Hey guys, I know these chapters are pretty short but I've been uploading everyday and plan to continue doing so. So bear with me. Also, this chapter is pretty slow, Bethyl - wise, but I promise next chapter is full of Bethyl. Leave me some reviews and let me know what you guys think. I really enjoy reading them. Thanks. 3
Rick was driving home from work at 6:00 AM that Saturday morning. He had just spent the past 10 hours patrolling the county streets and arresting drunk drivers that had a little too much to drink on Friday night. He wasn't too tired, but he was looking forward to getting a small nap in while Daryl drove the whole 2 hours it takes to get to the hunting cabin. He was still fighting off a headache from the argument he and Lori had yesterday about taking Carl with him on the trip.
Rick knew that neither Carl nor Beth had a hunting license, but also knew that Daryl was friends with the park rangers because his dad had made him and Merle go on hunting trips with him since they were old enough to walk. The rangers knew what kind of man Daryl's father was, but they weren't qualified to do anything about the abuse because they worked for Georgia's department of natural resources, not Georgia's state law department. So the rangers were always extra friendly towards the brothers. Daryl assured Rick that there wouldn't be a problem getting the teenagers in.
When Rick arrived at the house a little after 6:00, he could see Carl and Daryl packing the supplies into the bed of the truck. They were already dressed for the hunt and Rick wondered momentarily if anyone had woken Beth up yet.
"Mornin." Rick greeted his son with a tired smile and turned to see Daryl sporting an angry, very annoyed look on his face. Before Rick could question his friend's sour mood, Merle Dixon walked out from behind his house carrying fishing poles and a large tackle box to the truck that he gathered from the shed in the backyard.
"Heeeey, Officer Friendly. Hope ya don't mind but I haven't been huntin since I got out of the slammer last winter. Thought I'd tag along with my baby brother." Merle Dixon was probably Rick's least favorite person.
Seven years ago, Rick had just started out as sheriff and got a call from an old biker bar out on the edge of town. Apparently, some junkie was causing trouble and starting fights. When Rick and Deputy Shane pulled up to the bar, Daryl was trying to get his brother under control. But Merle was stronger, and Daryl ended up on his back with a black eye and a bruised rib. Rick was able to outsmart Merle though, and had him handcuffed to a pipe on the side of the building in less than ten minutes. Turned out, Merle was high on meth and some other hard drugs and even tried to cut his hand out of the cuffs but Rick got to him before he could do any real damage with the pocket knife.
That night, Daryl had asked Rick, who was a stranger to him at the time, to take his brother to jail and get him some help from the state if he could. It broke Daryl's heart to see his brother so lost and messed up but he fought the tears back and buried the memories of his father's similar behavior. Merle stayed in jail for 3 days but Rick was unable to do anything more for the addict. Daryl decided that day that he couldn't be around his toxic brother any longer than he had to, and as fate would have it, he got a job driving trucks a week later. Finally, he had a reason to get out of town every other month or so.
Rick rolled his eyes at Merle but decided to be polite for Daryl's sake. The last thing he wanted was trouble from the oldest Dixon, especially if Merle was going to be around Carl and Beth the whole weekend. "Nah, I don't mind. The more, the merrier." Rick lied with a warning tone in his voice. He looked to Carl and spoke again.
"Beth awake?"
"Yeah, she's packing breakfast." Carl answered.
"Ah, Rick. Got yourself a girlfriend, huh?" Merle mocked. "And here I was thinkin you and my baby brother were gettin it on."
"If ya don't shut the fuck up, ya ain't comin!" Daryl yelled, growing increasingly worried about Merle being around Beth.
Beth appeared outside a moment later with four plastic containers full of 2 breakfast burritos each. She was wearing ripped jeans, floral cowboy boots, and a yellow tee shirt. When she noticed all four men staring at her, a worried expression graced her features.
"What? Should I change?" She thought maybe her outfit wasn't hunting appropriate. But she didn't know any better. She's never been hunting.
"No, it's fine." Rick assured her. "Did you pack some more clothes? We're staying until late Monday?"
"Yeah I did, but I left it inside." Beth began passing out the breakfasts and realized that there wasn't enough for everyone. When she reached Merle, she handed him the last container that was meant to be hers. The unfamiliar man looked her over from head to toe and gave her a flirtatious smirk.
"Well thank ya lil lady. My brother didn't tell me that such a pretty girl would be joining us." Merle winked at Beth and the gesture sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. This is Daryl's brother? What a creep. She instantly noted the difference in personalities between the brothers. Daryl was definitely not as creepy as Merle and she found herself liking Daryl a little more now that she met his brother.
Beth let out a nervous laugh and quickly turned around to go grab her overnight bag from her room.
"Ain't she a lil young for you, Rick?" Merle joked when Beth was no longer in hearing distance.
Rick explained who Beth was to him in an annoyed tone and warned him to leave her alone.
"So don't make me cuff you to a tree." Rick added, referring to the first time they met.
"Ya don't have to worry about me, Officer Friendly. I prefer my women with a lil more experience." Merle joked.
Daryl was about to curse Merle out but stopped himself when Beth came back outside. She threw her bag into the bed of the truck. After Rick ran inside to change clothes and grab his overnight bag, they were ready to hit the road. The five of them piled into the truck from both sides, Daryl in the driver's seat, Merle in the passenger's seat, and Beth, Rick, and Carl in the back seats.
As planned, Rick slept the whole way to the hunting grounds. Carl listened to music on his iPod and Beth did some light reading from an eBook she downloaded on her phone. The brothers in the front of the truck argued about who would have the biggest kill by the end of the weekend before falling into a tension filled silence. Daryl was really not happy about Merle crashing their trip, even more unhappy than he was about Beth crashing it.
When they arrived at the site, Daryl and Merle had to do a little convincing with the park rangers to get the teenagers in with them but weren't entirely successful. The rangers liked the brothers but they felt uncomfortable risking their jobs to let the young ones hunt without a license. But they came to an agreement in the end: Carl could observe but wasn't allowed access to a gun and Beth was only allowed to fish in the lake.
The team took what they could get and were given directions to the hunting cabin that they would be occupying for the next couple of days. They had to pay for a larger cabin since they all agreed that Beth would need her own room, being the only girl amongst four men. The cabin had two small bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen area, and a sitting area with a couple of couches. Beth took one bedroom, Rick and Carl shared one, and Daryl and Merle were to sleep on the couches. Once they all got the truck unloaded and settled into the cabin, they decided to get started on their hunt.
Beth was allowed to fish but didn't know how. She wondered briefly if any of the guys were going to stay with her to teach her how or at least keep her company. Carl was too eager to see the men hunt and Merle wasn't really allowed to be alone with Beth because he didn't know how to behave appropriately. Rick decided that he was still too tired to hunt so he offered to accompany Beth at the lake.
Beth and Rick took the truck to the lake while the rest of the guys walked to their preferred hunting spot. The first hour at the lake was spent with Rick teaching Beth the basic skills of fishing. The next hour was spent with small talk before the conversation eventually became denser.
"Lori's pregnant." Rick admitted. He hadn't told anybody else yet because the pain of not knowing if the child was his or Shane's kept him from doing so.
Beth's eye shot open in shock and she stayed quiet for a moment, realizing on her own that the unborn child may or may not be his.
"Are you okay?" She asked kindly.
"I don't know. I feel like I can't catch a break. First Lori left me, took Carl, then your dad died, and now this." Rick said honestly as he ran a hand through his hair.
Beth stared at Rick for a moment and finally let herself notice the toll that the stress was taking on his appearance. He had dark circles under his eyes, his beard was unkempt, and he desperately needed a haircut.
"Yeah, I know how you feel. Losing both my parents within a year has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through. But you can't let life's difficulties get you down. You gotta keep your head up and stay strong. That's what Momma always told me." Beth said with a sad smile.
Rick looked over at the girl next to him and offered an appreciative smile for the advice. They stayed quiet for a while after that and relaxed to the comforting sound of the birds chirping and the fish splashing in the water. Beth looked over to see that Rick had fallen asleep in the fold-out chair and she was left alone with her thoughts. First she thought about her mom and dad and wondered if they were looking down on her from heaven. But before she knew it, her mind had wondered to thoughts about a certain hunter with angel wings on his back.