It rained all night so hopefully that helped put the wildfires out. Hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for reading! =)

Chapter Seven

Carol hadn't been sure if this had been a very good idea but her mind changed quickly when she told Sophia the plan. She had been ecstatic and Carol couldn't remember seeing her so excited for anything. She had admired the new pole, her eyes huge as she took in everything Daryl showed her. When he handed it to her she held it like it was much more than just a fishing pole. Carol guessed that to Sophia, it really was. This wasn't a fishing trip to her. This wasn't a fun day of school skipping. This was a very big thing in her small world.

The spot he took them to was beautiful, the lake was still as glass with the blue sky reflecting off the surface. There was a strip of sand that bore traces that the local wildlife enjoyed the spot. Daryl showed both of them the different tracks, was able to name the animal and even tell them the size. He seemed more at ease out here than she had ever seen him before. She wasn't sure whether to attribute that to the fact that he was simply comfortable with them now, or if this type of place was somehow soothing to him.

Once they got started Daryl grumbled because he had to bait their hooks but she could tell that he didn't really mind. He was preoccupied, showing Sophia how to cast the line and reel it back in, giving her advice and telling her about his own excursions. Sophia listened raptly, not interrupting one time. The sun was beating down on them and she started worrying about Sophia getting a sunburn so she dug around in her bag until she found the sun screen.

"What's that?" Daryl asked.

She held up the bottle. "If you haven't noticed, you're with a couple of pale skins out here. I don't want her to get a sunburn."

"That stuff stinks," Sophia mumbled but she kept her eyes on the bobber.

Daryl made a face of his own and then stood up from the large rock he had been sitting on. "You're gonna smear that gunk all over her?"

Carol sighed. "For a man that doesn't have any kids of his own, you sure are extremely motherly."

He sat down next to her on the log but she ignored the look she knew he was giving her. "You know, there's so many damn chemicals in that crap that it's a lot worse for her than the sun."

She glanced up and shifted until her knees were facing his. "And what would you suggest? Have us both look like lobsters when we're finally ready to go?"

He shook his head. "There's an all natural way for you to avoid sunburn if you're really worried about it. You think the settlers used sun block?"

Carol was about to ask him what it might be but she heard Sophia giggle and looked over. The girl was watching them with a mischievous glint in her eyes but then looked away quickly, pretending to focus on the bobber once more. Carol's brows pulled together in a frown and when she looked at Daryl again he was trying to hide a smile of his own. "Well, we aren't settlers," she muttered in her own defense.

He nodded towards the girl. "Sophia," he said, humor clear in his voice. "What'd I tell you about avoidin' a nasty sunburn if you find yourself out somewhere without none of that stinkin' ass sunblock?"

Sophia glanced at them with a wide grin. "Mud."

Carol hadn't even realized he had moved but suddenly she felt his hands on her bare shoulders, but that wasn't all she felt. She yelled as the cold muck oozed down her arms and she stood up so fast she nearly stumbled. "You ass!"

He stood up from his crouch and swiped his hands down either side of her face before she could back out of reach. She heard Sophia howl with laughter and Daryl was grinning like a lunatic. She swiped at her face but that only seemed to make it worse. She growled and opened her mouth to call him a few select vulgar names but suddenly Sophia was yelling and they both turned.

She was struggling with the pole, reeling in the line as best she could but it didn't seem to be working very well. Daryl hopped down from the log and hurried over but didn't take the pole from her. He crouched down, readjusted her grip on the pole and then waited there while the girl hauled in a fish that looked as big as she was. Daryl whistled low and finally gave her a hand, quickly reeling it the rest of the way in.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about, runt. You must be a natural cause I've sure as hell not caught a fish that big in a long time."

The mud forgotten Carol snatched her camera up and took a few pics of Sophia staring wide eyed as Daryl held the fish up in front of her. The pride she saw in his eyes had her lowering the camera and caused a lump to form in her throat. Sophia wanted to let the fish go, which Carol thought was a good idea but Daryl seemed to think it was a total waste of good food.

As excited as Sophia had been about coming out, she was still young enough to get bored quickly so she abandoned her pole after a while and started playing in the sand, close enough to the water that it almost made her nervous. She had washed off the mud Daryl had smeared on her and was now leaning back on her arms, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face. She smiled to herself as she watched Sophia. She felt a little silly now, remembering how much she dreaded this day.

Sophia scooted a little closer to the waters edge and Carol felt a little spark of panic in her chest, causing her to sit up.

"Don't get any closer to the water, Sophia," she said quickly.

She looked over at the sound of Daryl's heavy sigh. He was sitting next to her, leaning back on his arms and now he was staring at her with his brows raised.

"You tellin' me you ain't taught the girl how to swim?" he asked, looking at her like he was completely disappointed.

She chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, watching him watch her, not really wanting to answer him but knowing he would needle her until she did. "She's four. There's plenty of time to teach her how to swim."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"You don't know how to swim either, do you?" he asked, looking very much like he was fighting a smile.

"Pffft," she waved him off and stood up, dusting off the seat of her shorts.

He stood up with her. "What's gonna happen if she falls into the lake?" Now he sounded serious.

She frowned, her eyes sliding to her daughter, who wasn't paying any attention to either of them. "We don't go to the lake and if we start then we'll just go with you and then you can save both of us."

