Parts
Everyone had Fort Benning on the brain, which I didn't disagree with. Even though I didn't think anyone was there, it should be a stronghold similar to the prison. Armory, generators, food rations, possibly running water, etcetera. So long as Fort Benning had most of those things, it didn't sound like a bad idea. It was getting there that was the issue. Almost all of the vehicles were running out of fuel, and we hadn't even left the city limits.
We decided to stop in a small neighborhood. We were still in Atlanta, but away from the more heavily populated areas.
"Son of a bitch," Daryl hissed as he tried to restart the truck. This was where we wanted to stop, but the truck decided it was going to stop here permanently. It stalled just as Daryl hit the brakes. "Come on," he muttered, but it didn't even want to turn over. He let his head fall back in exasperation.
"Come on," I said. I gestured to the abandoned cars around us. "There's bound to be some fuel left around here."
"If there ain't," he said as we got out. "We still got the bike. I'ma go see how it's doin' on fuel."
When I got out of the truck and closed the door, I leaned against it with a tired sigh. I had slept a total of about five hours within a three-day time span, now going on day four. I had slept those five hours when Daryl and I had camped out near Woodbury. Then, the CDC happened and I hadn't slept there for obvious reasons. Once out of the CDC, we all left in our vehicles, and I certainly wasn't going to get any sleep then. And I was not able to convince Daryl to let me sleep in the truck bed while we travelled.
"One hard bump," he had said. "And you'll be tossed out and covered in road rash."
"I've gotten road rash before," I had shrugged. "Not like you'll hear me bitch about it if it happens."
"You're right," he agreed with a nod. "You won't bitch about it. You'll get back up and act like it never even happened, and then I won't know if you're injured or not."
"You know me so well."
And now the truck didn't even want to go at all, but the little neighborhood we were in had plenty of abandoned cars. I pushed off the door to go join the others while Daryl stayed in the truck bed inspecting Merle's motorcycle. Everyone else had exited their vehicles and were now strategizing by the RV.
"We got any extra fuel cans," Rick asked around.
"I should have some," Dale said as he disappeared into the RV.
"Jeep's got some attached," Shane said.
Rick nodded. "That's what we're gonna do while it's still daylight. T-Dog, Glenn, Shane, grab a fuel can and start siphoning from any vehicle you come across. If you don't know how to siphon, ask someone to teach you."
"Are the rest of us gonna sit here and twiddle our thumbs," Andrea scoffed with a frown. She stood up while patting the gun she had holstered on her hip. "I'll stand on top of the RV, keep watch."
"Anybody ever teach you how to use that," Shane asked dubiously.
Andrea glared at him. "I know how to shoot a gun."
T-Dog shook his head and glanced at me. "Layla should be the one on top of the RV," he said as Andrea scoffed again. "She's got a bow. We're still too close to the city to be firing off rounds."
"We'll need Layla for night watch," Rick shook his head. "Dale," he asked as Dale exited the RV with some fuel cans.
Dale nodded as Shane handed him a rifle. He turned around to climb up the ladder.
"What do you mean 'night watch'," Ed grumbled. "We'll be in our vehicles once y'all get fuel in 'em. Drive through the night."
Rick shook his head again. "It might not work out that way. Depending on how much fuel we find, extra supplies we find, and how tired we are-"
"And any RV parts," Dale added from on top of the RV. He tapped the roof with his toe. "I can list off the top of my head what this ol' girl will need before she breaks down. And she will break down."
"And bike parts," Daryl said as he came up beside me. "Truck's dead. The bike's got fuel, but needs some extra maintenance." He looked at me. "Merle thought it'd be fun to use it to weave through a crowd of walkers about a month ago. Some of those walkers ended up as speed bumps," he added with an eye roll.
I smirked and shook my head. "Dumbass," I muttered. I glanced around. "Daryl and I'll look around for an auto garage or parts store. Dale, make me a list."
Dale nodded once and got out a notepad to start jotting down.
"What do you want the rest of us do," Lori asked Rick.
Rick flexed his jaw, unsure. Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn went to find gas, Dale was taking watch, and Daryl and I were about to go find parts. That left Lori, Andrea, Carol, Sophia, Carl, and Ed.
