A Redneck's Wicked Game (A Daryl Dixon Story)

June Bug

Chapter 18—June Bug

Rowan's POV

It's after first light when I wake up and look at the empty space next to me. I quickly sit up and wonder why Daryl didn't wake me. I rub the sleep from my eyes and hear a familiar raspy voice, "I was wondering if I was gonna have to wake ya up princess." I stretch and yawn before I answer, "I can't believe I slept this late." He chuckles, "It ain't that late girl, hell everyone else is probably still sleeping." I nod as I scoot to the end of the bed to grab my brush. As I brush my hair I yawn again and mumble, "You think I'd have slept better." Daryl plops himself into the chair and looks down at me with concern, "Ya tossed and turned most of the night Rowan. Even woke me up with one of yer nightmares." I look up at him blankly as I process the night before in my head. I blush a little as I vaguely remember my nightmare and him comforting me back to sleep. I mumble, "Sorry fer waking ya up Dare." He gives me a soft look, "Don't worry 'bout it princess, no harm done." I sigh, "Other than we had watch last night and now both of us are sleep deprived." He shrugs, "I've operated on less sleep than this woman and so have you." I nod as I finish braiding my hair, "Yeah I know but still." He just rolls his eyes at me as he watches me put on my boots. I stand up and strap my gun and knife to my thighs before stepping over to the chair and bending down to kiss his cheek, "Good morning." He reaches out for my hand, pulling me on his lap, "Give me a real kiss woman." His lips press against mine as I mutter, "But I ain't brushed my teeth." He growls, "Tuff" and kisses me anyway. I submit to him easily and feel those familiar butterflies start up in my stomach. I moan a little as he pulls away, eliciting a chuckle from the man who assaulted my senses with his kisses. I give him a hazy dreamy look as he grins, "Doing okay there princess?" I nod slowly as I compose myself, "Umm yeah, I think so." He tugs on my braid as he teases, "Want me to kiss ya again?" I smile, "If ya want to." He leans in and quickly kisses my lips again before telling me, "I wanna do more than kiss ya but we need to get moving darling." I blush a little and stand up so he can get up out of the chair. He stands up and reaches out to play with the necklace around my neck, "Looks good on ya." I reach up and touch the squirrel charm as I smirk at him, "Thanks." I smooth out my tank top as Daryl reaches for my bow that's leaning against the wall. I take it from him and walk to the door as he grabs his crossbow. I hear him closing the distance between us and I open the door to our room.

We quietly walk down the hallway to the kitchen, noticing that people are just starting to stir. Once inside the kitchen I start a pot of coffee and sit down at the table. Daryl sits across from me, noticing my quietness, "What's going on Rowan?" I shrug, "I don't know; I just ain't feeling this whole making breakfast thing this morning." He sighs, "Ya need to let go of that anger ya got bottled up princess." I glare at him but manage to calmly point out, "Look who's calling the kettle black." He nods at me in agreement, "I hear ya but yer starting to let it eat at ya girl. Ya need to make peace with some of those feelings." I give him a long look and mutter, "I need to kill something." He tries to hide the grin but can't, "Well uhh that might work too." I can't help but give him a little smile, "Well find me somethin' to kill Dixon." He laughs, "Oh it's my job to find ya a victim huh?" I nod, "Yeah; walker, deer, boar, anything bigger than a damn squirrel." He grunts, "Like ya don't know how to track." I shrug, "I ain't feeling that either." He shakes his head and smirks, "Crazy ass ginger." My mood lightens a little at his playfulness and I whine, "Come on Dare, pleeeease." He shakes his head at my childish behavior, "Yer somethin' else girl, ya really are." I bat my eyelashes at him, "Aww ya know ya lov...." I stop mid-sentence, realizing what I almost said and quickly finish with, "like me." He just stares at me for a moment and I quickly get up to grab the coffee off the stove. I forget to use a potholder and scorch my hand as I grab the bare metal handle. The pain is instant and I quickly let go as I yelp, "Fuck! That's hot." I shove my burnt fingers into my mouth as Daryl jumps up to make sure I'm okay. He pulls my fingers out of my mouth to look at them as he says, "Let me see. Silly girl, ya need to be more careful." I mumble, "I'm fine fer Christ's sake, just stupid as shit." He looks into my eyes as he quietly says, "Naw, just flustered and distracted." I can't find my voice, so I just nod. He doesn't mention what I said earlier and I feel relief washing over my body. He glances down at my hand, "Looks like it will be fine. Try not to get so worked up about little things Rowan." I nod and pull my hand out of his. He turns to pour me a cup of coffee and I sit back down at the table, lost again in my thoughts.

Daryl places the cup of coffee in front of me and sits down next to me, "Ya know you've called me Dare twice today; new nickname?" I look at him blankly for a moment, "I guess, I didn't notice that I did that." He gives me a small smile, "I kind of like it." I chuckle, "Well I guess I got a nickname fer ya other than redneck." He snorts, "Like you ain't any less of a redneck than me." I agree, "Very true." He's about to say something when Carol walks into the kitchen. She greets us warmly, "Morning you two." We nod as she looks at the stove and back to us, "Late getting up this morning?" Daryl shrugs, "A little, we didn't start making breakfast yet, just coffee." She smiles, "No worries, I haven't had the opportunity to make breakfast in a while, it will be a nice change." I give her a small smile and go back to my coffee; I'm really not in a talking mood today.

Soon the kitchen is filled with the smell of scrambled eggs and biscuits. Carol warms ups some beans and the leftover stew from last night to go with the rest of breakfast as people start coming into the kitchen. Daryl sits next to me talking to Rick about what needs to be done to strengthen the fences and I tune everyone out as I drink my second cup of coffee. I barely notice Maggie sitting down next to me until she nudges my shoulder, "Earth to Rowan, you in there?" I look over at her sheepishly, "Sorry, I couldn't get to sleep after my watch." She nods, "I hate when that happens. Hey where did ya get the necklace?" I reach my hand up and fiddle with the squirrel charm as I softly mutter, "Daryl gave it to me for my birthday." She looks shocked, "Really? Wow, he's full of surprises." I agree, "Yes he is." She grins, "He REALLY likes you Rowan. Is that a squirrel charm?" I nod as she starts to giggle, not so quietly, "That's priceless! It's so fitting and adorable!" I lower my eyes and try to hide my amusement but admit, "It is funny as hell, seeing as I whacked the shit outta him with a dead squirrel huh?" She nods and we both just lose it; giggling like a couple of schoolgirls. Everyone turns their attention to us, including Daryl who raises an eyebrow at my behavior and I just look back at Maggie and laugh harder. She's laughing so hard she's turning red and I add fuel to the fire by making a motion in the air with my hand like I'm smacking Daryl in the head with a squirrel; making us both laugh harder. Glenn looks over at Daryl for answers and he just shakes his head, "I have no idea Glenn; I think they have both lost their damn minds." By now Maggie and I are laughing so hard that we both have the hiccups and are clutching our sides. Carol sets plates down in front of us and asks, "Did either of you want some leftover squirrel stew with your eggs this morning?" I look at Maggie and we just lose it again; the giggles just pouring out of us. Daryl looks at me as tears are streaming down my face and says, "What the hell has gotten into you girl?" I can't answer and Maggie squeaks out, "Squirrel", causing us both to giggle even harder. Rick leans over to Daryl, "Sometimes girls are just plain crazy." Daryl looks at Rick, "Crazier than a damn June bug!"

Eventually I stop laughing enough to eat my breakfast so we can get to work. As we break up into teams to strengthen the fences I can't help but keep the smile plastered to my face.

**Short but fun chapter!  Sorry it's not longer, my schedule is crazy busy for the next 2 weeks.  My kids participate in the County Fair and we will be very busy with all that.  I hope to knock out a couple of chapters while they do their activities, so hopefully I'll be posting a couple more chapters soon.

Please comment and let me know your thoughts.  I love hearing from my readers.  :)  As always-- Love ya Angels!!!