A/N Happy Saturday! Thank you to all followers / favors / commenters and silent reader on FF, AO3, tumblr and FB - I appreciate you all! You'll recall this story came about from a song prompt sent to me by livingdeadgirl87. That entire song prompt is included right in this chapter. If you don't pick it up, it's revealed in the closing A/N.

Let's see now, oh yes, when we left off Daryl had turned the truck around :)

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Mama was fit to be tied and officially at the end of her rope. Daddy he was right there with her.

Beth didn't care how they felt or what they thought. She was too numbed by her own sadness to care, and it didn't matter anyway. Daryl was already long gone to Chattanooga and her little heart had long since broken into a million pieces.

Mama had her voice raised but Beth felt like she'd become immune to the sound. Mama and Daddy had yelled at her so much the last two weeks she seldom reacted and didn't take any of it seriously anymore.

This day, officially the saddest day of Beth's life, also happened to be the first Wednesday morning of the month. That meant Daddy went to the grange hall to play rummy with the other men from the local farming community. It also meant Mama went to the church hall to meet with the other ladies in their congregation for sewing, gossip and a potluck lunch.

Beth knew they never would have left her at the farm alone, they wouldn't have trusted what she might get up to, if they didn't know Daryl had left town.

But just because they weren't going to be home didn't mean they weren't going to continue their torture of her. Mama had given her a job she dreaded. It was one they usually did together once a year. They took all the doilies, and there were a lot, that Beth's great great grandma had crocheted, and the fancy pillowcases and little hand towels grandma had trimmed in tatting, and they carefully hand washed and starched every one of them. And not just any starch, special homemade starch following great great grandma's special recipe.

It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it wasn't already hotter than the devil's doorknob out. That's why they usually did this job in late fall. The oversize laundry sink was in a little wooden lean-to off the kitchen and it got even hotter in there than it was outside. If she'd ever had a doubt she didn't anymore, Mama hated her.

But she didn't argue, she didn't have the emotional energy to argue. Instead she decided to try and beat at least a little of the heat. She set up an old washtub on the front porch and she planned that when it was time to get their super secret starch recipe boiling, she'd set Daddy's old campstove up in the front yard, rather than heat up the kitchen. As long as the job was done right then Mama should be happy. Although Mama hadn't been happy with her for even one minute these past two weeks.

There she was sitting on the milking stool, with the wash bucket between her knees just scrubbing away, when she heard the big engine. Looking up she saw him, he was heading down that dirt driveway in his big white pickup smiling at her and her little heart nearly leaped from her chest. She stood so fast she almost dumped the bucket and she had those wet towels in her hand dripping sudsy water all over the front of her. She didn't notice that though. All she noticed was her Redneck Prince.

He flew out of that truck and came running to her, grabbing her up in his arms and spinning her around, "Come with me Baby. I'll send ya ta school if that's what ya want. I just know I don't wanna go ta Tennessee without ya."

She was laughing and crying at the same time. She couldn't believe he'd come back for her. She threw down the towels, took his face in her hands and with a big smile answered, "YES!"

He set her down and they kissed and they laughed and finally he said, "We gotta go Beth."

"I need to get my things silly, my clothes and stuff."

"Yeah, duh, c'mon I'll help."

They hurried in the house and up to her bedroom and that's when it hit him right between the eyes, she really was young. Her little pink bedroom with the ballerina wallpaper and the bulletin board covered in high school memories, stuffed animals on her bed. It all spoke to her youth. Maybe he should give a fuck about all that, but he didn't. All he cared about was he wanted her with him.

While she went to getting her things out of the dresser he opened the closet and grabbed her clothes there hangars and all, in one big armload. He turned to take them down to the pickup when she stopped him, "Wait just a sec Daryl, I need this sundress." It was a real pretty little yellow dress with tiny white flowers on it, and he was sure he'd like seeing her in it. He just didn't understand why she'd pick now to change her clothes. But then he supposed there were plenty of things women did men would never understand.

