A/N Again, thank you all so very much! Let's see how the date is progressing…
He walked her toward the entrance to the Country Palace with his arm loosely around her waist, "You look very pretty this evening Beth, in fact, I'm sure I'm with the prettiest woman here."
She smiled up at him and said, "Thank you Rick."
"So if your family doesn't like you driving here at night by yourself, well I guess it's that they don't like you leaving here alone especially, how do you usually get here and back?" He didn't even know why he was asking, except he just wanted to know everything there was to know about her and her life.
"A friend usually drives me here, but he likes to have a few beers so Glenn and Maggie usually drive over to pick me up, or sometimes Aaron or Shawn." She shrugged her shoulders.
Tyrese was the doorman/bouncer, "Hi ya Beth good to see you, I heard you were the opening act, the place is packed already, but why didn't Merle bring you in with him?"
And Rick was thinking, Merle? Merle Dixon? He can't be her usual ride.
"Hi Tyrese, very nice to see you, I didn't call Merle because I have a date tonight, Tyrese, with Rick Grimes," she introduced them, but it turned out they knew each other.
"Oh hey Sheriff, no cover charge for the man who escorts our Beth safely to us," The big man smiled.
Okay, but he was still wondering what Merle had to do with this.
And then he saw the Dixon Brothers sitting at the bar, beers in hand, and Beth was grabbing his hand and leading him quickly over there. Merle saw her, slid off his barstool and said, "Hey Little Sis, how'd ya get here? How come ya didn't call ol' Merle ta come for ya? Oh hey, Officer Friendly."
"Hi Merle, I've missed you since we finished the harvest," she hugged Merle Dixon! "Rick brought me tonight, we're on a date Merle," She was grinning.
"Well now, Little Sis, ya just broke my heart. I just been foolin' around with these other gals waitin' for you ta finally come ta yer senses and give me a chance."
And Daryl slapped him on the back of the head and said, "Quit being a dumbass, Merle." Merle just laughed, and Daryl said, "Hey Beth, how're you? Hey Rick."
And damned if she didn't go over and give Daryl a hug, and he not only allowed it, he hugged her back, "Hi Daryl, how've you been? I've been missing you too. Now you boys know, Mama's expecting both of you for Sunday Dinner tomorrow. She's making two cobblers and two peach pies. I also think maybe she may have made you both some of her special canned peaches with cinnamon and brandy. Don't tell Daddy."
"We'll be there girl, you know we will," Daryl said. And Rick saw something he never thought he'd ever see, Daryl Dixon bent down and kissed her on the cheek and said, "Love ya girl." And Beth said it back to him. And Rick didn't know what the hell to think.
He and Daryl had known each other practically their whole lives. They were best friends, in fact, he considered Daryl a brother. He'd never heard Daryl mention her or her family. And Merle, shit, he liked Merle well enough, but damn, he was a rough guy, no doubt. What was Beth doin' cozying up to the brothers? Hell, why were they all so damn lovey dovey?
"I'm happy you all know each other already," She smiled broadly.
"I saved ya a little table right over there Beth, where Daryl and me can keep an eye on things, case any them cowboys bother ya, but I guess tanight ya got Officer Friendly here on duty," He winked at her.
"Thank you Merle, you're a sweetheart," she touched his forearm.
That's when Daryl said, "Beth, yer the only person on this earth that thinks Merle Dixon is a sweetheart." And the brothers both laughed.
Caesar was working behind the bar, and he greeted her next, "Hey Beth, your usual?"
"Yes please Caesar," She smiled.
Rick was real curious what her "usual" might be.
And the bartender asked, "What about you Sheriff, what's your pleasure?"
Rick nodded, "Hey Caesar, I'd have a Bud Light please."
Caesar handed a tall glass to Beth and the bottle to Rick, "Shirley Temple, extra cherries, and a Bud Light."
Rick didn't know what to think, but then, nothing about this woman was just ordinary.
He walked her to the table and pulled the chair out for her, but she just set her glass down and said, "I need to go to the dressing room, make sure my music is all in order and my guitar is in tune. I go on in 15 minutes, I'll see you when I'm done with my set, okay?" Damn, she looked so pretty.
