10 years ago

2 weeks later

Today was the kind of day that was so hot, it made you start to sweat the minute you stepped outside. Or since they didn't have air conditioning in their trailer, the minute you got up from bed and moved out from in front of your fan. Merle rigged up what he called a redneck air conditioner, which was a five gallon bucket with some holes cut in the sides and pvc pipe coming out. The lid had a larger hole cut in it, where you would put a fan face down. Then they froze gallon jugs of water in the freezer and put them in the buckets. Most of the time, the ice buckets kept the place cool enough, but Daryl slept late and the water in his bucket was well past melted. He got in the shower and turned the water to cold. It felt great, but as soon as he stepped back out, he could feel himself start to sweat again. He heard Merle calling to him from outside. One of the girls paged him. He was ready to go.

When they got to the cabin, RickyJo and Jessica were outside eating popsicles. RickyJo had on a pair of cutoff jean shorts so short the bottom of the pockets were hanging out, and a tank top with her bathing suit top underneath. Her bare feet were dirty and she was sitting sideways in her porch chair, letting them dangle over the arm. She gave a little half hearted wave, like it was too hot for any further effort. Jessica was in shorts as well, and her bikini top. Her hair did not fare well in the humidity and she had long since given up and pulled it into a big sloppy bun on top of her head. Like most natural redheads, her skin was fair and enveloped in freckles. She slathered on sunscreen before they went swimming earlier, but still her back, shoulders, nose and forehead were already turning pink. She was always jealous of her cousin's skin, which only burned a little at the very beginning of summer, and then turned to tan. RickyJo's hair would get so light and her skin so tawny, by the end of the summer she looked a bit like a palomino horse. RickyJo waved her popsicle in the air.

"More popsicles inside," she told the men, "...ya want one?" Daryl and Merle both nodded. RickyJo swung her legs down off the armrest and vaulted out of the chair, landing on the porch with a soft thud. Jessica rolled her eyes. She could never understand why her cousin insisted on running and jumping and thumping around like a five year old. She considered herself much too mature for that type of behavior.

"Come on in," RickyJo told Merle, "I'll get yer money too." Merle followed the girl inside, staring at her long tan legs and the way her shorts hugged her curves. She grabbed the mason jar down off the fridge and handed the money to him. He got her weed out of his pants pocket and she crammed it into her pocket then put the jar back up on the fridge and opened the freezer. "Lime or cherry?," she asked the man.

"Cherry," he told her with a suggestive smile. She laughed a little. If he liked cherries, she had no idea what Merle saw in Jessica. She noticed the man was leaning in, getting a little too close to her.

"Hey Daryl," she screamed as loud as possible right into Merle's ear, making the man wince a little and back up a step, "You want cherry or lime?"

"Lime!," Daryl called from the porch. RickyJo turned to Merle and gave him a smile to make sure he knew she screamed in his ear on purpose. He looked at the girl. She wasn't afraid of him. In fact she seemed to be giving him a challenging look, waiting to see if he would do anything.

RickyJo gulped. The way Merle was looking at her was giving RickyJo a funny feeling in her stomach, like a big bat was flapping around in there. He made her feel like a rabbit getting stared at by a hungry wolf. A rabbit that wanted to be eaten. She shoved his popsicle at him and slammed the freezer closed. He watched her walk back outside, wondering what that was about.

She handed Daryl his popsicle and tried to lick the rest of hers up quickly before it dripped down all over her hand and fell off the stick. Biting off the last big chunk, she worked it around in her mouth, trying to keep from getting a brain freeze. Then she jumped over the porch rail and landed in the grass, almost falling on her face in the process. She turned to Daryl.

"Let's go," she said. He followed after her, licking his popsicle which was getting drippy quick in the oppressive heat. Suddenly she turned and ran back, hollering at Merle as he was heading into the cabin with Jessica.

"When you are done here," she said to him, "You can just leave. I can drive Daryl home when we're done fishin'." Merle looked to Daryl, who nodded his approval. He didn't see anything but a golf cart around here, and wondered if she was going to drive his brother home in that. Merle shrugged. He figured that was Daryl's problem and went into the house to get what he came here for.

Daryl climbed into the golf cart next to RickyJo. She slid on her flip flops that were on the floor of the driver's seat. She seemed like she was thinking about asking him something.