"Um," Rick tried. I observed Rick and his interaction with them closely. Keeping things calmly organized was one of the areas where Rick struggled as leader. He often preferred his people to be self-motivated so he wouldn't feel burdened. The less motivated or independent someone was, the more stressed out he got over trying to keep them safe. Although he would never admit that, especially given that he also had hypocritical control-freak tendencies.
Carol spoke up. "Lori, what was the most recent thing we were teaching the kids? Was it fractions or multiplications?"
"Uh," Lori thought aloud. "Multiplications, I think?"
Carol shrugged. "We could find a place to sit and have another lesson." She glanced at a large tree near a church. "That shade looks cozy."
Carl and Sophia both grimaced. "It's the end of the world," Carl grumbled. "Why do we gotta do schoolwork?"
"Do as they say, you two," Rick grinned at them. Then, he nodded at Lori, Carol, and Andrea. "Sounds like a plan. I'm gonna go look through abandoned vehicles for supplies. Ed, I could use-"
Ed glared and scoffed and turned away, walking in a random direction down the street as he got out a pack of smokes. Rick blew out a puff of air.
"I can keep an eye on him," Andrea offered. "I…don't know much about teaching kids anyway."
I slowly shook my head with a frown. I believed Andrea could be scrappy if she wanted to, but I didn't think she could take on Ed if it came down to it. I could tell by the way she had her hands on her hips and fingers flitting over her holster that she believed she could get the upper hand by relying on her gun.
I didn't know Ed's history, but I could imagine he'd been in many bar fights. I highly doubted a weapon would deter him. Not that Andrea was planning on shooting him, she was just prepared to come across as intimidating. What bothered me the most, though, was that she kept her hand on her gun as if it were a necessity. To me, she didn't come across as intimidating. She came across as trigger-happy.
Dale's list entered my vision, floating down in front of my like a leaf. I snatched it from the air and looked it over. "Let's see what we can find," I told Daryl. He nodded, adjusted his crossbow higher on his shoulder, and we began to walk away. Bike parts would be simple once we found some sort of auto place, but Dale's RV was an old model. His parts would be harder to find.
"Hold up a sec," Rick said to us before we got out of sight. He turned back to Andrea with his hand held out. "Lemme see your gun."
Andrea's eyes narrowed tensely. "Why?"
"When was the last time you cleaned it," he asked calmly.
She held a staring contest with Rick. With a sigh, she continued to glare at him while handing over her gun. I watched closely. My belief that she was trigger-happy only grew when her fingers brushed against the trigger as she passed it. Rick winced ever so slightly, having seen that as well. Andrea had no idea, because she looked at me harshly and demanded, "What?"
Oh, the sarcastic comments I had lined up in my head. You'll shoot your eye out, kid. Or. You traded gun safety for blonde hair dye, huh? Or. Annie Oakley is rolling in her grave as we speak.
Instead I shook my head and shrugged, putting my attention on Rick to see what he would do. He carefully turned the gun over in his hand. "Did you inherit this from someone," he asked.
Andrea nodded. "My father," she said fondly.
Rick nodded back. He checked the chamber, and then released and removed the magazine. He put the magazine in his pocket and gave the gun back to Andrea.
She looked at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me," she snapped. "It's useless now."
I couldn't help it. "We can still use 'em as clubs!" I hollered with a grin, making Daryl, Rick, and Andrea stare confusedly at me. I snickered and made a 'never mind' hand wave.
Rick shook his head, and looked at Andrea again. "I've taken the bullets out," he told her. "Shane's right. I don't know you well enough to know if you were ever taught to respect a gun."
"So why not just take the whole damn thing," she asked scathingly.
"Because this was your father's," he said. "I have no right to take all of it, but I took the bullets, for everyone's sake. In the meantime," he paused to take out a hunting knife. "You can use this as a weapon. After you're done helping Daryl find parts, I'll give the bullets back to you."
"She ain't helpin' us," Daryl snapped.
"I'm gonna have Layla keep an eye on Ed," Rick explained. "Since Andrea's helped Dale with the RV before, she'll have a vague idea of what parts he needs. You'll help each other bring the bike and RV parts back."
Daryl rolled his eyes. "Does she even know how to use a goddamn knife?"
With a frustrated huff, Andrea snatched the knife and empty gun from Rick's hands and walked over to us. "Gimme the list," she said, snappily holding her hand out. I sighed and gave it to her. She looked it over and nodded thoughtfully. "We'll see what we can find, Dale! If there isn't a store, I know which vehicles to look through."
