Tuesday Evening

Not speaking to Kate at work hadn't felt as bad today since he knew that he was going to be spending tomorrow evening with her. The whole evening all to himself. Jesus, the anticipation alone was enough to kill him which was why he had decided to head over to Dale and Irma's for a distraction and if he was lucky, some supper.

It didn't help his worrying that Jason had suggested another dreaded bowling game with his first text but then Daryl supposed he was happy to do just about anything with Kate. But that was the last of Jason's help he was going to accept. He still felt weird about the winking face he'd let the man convince him to add to his last text. He should have never listened to that piece of advice. Dixon's didn't do smiley faces. Although that wasn't exactly true, he had put that smiley face on Kate's waffle. He shook his head at himself, focusing instead on the road instead of worrying about smiley faces and acting like the biggest fucking pansy that he'd ever met.

Daryl had already been, tail between his legs, to the farm to apologise for storming out when Dale had told him he was selling the place. But he hadn't returned since then. Deep down he was still pissed that they were leaving or if he was really honest he was just heartbroken. Either way, riding up the familiar driveway and seeing the farmhouse growing in the distance was more painful than ever before. He usually had a pang of sadness that the place wasn't his but now the sadness felt more like having a big brick thrown at his stomach and it wasn't just for the farm, it was for Irma.

Daryl pulled up behind Dale's truck and climbed off the chopper. It was still light outside and he looked across the miles of empty fields before removing his helmet and swallowing the lump in his throat. He knocked lightly at the faded porch door, crumbling away some of the peeling white paint, another job that Dale never got around to fixing.

"What you knocking for?" Irma chastised as she swung the door open, letting out the homey smell of her cooking.

"I dunno," Daryl shrugged, he knew he didn't have to, maybe he was just preparing himself for when this house would belong to someone else and he wouldn't be welcome in it. Irma embraced him in one of her comforting, all encompassing hugs and he didn't resist. He let the hug happen, resting his head on her shoulder and thinking that she always smelled like lemons, but not in a way that was tart and sour. She smelled of lemons in a way that was sweet and it reminded him of the little melt in the mouth cookies she sometimes baked.

"You're just in time for dinner," Irma said, letting him go and beckoning him to follow her to the kitchen. She added an extra place setting at the little yellow formica table, insisting that he, "sit down."

Daryl did as he was told. There was no way that Irma would let a guest lift a finger if she didn't ask them too. She was a real southern lady and Dale always said he struck gold the day she agreed to marry him.

As soon as Daryl tucked himself into the table the back door blew open, brining in Dale and a hot summer breeze. The old man took of his hat, setting it on the side, "evening Daryl."

It had only been a couple of weeks since Daryl had last seen the man but he looked older. There were more lines on his face and his eyes were a little harder. It might have been Irma that was ill but it was her husband that looked sick. He kicked himself for being so damn selfish, these people were like his family and they didn't owe him anything, "ya need me to do any jobs while I'm 'ere?"

"I'd be grateful if you could take Ace for a ride," Dale sat at the table and mopped the thin layer of perspiration from his brow with a embroidered hanky that he pulled from his pocket. "I can't handle him like you can."

Irma served a pile of fried chicken cutlets, sweet potato mash and buttery green beans. He helped himself to a smaller portion than usual and pushed his food around on his plate. He wanted to ask if anyone had put an offer in on the farm but he didn't know if he could say it or talk about it while keeping a cool head. The mere thought of never sitting in this kitchen again filled him with dread. But he needed to know, "ya had any bites?"

"For the farm?" Dale said and Daryl nodded. "Not a single one. There's a lot of land for sale around these parts, lot of choice for folk." Dale sighed and Irma took her husband's hand in hers, kissing the back of it as if she was reminding him that she loved him no matter what happened.

"Sorry to hear it," Daryl said and he meant it, he wanted the Horvath's to be happy despite himself. "I wish I could help ya'll."

"We know you do," Irma plastered a smile across her face, gathered some plates and stood up, "how about a slice of cake?"

Daryl leaned back in his chair and patted his tummy, "I'm alright."

"What happened to your sweet tooth? You never turn down cake…"

His sweet tooth was salivating at the thought of a slice of rma's cake but another part of him had its sights set on Kate. The woman was in great shape so he couldn't afford to get sloppy. He didn't want to worry about any soft bits that weren't hers, if they ever got to that. "Actually ya remindin' me… ya think its okay if I bring Kate along on Monday?"

"To the picnic?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Why of course it is," Irma's hands flew in the air and she sauntered over to him placing them either side of his shoulders and giving him a small squeeze. "I think that will be just fine Daryl… and don't forget to tell her about my little baking competition. You don't want her to show up empty handed when all the other ladies will be bringing something."

"I will."

Irma stayed holding onto his shoulders and smiling at him like she was waiting for him to tell her the secrets of the universe. In fact he knew exactly what Irma probably wanted to talk about since she was one of the biggest damn gossipers he'd ever met. "I'll go see to Ace," Daryl said and Irma pouted like he suspected she might.

"I'll wrap up some cake for you. Just in case you change your mind. Will you be needing one slice… or two?"

Two, one for him and one for Miss Uppity. Daryl took the bait since he knew it would make Irma happy. "I recon Kate might like a slice on the side of her tea tomorrow."

"Well of course she would," Irma shuffled him along and set to finding some tupperware for her cake.

Daryl stepped outside and before he shut the kitchen door he heard Irma telling Dale, "what did I tell you about those two."

He laughed under his breath and could hardly keep the stupid smile off his face as he walked to the stables. He liked that Irma saw something between himself and Miss Uppity. Unlike Charlene she thought that Kate and him were a good match. It made him realise he wasn't just imagining it.

The female horses all walked to the ends of their boxes to greet him and he stroked Duchess first since she was his favorite. "Sorry girl, I ain't brought my lady friend today," he said before fussing over Peaches and Cream, all the while feeling guilty that he had a favourite. Then feeling stupid that he felt guilty. Damn horses had no fucking idea.

Then he was Ace's turn, but he didn't want to be fussed over. Instead the big black horse snorted angrily and stamped his foot.

"You're one mean son of a bitch ain't ya?"

Daryl opened up the stable door to let Ace out but the horse refused to budge. Fucking stubborn, Daryl grunted and decided to grab a handful of food to lure him out but the second his back was turned the damn beast bolted like a bat out of hell.

"Fuck," he dropped the handful of food and followed Ace into the locked paddock. "What's ya next goddamn plan?" he said in soothing tones, "don't ya know that Dale ain't ever gonna put ya to stud cos ya so damn difficult, ya only bring it on yerself." As soon as Daryl got close, Ace moved away. So instead of chasing him, he picked up the saddle and took a seat on the fence to wait for the horse to make up its mind. It took longer than Daryl wanted to admit but eventually Ace was saddled and they were heading out. All he could think was thank god the horse had cooperated on the day that he'd had Kate with him.

He decided to take the same trail he'd taken Kate on and even if they didn't necessarily need to stop he stopped to water Ace anyway. He finished tying the horse to the tree before he turned around and saw the engraved heart. He told himself that he hadn't stopped here to see it, instead he ignored it, not giving it a second look as he walked past.

Before he knew it, Daryl had walked all the way to Fort Dixon where he sat under the tree that held it, his knees bent with his elbows resting on them. He had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. It had started as he rode Ace down the trail and began to think of a million different things. Being at the fort was making things worse.

He lit a cigarette, the familiar click of his lighter and breathing in the hot smoke made him wonder when he had ever even started smoking. He couldn't remember. It had been so long ago and it hadn't felt like a big deal even though it probably should have done. In fact, he couldn't remember his first drink either. Nothing in his life had ever felt special enough to commit to memory. It was all just one long blur.

He looked up to the Fort and pictured the long blur of several memories that were all jumbled up, except for one. The most recent. Kate, picking the tiny stick out of her hair and another unclaimed kiss. Then he thought about the first time he saw her. Angry brown eyes, her finger pointing in his face, she was such a fucking bitch. Daryl laughed at the memory and took a long drag of his cigarette. He probably wouldn't have looked at her ever again except that she was so goddamn beautiful. Like a venus fucking fly trap and he was the sorry ass fly that stood no damn chance of escaping.

Soon, Jim and Charlene would be married, having children and starting a new chapter of their life that didn't involve a bachelor friend living in the only spare room of the house. Dale and Irma were also starting a new chapter, even if it would only be a short one. Soon they would leave for their travels and when they did he might never see the old lady again. Merle and Will were unreliable and nothing but trouble even if they were family. When Kate was gone he was going to have nothing that was truly his, she wasn't even his. All he had was his shitty truck and his shitty job that he didn't even like. He suddenly felt very old.

It was getting late and even if he didn't feel like moving he had to take Ace back to the farm. In truth he would rather climb into his treehouse and spend the night there. Or maybe he could go to Joe's and find some trouble, see how Merle's enterprising was going.

No, tomorrow he would make Kate his instead of just fucking giving up and giving in to Merle like he always did. That's what had gotten him into this mess, the wrong side of thirty five with not a damn thing to show for it. He stubbed his cigarette out against the tree and put the end back in his pocket.