He nodded and then looked away, his eyes on the water but looking as though he was seeing something else. They stood there like that for a long time, neither saying anything at all and she was the one that broke it, her own words surprising her but something she had wanted to say even before the perfect day they'd had.

"Do you think you plan on being around a lot? Around Sophia and I, I mean?" she asked, feeling her face flush slightly.

His eyes slid over to hers briefly and he toed the sand with his boot. "Well, unless you plan on movin' away, I guess I'll be around since we're neighbors and all."

She knew that he was well aware that she wasn't talking about if they would remain neighbors for a while. "Did you miss us?" she asked, knowing that personally, she had been counting down the hours until he got back.

He glanced at her and shrugged.

"Is that a no?" she pressed.

He scoffed. "I left four days early, drove like a maniac, stocked up on fishin' supplies for the girl, drug you both out here to get sunburned on a school day. What the hell do you think?"

She smiled then. "Sounds to me like you have it pretty bad for us."

He shook his head, his face flushing. "Sounds to me like you're full of yourself." He met her eyes then.

"I'm starving," Sophia piped up, giving both of them a reason to look away from the other.

Carol eyed the girl and then looked up at Daryl once more. "What about you?" she shook her head. "That was a stupid question. You're always hungry."

He frowned. "I'd try to argue but I can't. It's the damn truth."

She expected him to take them home but he drove up to a drive through. He ordered two large hot fudge sundaes with extra whip cream and then turned to Carol, raising a brow. "Daryl, I'm not ordering her ice cream for lunch," she said, keeping her voice low so Sophia wouldn't hear her.

He grinned. "I figured that so I did it myself. What do you want to eat?"

"I'm not eating ice cream for lunch either!"

He shrugged, ordered a salad to go with the Sundaes and pulled up to the window. Carol glared at him but he ignored her, refusing to look at her now.

"She can't eat a whole large Sundae by herself!"

They ended up at the park across the street with Carol sitting across from them, Daryl and Sophia looking like their ice cream was the best in the world while Carol stabbed at her lettuce dejectedly. She kept flashing Daryl dirty looks but every time he'd catch her glaring at him he'd smirk and lick his spoon. He was doing it to be a smart ass but in all actuality, the sight of his tongue made her flush.

"Mama, you can share with me. I can't believe you picked salad over ice cream."

Daryl grinned. "I can't either. Your mom's crazy." He scooted his food to the middle of the table and produced another plastic wrapped spoon out of then air, handing it to her. Against her better judgment she slid her salad away and helped him finish off the Sundae.

After they were finished eating Sophia took off towards the playground equipment and Daryl stepped right onto the table top and took a seat next to Carol. She glanced over at him but he wasn't paying any attention to her. His forearms were resting on his thighs, his head down as he picked at a hangnail. He looked to be deep in thought.

"What next?" she asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

He looked over sharply and his eyes locked onto hers, his gaze intense. "What?" he asked, the look on his face never changing.

She smiled slightly. "Well, we've fished, we had a horrible lunch, now she's having a great time over there. I was just wondering what else you were going to pull out of your bag of tricks to make sure what would have been a horrible day, turns out to be one of the best she's ever had." Everything he had done today was above and beyond and she was more grateful than he would ever know.

A flush spread from his neck to his ears and he looked away. "Didn't plan anything. I bought her a pole so you could take her fishin'. I ain't got any tricks."

She watched her daughter for a while, trying to figure out how to word what she had to say next. "She's been through a lot," she said, hesitantly.

He nodded, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

She swallowed hard. "I know that to you, she's just a kid that happened to stumble into your path. The last few weeks have been fun for all of us, but..."

He chewed his lip as she tried to think of how to say what needed to be said but he didn't give her a chance. "You've been through a lot yourself," he said, his voice low and gruff. "So have I if truth be told. You wanna make sure I know that if I disappear, it'd hurt her. I already know that. I ain't got any plans of goin' anywhere, if that is what you're worried about. I wouldn't do that to the kid and I wouldn't do it to you, either."

She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Because you'd starve?"

He met her eyes then. "Yeah."

She smiled and bumped his shoulder with hers. "Thank you for today."

He shrugged.

"You're really cute when you blush like that," she pressed.

He shook his head, hopped down from the table and grabbed her hand, pulling her until she was standing in front of him, so close they were almost touching. Her breath came out in a rush, warmth flooding her and a thrill caused her stomach to do that now familiar flutter thing that made her want to grin. The look he was giving her only made it worse. He leaned in a little closer and she licked her lips. She wanted to close the distance. She wanted to know what his lips would taste like, how they'd feel moving over hers. The look in his eyes grew more intense and then the hand still holding hers shifted until their fingers were entwined.

"Finally!"

Just like that the spell was broken, he dropped her hand and took a step back. Sophia was standing a few feet away, a smile ready to split her face in half. He met Carol's eyes once but then looked back down at the girl.

"Well kiss her already!" Sophia nearly shouted, hands on her hips.

Daryl looked as though he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole but he saved face by grabbing Sophia, tossing her over his shoulder. "Shut up, kid," he grumbled as Sophia squealed with laughter. He headed towards the truck so Carol followed, her heart still beating out an excited rhythm.