Red River Valley: A Tennessee "Kid" Cooper x reader fanfic (on Hiatus)

3: The Crack of Dawn

(Y/n) tried to ignore hand that was gently shaking her shoulder. There was no way it was dawn already, it was too early, she refused to get up. Eventually, (Y/n) caved, rolled over, sat up, and shot Tennessee an annoyed glare. As she had suspected, it definitely wasn't dawn yet.

"Well good mornin ta ya too darlin." Tennessee chuckled in response to (Y/n)'s visible displeasure.

"You said we were leaving at the crack of dawn."

"We are."

"It's not dawn yet."

"Darlin we're leavin at dawn, we still have ta pack up camp an eat before then." Tennessee explained, an amused smile on his face.

(Y/n) let out a tired groan and begrudgingly eased herself out of the sleeping bag Tennessee had lent her the previous night. She immediately regretted doing so the second the cool, morning air touched her skin. (Y/n) limped over to the warm fire and sat down on a nearby rock, her hands extended towards it's welcoming glow.

As (Y/n) started to fully wake up she took note of her surroundings. A pot of what (Y/n) assumed to be coffee, judging by the smell, hung over the open flames. A can of what appeared to be beans sat close to the fire, a single hole punched through the lid. Tennessee was currently busying himself with saddling up his horse and packing up unnecessary items. (Y/n) noticed with a twinge of guilt that there wasn't another sleeping bag laid out. Either Tennessee had slept on the bare ground last night or not at all.

Every once in a while Tennessee would pause to take a drag from the rolled cigarette that hung from his mouth. (Y/n) crinkled her nose at the smell of the smoke, she had never been very fond of smoking. After a while (Y/n) noticed the milky light of predawn on the horizon.

"Alright, ah have jerky, hardtack, and a can a beans" Tennessee announced after rummaging through his saddle bag, "what'll it be?"

"Umm.... Jerky?"

"Jerky it is." Tennessee exclaimed, handing three strips of jerky to (Y/n).

(Y/n) gnawed on the tough, dried meat as Tennessee poured out two mugs of coffee. He offered one to (Y/n) which she gratefully accepted. (Y/n) watched as he then proceeded to pull out a spoon and open the can of beans with a pocket knife.

Not much later (Y/n) spotted the sun beginning to climb it's way into the sky, it was time to leave. (Y/n) and Tennessee finished eating and Tennessee doused the fire with whatever was left in the coffee pot. He packed up the pot and the mugs before carefully helping (Y/n) onto the back of his horse. She watched as he easily mounted the horse and just like that, they were off.

(Y/n) felt herself wobble in the saddle and reflexively wrapped her arms around Tennessee's waist, earning an amused chuckle in response. (Y/n) felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment and she attempted to sit on her own only for the same thing to happen again. (Y/n) sighed in defeat and decided that at the very least, Tennessee's back was warm.

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I wasn't quite sure how to end this one. (Sorry).

Just a quiet little chapter for you to enjoy.

I should have the next one up soon....ish.

Thanks for reading! Love you guys!💛