"Do ya mind if we go up to the main house for a minute first?," she asked, "I gotta give this weed to my Nana. She's waiting on it."

"Your Nana?," he asked her in surprise, "she be gettin' high?"

"She has cancer," RickyJo explained. Now this was making sense. Daryl guessed before that there was no way these two girls were smoking all that weed by themselves. They didn't seem like the party throwing type either, at least RickyJo didn't. So she had a sick grandma she was buying it for. And another house on this property.

The cart moved along a small path through the woods. RickyJo slowed down as she approached another wall like the one they had to pass through to get onto the property. This gate was smaller and only held shut with a latch that swung open. RickyJo had to put a code into an electronic lock to get into the main gate.

"You got a lot of tall walls around here," Daryl remarked, jumping out to open the gate so she could pull the cart through.

"The outside wall is to keep all the deer in," she explained, "this wall is to keep them outta the gardens or they'll ruin everythin'. Ya seen the deer here?" He nodded. He noticed there were a lot of them and some looked different than the normal white tails or red deer that he usually saw around here. "My poppa had a lot of them brought in, from all over. Some even from other countries back when that was legal. People usedta pay ta come 'ere and hunt." He wondered how much people paid. The last time he was here he saw the biggest buck he had ever seen before. RickyJo smiled at him like she knew what he was thinking.

"You don't have to pay," she said with a smile.

"Have to come back during hunting season," Daryl said.

"Naw, we got a special permit," she said, "you can come anytime. My poppa used ta take huntin' parties out all the time, but he's gettin' too old and tired to do it much anymore." Daryl always hunted anytime he felt like it, but he never knew there were places where people were allowed to do it. He was also looking around with interest at his surroundings. There were barns with animals, gardens and people out working in them, who waved to them as they drove by. RickyJo waved back. They drove through an area that looked to be under construction, a row of cabins was being built. Next they drove by a double house. It was done up to look like a cottage, with little flower gardens out front.

"That's Jessie's place," she said, "...the other side is mine but I'm stayin' at the main house now to help out with my Nana." Daryl never lived in a place that he owned. Even their trailer was rented. All of the sudden he realized that this girl had more money than him. A lot more. Or at least her family did, which was about the same thing. He wondered what she would think of his shitty little trailer. Daryl never really met a rich girl before, but RickyJo didn't act the way he thought a rich girl would act. She seemed nice, and not like a snob or a spoiled brat.

They finally pulled up past a huge pole barn and into the driveway of a large ranch style house. RickyJo hopped out of the cart and headed in through a side door. They passed a laundry room and went through a garage. There were two cars inside, both covered in dust covers. Then up a small set of stairs and into the house. It was nice and cool inside the house. The floors were hardwood with a runner carpet down the hall. They passed a few rooms and entered into a huge living room with several couches and a tv that was against the wall on a rolling cart. It was the first one he had seen anywhere. On the other side of the living room was a glassed-in sunporch. An older woman was lying on a large daybed with a light blanket covering her. There was a small child that looked about two years old playing on the floor with a toy tea set.

The girl was obviously biracial. She had skin the color of coffee, but soft curly hair and big blue eyes. The little girl heard them coming in and stood up, running for RickyJo.

"AuntieRee Auntie Ree," she said as she was lifted up into the woman's arms.

"Are you being a good girl for Nana?," RickyJo asked the small girl, smoothing a curl out of her face and holding her close.

"She's always a good girl," said the woman on the daybed. She swung her legs over the side and adjusted the pillows so she could sit up and lean back on them.

"Where's Poppa?," RickyJo asked her. He was supposed to be in here, helping Nana keep an eye on the little one, not out poking around in the garage. She set the child down and got the bag of weed out of her pocket, holding it up for the older woman's approval. Then she handed it to her and got a box off a nearby shelf and handed that to the woman as well.

