Memories on the Ozarks (Close)

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan froze. He realized what she had associated him with and simply stopped. “Fine. You win. Drive yourfuckinself home.” He turned and opened the door and hopped out. He decided that ten miles wasn’t really all that far anyway.

He didn’t understand why she worked herself up into a tizzy over every stupid thing that happens. So what? Joe is her dad. Worse things could happen. She really couldn’t understand the reasons for Joe not telling her? And now, now she doesn’t even want to face the reasons. Well fine. Fuck it.

Daniel threw his hands up into the air as he walked down the dusty road.

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca moved to the opposite side of the car when he relinquished her, curling up in a ball. When the door slammed, her body jerked. She didn’t move for a long time, but sat there crying into her drawn up knees. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but the sound of another vehicle pulling up and a door closing caught her attention. Looking up, she looked behind her and squinted against the headlights that were shining in the back window.

“Beth? What the hell happened?” Matt opened the back door, looking at her cautiously. Jon joined him, and she realized that Matt and Sheila must have gotten a ride with Jon. She looked up at him helplessly, not quire sure how to formulate a response. Sighing, he looked around, searching for Daniel but not seeing him.

“All right, come on.” Reaching in, Matt helped her out of the SUV, wrapping her in a hug. When he pulled back, he ignored the glare he was sure his wife was aiming in their direction, but couldn’t see.

“Jon, will you take her home? I’ll get Sheila and we’ll pick up Dan.”

Jon nodded, and Becca followed him to his truck as Sheila joined Matt in the SUV. Matt pulled out first and drove until his headlights picked up Dan’s form walking down the highway. Pulling ahead of him, he rolled down his window.

“Get in.”

*

Jon didn’t say a word as he drove Becca back to the house. She quietly thanked him when he dropped her off, and she went inside. Her movements were clouded as she moved around the house turning on lights. As she looked back around the living room and the memories on the walls, she felt that bitterness beginning to bubble up inside of her.

Picking up the phone, she dialed her mother’s cell phone number. The voicemail picked up, and Becca couldn’t decide whether to leave a message or hang up. When the beep sounded, she hesitated, but when she spoke, her tone was full of venom.

“How the hell could you lie to me about who my father was, you bitch.” Halfway yelling into the phone, she hung up and slammed it back down on the charger. She wanted to scream and run away, but she collapsed on the floor next to the couch, burying her face in the cushions and crying what was left of her tears.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan really didn’t know why he was caught up in the middle of all this bullshit. This really was way more drama than he had bargained for. Abusive ex-boyfriends he could handle, insane women – not so much. Mebbe I should just be done with the lot of it. Shit. Joe. What the fuck did you all do to this girl?

He was so lost in thought that the truck coming up behind him didn’t even register. Dan was caught off guard when the window came down and Matt told him to get in. Dan glanced up at him and told Matt to fuck off and kept walking. Matt drove along side for a little bit before realizing that Dan wasn’t going to say anything else and finally gave up and went on.

*

It was early morning by the time Dan made it back to the farm. He saw that the entire house was lit up and checked that the doors were locked before sitting on the front porch. Dan didn’t see much point of doing anything else until it was time to get ready to make his Saturday morning rounds.

 

[TabascoKV]

Despite her best attempt at sleep, Becca knew it was pointless. She tossed and turned, and finally got back up a little before dawn and showered. Her eyes were swollen and red, but she paid it no mind. As tempted as she was to go ride, she knew the horses would pick up on her tension, and she didn’t trust herself. The previous night’s events kept replaying in her mind, and she had started to worry about Dan. Despite her suspicions about his true character, she felt relieved when she heard his gait on the porch.

She moved around quietly in the house, not wanting to alert him to her being awake. Slipping out the back door, she cast her eyes skyward. Another storm was brewing in the distance, and she guessed that it would arrive by lunch time. The major storm season had ended officially, but they were still seeing their fair share of them.

Becca walked a good distance away from the house before she cut across to head towards the stables. She wasn’t ready to cross Dan yet. She had plans to take the four wheeler and drive around for a bit.

*

Becca had spent the morning by the waterfall, lying on the ground next to the water. Occasionally she would dip her hand into the creek, moving it in a circle eight motion. When the first rumble of thunder hit her ears, she sat up straight. Looking up, she could make out the darkened sky through the trees and decided to head back.

Lightening lit the way back to the stables, and she drove the ATV into the barn before turning it off. When she got about halfway back to the house, a sound hit her ears that she had never heard. Looking out over the farm, a cyclone was beginning to form about three miles from where she stood. Mesmerized by the sight of the tornado, Becca stood rooted to her spot, ignoring the wind whipping at her hair.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan was contemplating life and what it might be like with Becca when he heard the screen door creak slightly around the corner. He got up without a sound and peaked around the corner to see Rebecca slinking across the yard. Typical. He thought and shook his head.

He made no move to follow her. Instead he waited until the quad tore off across the fields before he went back to the house to get ready for the day. He washed up real quick and threw on some work clothes then headed out to get his morning work done.

Dan was continuously preoccupied by the wind whistling through the rafters of the barn as he tried to do his paperwork. A loud crash made Dan jump from his chair. He ran around the barn doors to see what had caused the commotion when he saw the funnel begin to sweep down from the sky a few miles off.

Oh shit. Not again. His mind went into overdrive, after only a basic touch on the memories of the past. The only thing that remained from the past was Joe's voice in his head, "Take care of the animals first, Danny. People have got the means to care for themselves." Dan was spurred to action.

His phone was in his hand and he chirped Becca first, he cursed aloud when he realized that that was why it he had paused to stare at the counter in the kitchen earlier. Her phone still sat in its charger. As he started to hit up the rest of his farm managers and yelling instructions over the raging wind, Dan was moving from building to building; closing shutters and barring doors.

Dan kept a close eye on the funnel as it seemed to dance hypnotically across the sky. It was tearing a path toward the farm gaining ground by the second. His phone was still in his hand and he gave the command for all the managers to gather the hands to the shelters. Since it was a Saturday not every hand was working the yard but there were enough people out there for Dan to start asking if anyone had seen Becca. The last person to have seen her was Jonny who said that he had seen her walking back toward the main house.

He had just finished helping round up the work at the stables as he hopped back into the truck he had borrowed and sped back to the house. Any semblance of anger had long since faded, only to be replaced by a growing concern. The farm had weathered twisters before, but Dan wasn't sure if Becca had.

 

[TabascoKV]

Everything in Becca’s head was screaming at her to get to safety. There was a storm shelter fifty feet from the house, but she was frozen in place. She had never witnessed a tornado before, and the majesty and pure strength of it had rendered her nearly catatonic. The house was still a good hundred yards from where she stood, and the shelter a little bit further beyond that.

The sound of the approaching truck was lost in the noise from the storm, but she was jerked back to reality when he stopped in front of her. Looking at him with an almost baffled expression that he was there, she squealed slightly when pulled her into the truck. Rather than stay in an awkward position on his lap, she scooted over to the passenger seat, looking back as the tornado turned towards them.

Dan brought the truck to a stop a few yards from the entrance to the storm shelter, and Becca crawled out of the truck. She darted one more glance at the tornado, realizing with a disheartened realization that it was probably going to hit the house. Nickel sized hail began to pelt down, causing Becca to yelp with pain. Dan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down into the cellar, latching the door securely as they stumbled down in the darkness.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

After securing the door, he felt blindly for Becca and found her near the bottom of the short stairway. “Stay put, hon, don’t move.”

Dan felt something wet drip into his eyes as he felt about in the center of the room for the string. Finding it, he gave it a quick yank and the cement blocked room came to life from the light of a bare bulb. It was evident that this particular shelter hadn’t been entered in a couple of years. A fine sheen of dust covered everything.