"Sure Beth, I'll be right here waiting for you," he tilted that head and smiled that smile.
As soon as she left Daryl was at the table with him, "The fuck Rick? What're ya doin' out with Beth Greene?"
"Well 'hey' to you too Daryl, we're on a date, just like she said, how do you know her?"
"Don't matter. Let's get sumthin' straight here Rick, Beth is a special girl, she ain't one a yer hook-ups, don't be treatin' her like one. She's a good girl, ya hurt her and Merle and me will fight each other ta see who gets the privilege a killin' ya. We clear?"
"Don't be an asshole Daryl, and don't threaten me. I have no intention of treating her with anything but respect, it's just a little hard to believe a woman like her is hanging out with Merle Dixon."
"Yeah well, Merle may be a big ol' redneck asshole, but he loves Beth and he'd never stand for anyone hurtin' her or mistreatin' her in any way, remember that. There's plenty a gals willin' ta just have a quick roll with the Sheriff, Beth ain't that gal," and Daryl huffed and went back to the bar.
Rick was wondering why everyone seemed to know Beth but him. Where the fuck had she been all his life, and what the hell could the Dixon Brothers have to do with Beth? And damn the place was packed and she was just an opening act, the real party wouldn't even be getting started until 10:30 or so.
Then she took the stage. There was some whistling and foot stomping, which caught him by surprise. She started to sing, it was an old George Strait tune, "Easy Come, Easy Go." And he was charmed by everything about her, her voice, her style, but most of all it was just the feeling that came off of her, that honest, sincere, unaffected vibe. He'd already resigned himself to the fact he was taken by her, but now it was etched in concrete. He was all in.
She finished her set and started walking back toward the table, he swore every guy in the place was suddenly coming up to her, wanting her time, he wasn't going to intervene, until he saw she was getting overwhelmed. Merle and Daryl jumped up about the same time he did, but when they saw he was on the move, they sat back down. He reached her, put an arm protectively around her shoulder and said, "That was wonderful Beth. Let's get you back to the table and we can relax for a minute."
"Thank you Rick, I appreciate all the guys, I really do, but I start to feel a little like I can't breathe. I love to sing, and I love that they love it, but I don't do well when they all crowd in at once." She looked at him and something in those big blues eyes made him hold on a little tighter.
As soon as her second set was over he went to the stage, held a hand out to her, and hurriedly got her back to their table. "What would you like to do Beth, do you want to stay here, or is there somewhere you'd like to go?'
"You know where I'd like to go Rick? I'd like to go to your house. I'd like to see where you live."
Now with a lot of girls that would have seemed like an invitation in itself, and he would have known how the night would end, but he already knew enough about her to know that with Beth, what she said was what she meant, she wanted to see his house, see where he lived.
She said goodnight to the brothers, and Rick shook hands with them, although he swore they both gave him the stink eye.
He was proud of his house, an American Craftsman. He'd restored most of it himself to its original 1930's style. The appliances were authentic, as were the windows, the woodwork, and the fixtures, all of it.
She loved the old house, and she was sure her favorite room was the kitchen. She couldn't believe the way he'd renovated it to its original 1930's look and character. She was impressed and she told him, "Oh my goodness Rick, this is the nicest kitchen I've ever seen. It's perfect, I love it! You recaptured the era, total Arts and Crafts. This architectural philosophy is my favorite, I adore the motto: 'Find joy in work; Create objects that are not only well-designed, but affordable to everyone; Live simply; Stay connected to nature'. It's such a beautiful way to live ones' life. Well done Rick!" she smiled that smile that practically made his heart cease up.
"Thanks Beth, I'm impressed you're so familiar with the style and the philosophy. The restoration was a true labor of love. Arts and Crafts is my favorite style too, I guess that's obvious. I'd always wanted to restore one of these homes. After my divorce, I had the time, and frankly the freedom, to do it." He gave a satisfied nod.
"It must have been quite the challenge finding the cabinetry, woodwork, and my gosh, the appliances and plumbing and lighting fixtures. How in the world did you manage that?" She was genuinely interested and he was appreciative of that.
"Some of it was still here, some I found on ebay and craigslist but most of it I actually got with the help of the Dixon brothers. Daryl is a close friend of mine, and I suppose you know he and Merle have their home remodeling business, they do a lot of demo of old houses, so when they'd do a 20's or 30's demo they'd give me a call. I'd give them free labor in exchange for the demoed materials. It worked out good for everyone. And Daryl was a big help as a friend, helping me with the work here, and wherever one brother goes, the other usually follows, so Merle was right in the mix too," He smiled at her.
"That's a wonderful story Rick, it makes the house even more special. I love the brothers, they're so kind and they have very gentle souls," she was so sincere.
And Rick couldn't hold back his curiosity, especially when she referred to their 'gentle souls', really, Merle and Daryl? "Just how do you know the Dixon boys Beth?"
"It's a very long story," She looked in his eyes.
"I don't have to leave for work until 7:30 Monday morning," He smiled at her.
She smiled back, "Fair enough. Ten years ago, before they started Dixon Renovations, they had sort of a handyman business. My Daddy hired them to help him do some repairs on the barn and a few things to the house. Then Daddy was hurt in an accident with the tractor, that's when he lost his leg. It was terrible. My brother Shawn was only 17, and Mama was not well at the time, she had breast cancer. The brothers started sleeping in the barn, they did so much work helping with the farm and the harvest, and they got the barn and house repairs done. They didn't want money, they just wanted to help."
She continued with her story smiling, "The most fun was when they helped me and Maggie with the canning, oh my, it was great. They caught on pretty quick, and they weren't afraid of work, but you could tell kitchen work was not really their calling," and she started to laugh.
But then she turned solemn, "It was a very dark time for me. My Daddy and Mama were both in a bad way, I was so scared. I was having a lot of trouble with school, not the curriculum or the work load, but with the other students. I was at a delicate age for girls, 13, and very much of an outcast, I was bullied and teased mercilessly. I decided I was going to just end it all, and I went in the barn to do that. I thought the brothers were out in the field, but they happened to walk in to get some tools just before it was too late. Daryl just grabbed onto me while Merle went in the house and talked to Mama for a while. He came out with my back pack, Maggie had packed it with a clean set of clothes, a jacket and some essentials, then they took me out in the woods. We just walked, we were out there for days, they'd hunt for our food. They taught me how to track, how to read the signs. Daryl taught me how to use the crossbow, it turns out I'm quite good. Merle taught me to shoot his pistol, and it turns out I'm quite good at that. At night we'd have a campfire, and that's when we'd talked. And they told me about their childhood. And they told me they rose above theirs and I'd rise above my problems. We all shared our deepest secrets and our saddest moments. It was very intense for all of us, but also really liberating. When we got back, we never spoke of any of those things again."
She paused, took a deep breath and smiled, "For the rest of the time I was in school here, before I went to college, Daryl would take me to school on his motorcycle every morning, and Merle would pick me up on his in the afternoon. They'd give everyone in sight that hard-eyed Dixon look, no one ever bothered me again. When Maggie and I were in Athens, while I went to school, one or both of them came to see us every week. We have an unbreakable bond. Since I've been home, we try to spend at least one night a month together in the woods. They're my family."
"When we got back I encouraged them to start their own business, they're so talented. I helped them set up their books, and taught them basic computer skills. They've done so well, I'm so happy for them. And I know they're very busy, but they still come help with the peach harvest." She had a faraway smile on her face as she spoke.
And Rick didn't know quite what to say, so he put his arms around her and hugged her close. Then he said, "I'm so glad they were there for you Beth. I feel like I owe them both a huge debt. I wouldn't have wanted to miss the opportunity to have you in my life."
She simply leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
"Could I give you a kiss Beth?" He was looking in her eyes with those intense blue eyes of his.
Her cheeks flushed, but she said, "Please do."
And he didn't take it too far, he knew she was inexperienced, and he wanted to take it slow. She was different, she mattered, she mattered a lot. He wanted her in his life, so he was going to try real hard to be smart about things, not screw this up.
He held her face in his hands and gave her a slow gentle kiss. Then he looked her in the eyes again and said, "Beth, I feel like we're starting a journey together. How do you feel?"
"I feel like I've been packed and waiting for you to show up, I'm so happy you finally found me." she smiled up at him.
A/N I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading, please review xo