"He's out pickin' us some strawberries," the woman told RickyJo. Then she added, "He'll be right back." She hated that she couldn't watch the child on her own and did not like her granddaughter treating her like a child, but she knew she had been prone to fainting spells lately. She silently reminded herself that there were some sick people out there who had no one to care for them. Without being too obvious about it, she was also getting herself a good look at the young man standing in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. She knew he was the brother of the boy that Jessica was fooling around with but refusing to bring around. Jessica was usually more than happy to parade around any conquests she might have in front of the whole family, so since she refused to bring this one, Nana had assumed that he was black. Now she could see that apparently wasn't the case. Guessing the ages of young people was getting harder for her as she got older, but she put this young man at about twenty five. If he was the younger of the two brothers, that meant Jessica probably wasn't bringing the other man over because he was much too old for her. Both the girls looked mature for their age, and Nana wondered if these men knew they were only fifteen and sixteen. Jessica had been lying and saying she was eighteen since the eighth grade so it was unlikely she was telling the truth now.

"Nana," RickyJo said, remembering her manners, "this is Daryl. Daryl, this is my Nana, and this little stinker here is Cassie." Daryl gave a little nod to the older woman, who smiled at him. The resemblance between her and RickyJo was obvious. They almost looked like they could be the same person in different stages of life. He was confused about the kid. Where did she fit into this family?

"I made ya some sandwiches," Nana told them, "they're in the fridge in the kitchen. Why don't you take Cassie in there with you and have some lunch before you go." This was code for I want to smoke and I don't want the baby to see me smoking.

"Thanks Nana," RickyJo told her, "you didn't have to do that. Come on Cassie, I'll give you a cookie." The little girl seemed pleased with this idea and happily followed the young woman into the kitchen. RickyJo sat the little girl down at the table in a little booster seat and handed her a cookie out of a jar on the counter. Then she reached into the fridge and got out two sandwiches on small white plates. She also got out a big jug of tea and poured them each a glass, plus a small glass of milk for the little girl. Daryl sat at the table and looked at the child. She seemed very familiar and he couldn't place why. Then it came to him. She looked just like RickyJo's cousin Jessica, only darker skinned.

"This Jessica's daughter?," he asked. RickyJo laughed.

"Well she sure ain't Nana's," she said, then added, "or mine." Daryl laughed a little too, happy to have the mystery explained. He also wondered if his brother knew about this, and he seriously doubted it. It was really funny to think about. White girls who fucked black guys was one of his brother's favorite things to run his big mouth about, and here was putting the wood to one of them on the regular and he didn't even know it. That's what he gets for going in dick first and not even talking to the girl. Daryl could not wait to rub this in his brother's face later. And that's what he gets for ruining my day the last time we were here and putting his hands all over the girl he brought me here to meet.

They finished up their sandwiches and RickyJo wiped up the table and rinsed out the glasses. Then she returned Cassie to the sun porch, which smelled faintly of marijuana. RickyJo gave a quick kiss to Nana, and then they headed back outside. She drove the cart back the way they came. When they got out to the gate a black man who looked about forty was trimming some bushes nearby and hurried over to get the latch for them.

"It's okay Reggie," RickyJo told the man, "...we can get it."

"No no Miss Ricky," he told her, "I got it for ya." She gave the man a warm smile and thanked him. She explained to Daryl that the man had been working here for her Poppa since before she was born. His nephew was the father of Jessica's baby, and was sent away to a college out of state, but she left that out.

They drove a while back towards the cabin and then turned off to the left, heading down to the lake. It was hot and humid, and even with the breeze from riding in the small cart, the humidity was imposing. They pulled up at another small cabin. There were two more like it on different sides of the small lake. This one was up on a hill, with the lake down behind it. There was a nice patio down there, and a wooden dock with a pontoon boat tied to it. It was really too hot of a day for fishing. RickJo was thinking that before Daryl even showed up. She wondered if he would want to do something else instead.

"It is so hot," she told him, then asked, "Do you want to just go swimming instead?" He thought this over for a minute.

"Don't have a suit," he told her.

"That's okay, we have extras," she said, "but we can just fish if you want to." He had been thinking himself that the day was too hot for fishing. And swimming meant bathing suits, which meant RickyJo would be in a bathing suit.

"No swimming sounds good," he told her. They went into the cabin, which was set up kind of like a hotel room inside. He thought maybe they rented these cabins out sometimes to the people that came here to go hunting.

"There should be some suits in the tall cupboard in the bathroom," she told him, "...will you grab some towels from in there too?" He nodded and went into the bathroom. He found a suit that wasn't too bad looking, and put it on. Then it crossed his mind that he was going to have to take off his shirt in front of this girl. Daryl had noticeable scars all over his back. People always said something. He was in such a hurry to see RickyJo without her clothes, he forgot that he was going to have to take his off as well. Maybe he could keep his shirt on until they were about to jump in so she wouldn't see?

RickyJo got a cooler and put in some ice from the freezer, then put some bottled water inside and a few beers. Not too many, it was too easy to get drunk in this heat. She turned when she heard the bathroom door. Daryl came out in a suit with his shirt still on. Now, she felt a little silly and naked for stripping down to her suit already. It was so hot she decided she didn't care. It was funny that he seemed a little shy and she wondered if he had something weird going on that he was hiding under the shirt. Maybe he had a third nipple, she thought with a laugh. Most men she met liked showing off their naked chests, even when they didn't have much to show off.

RickyJo handed Daryl the cooler and took the towels, flipping her sunglasses down from on top of her head. She left her flip flops on, so she wouldn't get splinters in her feet from the wooden dock. He climbed into the boat, while she untied it from the dock, pushing it out towards the lake and jumping on at the last second. She didn't cut the motor on, just used a long pole to shove against the bottom of the lake and let them drift out where the water was deep enough to swim and then anchored the boat. She pulled out her ponytail and twisted her hair into one long braid, then kicked off her sandals and dove in. The water felt freezing at first compared to the heat of the day. Daryl was relieved he didn't have to undress right in front of her now. He kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt and jumped in after her.

"Fuckin' hell," he said pooping back up, "...that is cold." RickyJo laughed and splashed at him a little. They swam around a while, then went back to climb up on the boat and have a beer. He went up the ladder in front of her. That's when she saw his back. RickyJo felt bad for him instantly. She didn't say anything at first but as Daryl was drying himself off he felt her hand on his back. She softly tracing one of her fingers across the worst of his scars. She felt him tense under her touch..

"It's alright," she said. RickyJo turned her back to him, holding her braid up and out of the way. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at. But when Daryl moved it a little closer he saw them. Hundreds of tiny round scars, some of them were white, and some still an angrier red. Some were perfectly round and some were warped where her skin had grown and stretched them. They covered the backs of her shoulders and a few were on her neck. They spread out more but there were a few even down on her lower back near her waist. It was plain they were cigarette burns. He had one himself, but his was his own stupid fault for playing chicken with his brother. Who had done this to her? Not the old woman he had met. And Daryl didn't think it had been her grandfather either. When RickyJo talked about him he could hear the love and pride in her voice.

"My mother had a lot of shitty boyfriends," RickyJo explained, "but that guy was the worst." Daryl nodded his understanding. And he was grateful that there was no more discussion about either of their scars. He guessed she felt the same way.

After they had their fill of swimming and sunning themselves, RickyJo drove them back to the main house to change into dry clothes and get the car to drive him home. Daryl was standing around awkwardly in the living room waiting for her when a man that must be her grandfather came in. The man was tall and tan from years working outside in the sun. He had white hair that was combed back from his face and a friendly smile. The man stuck his hand out, and Daryl nervously shook it.

"Augustus King," he told the young man, "and you must be Daryl." Daryl nodded. He wasn't even sure RickyJo was serious about hanging out with him again the last time he was here, let alone talking to her family about him. It made him feel good to know she liked him that much. "I know your brother has been fooling with my other granddaughter," the man said. Daryl was getting nervous now, it would not be the first time he was judged because of something Merle did. "It's alright," the man added, patting him on the back gently and adding in a quieter voice, "We all love Jess but it's no secret that she's a little slut." Daryl laughed a little and tried to turn it into a cough. That was pretty funny, and true, and he had a feeling he knew where this was going now. He relaxed a little, after all he had not laid a hand on either girl, so he had nothing to be nervous about. "Just as long as you understand my Ricky is not that kind of girl," the man explained. Daryl nodded vigorously. RickyJo was coming out of the back hall now in a clean pair of shorts.

"What are you sayin' to him Poppa?," she asked the man, "ya betta not be givin' him a hard time."

"I was just telling Daryl I would take him out to see my cars," the man lied. Daryl smiled a little. RickyJo frowned and wrinkled up her nose.

"We were going ta look at my ducks," she said to the man, making him laugh.

