Thank you to Abby, Brandy and Carla for being awesome betas. And to all my followers and reviewers, y'all rock!
The tournament was upon them and they traveled out to Macon for the weekend. Daryl had taken care of everything and was happy to finally be taking a trip out with Beth and Chase. They were loaded up in his truck, almost at the hotel they would be staying in for the few nights, listening to the radio. Beth was humming along, while Chase was tapping his foot against his booster seat.
It felt great to get away after Chase had started school. They had only gone away once on a camping trip during the summer and Beth had to admit, that she liked spending time with her two favourite boys out of the house.
Chase was the most excited for this trip and he had talked nonstop about it since they told him. Daryl had managed to convince the organizers to let him in a higher age bracket. He would have creamed the younger kids and that just wouldn't have been fair. Daryl still thought Chase would take the whole thing but Beth reminded them both that the point was to have fun, not just win.
They arrived at the hotel and Daryl went in to check them in. Beth looked behind to where Chase was sitting. He beamed his mega watt smile at his mother.
"I'm really happy mom," Chase said. Beth smiled back at him.
"Me too," she responded.
They continued to listen to the music until Daryl got back into the truck and they parked near the entrance, closest to their room. He grabbed the bag of equipment, while Beth grabbed their large suitcase, which housed all their clothes for the few days they were gone.
It was getting on supper time, as they had left right after Chase finished school. He was already going to miss Monday, since they wouldn't get home till late, and they didn't want him to think he could keep missing school for this.
They set their belongings down and Beth started perusing the delivery menus that were in the room. Chase was checking both beds and figuring out which one was more comfortable.
"Don't think you get a bed all to yourself. I plan on sneaking in there and snuggling with you as soon as you're asleep," Beth warned him with a mischievous look in her eye.
"Please don't mom," Chase whined. He sat on a bed and laid back finally. "This one is mine"
"Good, cause I like by the window anyway," Daryl commented, laying back on his own bed.
"Chase, we're gonna order some pizza. Maybe finish any homework you may have before it gets here. Then you can shower and get to bed early so you'll be ready for tomorrow."
"Meat lovers please," he said, grabbing his backpack. It was only the second grade so he didn't have a lot to do, just an activity sheet with basic math on it.
"Me too," Daryl said with a grin. Beth shook her head and made the call for delivery. The rest of their evening past with all of them going to bed early, so they would all be alert the next day
Once Chase was registered and had his number pinned on his shirt, it was all about waiting now. His category didn't come up for another two hours, so they thought they would wander around and check out some of the sponsor booths that were set up.
Chase grabbed Daryl's arm and was bringing him over the a booth where the man made bolts and arrows. Chase was very intrigued by the process, he and kept asking the seller questions. Daryl was right there, checking out the bolts and looked back to see Beth hovering around other booths, looking at the displays.
She was interested in the sport, but not enough to know all the proper names of everything. She liked how pretty some of the equipment could be, especially the ones made for females. Daryl had already asked her if she wanted to try it out, and she forcefully declined. Chase didn't get his talent from her, that she knew.
She ventured a little farther away from the boys and was looking at some clothing that featured the sponsors of the event. The shirt would be a great reminder to Chase about his first tournament, but just incase he didn't do well, she would refrain from buying him anything yet. She did notice some green and blue bolts that looked very similar to the ones that Daryl had. It reminded her of them and how unlikely a pair the two might be, yet they worked so well together. She lightly touched the feathers when she heard a voice come up beside her.
"You don't look like the type to be into crossbows," she heard the male voice speak. She turned slightly, to get a better look at the man next to her and smiled.
"I actually am. Specially when they're being held by strong, hot men," she admitted with an evil glint in her eye. She knew Daryl wasn't that far away and she could most definitely handle herself with this man in front of her. He wore a leather jacket with short shaved hair. He was older than Daryl, but still had a youthfulness to him, in the way he acted.
"Well you should check out these guns when I'm in the middle of huntin'," He stepped closer, which only caused Beth to take a step back.
"Oh, well my boyfriend loves to hunt with his crossbow. Maybe you've crossed paths before?" she asked innocently.
"Maybe you need to see Ol' Merle here in action before you start bringing out the boyfriend nonsense," He grinned. Beth just smiled and knew he looked familiar. That same grin that's she's smiled back at for the past year.
"Merle Dixon," she asked surprised. "I've heard so much about you." Beth would never call herself an actress, but she sure was putting on a performance to fool Daryl's brother.
"Good things I hope,"
"Oh nothing but good things. Like how you took your brother out to the bar and got busted by the cops for public indecency," she giggled. Merle's eyes straightened to her and he could see that she knew exactly who he was.
"Beth, right?"
"Yeah," Beth giggled again. "It's nice to finally meet you,"
"Likewise," he said, looking her up and down. Just as Beth was about to speak, she heard the familiar voice come up behind her.
"Merle," Daryl stated. He was surprised to see him there, and yet, he was reasonably calm about it.
"Found your ole lady here all by her lonesome."
"She can take care of herself," Daryl said, putting an arm around her shoulder. Merle nodded and looked around. He saw a tiny head poke out behind Daryl and he smirked.
"This the kid?" Merle asked. Chase walked out from behind Daryl and stood proudly in front of Beth and Daryl.
"Merle, this is my son Chase. Chase this is Daryl's brother Merle," Beth introduced the two. Chase smiled up at the older man but Merle just stood still in his spot. His face looked shocked but he quickly composed himself and looked back to Daryl and Beth.
"Heard you got a heck of an aim kid."
"You wanna watch me compete?" Chase asked with wide eyes and excitement.
"That's why I'm here ain't it," Merle said, putting his hand on the kid's shoulder. They started walking towards the exhibition grounds which left Daryl and Beth to follow closely behind them.
"Did you invite him?" Beth whispered. Daryl nodded.
"Told him about it. Didn't think he would come out though."
"I think it's a good thing he did though. He seems to be taken by Chase."
"Just keep an eye on him," Daryl warned. Beth kissed his cheek and they followed where the other two led.
Chase's grouping was starting and Beth and Merle were standing behind the safety lines, while Daryl stayed over with Chase.
Daryl saw the way the other kids were sizing him up. They had to have figured out that Chase was younger than them and questioned why. Daryl just made sure to encourage him and remind him that he was shooting better than the other kids in his class. He could easily get this done.
There were five other kids in this bracket, four boys and a girl. They were aged ten to thirteen, and they probably had way more experience than what Chase had. Daryl began to doubt his teachings and wondered if he was wrong to get Chase involved in tournaments already.
His doubts were soon replaced by pride when Chase hit the target dead on in the first heat. If the other kids thought he was nothing but wasted space before, they were eating their words now. It was best out of three and the lowest score would be knocked out. Then they would move the targets out farther and they would go again. The top two would move on to the next day where all the top competitors would go for grand champion.
The three adults were just hoping that he topped his own bracket. He would be up against trained adults who spend countless hours preparing for these tournaments and probably competed on an international level.
Beth got more anxious the further they pulled the targets. She knew Chase could hit the forty foot mark, but they were getting to fifty feet and it was him and two of the boys. He just needed to beat one of them and he would be in for tomorrow. Beth clasped her hands together in front of her mouth, silently praying that he could hit the target.
"No use in prayin darlin'. He's either going to hit it or not. God ain't gonna help him," Merle joked. Beth glared at him from the corner of her eyes and remained silent.
Chase was up with his first shot and when he let the arrow fly, she could see the look on his face, he wasn't happy. The arrow hit left of the middle ring and was obviously not what he intended to do. She could see Chase walk back to his spot, and Daryl came over to give him some words of encouragement. She really wished she could go back there and listen in too. Maybe it would give her some faith right now.
The third boy shot and was way off, which was good for Chase. If he could hit the next two perfectly, he would be guaranteed in. On his second shot, he took the extra time to correct his stance and calm himself before shooting. He was slightly over from the bullseye but Beth wanted to scream out.
"You sure he's not a Dixon?" Merle asked, bumping his elbow into Beth's side. Beth laughed at his insinuation and welcomes the slight distraction.
On his final shot, he hit the bullseye which caused Beth to cheer loudly. Chase had a smile on his face, as he knew that he was moving forward to tomorrow. Now he just needed to beat one more kid and he would win his bracket.
They took a few minutes to setup the final target. A whole sixty feet which Beth wasn't sure if Daryl had trained him on that. She could see Daryl giving Chase some last minute pointers, and although Merle told her not to, she still prayed that he did well.
Chase was going first and his first shot seemed to be okay, but it was still too high up. The second boy shot and he made it a little closer.
The second shot, Chase went too low but the other boy shot right over the target. Beth was shaking in anticipation and Merle kept chuckling, muttering under his breath that she was gonna cause an earthquake.
The third shot, Chase was really close. He hit just outside the centre ring, but the third kid has horseshoes up his ass and he hit the bullseye. It was evident that the other kid scored higher with that shot, and it was concluded by the judges that he had. Chase looked bummed but Daryl whispered in his ear. Chase seemed to perk up a bit after and gave Daryl a big hug.
After the awards were given out for that contest, Beth scooped up Chase in her arms and congratulated him.
"We haven't been shooting that far yet. I was hoping I could have hit it," Chase admitted.
"You still did amazing. You got second place on your first tournament. With older kids none the less," Beth tried to encourage him.
"Daryl says we'll start working on that next."
"You did mighty fine kid. Don't think I've seen that much talent since myself and Daryl were youngins," Merle added. He messed up Chase's hair which caused a big grin on his face.
"I hope I can get as good as Daryl."
"Well, I taught him everything he knows so maybe I'll have to give you a few lessons myself," Merle offered. Chase's eyes lit up.
"Can Merle come with us next time?" Chase asked Daryl, pleading with his bright blue eyes. Daryl just rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.
"Sure kid," Daryl said. Merle and Chase both high fived.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Why don't we go find some lunch and maybe head back to the hotel to get in the pool," Beth suggested.
"Yeah!" Chase yelled, grabbing Daryl's hand and dragging him towards the parking lot. Beth giggled and poked Merle in the shoulder.
"You should come with us. Hang out for a bit, and keep Daryl company in the bar or something."
"Guess he did tell you all about me," Merle grinned, putting an arm around Beth's shoulder. Beth giggled and they made their way back to the hotel.
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