A/N Thank you for taking the time to read my newest Bethyl story. We'll have some ups, some downs some fun and some love. I hope you enjoy.
Beth is 18, Daryl is 28
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The big move wasn't going at all like he'd planned, because he'd never planned on meeting Beth Greene.
Now here he was lying in bed unable to sleep because his emotions were all over the map and his heart was aching. At the time he'd applied for the job he thought it meant everything. It would be a great start on a new life and a new angle on his profession.
But the real reason he'd applied for the position in the first place was to get out of Georgia and finally be free of the Dixon reputation. It was like a 50 pound sack of wet concrete he'd been forced to carry around his whole life.
Plus there were all those big perks with the new job. He'd be doing commercial well drilling with more challenges, higher pay, and even benefits like paid vacations and holidays. He'd never had those kinds of perks and he was stoked.
Then it happened, Horvath sent him on a service call to check the well pump at the Greene farm and he met HER. He should have seen it coming, the signs were all there. His life would never be the same.
She was flirtatious right from the start and at first he foolishly thought maybe they'd just mess around a little. They'd have some good times before he split and moved to Tennessee. But that wasn't how it turned out at all. There was a great big problem, he'd fallen for Beth Greene fast and hard.
They'd only had a month together but it had been the best month of his life, and now he had to leave her.
00
She had her face buried in her pillow and all she could think was she was never going to see Daryl Dixon again. She was trying so hard to be quiet, the last thing she needed or wanted was for her parents to hear her and start asking a million questions. But she was just so sad and miserable. She was crying harder than she could ever remember having cried.
The more she thought about never seeing Daryl again the more her heart broke and the harder she cried.
It was the timing that had been all wrong for them, at least that was the first problem. By the time they met he already had his plan in place, he was going to Chattanooga for some great new job. When he made the move he was going to be more than a five and a half hour drive from where she was, just outside Waycross.
Daryl had been honest with her right from the start. He told her that very first night that he'd signed an employment contract with a Tennessee company and he'd soon be leaving.
She hadn't even worried about it, it seemed like a long time off and at least he'd be around long enough to have some fun with. That's where she'd made her mistake, she hadn't planned on it ever being anything more than that, a little fun. She hadn't even thought about the possibility of falling in love with him.
The other problem was her folks. It wasn't that they hated him, not exactly; they just tried to convince her he wasn't the right man for her. They told her he was too unpolished and too coarse looking and sounding, and he definitely came from the wrong side of the tracks. They were also uncomfortable with the fact that at 28 years old he was 10 years her senior.
She didn't care about any of those things. She thought he was pretty darn close to perfect. In fact she happened to find his unkempt look quite sexy, and just because his speech was a little unpolished didn't mean he didn't say some awfully sweet things. But none of that even mattered anymore. He'd be leaving in the morning and she was sure he was never coming back.
It All Began…
They'd been without water in the house for three days and Annette was fit to be tied. The other wells were fine but they didn't pump to the house and the water was either stock or irrigation water, not safe for human consumption. "Hershel Greene I'm not putting up with you and Otis trying to fix that well for another minute! You call a professional outfit now, call Horvath's Well Drilling & Service and let them fix it. I swear if you don't, I will!"
Hershel tried real hard to act peevish but the truth was he was pretty relieved to have his wife force his hand, even if he'd never admit it. He was sick and tired of trying to get the dang thing fixed himself, while at the same time having to listen to his wife and daughter complain about the lack of running water in the house.
Beth had finally given up all hope and gone to town that morning, saying she couldn't take it another minute. She went to Amy's to shower and do her hair.
Hershel made the call and Horvath promised he'd have a man there that very afternoon. Sure enough right after the noon meal the big service truck pulled in the yard and Beth pulled in right behind him in her Mama's sedan, freshly showered and so much happier.
She watched the man jump down from the truck cab and she felt her breath catch in her throat. That sure wasn't Mr. Horvath. Whoever this man was he made quite the yummy sight.
It looked like at some point he just randomly decided to tear the sleeves off his shirt. That was fine with her because his arms were something she was pretty sure she'd never tire of looking at.
He was wearing some kind of chino pants and when he raised his arms to get something out of the back of the truck, his shirt rose up. It was all she could do not to gasp. His pants sat low and his slim waist and firm stomach were exposed, and he had those curves and hollows at his hips and low back, all on display and all making the hot summer sun feel even hotter.
She shut the car door, his head turned toward the noise and he fixed his eyes on her. She was surprised she didn't pass out right there in the driveway. It wasn't just the deep blue color of those eyes that got to her, it was the intensity of the look. A look that sent a delicious little chill right through her, which played nicely with the heat she was already feeling.
He casually gave her a nod of the head and she returned the same before heading in the house feeling like she needed another cool shower.
00
He just expected to go out to some farm to pull a well pump and see if it could be saved. He hadn't expected to see a hot country girl checking him out. And he had no doubt that checking him out was exactly what she'd been doing. He liked it a lot that she had.
She had a tight little body and sexy blond curls, and when she looked at him with those big baby blues he was happy to look right back. Why in the world she'd waste her time looking at the likes of him he had no idea but he also had no complaints. He'd keep that image of her in his mind while he went to work pulling that pump.
She yelled "Hi" to her Mama and ran up the stairs to her room, hoping to peek out the window and watch the handsome stranger at work. Sure, sure she was supposed to be sewing a new Sunday dress, but it was only Tuesday. The dress could wait.
So she watched him. She watched as he walked to the side of the house and flipped the breaker. Then she got to watch those muscles in his arms work as he took a socket wrench to loosen the ancient well cap bolts. She was sure that was the hottest thing she'd ever seen.