/

Kate paid the cab driver before she turned to inspect the restaurant that Lou had picked for dinner. It was his usual choice, french and expensive, it looked nice enough even if it wasn't her preference.

The sound of a motorcycle roaring beside her made her jump and her hand flew to her heart before she span around to see the rider. He wore a plain black helmet which obscured his face and for the briefest moment her breath caught and she wondered what if… Until he revealed his shaggy blonde hair which he ran his fingers though and waved to his friends over the road.

Kate laughed at herself and held her hand over her face. Why on Earth she had thought it might be Daryl she had no idea, except that she had spent most of the evening getting ready for dinner with Lou, but thinking about tomorrow's adventure with her redneck date. .

The greeter at the door asked for her reservation before he escorted her to Lou's table. Her old friend was already seated as was his guest. Kate hadn't ever met the man who had been staying with Lou for a few days. But Lou was the kind of man who made everyone feel like his best friend and it was hard to keep up with his many acquaintances. He always had guests over at his house for weekends, dinners, parties and everything in between.

Lou stood up beaming his usual smile, prompting the man seated across from him to stand too. She couldn't see his face only his dark hair and the back of his pale blue shirt. "This is Doctor Baxter Templeton," Lou announced as she stepped up to the table. Kate tried not to act shocked as she saw the man's face, she was expecting him to be Lou's age, but he was not. He was much younger even if he did have the smallest trace of grey hair creeping into the hairline at his temples. The thick rimmed glasses he wore and his angular jaw made her think of Clark Kent.

"And This is Doctor Kate Ashwood," Lou smiled even though he knew the prefix made her inner working class cringe. It reminded her of Ryan's mother and her wealthy circle of pretentious friends. They never had a nice word to say about the type of people who she had grown up with and raised her. Like her Nana, who'd left school at 14 to work in a Mill and had never earned a penny over minimum wage.

"Please call me Bax," he removed his glasses before extending his hand and leaning close enough for her to see the grey of his eyes, not dull like concrete but bright like polished steel.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she took his hand.

Lou pulled out her chair and instructed her to, "sit," before he resumed his place at the table and ordered a bottle of wine from the waitress.

"Forgive me, but I thought you said Bax was an old University friend…." Kate narrowed her eyes and looked from the man sitting across from her at the table to Lou.

"No no, I said he's the son of my old friend."

"I like to think you'll find my company far more tolerable than my fathers," Bax smiled making the corner of his eyes crinkle as Lou laughed in agreement.

"Aye, your father was a particular vintage."

"So, how long have you known Lou?" Bax said.

"Around eight or nine years…" when she considered it, "a long time."

The waitress returned with the wine and Lou tasted it before she poured them all a glass. As much as Kate liked to drink wine she didn't know anything about it, not like Lou who even had a wine cellar in his big house.

"Aye," Lou patted her hand, "I'm glad you joined us tonight."

That was when Kate realised something. Ordinarily she would have turned down a dinner invitation like this. A dinner invitation that didn't involve just her and Lou, "thank you for inviting me," she said but really she was thinking 'thank you for still inviting me and putting up with all my bloody shit.'

"It was actually me who insisted on meeting you," Baxter said.

"Oh," Kate took a sip of wine and a paused dragged out as they stared at each other. "Well aren't you going to tell me why?"

"Of course," Baxter laughed and cleared his throat, "come September you and I will be colleagues."

"Bax lectures in Art History," Lou interjected, his face popping up from the huge leather bound menu.

"Art?" Kate picked up her own menu, "I confess it's not my strong suit," which was her polite way of saying she had no interest in it whatsoever.

"Well you must come along to one of my lectures then," Bax pulled his black rimmed glasses from the table and before he began to study his own menu.

"Perhaps,"

In a way Kate felt very pleased that she now had an acquaintance for when she started her new job. Somewhere in the back of her mind the idea of being the new girl again, making friends again seemed as impossible as it was terrifying. She had no idea who she was going to fair without Lou to ease her in. He'd become a crutch for her this past year when she had struggled to be anything more than a stoic recluse. But now she was out at dinner, going to fairs and behaving more like herself but if she thought about it, most of that was down to Daryl who had somehow managed to drag her from wherever she had been hiding.

Daryl had welcomed her into his comfortable little world which he managed to fill with all manner of mini adventures. The treehouse, her first horseback ride, the moonlit picnic and tomorrow her first motorcycle ride.

Kate took another sip of her wine and thought about texting Daryl. She wanted to say something but was uncertain what it was. Except that she wished he was at this table with her right now because every time she was with him he made it feel exciting, even if it was her first waffle house waffle, her first corn dog or her first Chick-fil-A.

Kate wondered if she could give Daryl a first until she remembered he'd never left Georgia. Maybe she could take him to another state and claim his first holiday for herself, until she wondered why she was even wondering about taking him on holiday. She was running away with herself. She couldn't take him on holiday. If this was going to be anything it could only be a fling.

By the time Kate said goodnight to Lou and Bax she had enjoyed more than her fair share of wine and an Old Fashioned which left her feeling pleasantly tipsy. Her good mood also afforded her cab driver a generous tip before she carefully stepped out of the car, trying her best not to 'do a Daryl' and fall on her head. The spot where Daryl had landed gave her a small giggle as she hurried up the steps and flung open the door.

She dropped her keys on the hall table before kicking off her shoes and losing half a foot of height. Then she flopped onto her sofa, letting her handbag fall to the floor next to her head with a heavy clunk. Maybe it was because the house seemed so bare with its clean line and lack of colour, or perhaps because it was difficult to feel at home in any of the rentals she had stayed in over the past year but Kate suddenly very alone. She couldn't bare it.

She grabbed the strap of her handbag and gathered it to her so she could unzip the top and find her phone. Calling Isy would have been sensible. Instead she called Daryl. The phone rang and she let her handbag fall back to the floor.

What am I doing? Just as Kate came to her senses and decided to hang up, Daryl answered.

"Kate?" his husky voice sounded just as good over the phone as it did when he was with her. But she said nothing. She froze, silent and motionless until she hung up.

"Stupid," she rolled onto her stomach, squishing her face against the cushion and shaking her head. What was she thinking calling him like that? As if seeing Daryl every single day wasn't enough. Except they had barely spoken today or yesterday and she couldn't stop thinking about him.

Her phone began to ring. Shit. Kate sat up, kneeling on the backs of her ankles in the middle of her sofa as she stared at his name on the screen. Well, what did you fucking expect? The annoying ringtone chimed relentlessly before she silenced it with a, "hello."

"Ya rang me?"

Kate wanted to say 'no' but she hated to outright lie, "yes, sorry."

"Ya okay?"

"I'm fine. It was an..." Kate cleared her throat, a little white lie never hurt anyone, "accident."

"What ya doin'?"

She leaned back onto the sofa and rested her head on the cushion, "nothing… I just got back from dinner with Lou. You?"

"I just got back from Irma and Dale's, she packed ya a piece of cake."

"She did?" Kate imagined the scenario, "what kind of cake?"

"Carrot. I might eat it, I'm gettin' kinda hungry an' it smells so damn good."

"You can't eat my cake!"

"Ya ain't 'ere to stop me."

There was a long pause and it was filled with Kate wondering if she should ask him to bring her the cake or suggest that she goes to collect it from him.

Instead she said nothing and Daryl began to speak again, "by the way I forgot to tell ya that Irma host's a baking competition for fourth of July an' she says ya have to bring somethin' along."

"She does?" Kate pulled a face, "what kind of baking?"

"I dunno… normal stuff. Charlene's gonna make a caramel apple pie."

Jesus fucking christ.The idea of baking was bad enough on its own but the sound of Charlene's name made her immediately think of Cassie. Would she be at the picnic? Kate imagined the other women laying out their perfectly baked creations and rolled her eyes. "Okay." She'd figure something out, she'd rode a horse, she could bake a bloody cake. Besides, she wasn't going to be outdone by anyone, especially Cassie and Charlene.

/

Daryl shut his bedroom door. He'd been out in the garden when Kate called and although he'd been alone he knew that Charlene or Jim could have joined him outside at any minute and he didn't want them eavesdropping on his conversation. Or more to the point, he didn't want them to tease him about something he said and make him spend the rest of the evening worrying about it.

"Ya know," Daryl imagined Kate baking in a cute little apron and her hair in a ponytail, "caramel apple pie is Jim's favourite."

"Are you hinting at something there?"

Daryl smiled, Charlene was making Jim's favorite pie and Irma was baking Dale's favourite cookies although most things Irma cooked up were everyone's favorite. "I'm just sayin'," Daryl plumped up his pillow, lay back on his bed and toed off his boots.

"You'll get what you're given Mr Dixon."

Daryl snorted, "yes ma'am." Miss Uppity would never be the sweet southern farmers wife like Irma who woke up extra early every morning to make Dale's breakfast and iron his shirt.

"Well... I'll see you tomorrow," Kate said.

"Yeah," Daryl tried to think of a valid reason why she had to stay on the phone but all he could think to say was, "Goodnight."

"Until tomorrow Mr Dixon," and then she was gone.

Daryl placed the phone on his nightstand and stared at it for the longest time before he drifted off to sleep.