"Nobody wants to see your dirty birds RickyJo," the man said, teasing her. She couldn't help but laugh, the way he always said dirtybirds like it was one word and a swear always cracked her up. Really, she had no interest in looking at his boring cars, but it was too late now. When Jessica brought boys over they were always fascinated with the cars, so maybe it wasn't the worst idea. Augustus loved showing off his cars and would take any opportunity to do so. He didn't want to ruin RickyJo's afternoon with her friend though.

"Tell you what," he told the girl, "I'll let ya pick out any car you want to drive him home."

"Yer gonna let me borrow one of yer cars?," she asked in a tone that let the man know she thought he was full to the brim with bullshit. He nodded. "Any one I want?" He nodded again. "What if I crash it?" He thought about this for a minute.

"Don't crash it," he told her firmly, making the girl laugh. She would never crash one of his cars, and they both knew it, but he almost never let her drive them anyway. They all headed out towards the large pole barn that Daryl noticed earlier. There were more cars in there than Daryl had ever seen in one place. He was poking around looking at them, trying to ask questions that didn't sound stupid. He was sitting in them too, since the man had said it was okay. With the young man occupied, Augustus leaned in close to his favorite granddaughter and whispered quietly to her.

"When you take him home, you let him drive," he told the girl. RickyJo rolled her eyes at the man, but he could tell that she was going to listen.

Merle was sitting in a plastic chair on what passed for his front lawn. A man from a few trailers down was over with his son. The guy was a sloppy drunk, but it was still pretty early, so he wasn't getting too bad yet. It was too hot to be inside, and they were talking about throwing some burgers on the grill. From where the lot was, they could see past the next road over to the entrance of the trailer park. Everyone sat up a little taller when they saw an old Ford Thunderbird pull in. It was cherry red, and to Merle's surprise when it got closer, he saw that his brother was driving it, with Jessica's cousin in the passenger seat They pulled to a stop in front of the trailer.

"Hey, I know that girl," said the kid from down the street, "that's Ricky King."

"I know that car," his dad added, "seen it before at the car shows down at the fairgrounds. Belongs to Augustus King." The three men got up to get a closer look at the car. RickyJo let them all poke around at the car, and was amused when Merle wanted to open up the back trunk to see where the soft top was folded up and open the hood to look at the engine.

"Do ya want me ta take ya for a ride," she asked the man. She would have offered to let Merle drive, since he was so excited, but the beer bottle in his hand made her think twice. Her grandpa had trusted her, and she knew he wouldn't want a drunk man driving his car.

"Hi RickyJo," the kid from down the street said to her. She looked at him. He did look familiar, probably from school, but a name was not coming to mind. "Travis," he told her, helping her out.

"That's right, " she said, giving him a smile, "Travis Holden, right?" He nodded, happy she remembered him. He remembered her, and he definitely remembered her cousin Jessica, who had quite a reputation at their small school. When she got pregnant, their grandfather pulled both girls out of school and hired private tutors for them. No one saw them much after that.

"How's Jessica?," the boy asked her. RickyJo laughed. Boys always wanted to know how Jessica was.

"She's good," she told the boy. Merle was bored with this conversation.

"Are we going for a ride or not?," he asked the girl. She nodded and got the keys back from Daryl. They both climbed in and she started the car back up and pulled away. She glanced over at the man, who looked like a five year old at DisneyLand. Guiding the car out of the trailer park, she headed for the country road they had taken to get there.

"You know my Poppa has a ton of other cars besides this one," she told the man, "If you ask Jess, I'm sure she would take ya to see them next time you come over." Merle gave her a little huff noise. He had no interest in spending more time with Jessica than it took to get what he wanted from her. She was already getting clingy as it was. RickyJo understood the man's frustration, she knew Jessica could be a little pushy sometimes. She could also see that Merle wasn't exactly in love with her cousin. Jessica had a bad habit of getting overly attached to every man she slept with and then becoming very demanding with them. Maybe one day the girl would learn that just because a guy slept with you, it didn't mean he was going to marry you or even liked you.

"Or I can take ya to see them," RickyJo offered. She appreciated the shooting lesson the man gave her, and wouldn't mind doing something nice for him.

