my Merle lovers! I was asked to write this story 18 months ago (I write these prompts down just to keep it all straight :) Anyway, my FF friend texasbelle91 asked me about it then. I hate to say "no" but I just thought there was no way, I just couldn't quite get there. But dang the idea stuck with me, it kept nagging at me. Finally my thoughts came into story form. I'm going to tell you all about it in the closing notes. In the meantime, I hope I did it justice and you enjoy.

Warning: It's Merle and Beth! Merle is OC but I'd say Beth is hanging on the edge of OCC.

The Wrong Road

He was older than the rest, at least 10 years older than the young men and women sitting around a campfire just outside the city limits, over by the river. They were an odd assemblage of high school misfits, his little brother's friends.

He'd just go out there once in a while to bullshit with Daryl for an hour or so, and then be on his way. He didn't care much for hanging out with a bunch of teenagers.

But there was this one little gal, she was maybe 16 and real, real pretty. He was 26 so he didn't let himself look at her for long. He wasn't some kind of pervert. That didn't mean Merle Dixon didn't like what he saw. He liked it plenty.

He'd heard the stories about her, not from these friends of hers, they knew her better. But Daryl had told him about that talk at school that had ruined her reputation and caused her parents a lot of grief. It had turned her a little hard, made her have a bitter feeling about life and people.

Apparently some lowlife douche bag of a football player had tried but failed to get with her. She said "No" and his bug sized dick and pint sized ego couldn't deal with it. He'd started all manner of nasty rumors about her. Referring to her by all those names that made it sound like she played it fast and easy with any guy that came along.

Small town life meant she couldn't beat that rumor mill.

It was a shame, he was sure she didn't deserve the grief. He could tell by looking at her she was a good girl, the kind he steered clear of. She had way too much of that innocence about her. But man she had such a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes and that hair of hers, yeah there was that. But he never made his move, she was just a kid.

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It was about six months after that first time he saw her, the law got wind of him and he got busted selling pot. He thought they went hard on him. It was just pot. But it seemed it was the big pile of cash he had, they said it was evidence of how much he'd already sold. A dealer's supply worth. So they prosecuted him like he was indeed a big dealer. Nothing to be done about it, he sucked it up and he spent a year as a guest of the state.

When he got out he got himself plenty of gin, plenty of dope and a Hot Honey. He stayed drunk, high and in bed with that woman for three days. Then with a pounding head and a mouth dry as a cotton field he set out to visit little brother.

His brother was now a senior in high school but still meeting up with that same group of misfits just outside of town, over by the river. Merle made his way out there to find him and he did. They drank beers and they caught up, and she was there.

She still seemed real innocent but he'd swear she was giving him a come-on look with those big blue eyes. And he was tempted, oh so tempted, and he was almost drunk enough to consider it. She must be 18 by now, little brother's age. But nah he couldn't, well he could, but he shouldn't. If he had a taste of that he'd want to stay for another taste, and that couldn't happen, he was going on a run.

He wanted cash, he had plans and his plan wasn't to work for that cash. His plan was to get that cash in another way. That "startup" money was going to help him get a lot more money. Yeah he was on his way now, nothing was going to stop him.

Maybe he'd see her around when she got a little older. He wouldn't mind that a bit.

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She'd never forget the first time she saw him, even as young as she'd been it only took one look for her to know, he was heading fast down the wrong road. The other thing she knew was, if he'd have anything to do with a dorky kid like her she'd go with him.

He was her friends' brother. Older and much rougher looking than Daryl. But it was a handsome kind of rough, a real sexy rough. He was loud and he could be obnoxious as hell, and he was everything she shouldn't want, and she wanted him with everything she had. Yeah, she was dying to ride as far down that wrong road with him as he'd take her.

He disappeared for a long stretch and finally she asked Daryl where he was. When her friend shrugged and answered, "Doin' time," She wasn't at all surprised.

Just before they graduated Merle showed back up and she saw he'd aged, and his look was even rougher, and he was even more handsome.

He hung around town there for a couple of months and then he was gone again. She missed him. They'd never even spoken but she'd seen the way he looked at her, it was the same way she looked at him.

She and Daryl graduated that spring and Daryl left town. He'd moved on down Atlanta way. He had a dream, a plan to be free of poverty and make his way in this world. He told her she ought to try and get herself a dream of her own. She knew he was right. That didn't mean she planned to do like he said.

She went to work in a little café serving runny eggs and lousy coffee. It wasn't much and it didn't pay much. She didn't care she didn't have to think much.

And on those evenings when she'd be driving out there to the spot by the river with a can of Bud in her cup holder, she'd think of Merle Dixon. She wondered where he was and she'd wish he still came to town once in a while. She'd sure like to see that man again.

She texted Daryl and asked him and he texted back, "In the joint again. Due out in a year or so. Quit thinking about Merle and find ya a good one." She knew Daryl was right, he was being a friend to her. That didn't mean she listened to him.

She'd have her dates here and there but they always seemed to end real badly. Those old high school rumors never quit haunting her. The guys in town seemed to think if they took her out for a ride and a burger they were going to get lucky. She didn't think so.

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He knew he was heading down a wrong road and never once did he worry about it, he couldn't think of a reason to. Screw it. His life had been fucked up since the day he was born, he might as well make a party of it. Do it up right. Right to the end.

He liked having cash in his pocket and a nice pickup to drive, and he liked drinking gin and getting high. And he liked girls that liked to make him happy, the kind that didn't care if he only stayed a couple of days.

Sometimes he paid a price, did a little time in the slam. He didn't mind, it gave him a chance to rest up, get clean and make plans before he headed back down that wrong road.

He'd been out awhile since his most recent visit with the state when he went to visit little brother. He was living over out of Atlanta these days. He'd done real good for himself. Who knew a guy could make fat cash installing and repairing elevators and escalators? Little brother was a smart one, he'd done his research.

He felt proud of Daryl but life on the straight narrow was no life for Merle.

They had some beers and Merle asked him whatever became of the little blond with the innocent blue eyes, and the bad reputation.

"She's right where she's always been, she ain't busted free a the life or the reputation. Ya steer clear Merle. She's a friend a mine and she don't need your kind of trouble."

Merle just laughed, clapped his brother on the back and told him, "Don't ya worry little brother I ain't gonna bother no sweet young girls."

He meant it too, and then three days later when he left little brother's he went to seek her out. Hell she must be 22 now, that was old enough for her to pick the mistakes she wanted to make. He'd like to be one of those mistakes.

He went out there by the river first. It was the same crowd like always, they were just older now was all. They told him Beth was working in town at the bar. There was only the one bar, Shaddy's, she'd be easy to find.

He walked in and sure enough there she was wiping down the bar top. Their eyes locked and he walked on over, "Hey girl, how ya been? Me? I'm a thirsty man. How bout ya pour me a double shot a Bombay on the rocks, and give me a cold Bud ta back it up."

"I been good Merle, been wonderin' where ya been, was hopin' ta see ya sometime." She set his drink and his beer on the bar.

He threw down a twenty and told her, "Keep it Doll." Then he hit the pool table. There were a couple guys thinking they knew how to play eight ball, and he was going to wager them some cash he knew better.

He'd taken twenty from each of them when a guy walked in, some drunk out of towner. Beth was wiping down a bar stool someone had spilled their beer on, and she was bent over a little. Merle had been enjoying the sight of that real well. But he didn't enjoy it at all when that fella stuck his hand up her skirt.

That's when Merle Dixon took his pool cue and laid that out of towner out flat on that barroom floor. He stuffed some money in her tip jar, threw down that pool cue and headed out the door. Beth grabbed her purse and ran out after him, reaching for his hand. He let her take it.

He didn't say a word he just opened the pickup door and helped her climb in. When he was behind the wheel he slammed that pickup into gear, looked over at her with a big grin and said, "Let's get on outta here."

He pulled up to the farm and he asked her then, "Ya sure you're ready ta take on ol' Merle?"

She just said, "I've been sure."

She packed a little bag real quick and told her Mama and Daddy she was leaving town for a while.

Mama cried, begging her girl not to go, "He's no good baby girl he'll break your heart."

Daddy was angry but just as sad as Mama, "He's no good daughter he'll make a fool of you."

She knew they were right. She ran out that door, threw her bag in the bed of that pickup, and he kicked up a cloud of dust as they sped off down that old dirt road.

She sat every bit as close to Merle as she could get. His hand was up her skirt a ways, resting there on her thigh with his thumb gliding softly back and forth on her skin. She had her own hand resting just inside his upper thigh. Now they were headed down that wrong road together.

They pulled into a liquor store somewhere near the state line and he told her, "Ya stay right here Doll, don't shut the motor down. I'll be out directly." And she watched as he slipped that pistol in his boot.

Minutes later he was hopping back in, putting it in gear and moving fast. He handed her a stack of bills and said, "Put that in your purse." He threw a quart of Bombay gin and a carton of Marlboro's in the back seat, "I got a deal comin' down in Miami, we got us a week ta have a little fun before that."

She knew what he'd done, she knew he was wrong to do it, and she was probably in just as much trouble as him if they got caught. But with his hand on her leg and hers on his she just didn't care. She was riding this wrong road with him like she'd always wanted, for just as long as she could.

He knew he shouldn't have done it, she could have gotten in trouble right along with him. But he'd wanted to show her, let her know the kinds of things he did. It was her chance to change her mind, bug out on him. He wouldn't blame her if she did. He'd put her on a bus headed home, she'd be better off. But she didn't bat an eye and he'd never wanted anything more than to have this Little Doll riding shotgun.

They hit Miami right as the sun was setting and he got them a room at the beach. They were no sooner in that motel room door than he had his arms around her. He was kissing her hard, just shy of being a little too rough, a little too forceful. She liked it. He had her skirt hiked up and his hand was slid down the back of her panties. He was pulling her into him while he squeezed and rubbed that soft, tender flesh. Soon his other hand was moving up the front of her shirt and under her bra. She froze for just a beat when he pinched her nipple. He pulled back and looked at her, serious-like, "Ya sure you're ready for Merle?"

"I'm sure."

She wasn't sure at all. Oh she was crazy for him, and she wanted the sex with him. But she had no real experience with these things. All she had was desire and a reputation as a girl who got around. She was scared though, scared it would be rough, that he might hurt her somehow. Or worse, she'd disappoint him.

But she let him have all of her he wanted on that motel bed. When he was done he got a tight hold of her and he rolled over on his back, so she was atop him. His big hands were clasped on either side of her face. He looked angry as he told her, "Don't ya never lie ta me again girl. Ya wasn't ready for nuthin'. Ya shoulda told me, I'da been more careful with ya. Now ya made me a even bigger asshole than I already was."

He pulled her lips down onto his and he kissed her fervently, "I'll tell ya Doll, if I ever was gonna get tied down with a woman that woman would be you. Now c'mon an show me how much ya care for me." She did everything he asked of her, and he did everything he could think to do to bring her pleasure. They were both happy and satisfied.

They spent the week mostly in that bed. He'd take her out to eat and they even took a walk or two on the beach. He'd get himself more gin and maybe a bag of dope and she didn't mind. But mostly they stayed in that room and they lay in that bed, and on the fourth day she told him she loved him.

He told her, "Nah, ya ain't allowed ta love me Doll. I ain't the kind ya love. I'm the kind ya leave. Ya just think that cuz ya give yourself ta me. You're gonna find a real man someday soon, a good man, then maybe you'll love. I'm what they call that bad love ya learn a lesson from, you'll see."

He didn't convince her but worst of all he didn't convince himself. He knew he loved her too. That's why he'd make sure she got out. He knew sooner or later it was all going be over for him, he'd be back off the streets and back in the joint, if he didn't get killed first. But if he could just pull off this one big heist he could set himself up for a real long time.

On the fifth day he told her how it was going to go, "I'ma pull a job Doll an it's a big one. If it goes right for me I'ma have enough cash ta share with ya, an you can get on with havin' that good life ya deserve. I'll be headin' West, livin' a life a luxury my own self."

"I don't want ya ta run me off Merle. I want ta be with you. Take me with ya, please." That's what he wanted too but he knew enough to know that wouldn't be the way things worked out in the end.

"Now ya gotta listen ta me Doll, follow what I say. There's a big drug deal goin' down with a buncha Cubans here in Miami. A lotta cash is gonna change hands an I aim ta get me that cash. You're gonna drive the pickup an drop me off at the warehouse where the meet up is. Ya wait for me there in the alley. If things go right you'll see me come a runnin' out with a big suitcase. I'll be jumpin' in the pickup an ya floor the sumbitch an ya don't stop 'til I tell ya."

"If we get busted ya tell the cops I forced ya, that I threatened ta kill ya. Tell 'em I been rapin' ya, that's what I'ma tell em."

She was real scared but she wanted to do what he wanted even if it was wrong. Not because he forced her and not because she was afraid of him, and it wasn't even just because she loved him. The thing about it was for the first time in her life she was with someone who didn't judge her, didn't base how he felt about her on some rumor. And even though Merle hadn't told her he loved her, in fact he'd denied it every way he could, she knew better. She knew he was trying his best to protect her in the only way he knew how. She also understood it was only a matter of time before he got caught again, and maybe the next time he'd do something so bad they wouldn't let him back out. So she was going to have her time with him while she could, however much time that may be.

Two days later was the day. She nervously waited for him in that alley. Her eyes constantly shifting between the rearview mirror and the warehouse windows. When she heard the gunfire she knew something had gone real wrong and for the first time since she was a little girl she prayed. She prayed hard asking God to keep Merle safe.

She saw him practically fly out the small window of the warehouse and run down the fire escape, while gunshots continued. He had the suitcase. He was almost down those stairs when the cops pulled in the alley just a few yards behind them.

The sirens were blaring and the lights were going and she saw the policeman make a grab for Merle. She didn't hesitate. She jumped from the pickup, grabbed that single shot .410 off the back seat and quickly shot in the air. He jumped in and she jumped in and she floored it. Somehow they got away.

She pulled behind the motel where they'd been staying and he switched the plates back to his own. He got behind the wheel and they were gone again.

When he got to Jacksonville he pulled in a strip mall and he left her in the pickup while he went in the UPS Store. He handed the clerk the suitcase and the address, filled out the paper, paid his cash.

He turned inland and headed up Georgia way, stopping just outside of Valdosta. He got them a motel room for what he knew would be the last night he'd spend with the small blond woman that he'd come to love.

She didn't see it coming she thought it was all good, but the next morning he took her to the bus station. "Ya get on home ta your Mama n Daddy. Ya have ya a good life Doll cuz ya ain't never gonna have that with ol' Merle."

She cried and she begged him to reconsider but he would not budge. "Ya gotta go girl, you'll only slow me down. Go on now, this was just for fun ya shouldn't a took it so serious."

He watched her board that bus and she was looking out the window at him, the tears were falling hard from those blue eyes he loved so much. As that bus drove off he swore he heard the sound of his own heart breaking.

She called Mama from the station and she came right for her. Mama and Daddy they were angry, but far more than that they were relieved. Their baby girl had come home and they welcomed her.

Two months later was when she knew for sure and if it was even possible, she missed him more. That was where her mind was when a package came for her. It was about the size of a shoebox and had a postmark from Atlanta. She ran to her room with it and quickly tore it open. It was a stack of money and letter from Daryl.

He wrote that he'd heard from Merle, that he was okay and that he wanted her to have the money to make a fresh start on that good life she'd be having.

She cried hard but while she cried her mind was busy. Now that she knew for sure, she also knew for sure she wasn't raising their child in this one horse town. A town where she'd paid such a steep price for saying "no."

Mama cried and Daddy was angry but every bit as sad as Mama. They begged their girl to stay, promising they'd care for her, care for the child. But their daughter wouldn't change her mind. She was saving her baby from small town gossip.

When Daryl got home from work she was sitting on his doorstep waiting and he sat down with her. She told him about the baby and he nodded, "Ya know I'ma help ya however I can Beth. Startin' with helpin' ya find a place for you an the little one. Close, so I can keep an eye out for ya." He put an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder and they were quiet. Both of them wondering how this would all play out.

Merle had told him to dole out the money to her as he saw fit, as it was needed. Daryl thought it was needed now. He got more of the money from the case and he made a down payment on a little house three blocks over. He'd stop there every night on his way home from work and check in on her. They'd always been friends, they been close since grade school but now she was so much more to him. Now she was family.

When the little boy was born she named him Jonathan but she called him Johnny. Johnny was her life.

She doted on the boy and he was a precious child. She thought he'd be wild like his Daddy but he wasn't. He was a calm little guy who loved to snuggle with his Mama and ride on his Uncle Daryl's shoulder.

Life for her was good, so good. Except for the aching in her heart that never eased up, never gave her a moment of peace. She never stopped loving and missing Johnny's Daddy.

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He'd gotten away clean with the drug money. He didn't know how and it didn't matter. There must have been a quarter million in cash in that case. He'd sent it all to his brother to use for her. Make sure she was taken care of, it was all he could do. That and set her free, give her a chance at a good life.

Six months after he put her on the bus he got popped for breaking and entering. When they sent him up they offered him rehab. Normally he'd decline such an offer, he always had. But this was different. He'd spoken to his brother on the phone and his brother had told him the news. The baby would be born within the month. He told how she'd come to Atlanta and he'd gotten her a little place, he was keeping an eye on her and he always would.

Merle took the rehab.

Two years later he was out, but he did things a whole lot different this time. He didn't buy gin and he didn't get a bag of dope, and he didn't get a Hot Honey. He got a job. Oh it wasn't the world's greatest job, and it didn't pay the kind of money he'd always thought he wanted, but it was honest and it was steady. For once he felt like he was being a real man, taking care of real business.

He'd driven by her place a few times. Wearing a big hat and dark glasses and hunched way down in the seat, just in case she glanced over toward him.

He saw her once in the yard. She and the little boy with the blond curls were laughing and chasing each other around. His heart ached to go to them. But he didn't.

Another time he saw her she was working in the yard. She'd dug a hole and the little fella handed her the flower to plant. Again his heart ached to go to them. But he didn't.

He waited until he'd proved something to himself. He waited until he'd stayed on the job six months and he was doing good, hadn't missed a day. It was two and a half years since he'd had a drink or smoked any dope, or even felt the desire. His only desire was to be with her and that little boy.

Friday night when he got off work he hurried home and showered up, put on a nice pair of trousers and a new shirt. He made one stop and he bought a little football, and he made another stop and got her a bouquet of flowers. He pulled in front of the little house and he took a deep breath. He still wasn't good enough for her but he could no longer live without her.

He went to the door and knocked loudly. He heard a little voice say "Mama! Mama!"

When she opened that door he couldn't help but smile as he looked in those big blue eyes, "I got myself clean n sober an I got me a job. I want nuthin' more than ta be that good man ya deserve, the Daddy our boy deserves. Ya ready ta give ol' Merle one more chance?"

"I've been ready."

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A/N I hope you enjoyed this portrayal of Merle and Beth. It's not quite my usual style of story but I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Here's how it came to be; texasbelle91 and I have some important things in common. We're multi-shippers – we're Bethylers who also happen to like a Brick and a Meth story. Another thing we both love is Texas Red Dirt Music, especially one Robert Earl Keen. REK has a song called "The Road Goes on Forever." I have loved the song for years but when texasbelle91 asked me to write a story based on it, I couldn't see how I could make it work for Beth, or see myself writing an ending like the one in the song. That's where another FF friend helped me out, ckgckg. She told me the story of a girl she went to school with. I used it as inspiration for Beth. So what I hope is you'll go to YouTube and listen to the song as Robert Earl Keen sings it. I thank Texas for her patience, and ckgckg for sharing that story with me, and I thank all of you for reading along. I'd appreciate your comments / reviews. x gneebee

The chapter photo – and gosh they look real pretty, is posted on my tumblr bethylmethbrick. Thank you again my friends and please never be shy about sending me your prompts and telling me your stories. And always remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee