Carol stood there in his kitchen watching as he turned on a weather band radio. He kicked a stool around at the bar and was straddling it. Carol moved closer to him as the sound of hail started pelting the house. He looked over at her and Carol tried to smile but it came out a grimace.
"You act like you've never seen rain before."
He was teasing her. Carol smiled at him then and shrugged. "I got stuck out in a storm worse than this once."
He nodded and then the radio came to life. The emergency broadcast wasn't sounding very well. They were warning that the storm was just getting started and to stay inside. Carol twisted a napkin in her hands and stared at the little radio like it could make the storm go away. When the next broadcast started it was news of the power outage. It wasn't good in the slightest. Teams were out looking for the damage but were predicting that it'd be a day or more at the least before people got power back. They were saying that the county they lived in and two others were down. The entire power grid going offline.
"Well fuck." Daryl stretched.
Daryl picked up a flashlight and walked over to his fridge. Carol watched him start jerking meat out of the freezer. When he was done he looked at her and jerked his head at the door behind her. Carol grabbed it and he grabbed what he could in his arms of the meat. Carol grabbed the rest not sure what he was doing. When she stepped into the room she surprised to find that they were in his garage. There was a deep freeze he was standing at and he took the meat from her.
He moved then and walked around to small generator. It fired up for him quickly and the hum of the deep freeze ticked to life.
"I should have invested in something like this."
"Generator?" He looked up.
"That and the deep freeze. I went to the store just yesterday and caught a sale at the meat department." Carol sighed and rubbed her face. "I should get home."
Daryl shoved the garage door up and Carol shrieked when wind and rain pelted her. He jogged out into the rain getting soaked instantly. His sweats were painted to him and his bare feet were slapping the concrete as he started pushing his bike into the garage. As soon as he cleared the door he stopped and let the bike rest on its kickstand. He jerked the door down again and shook his hair out.
"Bring it all over here and just put it in the deep freeze. No reason for you lose all of it."
Carol bit her lip and stared at him. He was at the door that went back into the house and she followed. "Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't."
"I'll be back."
Carol rushed over to her house and grimaced stepping into the pitch black. She should have asked to use his flashlight. Searching for her candle instead she moved around her house. The small candle flickered to life pitifully and she frowned at the abysmal light. Walking into her laundry room she grabbed an empty basket before walking into the kitchen. She could hear wind howling outside it was making her so tense she was starting to make her back hurt.
When she got everything that needed to be frozen she blew her little candle out and made her way back to the front door. Stepping outside she stared at the rain. It was coming so fast and thick that drops weren't distinguishable. The trees were creaking and groaning as they swayed in the wind. If she lived on the coast she'd swear they were getting a hurricane.
Carol stepped out into and moved as quick as she could through her flooding yard. Stepping on to Daryl's drive way she seen him on his bike. He was smoking and leaning back on the handle bars with the garage door open waiting on her. He was watching the rain though and looked the picture of ease.
He stood and took the basket from her hands and she let out a breath. "Why is my yard flooding and not yours?"
"The man that lived here before had the same problem you are. His basement flooded a lot so he invested in a drain system."
Carol scowled and he lifted the deep freeze lid for her. Carol stared down at the amount of food in there. Her eyes widened because it was almost ridiculous. What if this seemingly nice man was a murderer?
"I hunt." Carol looked over at him sharply and he smirked in the faint glowing light of the freezer.
"How will we know what's mine and yours?" Carol looked back down at the meat.
He shouldered the lid and set the entire basket down into the freezer. He looked up at her and just chuckled before letting it drop. He stepped back and looked outside again. He went back to the bike and unlike at her house the howling winds and torrential rain weren't making her nervous. It was hard to be when he was so calm. Carol sighed at the thought of going home but she really needed to get out of soaked clothes before she got sick. He'd already changed again and opted for ball shorts. His bare foot was tapping to the beat of a song only he could hear.
"Can't even see the houses across the street." Carol muttered.
He looked over at her then before flicking a cigarette into the rain. He stood then and she rubbed her arms vigorously. Lightning crackled through the sky and thunder was immediate. Daryl raised a brow watching it and then looked over at her- staring right into her eyes. He was reaching for his garage door so he could shut it. Clearly waiting on her to leave- to just do something.
"I have a spare room." He said after she stayed quiet for too long.
"I have a house right next door."
"That you're terrified to go too." He pointed out. "Take it or leave it, it's there if you want."
Carol stared at him for a second trying to decide if this was a good idea. Looking at the rain as it sheeted down before stepping backwards further into the garage. He shut the door and a light blazed on. Carol followed him as he lead her through the house. He gave her the light and picked up one of the coal oil lamp. He padded down the hall and pushed a door open for her.
Carol stepped inside and she smiled. He walked in and put the lamp on the bedside table before retreating quickly. The room had a full size bed, dresser, chest, and two side tables. It was clear it was never used. It was clean and sparse though.
"Thank you, Daryl." Carol looked over at him.
He gave her a tight smile and cleared his throat. "Don't mention it. Good night Carol."
He walked out shutting the door and she heard him shut another door a second later. His room was at the end of the hall apparently. Just two doors down. It was comforting to not be alone even if there were walls between them.
Carol pulled her shirt out and her eyes widened realizing why he'd been avoiding looking at her. She was in a soaked white shirt and shorts. She wasn't even sure where she'd left her flip flops. Maybe in his living room when she first walked in which would mean she ran home without them. They could be in his garage but she didn't remember wearing them in there either.
He'd had the decency to not stare at her like some creep. Her last neighbor would have. Mr. Edgecomb was the definition of an old senile pervert. She was just glad he'd moved further south to be with his kids. He'd always creeped her out. She still didn't understand how she'd not seen Daryl before today.
Stripping down quickly Carol put her wet clothes on the back of a rocking chair in the corner. Hoping they'd dry some before morning. She didn't look forward to putting them back on if they were still wet. All she'd had under her shirt and shorts was her panties. So she didn't need to worry about a bra drying.
A knock at the door startled her and she dove for the bed. Carol rolled quickly rolling up in the blanket so tightly her arms were pinned to her sides. The knock came again and Carol cleared her throat.
"Come in."
Daryl cracked the door and still wasn't looking at her. She could tell his face was red from what little light she had. Again she was a little shocked that he could be so embarrassed. Most men she'd met were dogs and would have reveled in the moment.
"I...got you…." He rubbed his hand through his hair and straightened more. "Your wet so-"
He raised his hand showing her what he had. There was a towel and some clothes in his hand. Carol stared at them and then down at her cocooned body. He raised a brow when she didn't say anything and finally looked at her. Both of them seemed to realize at the same moment she'd trapped herself in the blankets. If she wanted free she'd need his help.
He looked away quickly and she knew immediately when his eyes landed on her clothes. He suddenly looked anywhere but at her or that corner of the room. He laughed quietly suddenly and shook his head.
"Do you need help?"
"Yes." Carol said before thinking. Her own voice was breathy.
He walked forward into the room tossing the towel and clothes both at the foot of the bed. Carol could feel her pulse picking up with each step he took towards her. She felt hot all over and licked her lips taking him in as he finally came to a stop by the bed. How was a man this good looking and nice single?