Besides, there wasn't time to ask questions. He rushed down the stairs with the clothes and out to the driveway and carefully laid them on the back seat of the pickup. When he got back upstairs she had her things from the dresser neatly folded and stacked on the bed, ready to go. She was in the bathroom stuffing things into her old high school gym bag. Curling irons, flat irons, electric curlers, makeup bags, not to mention products like soaps, shampoos, and lotions. He was thinking he might have to add on a bigger bathroom just for her stuff and he was feeling okay about that.

"I'm almost done Daryl. Before you go back downstairs could you finish zipping my dress up please?" She turned her back to him holding her ponytail out of the way, and as he zipped it up all he could think about was how much he'd rather be zipping it down. That would have to wait for later. "There ya go Baby."

Deciding her clothes were quite a bit nicer than his, he laid one of his clean t-shirts on the floorboard in the back seat, then set her carefully folded clothes neatly on top. When the job was done he looked back over toward the porch and there she was, his pretty little country girl. She'd set the gym bag down and she was pinning some kind of note to the screen door. He hurried over to carry the bag for her and he saw what the note said, "Sorry but I got to go." That was all she wrote.

He helped her up in the seat, kissed her quick, and hurriedly got in his side. He fired up that pickup and in no time flat he'd turned off that dirt road onto asphalt and they were on the highway. Long gone and hell-bent for Tennessee.

They'd been on the road a while and they were almost to Macon. The radio was on some station she liked and she was singing along to the tunes, and he was smiling. He was feeling so happy and relieved he'd gone back for her. He wondered why his dumb ass didn't think of it sooner.

He took a quick look over at her and she looked so pretty in the yellow dress and white sandals. He smiled a big happy smile and casually asked, "Why'd ya wanna get yourself all dressed up so pretty Baby?"

She smiled back and answered, "I wanted to look nice for our special occasion. I can't be getting married in my work clothes."

His smile fell as his forehead wrinkled and all he could think was, "Well fuck me." He hadn't even thought about that. He pulled over at a wide spot in the road, stopped the pickup and looked over at her, "Baby I ain't the marryin' kind."

Her face went from that beautiful and happy smile to looking more miserable than he would have thought possible. Her neck and cheeks were flushed pink and in a quietly nervous and embarrassed voice she responded, "Oh. I guess I thought because, you know we were going to be um together...nevermind."

He was looking in those big blue eyes as they filled with tears and he decided right then he was the biggest fucking idiot on this or any other planet. They'd been through so much and now they were finally going to be together. He sure as hell didn't want to take her back home. And he couldn't think of any other eyes he'd ever want to look in again but hers'. He was sure she was the only woman he'd ever want.

He went into full situation recovery mode, thinking fast and reaching over to take her hand, "I meant before now. I ain't never been the marryin' kind before. Not til I met you Baby. I thought we'd take care of all that right up here when we get to Macon. Sound good?"

She was smiling all big and pretty again when she said, "Oh yes Daryl, that sounds perfect, I mean if you want to." And he knew that smile on her face was worth whatever kind of fresh hell he might be getting himself into. "Shit Baby ain't nuthin' I want more."

The first thing they did when they hit Macon was stop in a small jewelry store where he bought her a pretty little ring, but then she questioned, "Well shouldn't you wear one too?" Shit he thought, why the fuck not? In one day he was turning his whole life upside down and inside out. He may as well have the ring to prove it. "Well sure Baby yeah I want one. Can't wear it to work though, just so ya know. It's too dangerous, it could get hung up on somethin'."

"I didn't think about that. I wouldn't want to take a chance you'd get hurt. But you'll wear it everywhere besides work, right?"

He was smiling and he had to ask, "Ya worried I ain't gonna be proud ta be married to ya Baby? I'ma let everyone know what a lucky guy I am to be your husband." It was then he realized he wasn't just saying those words, he meant them.