Dale nodded his thanks. "If Glenn gets back before you do, I'll have him help you guys out."
"We'll be fine," Andrea said tetchily. "I know just as much as Glenn…and Jim does…did." She shook her head rapidly, to maintain seriousness. She looked at Daryl. "You got an idea of where we need to go?"
Daryl simply gave her a glare and a short nod. His frown relaxed some when he looked at me. "We're gonna try down that street first," he pointed out. "Meet you back over at the truck." He paused, jaw tensing. "If Ed tries somethin' with you…You give him hell."
I smirked. "Don't I always?"
"I mean it," he growled, crossing his arms and staring in the direction Ed disappeared to. "He does somethin', anythin'…" He snorted. "Not like anyone'd miss him anyway."
"No one is killin' anyone," Rick breathed in exasperation.
Daryl rolled his eyes and glared at Rick. With a curt, beckoning nod at Andrea, he and her left.
"Layla," Rick muttered. He waved for me to follow him.
I raised a brow at him, but followed. He led me to a nearby yard. He opened the door to an old tractor shed and nodded for me to get inside. I scanned his body language. I was still involuntarily suspicious, but I perceived no threat from him and cautiously stalked inside.
"Just don't lock it behind you," I told him firmly as he shut the door.
He nodded. When the door closed, we were almost surrounded in darkness, not counting the thin rays of light that filtered through the gaps and cracks in the walls and ceiling. He leaned against a tractor and sighed, staring at nothing. I stayed standing, keeping my eyes on his and wondering what this was about.
"We're all infected," he muttered after a while. "Jenner told me in private."
I snorted. "You're lucky 'I told you so' isn't my style."
Rick shook his head rapidly. "I still should've listened to you." He then looked at me, giving me his full attention. He was frowning deeply, eyes crinkling around the edges as if afraid for some reason. "But how did you know?"
I shrugged. "I've seen it happen many times. Someone dies of something non-walker related, and if the injury or whatever wasn't head-related, they'll wake up as walker."
"When we arrived at the CDC, on our way to the building, you and Daryl were looking over the bodies we passed. You were looking for head wounds."
I nodded. "Head wounds are the only surefire way someone stays dead nowadays."
"What about burning the bodies," Rick asked. "It's what we did to some of the bodies after the attack at the quarry. I would think it's the surest way to…decontaminate." He cringed at that word. "Does that make sense?"
I nodded again. "But does it matter since we're all infected anyway?" That made him pause thoughtfully. "There's no harm in burning bodies. In fact, sometimes the stench of burnt walkers can keep other walkers away. However, fire won't kill walkers, not unless the fire reaches the brain. Honestly, though, burning bodies isn't really practical. It's almost always a waste of energy depending on the circumstance."
"Okay," he nodded firmly, and I could tell he was making mental notes. "How do you know so much about walkers?"
"I've learned how to read them. They're just-"
"Just like any other animal," he finished, as if reminding himself it was obvious. "Right. Right."
He removed his hat, placed it on his knee, and sighed as he resumed staring at nothing.
I glanced at the door, then back at him. "Rick, do you actually need me for anything? 'Cause I gotta go track down Ed. The highlight of my day."
He nodded. "I need you to not tell the others."
I blinked. "If we ever have to walk over walker bodies like we did at the front of the CDC, wouldn't you want the group to know to look for head wounds?"
"I'm not disagreeing," he reasoned. "But…" He trailed off and gestured at the shed door. "You've seen 'em. They're all afraid. Of everythin'. We tell 'em we're all infected, it's gonna cause chaos."
"Sometimes you need a little chaos just to blow off steam."
"Layla-"
"I won't tell anyone," I assured stoically. "You, me, and Daryl are the only ones who know about this, right? We'll keep it that way, if that's what you want." I crossed my arms and looked him directly in the eyes. "But here's the thing," I explained. At my tone, his eyes narrowed by a fraction. "You are not my leader. Not you, not Daryl, not Shane, not Andrea, no one. I follow my own sets of rules. If I think, for one second, that telling someone we're all infected will save someone's life…Well, guess what I'm gonna do."
Rick's eyes narrowed further, but I continued. "I'm not trying to overthrow you or some bullshit like that. You can keep the title of 'Group Babysitter'. What I'm saying is that you are asking me to keep crucial survival information from people who can't even look at a weapon with cringing in fear, much less look at a walker. If I think it's necessary to tell people, then I'm gonna tell people. Are you good with where we stand on this?" I stuck my hand out.
He hesitated for a second, eyes still narrowed, but he shook it. "Now," I sighed irately as I exited the shed. "I gotta go babysit a landmine."
I sprinted down the street to catch up to Ed. He was leaning against an overturned school bus. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was rapidly flicking a lighter in frustration. With an angry huff, he tossed it away.
"'Sup, Ed," I called with a cheery smile.
He threw me a harsh grimace and then kept his gaze away from me. "The hell do you want," he grumbled as he pocketed the cigarette.
I went passed him to open up the passenger door of a small Honda. "I've been told to keep an eye on you," I said as I looked through the glove compartment, and under and in between the seats. "I got the easy job, 'cause you do nothing."
"Lucky you," I heard him mumble.
"Mhm," I hummed. "Hey, since your date with your cigarette stood you up, why not check in some of the nearby cars. You got nothing else to do with your time."
I moved around the car to the trunk. I stared at Ed as I opened it. He still stood there, staring off into space. I sighed in annoyance, and kept looking. After searching through two more cars, I found a quart of oil, a first aid kit, a matchbook, and sidewalk chalk. I put it all in my backpack.
At first, Ed would try to discreetly move away from me, but I always kept him in my peripheral. Wherever who moved, I moved as well. He was as discreet as a tiptoeing elephant with tap shoes, so it wasn't that much of a challenge. At some point, he grumbled that I was a cunt, leaned himself against a retention wall, and finally stopped trying to ditch me.
Then, I had an idea. And I had to work hard to hide my smirk.
"You know," I drawled. "Instead of wasting your energy trying to get away from me, why don't you search those cars over there." I pointed randomly at a trio of SUVs. "Daryl was bitching about running out of smokes. I don't care for cigarettes, but I think I saw some through one of the windshields." I didn't even have to finish that sentence, for Ed was already striding in that direction.
I snickered through my nose, low enough so he didn't hear. "I can't remember if they were in the front seat or back," I hollered. "You may need to be thorough."
After looking through some more vehicles, and occasionally stopping to watch Ed angrily pick through the SUVs, I decided to haul myself up into the bed of a dump truck. I was picking up an axe when I heard Ed breeze past. I didn't bother hiding my smirk as I jumped down onto the pavement. "Did you find what you were looking for," I asked.
"Fuck you," he stopped to spat at me.
"Oh, come on," I rolled my eyes. "At least you were doing something useful." I took the axe out from behind my back. "Here's your consolation prize for trying."
He glared at the axe, and then muttered a string of sharp insults as he walked away. When he stopped muttering, I tilted my head. I could hear a jingling that wasn't there before. As quietly as I could, I snuck up behind him, shoved my hand into one of his pockets, and pulled it out.
"What the fuck," he screamed and turned around.
I ignored him to stare at the bullets cupped in my palm. "So you did find something? I take it you weren't gonna share," I said. When I looked up at him, his eyes were murderous. "Did you find anything else? I'll trade you all of it for this," I said, jostling the axe a little. "You can use this instead of that wimpy crowbar. And whatever you give me, I'll give to the group and tell 'em that you found all of it. Which is true."
"So why take it from me, then?"
"Because if I let you keep whatever you've found," I explained calmly. "Then you'll never share it with the group. Much less with your own family," I snorted.
He took a step forward, threatening my personal space. I made a show of flexing my fingers around the axe as I crossed my arms. He stared daggers at me and I stared back. When he shifted to take another step, I straightened my spine and uncrossed my arms in a challenging manner. He stopped moving and looked me up and down, waiting for a break in my resolve. When it never came, he gave me one final glare, spun around, and went to find his family's vehicle.
I gave a long sigh and slowly followed after him. Not to antagonize further, but just because we were both heading in the same direction. Daryl should be back at his truck by now, and he was. He had taken the motorcycle out of the bed and on to the pavement, working to replace some parts.
"You good," he asked me as he glared at Ed.
I nodded as I walked passed him to go talk to Rick. He and Shane were next to the RV, filling it with fuel and chatting. "Hey," I nodded at Rick. I handed him the bullets and axe.
"Thanks," Rick said.
"Ed found those bullets."
Rick's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "You actually got him to do something?"
"Bet that pissed him off," Shane said, not bothering to look at me as he poured the fuel. "You best sleep with one eye open from now on."
I ignored him, shrugging at Rick. "It was easy once I found the right motivation."
Rick blew out a puff of air in amazement. "Teach us your ways. Please."
I chuckled. "And have him be pissed off at more people? Nah, let him concentrate his hatred on me if he wants, given that I can handle it." I paused. "There's a bit of problem. I almost had to wrestle these bullets off of him. I don't know if he found anything else, but if he did he's not gonna share anything."
Rick nodded thoughtfully. "Then we won't have him doing any runs or searches from now on."
Shane set the fuel can down. "I'll see if I can't persuade him to give up the rest of his treasure." He left us to stride over to Ed.
I took a shaky breath. I knew I was never going to be okay with Shane's presence ever again. I also knew that I wanted to tell Daryl about him, not only for my own sanity, but in case Shane tried anything with anyone else. Both Daryl and I could keep an eye on him. However, I knew how Daryl was going to take it. I glanced between Rick and Shane. Unless it was self defense, doing anything to Shane would be out of the question. I had to figure out how I was going to convince Daryl not to do anything to him.
I shook my head rapidly. One thing at a time.
"So what'll we have Ed do," I asked Rick. "We can't trust him to share, we can't trust him to keep us safe, we can't even trust him to be on his own. So…what?"
Rick scrubbed a hand down his face as we watched Shane trying to reason with Ed. Reasoning turned into provoking, though, as both men raised their voices.
"Shane. Shane!" Rick shouted. "Just let it go, man!"
Shane glanced rapidly between Ed and Rick. Ed stood before Shane, standing as tall as he could with his fists clenched at his sides. Ed's face held both anger and fear, but I could tell he wasn't planning on backing down. Shane finally spat out a curse and stomped away, leaving Ed to square his shoulders in an almost triumphant manner.
"And now," I muttered. "We're letting Ed get away with keeping stuff from us, 'cause I highly doubt Shane got anything else off of him…If he does have anything, that is. So, back to my question…?"
Rick nodded once. "I'm gonna let this go…Just for today. But I'll figure somethin' out with him." At my dubious face, he said more firmly, "I will. You have my word."
"Uh-huh," I muttered in a way that told him I wasn't in the least bit convinced.
I opened my backpack and handed him the oil, first aid kit, and the matchbook. When I brought out the sidewalk chalk, I took out two pieces and gave the rest of the box to Rick. "Those are for the kids," I said. I turned my attention upward to Glenn, who was now on top of the RV keeping watch. "Hey," I hollered. He looked down at me. I tossed him the two pieces of chalk. "Those'll show up better than sharpie."
Glen raised a brow at me as he looked at the chalk now in his hand. "What?"
"In case you ever need to draw us a plan again," I said.
His confusion turned into a shy smile and he said, "Thank you."
I went over to Daryl. He was sitting next to the bike, working on the front wheel. I sat down across from him. "Anything I can help with," I asked.
He snagged a rag from his pocket to wipe his hands off. After doing a final inspection of the front wheel, he picked up a brand-new chain and handed it to me. "Need to replace the old one," he said as he shuffled to the other end of the bike. "We don't got a bike lift, so I'll have to lift and steady as you go."
"You got a replacement sprocket, too," I asked as I started removing the old chain.
"Naw," he said as he started to lift the rear of the bike. "The chain took a lot of the damage. Hopefully the sprocket's just fine."
I nodded. "Seems to be," I said. "But we'll see once I have it fully removed. If your arms start to get tired, let me know and we'll switch. Although, I don't think I'd be able to hold it up for very long."
"That's why I'm holdin' it while you put on the chain."
I frowned slightly. "If…you want, we can put this on pause. I can go find a bike lift to make this easier for you. If you're not comfortable with me working on Merle's bike-"
"Couldn't find one while me and Andrea were lookin'," he interrupted calmly. "And you know how bikes work. And even if I did find a lift, I still wouldn't have problem with you helpin'."
I gave a small smile as I slid the old chain out of the way. "Thank you for trusting me."
I heard him snort lightly. "It's a no brainer," he muttered, making my face heat up.
After I set the tension for the new chain, I nodded at Daryl. He slowly set the rear wheel down, and made sure the bike remained steady on the kickstand. I stood up and stepped backwards to give Daryl room. As Daryl stood up and stretched his arms out in front of him to work out any kinks, a voice came up behind me.
"You guys need any help," Andrea asked.
I glanced at her, and then looked at Daryl as he inspected the chain. "It's your bike, Daryl," I said.
"Naw, we got it," he shook his head, not sparing Andrea a glance. "You gonna be offended if I tweak the tension," he asked me without looking up from the chain.
"Nope. You know the bike better than I do."
Still not looking up Andrea, he said, "We don't got nothin' for you to do. Go whine to Rick if you want a job."
I looked at Andrea as annoyance set on her face. "Did you find RV parts?"
"Some," she sighed. "But not the new radiator hose he desperately needs."
"There's a dump truck about a block away from here," I said. "I'm no expert on radiator hoses, but-"
"A dump truck and an RV are not the same thing," she said snippily. She turned on her heel. "I'll go have a look, but I doubt it'll be what he's looking for." On that note, she sauntered away.
I chuckled humorlessly under my breath. "To this day, I still don't know how I piss people off unintentionally. How have I not scared you away yet," I asked with a smirk
"Please," he rolled his eyes. "Try livin' with Merle. Your attitude ain't nothin' compared to his. 'Sides, it ain't just you."
"Yeah," I nodded. "She's getting pissy with everyone." I sat down beside Daryl again, and was unable to help the yawn that escaped. "It's gonna be fun to deal with."
After he readjusted the tension, we set to work doing some routine maintenance. Well, mostly Daryl, as most of the maintenance tasks were a one person job. I eventually opted for passing him tools and simply lending a hand when needed. We spoke without words, using head nods, arm and hand gestures, or eye movements. Speaking of eyes, mine were growing heavier and heavier by the minute. Daryl seemed to sense this because he stopped asking me for tools after a while. I opened my mouth to ask him what else he needed, but another yawn slipped passed.
When I blinked open my eyes, the world was sideways. I scrunched my eyebrows, trying to make sense as to why the pavement was now vertical. And then I realized it wasn't, I was just horizontal. I was lying on my side, my temple cushioned against something flat and smooth. When the scent of leather hit me, I grinned widely.
I pushed myself to sit up. I gently took the leather in my hands, taking my time unfolding it until the angel wings appeared. I held up the vest against the evening sun, my eyes tracing over every crease and stitch.
"You should try gettin' more sleep," Daryl said. He was sitting right beside me, both of us still next to the bike. "Rick said we're gonna stay the night. Sleep in our vehicles. He wants you on watch when night falls."
I nodded vaguely. I brushed dirt off the vest and handed it to him. "Leathers are like paint jobs," I said with a smirk. "You don't want 'em getting dirty or scuffed."
He shrugged. "No pillows nearby. 'Sides, it ain't mine. Found it in one of the saddlebags. Never even seen Merle wear it." He scowled at it. "Who the hell would put angel wings on it?"
I chuckled. "Well, Merle does think pretty highly of himself."
He chuckled as well. "It's his sense of humor, all right." He paused to thumb the fringe for a second before handing it to me again. "Never seen Merle wear it," he repeated. "He probably just stole it from someone at a bar outa spite and never got rid of it. You take it."
I raised a brow at him and pushed it his way. "And do what with it? It's too big for me." I smiled warmly. "You wear it."
He looked pointedly at the angel wings with another scowl. "Don't exactly suit me."
"That's your opinion," I remarked with a shrug. "And if we're gonna be riding this bike, you may as well look the part. Unless you got other leathers on standby?"
With the scowl not leaving his face, he opened up the vest. Sticking his fists through both the holes, he shrugged it on.
The smile never left my face. I bumped my shoulder with his. "That's a perfect fit if I ever saw one."
"If you say so," he muttered, flexing his shoulders a little as we looked out at the setting sun.
My eyes drifted shut again. Right before I went back to sleep, I felt an arm slowly loop around my upper back, and then the arm coaxed me to lean until I was resting against his shoulder. A light breeze rolled through and I contently inhaled, because with that breeze came the lovely, unmistakable scent of the leather vest. Of Daryl.