Until she saw something even hotter. It was by far her favorite part. He hooked the winch up and starting pulling the pump out of the well, stopping every twenty feet or so to remove the galvanized piping. Even with the A/C on she wished she had a fan.
The work wasn't easy or enjoyable, but what made the experience fun for him was he knew that pretty little country girl was watching every move he made. She might have thought she was being sneaky peeking from behind the curtain but he wasn't that easily fooled. He was half tempted to look up, smile and wave. But he didn't want her to go away.
He tested the pump and just as he and the boss had suspected the old well pump was a goner, burned out. It had already outlived its life expectancy by ten years. Now he just had to talk the farmer into letting him replace it with the new one he'd brought with him.
Her Daddy came in the house and told Mama what was going to happen. The man from Horvath's was going to drop a new pump in the well and get it up and running ASAP. But the well had now been disturbed. It was likely there would be sediment in the water and it would take a day or two to clear up. The fellow from Horvath's was going to "shock" it with a large dose of chlorine, then be back to check everything the following day.
Beth got right on the phone with Amy and asked if she could come over extra early the next morning for another shower.
She watched him drop the pump in the well and get everything all sealed up just right, and then she watched him carry everything back to his truck. She felt pretty certain she could watch that man lift and tote stuff all day long, especially if he was wearing that shirt with the sleeves torn off.
As soon as he was done shocking the well she got her own shock and he got to do what he'd waited to do, he looked up smiled and waved. She was sure she was about to drop dead, but first she smiled and waved back.
When he showed up to check the well at eight a.m. the next morning she was already back from Amy's, showered, her hair fixed, makeup on just right and dressed real cute. She knew it was now or never, his work on the farm was done. She casually strolled over to where he was working and said, "I work afternoons through the dinner rush down at Noble's Diner you should stop in and see me later, if you want." And she hurried away before she dropped dead again.
The diner was busy and she was pouring coffee, serving up meat loaf, fried chicken, smothered pork and slices of pie with ice cream at a fevered pitch. You wouldn't suppose she even had time to think, but she did. What she thought about was him and she wondered if he'd show.
She got her answer when he came strolling in at 5:45, freshly showered but still looking deliciously messy. His shirt was clean but just like his work shirt the sleeves had been torn off. She didn't mind that at all, he carried the look off quite nicely.
He'd had every intention of going home after work, having a beer and eating the venison roast he put in the crockpot that morning. That was before her invitation. Now he'd just make sandwiches for his lunches out of that roast, because he had no intention of letting her invitation go unanswered.
He walked in the old diner and there she was, standing behind the counter with her blond hair fighting to get out of a ponytail and her cheeks flushed pink from the work and the heat. He knew then he'd made the right choice; she had a whole lot more appeal than that roast.
He sat down and she came right over to him with a glass of ice water in her hand, "Hey well digger, can I get you a coffee?"
"Hey yourself. Let's see it says there on your tag you're Beth. It's too hot for coffee and ya probably don't have beer, so how 'bout a sweet tea Beth?"
"Coming right up. What's your name?"
"Daryl Well Digger Dixon." His laugh was coarse just like his speaking voice. She liked both.
"Okay Daryl, let me get you that tea." She set the plastic covered menu in front of him but he didn't look at it. When it came to these little joints he didn't venture into unknown territory. It was tough to mess up a cheeseburger and fries so he'd stick with tried and true.
When she brought back the tea he gave her a lopsided grin, a thank you and asked, "Ya workin' hard this evenin' Beth?"
"I don't think I've ever worked as hard as I saw you working. It was very impressive."
"Yeah I seen you was watchin' me."
She smiled and denied, "I wasn't watching you, I was curious how that work was done."
He snorted out a laugh at that, "Yeah whatever girl. How 'bout a cheeseburger an some fries, please?"
"Sure," and then she leaned across the counter and whispered, "It's the only thing they really know how to cook around here."
When she brought his food he asked, "What time ya off tonight?"
"In 45 minutes."
"Well if you was wantin' to take a little ride I'd like to take ya. I could eat this slow and I'd also have a slice a that cherry pie."
"A ride sounds perfect. I'll get the pie."
He was just opening the door of his pickup, and she was making a mental note of just how nice that big white one ton F-250 super duty was. But while she was thinking that he was having a moment of fear, "How old are you Beth?"
"18."
She saw his expression immediately change from happy to concerned, "Shit, you're a damn kid."
"Why, how old are you?"
"28 and feelin' like a dirty old man." He felt like he ought to back off right then and there. He could just tell her it was nice to meet her and then get his ass out of there.
That's just what he could have and should have done, maybe. But she was a sassy thing and she got to him when she said, "You're not too old or too dirty for me. Let's go for that ride."
"Yeah we'll be goin' for a ride alright cuz you ain't old enough to go for a beer."
She got a little fiery then, "Well we don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to. I'll just take myself right home."
No way, he was letting her go now, "Get in the truck girl." He said it with such a sweet little smile it didn't sound like a command, it was more like a sexy invitation. She took him up on it.
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A/N There's a chapter photo on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick, since it's Daryl and Beth you know they look good :) This story grew from a prompt given me by LivingDeadGirl87. So as not to spoil things, I'll explain the prompt when we've seen it play out in the story. This fic will post each Saturday until complete. If you haven't had a chance yet, please also consider checking out my other current Bethyl multi chapter, Long Love Story. Thanks so much for reading along and I hope you'll leave a comment or review. Until next week remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee