By: Brenna “Snakelady” Dawkins (Skymouth)

Ratings: R

Rosco found himself outside the Boar’s Nest with Daisy on his arm.  Upon leaving the bar, he hadn’t failed to catch Luke’s eye and knew the warning for what it was.  As if he could ever do anything to hurt Daisy!  Dusk was upon them and Rosco could tell already it would be a beautiful sunset.  Which gave him an idea.

”Daisy, ah ain’t got much money to take ya out someplace fancy… let’s face it, ah didna think ah’d win.”  His eyes looked away from her shyly.  “Um, thanks fer makin’ Boss take mah ticket.  Ah’m not sure why ya did that, but ah’m awful glad.”

Daisy smiled and leaned in a little to hug him.  “It’s okay, Sugah.  Boss needs to know you shouldn’ cheat charity none.  An’ besides, you won fair an’ square!”

“Thanks, Daisy.  Um, so’s like ah said b’fore… ah can’t really… afordja.  Ah mean, not an’thing that ya might be used to… or deserve… or-“

Daisy put her forefinger from her free hand to cover the nervous man’s lips to quiet him.

“Sh-h-h, Rosco… just relax, okay?  You know, believe it or not, I’ll be real tickled to go on this date with ya… it’d be so nice to go with a real gentleman for a change!  Ya don’ gotta spend no money on me.”

Rosco managed to look back at her and smiled nervously.  “Ah app’rciate that, Daisy.”  She’d called him a gentleman.  Only his momma ever called him that.  His smile broadened and he felt that familiar warming sensation in his belly when she was around.  “Well… uh… how’s… how’s ‘bout a picnic?  We can hurry over to mah house… fix some, um, fixin’s… an’ go an’ eat an’ watch the sunset.” Only reason he chose his own was the fact that his momma was out visiting his other sister Hortense.  It was awkward enough to make sandwiches with Daisy in his house, how much more awkward would it be to make them over at the Duke farm?

“That sounds great, Rosco!  I didn’t know you had a romantic bone in your body.”  Daisy teased.

“Not like ah get many chances.”  Rosco said a little more defensively then he meant it to.

Daisy patted his arm.  “It’s okay, Rosco.  Yer awful tense.  You okay?”

Rosco dug in his pocket for his car keys.  When he fished them out, his hands shook and the keys fell into the dirt at his feet.  “Ah’m fine.”  Rosco let go of Daisy and bent over, recapturing his keys.  He shook them free of dust and unlocked the passenger side of the door and opened it for her.

She smiled and slid into the seat.  Wasn’t often she got to ride in the front of a patrol car, after all.  Rosco shut the door then hurried over to the driver’s side and slid in himself.  The ride over to his house was quiet.  She was about to open the door herself but saw Rosco scurry around the nose of the vehicle and came over to her side, opening it up for her.

“Thanks, Rosco.”  Daisy said sincerely, and noticed Rosco’s quiet, nervous manner.  “You know, Rosco, I ain’t never been to your house before this.”

Rosco held onto his keys.  “Well, ain’t never had a reason to have a Duke over a’fore now.”  Rosco walked ahead of her up the walkway, very aware of the beauty behind him.  He opened the door and stepped aside for her to enter first, then he entered behind her.

Daisy took a look around.  It definitely had a mother’s touch to the place, she couldn’t imagine a bachelor like Rosco dealing in floral prints and whatnot.  She followed Rosco to the kitchen.  She stood by and watched as he gathered up foodstuffs for their picnic.  When he started to set up an assembly line, she moved in to assist.  It was an odd thing for her to be working side by side of the sheriff.  But she could feel his tension almost like it was a physical wave and wondered about it.  Was it because of her?  She couldn’t understand why.  She tried to figure a way to get him to relax as she watched him wrestle with the opening of a stubborn mayonnaise jar.

Daisy giggled and nudged him with her hip.  The jar slipped out of Rosco’s hands and he fumbled it about until it tumbled completely from his grip.  But Daisy was quicker and managed to grab the jar before it hit the floor and was able to open it with ease.  She then realized he was still in uniform.

“Say, Rosco, you gonna need that there gun on our date?”

”Um, sorry.  Sometime’s ah ferget ah’m in mah uniform.”  Rosco sheepishly said and put down the bread.  “Ah’ll be right back.”  Rosco hurried out and up to his room to change, having never changed clothes with a lady in the house, except for his mother, of course.  He was annoyed at that familiar feeling of excitement whenever Daisy was around.  When she’d nudged him with her hip… God… he’d felt like he was back in high school again.

His groin was burning from the excitement.  Rosco flushed with embarrassment.  He was reluctant to go back down to the kitchen to face Daisy with a semi hard on.  And he was annoyed that things like this happened quite a bit when she was around him.  He wasn’t supposed to be attracted to a Duke!  But… he was throbbing down there and it wanted attention… because of her.  His hand moved downward but stopped before its target.  He couldn’t… not when she was in his house… but she was so close!  And yet so far!  Rosco knew he couldn’t relieve himself with her there so he had to just not think about it, was all!

He wracked his brain while he paced back and forth in his room, think of something, anything!  Daisy….. no, that was no good, that was the whole problem, dammit!  Apple pie, strawberry shortcake, pot pie… now his stomach was growling.  Trying another track… he desperately tried to think of something that would take his mind off of Daisy…… stop thinking about her, you idiot!  He admonished himself.

Puppy dogs, fixin’ cars… cars that had Daisy recumbent on the hood wearing nothing but a big smile… nonono!

Rosco continued to pace and wondered what was the one thing that’d derail that train of thought.  Then the thought struck him like a fist.  His little fat buddy… naked.  Rosco’s eyes flew open… well, that killed that urge right smartly.  Rosco shuddered and kept that image firmly in his mind, while most unwelcome in normal circumstances, in this particular one, it was his only choice.

The sheriff checked his hair once more in the mirror before he went bravely back to the kitchen.  She was making a quick tuna fish salad, the sandwiches were set to the side and a thermos of something was on the counter.

Rosco grabbed up a knife and went to cut the sandwiches in half to make them easier to hold with one hand.

“You clean up real nice, Rosco.”  Daisy complimented him.

He blushed and his knife missed the middle of the sandwich and instead cut off the crust on one side.

Daisy saw and raised her eyebrow as he wrapped the sandwich up in saran wrap as is without being cut in half.  “You jus’ cut the crust offa one side?  Why not all?”

“It’s mah signature, okay?”  Rosco grumbled and hoped she’d leave it at that.  He started tossing everything into the picnic basket he’d drug out.

“Finished the salad.”  Daisy said, catching the annoyed tone in Rosco’s voice and decided it was best to steer clear of the subject.  She handed the Tupperware container to him and he put it into the basket.  Then he grabbed up a checked blanket.

“Okay.  C’mon, Daisy, let’s get this show on th’ road!”

Daisy followed him out of the house and back to the patrol car.  They sped off to a secluded spot that was off the beaten path and afforded a good view of the western horizon.  So Rosco chose Lover’s Leap.  He angled the patrol car so that no one else could park in the lot and climbed out of his car.  Once again he opened the passenger door for Daisy who smiled up at him as she slid out and grabbed the basket.

“There’s a good spot o’er here.”  Rosco gestured to a nice secluded spot encircled with bushes on one side and the cliff on the other.

Daisy followed him, basket swinging in her grip.  It was a nice spot indeed.  Rosco spread the blanket for them and stood awaiting Daisy.  Smiling, she sat down first and opened the basket as he sat down beside her.  Handing Rosco the first sandwich, she took a quick look at the view.

”Wow.  It’s been a while since I’ve been up here.  Forgot how beautiful it was.”  She commented as she dug out her own sandwich.

But she didn’t unwrap it yet as she also pulled out the other items they brought as well.

“Tea?”  Daisy pulls out one of the plastic cups.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”  Rosco adjusted the items on his paper plate.  He glanced over her way, then his eyes nervously flicked back to his plate and he stirred his tuna fish salad once more.  It would certainly help his parched throat, plus his mouth was dryer then Whitcom County.  He accepted the cup with downcast eyes.  “Thanks.”

“Hey, what do ya think of my salad?”  She saw his fork was stirring it but wasn’t sure if he’d taken a bite or anything.  She’d never seen him so… flighty.  “Or do ya not like tuna fish?  I’m sorry, I shoulda asked first.”

“No, sorry, ah like tuna fish jus’ fine.”  And to prove it, he stuffed a forkful into his mouth.

Daisy grinned and unwrapped her sandwich after pouring herself some tea.  She stared out at the horizon that was slowly changing colors, from dark blue and then to orange, gold, and red.

“Wow, Rosco.  Good choice.  What madja think of Lover’s Leap anyway?”

Nervously, Rosco turned to look at her and wondered what she was getting to with that… maybe it was just an honest question, he thought hopefully.  “The view is the best in the area.”

”It’s wonderfully romantic.”  Daisy continued as she stared out at the sunset, unawares of how her words affected the sheriff.  “I just love the story behind this place.  Always gives me chills.”

Rosco stared at the sunset as he ate.  “Ah thought it was jus’ a story.”

“A civil war hero named James had to leave his pregnant wife to fight against the Yanks.  When he done went off to war, a troupe of Yanks marched through their land and pushed their selves into the house and raped the war hero’s wife.   She was so distraught that she threw herself over this very cliff.  When James came home and found out what had happened, he knew he couldn’t live without her and followed her down.”  She sighed.  “It’s so romantic.”

Rosco shivered.  He didn’t find it romantic one bit.

“That th’ sorta stuff girls find romantic?”  He sounded horrified.

Daisy looked at him, “For a girl to mean that much to her man?  It’s a rare thing these days.”

“Oh.”  Rosco muttered, finally getting it.  He wasn’t sure if he had the gumption to do anything like that.  “Why didn’t he just learn to live without her?  Ah mean, he’s a war hero an’ all… he’d been through worse on the field.”

Daisy shook her head.  “Don’t ya see, Rosco?  He couldn’t live with out her.  The man loved her so much, he didn’t want anyone else.”

“Yeah, still sounds crazy to me.”

“Well, maybe you never been in love for real.”

Rosco frowned.  So what if he hadn’t?  Well… there had been one time when he thought he had been… no, best not to think about HER while he was alone with Daisy.

Alone with Daisy.  The thought pushed out his failsafe image and he felt the urge to scoot away from her and yet move in closer at the same time.  Damn!  He felt the excited twinge below in his pants.  He wished he had the gumption to put his arm around her, but he didn’t dare.  To keep himself from saying something stupid, he took a large mouthful of his sandwich, chewed, then gulped down another mouthful of tea.

He immediately began to choke, spilling some of his tea as he tried to set the glass down carefully.  He couldn’t inhale and kept coughing, trying to gasp for air.  He felt her pound against his back rather forcefully.

”Rosco?”  Daisy rubbed his back when his coughing fit finally ceased.  “Didn’t your mama teach you to chew your food?”

Rosco inhaled deeply several times, hoping to clear the burning in his throat.  He felt Daisy’s hand still on his back, rubbing it slowly in circles.

“You okay Rosco?”

His heart was pounding, and not from his bout of choking just now.  All he could do was nod.  She leaned up against him and continued to munch on her sandwich with one hand, her other that had been against his back slipped down and rested on the ground.  Rosco felt paralyzed with the current situation.  He stared out at the sky, not trusting himself if he looked over at the prettiest of the Dukes.

But his body betrayed him as his hand found her free one and took it in his own.  His breath stopped a moment as those slender, delicate fingers intertwined with his.  Soft and yet slightly calloused from her helping out on the farm, he suspected.  She was holding his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.  And still she leaned upon him.  He wondered what it meant.  Why was she very nearly cuddling him?  He didn’t know if he dared to believe that anything could possibly be mutual with her.  He had to remind himself to continue to breathe… which was more difficult to do then he’d ever thought.

The sunset had been over for some time and they were now staring out at the stars.  Rosco wondered when he should call their date over and knew he never wanted it to be over.

He’d finally managed to finish his plate, thought it was difficult to eat with a shaking hand and he’d spilt most of his tea on his shirt and didn’t have the courage to ask Daisy to pour him some more.

Daisy felt his tenseness and wished she could get him to learn to relax a little.  With her free hand, she reached down and lightly grasped Rosco’s leg, then gave it a squeeze, and happened to be looking where she put her hand at the same time.  Her eyes widened at what she saw and was amazed that the thought of that sort of reaction from him was not unwelcome.

Which was when Rosco nearly jumped out of his skin and then to his feet.

”Uu-u-h, okay, Daisy.”  She could hear how panicked he was.  “Bo an’ Luke are waitin’ up fer ya now.”  He stood up and offered her his hand.

She sighed and reached up and took his hand, not quite ready for the date to be over, but Rosco seemed… out of sorts.

“Let me get the stuff back together.”  She said and bent to pick up their repast remains and stuffed them into the basket.  Daisy wondered at her twinge of disappointment that the evening was cut short so soon.  Rosco was already waiting for her beside the car.  She gave him a searching look but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.  Sighing in defeat, she slid into the passenger seat after he opened the door for her.

‘If he likes me,’ She thought sadly, ‘why doesn’t he say anything about it?’  But she didn’t want to make things worse by bringing it up.

So it was another silent car ride back to the Boars Nest.  She stared out the window, very aware of the quiet sheriff beside her.  She knew if she reached for him it would be unwelcome, even though she knew he was sweet on her.

Rosco pulled up to a halt in his usual parking place.  He got out and walked around the nose of the car and opened Daisy’s door for her.  Face troubled, she stepped out and stood up in front of the sheriff.

“I had a nice time, Rosco.”  She replied earnestly.

“Um, me too, Daisy.”  Rosco almost stuttered nervously.

She made up her mind and reached up with her both hands to his face and brought him down for a kiss on the lips.  He didn’t struggle, but he didn’t grab for her either.  She was about to break the kiss when he astonished her by suddenly kissing her back.  She’d kissed him before, but he’d never kissed her.  It sent a thrill through her whole being.  Who knew that Rosco was such a good kisser?

The kiss lasted longer then she had planned, but it was very pleasant indeed.  She decided she’d let Rosco be the one to end it and he seemed reluctant to release her.  When he did, she was breathless, open mouthed and wide eyed.  She knew then that the next chance she got to kiss him in private, she was going to use her tongue.  She wanted to taste him.  She wanted to know if he tasted as good as he looked.  Then she smiled and let one hand fall while the other traced down his cheek until he caught it with his own hand and drew it to his lips and kissed it.

“Rosco…” She exhaled the word.  It slid off her tongue like honey and she finally saw the raw lust in his eyes as he looked into hers.  It sent sparks winging about inside her and she was amazed at how much it turned her on knowing how badly he wanted her.  She took a step closer but Rosco shook his head.

“The boys ‘re waitin’ fer ya, Daisy.  Please,” she heard the worry in his voice, “don’t tell ‘em ah kissedja.”

She was disappointed that he asked such a thing of her.  “Okay, Rosco.  I wish I didn’t have to because I really liked it.”  He still had a hold of her hand and she squeezed it.  “You coulda done a lot more tonight… I wouldn’t’ve minded it… but you didn’ ‘cause yer a true gentleman, Rosco.  I don’t get a lot of those.”

“You deserve a lot more, Daisy.”

He didn’t elaborate on that so she wondered if that meant more then what was a response to her last statement.

“I’d’na mind anotha’ date with you, Rosco.”

She was pleased with the excitement she saw in his eyes.  “Ya mean it, Daisy?”

“Sure as yer a great kisser.”  She grinned widely.

“Jitjit!”  She knew he was blushing at the compliment and thought that was just too darned cute.  “Ah’d like that muchly too.  Mah schedual’s all full up though fer th’ next couple o’ days so… give me a holler three days from now and we’ll arrange sumthin’.  How’s that sound?”

“Sounds great, Rosco!”

“Khee… okay, Darlin’, well, ya best scoot now, ‘fore the boys skin me alive fer havin’ ya out too late.”  He released her hand reluctantly.  “You sure looked real pretty tonight, Daisy.  Thanks fer givin’ me th’ chance.”

“Thank you, Rosco, and you’re welcome.”  She smiled and flipped her hair back and turned to walk over to her Jeep.

When she was almost there, she heard door to Rosco’s patrol car slam and the engine roar back to life.  She stood by her Jeep and waved to Rosco as he pulled past and watched his taillights for a moment.  Sighing contently, she turned and was about to step into Dixie when an arm reached around her waist and a damp, funny smelling cloth was pressed up over her nose and mouth from behind.  She tried to scream but only succeeded in inhaling the sickly smell and with a final kick, blacked out.