"I'd like that," he told the girl. It was not the first time Merle wanted to kick himself for rushing into bed with Jessica. It would obviously have taken a lot more work to get RickyJo into bed. But the more time he spent with her, the more he thought that the effort would have been worth it. Merle watched her as she pulled the car into a lot to turn around and head back. She had her hair pulled back, but a few strands were hanging loose around her face. RickyJo knew he was looking at her and she felt the same funny sensation in her stomach she had earlier in the day when they were standing in front of the fridge. Merle had a way of looking at her that made her feel like he knew what she looked like under her clothes.

They pulled back up in front of the trailer. Travis was hoping for a ride in the car as well, but RickyJo told him she had to get back home for dinner. She gave Daryl a hug goodbye and left. When Travis saw that, he was impressed. Everyone knew the older of the two King girls didn't date. His dad was interested in the situation as well. He didn't know the girls. But he knew quite a bit about their grandfather and wondered if Daryl knew who's granddaughter he was fooling with.

"You know who that girl is?," Travis's dad asked Daryl. Daryl didn't like the man anyway, and wasn't much interested in his opinion, but the man sounded like he knew something of interest. Merle didn't care for the man's tone either.

"Who the fuck is she?," he asked the man, sitting back down in his lawn chair and opening another beer.

"That's Augustus King's granddaughter man," he said as thought that should explain everything. Daryl was annoyed, her already knew her grandfather's name. It didn't mean anything to him other than a name.

"Augustus King," Travis said, "as in King tobacco." He held up his pack of cigarettes, waving them about. Merle laughed. He knew he smelled money on those girls. He hadn't realized it was that much money, but he wasn't that shocked. "Jessica has a trust fund too, but everyone knows RickyJo is getting the rest." Daryl was confused. If she was some kind of rich trust fund baby, how did RickyJo get those scars all over her back? Maybe she was lying about them, but Daryl didn't think so.

"There was a big scandal a few years back," Travis's dad said. "I don't know the girls but I knew their mothers. RickyJo's momma was a wild one. She took up with drugs pretty bad. Didn't even know who the father of her baby was. The parents tried sending her to rehab a few times but it never stuck. Couple years after high school, old Augustus went to check on her and found some asshole molesting his granddaughter. Killed the guy. The police came. But he was never arrested or anything. They sent the mom, Kimmy, back to rehab. I heard later that she killed herself there. They tried to hush it up and keep it all out of the papers, but most people found out anyway." Travis had never heard the whole story, but he heard most of it from other people over the years so he was not that surprised. Daryl on the other hand was completely shocked. He felt bad now for thinking that RickyJo was lying about her scars.

"Yeah," said Travis, "I knew them both from school and people used to say stuff about it sometimes." Merle was listening and had caught onto something that wasn't part of the story. He knew Travis was not very old, and only dropped out of school a few months before.

"Ya knew them from school?," Merle asked the boy. Travis nodded. "How old are them girls," Merle asked him.

"Well, RickyJo was in my grade, so she's probably about sixteen. Jessica was in the grade below," he said, thinking about it for a minute.

"No," Merle corrected him, "Jessica is the older one."

"No she's not, man," Travis said with certainty, "she's is the younger one. I was a freshman when she was in eighth and she got pregnant."

"Pregnant?," Merle asked the kid, "what kind of shit you talkin'?"

"She has a kid," Daryl told his brother, "I saw her at the house earlier today." Now Merle was getting pissed. Pissed off and fucking scared.

"Fucking little bitch told me she was eighteen," he cursed. Travis's dad was drunker now and finding this new development rather humorous.

"Guess you should have checked her fucking ID man," he told Merle. Now Merle had his head in his hands, swearing and muttering to himself. Fuck. Fuck. Double Fuck. What a fucking little bitch. Daryl was a little surprised to hear that RickyJo was only sixteen. He guessed her at about nineteen. But since he hadn't fucked her, and her grandparents didn't seemed to mind that he was hanging around with her, he wasn't really worried. And Augustus knew about Merle and Jessica and he didn't seem overly concerned about it. Guess when your twelve year old granddaughter pops out some random black baby, it desensitizes you to the rest of the shit she might do later. Daryl thought about telling Merle this, but wasn't sure if it would make the situation better or worse.

"If her fuckin' rich ass grandparents find out about this shit, my ass is fucking grass," Merle proclaimed.

"They already know," Daryl told him.