They got to the clerk's office, where he had to slip some large bills to a couple of people to fast track the whole affair. But if they were going to do this he thought it best to do it before they left Georgia where they were still state residents. So they did the deed there in Macon in front of a local judge. Daryl kissed his bride like the honeymoon had already started and Beth handed the clerk her phone. The woman took a couple of pictures for them and Daryl slipped her a twenty for her trouble, because why the hell not? It was his wedding day. Everyone should be happy.

He took her out for a late lunch / early dinner kind of thing to a real nice steakhouse. They were sitting close and they just couldn't quit looking at each other and smiling. But there was also a little underlying case of nerves on both their part. This was a big fucking deal and he knew that. He'd just given a lifetime guarantee to this pretty young woman. For her the anxiety was about more immediate things, like that big bed he'd bought and what would undoubtedly be happening there later.

No one knows why men do the things they do or why they say the things they say, but it was in the midst of all this thinking and anxiety that he thought to ask her. He had a big ol' happy grin on his face when he questioned, "Does my knew bride know how to cook at all?"

His decidedly dumb wedding day question turned out to be a good thing, she thought he was just kidding around and she laughed. That made him laugh and it got their minds off their nerves, at least temporarily. It turned into a little game. As they asked and they answered and they laughed they both felt more relaxed.

She shrugged her shoulders a little, but she hadn't lost her smile and she answered in a sassy tone, "Of course silly, I've been helping Mama in the kitchen my whole life."

She was so fucking cute he really couldn't care less if she could cook. There were plenty of restaurants in Chattanooga. But he went right ahead and asked, "Fried chicken?"

"Yes I can make the best fried chicken dinner you ever had." She was smiling so pretty.

"How 'bout eggs n grits, ya good with that?" He asked his question with that half-crooked smile on his face, and she was real partial to that.

Her smile had gotten bigger, "Of course, I live on a farm where we raise chickens. And Daryl we do live in the south. Everybody down here is born knowing how to make grits."

He was almost laughing out loud now, "Biscuits?"

"Oh sure my Daddy practically demands fresh biscuits every day." Then she tried to look intimidating, "Whatever you do, don't ever demand anything."

"Won't happen Baby, even I ain't that dumb."

Now they were both quietly laughing and she asked, "What are you going to cook for me Daryl?"

"I'ma grill you up whatever the hell you want grilled up Baby. I'll make ya a peach pie too."

"You know how to make peach pie?"

"Yep I do. In spite a what people say your husband ain't completely worthless. Peach pie is my favorite so I learned how to make it for myself, now I'ma be makin' it for my bride."

When they left the restaurant they were smiling and holding hands and he was thinking maybe this marriage stuff wasn't a bad idea at all. He made one more stop before they left town. He had an empty cooler in the truck bed, wedged in there by his bike, and he filled it with two bottles of champagne, a six pack of beer, a four pack of wine coolers and a sack of ice. Once he had it all in there and everything iced down he smiled to himself and thought, "Let the honeymoon begin."

He was just about to open the pickup door when he remembered Merle. Shit, his brother was coming over that evening to help him unload the trailer.

He laughed a little when he sent the text, "Don't come to my house tonight I'm bringing Baby home. Call u tomorrow."

"Is that right? Well fuck u little brother."

"Fuck u Merle."

"See u tomorrow."

"Thanks man."

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Down there in Waycross out on the Greene farm no one was laughing, or smiling, or teasing each other or thinking about drinking any champagne.

Mama had arrived home first and she saw the bucket on the porch, still full of suds. She noticed some of the doilies and dainty towels were hanging on the line, but there was no Beth. Then she saw the note stuck on the screen door. She took one look at what it said and she ran up to her daughter's bedroom. She saw Beth's closet was bare and the dresser drawers were cleaned out too. When Mama saw her girl had taken her things she knew this was bigger than just sneaking out. Mama laid a hand on her chest and with tears in her eyes she gasped, her heart was broken.

She made her way back down to the kitchen just about the time Daddy walked in. She told him the terrible news about their daughter and the well driller and Daddy was shocked. How could his sweet little ponytailed girl just run off this way?

He just stared out the kitchen window thinking they should have seen it coming. That girl of theirs had been taking every opportunity, and creating even more opportunity, to sneak off and spend her time with that man. They should have known it was just a matter of time before she ran away with him.

Maybe they should have. But like good parents everywhere they were hoping against hope their daughter would get over her fascination with the wrong man. Or even maybe that he'd just leave her crying while he ran off with some other delusional young woman. But no, that redneck well driller had come and taken their baby girl and the two of them were gone in the blink of an eye.

Mama just knew they'd be the talk of the whole darn town. She'd spent enough time with those old biddies down at the beauty shop to know how it would go. They'd all be sipping their pink lemonades and gossiping non-stop about sweet little Beth Green running off with the worst kind of man, a Dixon man!

Oh there would be speculation for sure. He must have been one smooth talking son of a gun for such a grounded and God-fearing girl to just up and run. And Mrs. Niedermeyer would no doubt tell how she'd seen the pair of them all snuggled up at the café. And young Rosita would practically swoon as she chimed in, "Well he is real, real good looking." Her mother would caution that girl to watch herself.

That's when Erma Horvath would smile, shrugging her shoulders and simply tell it like it is, "She's plenty old enough to know her own heart. You can't stop love. It always finds a way."

Daddy he could already guess what the preacher would be preaching about Sunday morning. Nothing like this had ever happened in their small church community. Everyone would be side-eying him and his wife wondering what kind of negligent parents that they were exactly.

Everyone knows there's nothing that will break a man's heart like a daughter gone wrong, and those good folks would be speculating about just how wrong that girl had gone. Was a small Dixon child due to arrive?

Hershel was having every kind of horrible thought a Daddy can have. There was even a tiny part of him that was thinking just maybe he should have gone a little easier on his daughter and the well driller. After all she was old enough. Maybe he should have given them a chance. Maybe she'd still be here with them. The fact of it was she was 18 years old and in his heart he knew, you can't fence time just like you can't stop love.

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Beth suddenly remembered her responsibility. She texted her boss at Noble's and let him know that she wouldn't be coming back. She was honest with Bob, she sent him one of the wedding pictures and told him how sorry she was, that she hadn't known she was going to be running off an getting married or she'd have given him more notice.

Then she sent Amy a text. It was full of emojis of rings and champagne, wedding bells and hearts and flowers, and she told Amy just what they'd done and where they were going now. She heard right back from her excited friend, "Call me when you can, I want to hear all the details. So happy for you and Daryl. Still desperately seeking my own well driller xoxo"

Then she took a deep breath and sent a picture to Mama's phone. "We got married Mama and we're on our way to Daryl's new house in Chattanooga. I promise it will all be good. You'll see Mama. I want you to know I love you and Daddy and I'm happy. I'll call you in a few days xoxo" Then she turned the phone off.

Suddenly Daryl wondered something. This was supposed to be a honeymoon, maybe he should try and make it more special, he asked her, "Baby is it home ya wanna go or should we go back to that hotel?"

"I just want us to be home Mister Dixon."

He smiled and nodded and he might have even pressed down a little harder on the accelerator.

It was well after dark when he pulled in the driveway of their new home. He smiled over at her, took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissed it and said, "We're home Mrs. Dixon."

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A/N Gee, I guess we're due for a honeymoon. Okay, if you know the song you saw it loud and clear in this chapter. It's an older country song by Sara Evans called "Suds in the Bucket." If you don't know it you can find it on YouTube. The chapter photo, including a little picture of the yellow house with white trim, is on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick, please check those out. Thank you again to livingdeadgirl87 for the prompt and thanks to all of you for reading along. I hope to see you back next Saturday for more Long Gone. If you are Canadian, Happy Canada Day! If you're in the USA Happy 4th of July! Remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee