Chapter Eight
"Hey, you." Daryl said as he slid onto on of the barstools at the kitchen island, Beth looking up from the tomato she was slicing for lunchtime sandwiches. Seeing him made her stomach flutter and her spirits lift.
"Hey back. This has to be the first time in a few days we've gotten to talk alone." Beth said as Daryl reached and snagged a slice of tomato off of her cutting board. She laughed softly and cut him another slice, laying it on a paper towel and sliding it to him.
"You wanna eat lunch together today? Jus' you and me?" he asked and she set her knife down, wiping off her hands and grabbing the fresh bread she baked the previous day. Daryl's mouth practically watered at the smell of it as she set it in front of him and crossed his arms, setting them on the counter and resting his chin on them.
"We can go sit under the big tree." Beth said softly and grabbed a large serated bread knife, slicing off pieces and stacking them on a small plate.
"You look tired." Daryl said and snagged a piece of bread, taking a large bite out of the corner before she could get it back from him.
"I'm tired of you stealin' all the food before I can make your lunch." she teased and smacked the top of his hand playfully away from the stack of bread he was reaching for again, "These past few days have been really busy, with mama's friend Kate comin' down with that flu. We've been helpin' take care of her house and animals while she's recoverin'."
"You should rest." he said and stood, walking around to her side of the island and leaning his hip against the counter and crossing his arms as he watched her. He could smell her soft perfume and was thankful it wasn't overpowering. Most women who came on to him in the many bars he had been to usually smelled as if they soaked in a tub of perfume which made him feel as if he was going to suffocate.
"Sweet tea and lemonade in the fridge if you wanna go 'head and pour our drinks, I'm almost done." Beth said as she was finishing one of the sandwiches, wrapping it in a napkin and grabbing two more slices of bread. Daryl grabbed two clean mason jars out of the cabinet, uncapping them and setting them on the counter as he pulled the sweet tea pitcher out of the fridge. After filling both jars he capped them back so their drinks wouldn't spill in the picnic basket and put the pitcher back just in time for her to finish up the second sandwich. They made their way outside, sitting down in the shade and unpacking their food.
"You gonna be busy this afternoon?" Daryl asked as he wiped a spot of mustard off of the corner of his mouth, licking it off his thumb before taking a swig of tea, "I'm gonna go into town and meet up with a buddy of mine. He's sellin' a motorcycle for dirt cheap that needs a lot o' fixin up and I want it and wanted to know if you'd go with me."
"I have to go with Mama to Miss Kate's and fix her up some dinner." Beth said and apolgized to him but Daryl only shrugged it off.
"S'ok, figured you like some time away from the house." he said and she thanked him for his offer, "When I get it goin', you mind if I take you out on a ride?" She laughed softly and took a sip of her tea, smiling at his confused expression.
"I'm sorry, I'd love to go on it with you. It just makes me think of a knight upon his noble steed from the fairytales I used to read as a kid." she answered and saw the grin pulling at the corners of his mouth, "So you must be a good mechanic then, huh?"
"I'm alright." he said with a bashful grin as a blush started spreading across his cheeks.
"I'm sure you are better than alright, Daryl Dixon." she said as she moved to her knees to face him, Daryl looking over at her and shrugging his shoulders.
"Beth, hun let's go!" they heard Annette yell from the front porch and Beth sighed, rubbing her face and looking up at Daryl apologetically.
"I'm sorry." she said softly and he stood, taking her hand and pulling her up to him. He gave her a soft and quick kiss on the lips, helping her clean up the picnic area and walking her to the porch.
"I'll see you later this evenin'. Drive safe." he said softly and brushed her hip with his hand.
"Have fun getting' your motorcycle. I can't wait to see it when I get back." she said with a smile and a wink before walking to the car her mother had already started. When they left Daryl went inside and slid his work shirt off, grabbing his black leather sleeveless vest he wore almost everywhere that sported two large faded white angel wings on the back. He zipped it up and ran his fingers through his hair, making a mental note to ask Beth if she'd take him up on her offer to trim his hair for him later that night.
"You said you got someone buyin' that heap of shit?" Merle asked as he popped the top off of a beer, taking a long drink from it and wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. His friend nodded and grabbed a beer himself out of the cooler as he wiped the grease off of his hand on his pants.
"Ya brother." his friend answered, scratching his beard and spitting his tobacco out on the floor.
"Daryl?"
"Ya got another damn brother?"
"Shut your mouth, Jake. I didn' think Daryl was gunna be dumb enough to buy this shit from you."
"Calm ya dick, Merle. Daryl is sure he can get this thing runnin' again, and I've seen that man work on cars. He's great, so I have faith that he'll get 'er goin' again." Jake said as he leaned against the hood of his old car, nearly draining his ice cold beer, "Let's go git lit tonight after this sale, whaddya say?"
"If you payin', I won't turn it down." Merle said with a throaty laugh as he rubbed a patch of dirt off of his own motorcycle.
"Whatcha say Daryl's up to lately?" Jake asked as he dug his Skoal can out of his back pocket to get another fix.
"He's playin' house on some farm helpin' 'em 'cuz he needs to "pay back my damages" from when we broke into that old man's clinic. I think he's jus' tryin' to get into the daughter's pants, and damn I don' blame him one bit. She is a looker." Merle said with a low whistle and Jake laughed, sucking down the rest of his beer and tossing the can to the side. Just then they heard the loud roar of an engine and gravel being shifted as a vehicle approached the garage.
"Speak of the devil himself." Jake said as he stood, stepping outside and waving to Daryl as he pulled up and stopped outside the garage.
"Shoulda known your ass would be hangin' around here." Daryl said as he walked up to Jake, looking over at Merle as Jake shook his hand.
"Come on, baby brother, let's let our last run in stay in the past." Merle said before tipping his beer can up and draining it. Daryl walked over to the motorcycle, looking it over stood there thinking for a minute before pulling his wallet out.
"Looks good enough to me. I'll have her runnin' before the summer is over with." Daryl said as he pulled the cash out, shoving his wallet back in his pocket before counting the bills out and handing them over to Jake.
"Come to the bar with us." Merle offered to Daryl as Jake got his wooden ramps to help Daryl load the motorcycle into the back of his truck.
"I wouldn't mind gettin' a few drinks tonight. I haven't seen my old buddy Jack Daniels in a while." Daryl said before Merle walked over to help push the old beat down bike up the ramps. After it was laid over in the bed of the truck Jack and Daryl strapped it down and secured it.
"Good. Follow us then." Jake said as he pulled his keys out of his back pocket, walking to his car as Merle hopped on to his motorcycle. In a little under half an hour they had made it to a bar that Merle and Daryl used to frequent, being greeted by a familiar face.
"Get your asses in here, I haven't seen you two in a month of Sundays!" an blonde, around his age, called from behind the counter.
"Andrea, you ain't changed a bit." Daryl said as he sat down on an old wobbly stool, taking the glass the woman had just filled and downing it quickly. It burned on the way down but made his stomach feel warm once it hit. He pushed it forward and grinned when she filled it again.
"Thanks, cowboy. First one's on the house. Carol! I'm gonna need another bottle of Jack out of the back!" Andrea called over her shoulder, sliding two more glasses down to Jake and Merle.
"Well, shit. Look at what the cat dragged in." a voice said as she stepped out of the back room with a case of liquor in her hands.
"Hey, Carol." Daryl said as he nursed his second glass slightly longer than his first, taking a handful of the beer nuts Andrea sat down in front of him. The older woman with the short graying hair set the case down and walked around the bar, enveloping Daryl in a quick hug before holding him at arms lenth.
"Lookin' good, Dixon! Whatcha been up to? I've seen your brother here more times than I'd like to confess." she said and heard Merle laugh at her statement.
"At least I've been bringin' you business." Merle said as he started on his third glass.
"I've been workin', doin' good for myself." Daryl said and Carol patted his shoulder, telling him to sit back down as she went back behind the bar.
"Daryl's a farmer now." Merle teased as Daryl finished downing his second glass, Carol refilling his glass.
"Oh really? Well that'll teach him some good life lessons instead of following you around getting into trouble." Carol said as she propped a hand on her hip, Andrea leaning against the bar.
"He's also goin' after a pretty young lady." Merle added with a grin, seeing Daryl look down at his glass and trying to hide his embarrassed face behind his hair.
"Oh really?" Carol asked with a smile, swatting his elbow, "Tell me about her. She needs to be good enough for my friend here."
"I dunno what we are right now. I'm kinda new to this sorta stuff." Daryl said as he scratched the side of his nose.
"Oh I bet ya anythin' she's good for him." Merle said, "Don't mean ole' Daryl here is good for her. Ain't no daddy gonna accept men like us. Too rough around the edges, to wild to tame. A Dixon is a Dixon through and through thanks to our granddaddy and our father's genes."
"Don't you listen to his bullshit." Carol said before grabbing a beer for Merle after he finished his drink.
"Ain't no bullshit, Carol." Merle said as he and Jake stood, "Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna go find me some entertainment in here tonight."
"Tell me about her." Carol said after the other two walked off, Daryl shrugging and pushing his nearly full glass around on the bar, "Don't listen to Merle. Tell me about her. What's her name?"
"Beth Greene." Daryl mumbled, avoiding Carol's gaze.
"Greene...Greene...Not sure I know that name. Describe her to me."
"Blonde, blue eyes. Short and scrawny." Daryl answered and Carol chuckled, grabbing a beer for herself.
"Daryl, describe her to me the way you see her." Carol said before taking a small sip. Daryl sighed, looking into his glass and took a deep breath.
"She's eighteen but she's beautiful, Carol." he murmured, "She's got these huge blue eyes and this amazin' smile that is full of pure innocence and life. She's got so much energy, and she has the sweetest, softest voice. Everytime I kiss her I just lose all track of myself and everythin' around me."
"Sounds like you got it bad, Dixon." Carol said with a grin and reached forward, patting his arm, "You two are kissing, you must be dating or something?"
"I dunno what we are." Daryl answered as the bell over the door rang to notify another customer had entered. When Daryl looked over his shoulder he saw Glenn first, then Maggie behind him as the two headed to the bar.
"Daryl? What are you doing here?" Maggie asked as they sat down, Glenn ordering them two beers from Carol.
"Same question goes for you, Greene. Thought your daddy banned alcohol." he said with a smirk and Maggie bit her lip, "I won't tell if you won't."
"You got yourself a deal." Maggie said with a grin before taking a sip from her beer.
He sat as still as he could, holding the bathroom trash can under his head as Beth carefully cut the ends of his hair, letting the ends she cut off fall into the trash.
"I like your bike." she said softly, "I can't wait to see it finished."
"Thanks." he answered quietly, wanting to look up at her and see her loving gaze she always gave him, "Ain't nobody gonna accept men like us. A Dixon is a Dixon through and through." He wanted to shake his head to try and shake Merle's words out but what if the man was right? What if he was no good for her? Then what was he supposed to do? Surely Hershel wouldn't want Daryl to be a longtime option in Beth's life. He was to rough around the edges for her. He was too wild and untamed, or at least had been. But some people never made it past his past.
"All done." Beth said softly and set the comb and scissors to the side, "You ready for dinner, handsome man?" He looked up, seeing her eyes and feeling a knot in his stomach. Those big, beautiful blue eyes seemed to paralyze him where he usually sat or stood. He set the can down and reached up, cupping her face and pulling her into a firm kiss.
"Yeah, I'm starving." he said as he stood, hesitating to follow her out.
"You okay?" she asked and he nodded, taking her hand and pulling her against him.
"Just let me hold you for a few minutes." he said softly, trying to push Merle's words out of his mind.