He reached up and wiped at his forehead and looked at his hand to find his fingertips red with blood. His head hurt, but he couldn’t remember when he had hit it. “Are you ok?” Dan asked as he turned to Becca.

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca obeyed and waited to walk any further until light had flooded the shelter. Her eyes widened at the sight of blood, and assumed it had come from the hail. She didn’t feel cut anywhere, but could feel some future bruise spots. Nodding, she looked around until she found the first aid kit and opened it up. Digging out an alcohol pad and a couple of band aids she walked over to Dan.

“I’m fine. Come here.” Pulling open the alcohol pad, she gently patted at the cut, cleaning it up before placing two band aids over the area. Sighing, she lowered her hands, tossing the trash bits into a small bucket. Becca jumped as the door to the shelter rattled violently. She took a step back, and stepped into Dan.

“It’s gonna take the house.” Speaking meekly, she turned to face him.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan instinctively wrapped his arms around Becca when the shelter door rattled. “Don’t worry, hon. Back when I was… well, it was the same year I graduated. So, I suppose I was eighteen, or about to turn it, anyways. The worst twister to hit these parts in three decades roared through the county. That was the year the old man had me start digging these shelters. They were designed to withstand tremendous pressure and we upped our insurance to cover ‘nados that year too. We actually lost some of the lesser buildings then.” He rambled on, trying to get her mind off the storm outside.

He pulled her over to one of the cots and sat down; his arms still wrapped around her, he continued talking. “They are funny creatures, tornados. They ain’t like any other type of storm you’ve ever seen. They can bounce up and down like a child’s top. Sometimes skipping over miles of land at a stretch.” The wind outside built to a peak.

Dan wasn’t sure what else he could say, but his mouth opened to begin speaking when a huge crash sounded and the door to the shelter buckled inward a few inches causing them both to jump. Dan ran to the door and pushed against it. “Uhhh. Shit. We, umm, may be here for a bit.” Something rather heavy had just blocked the door.

“The good news is that the actual tornado only lasts a few minutes before it passes.” Dan said as he walked back to Becca. He deliberately left out that more than one could appear. “What really shocked me about this one is the storm cell. It came up out of nowhere.”

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca shivered as his arms wrapped around her, and the comfort and warmth he brought nearly shamed her from her reaction the previous night. She stopped her mental track, reminding herself that Nick had started off the protective gentleman as well. When he led her over, she did allow herself to be pulled over to the cot. The only visions she had at the moment was her uncle’s house being obliterated into pieces above their head.

A tiny screech resounded when the door caved slightly, and she pushed herself back against the wall as Daniel moved towards it. His conversations about tornados didn’t do much to calm her nerves, and she couldn’t recall anything he had said. Groaning when he confirmed they were stuck, she slid to the edge of the cot. Looking up at him, she stared at him wordlessly for awhile, not reacting to his words. Standing up, she took a step towards Dan, an edge of fear in her eyes.

“Dan…please tell me you aren’t like him. Tell me you aren’t going to change.”

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan stood there for a moment wondering what she was talking about. His mind was lost in the storm, being stuck, and wondering what damage was currently taking place outside the safety of their shelter. Realization struck yet again and Dan felt like he was one step beyond dense. She was seeing him through the eyes of an abused woman.

“Oh Becca…” He sighed and pulled her gently to him. Dan leaned in and kissed her, hoping that the truth of him would come through in the kiss. He pulled back. “What you have seen in Daniel Collins is all you’ll get, darlin’.”

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca tensed up briefly when he pulled her towards him, but she immediately melted into him. His kiss momentarily drowned out the storm above them, and helped quell the torrent inside of her. Tilting her head, she reached up and rested her hand against his cheek.

“I’m sorry. I doubted you.” Speaking meekly, she slid her hand down to his shoulder. One final thud above them caused her to jump, but the world above them seemed to grow quiet. Her eyes turned from the ceiling down to him.

“Is it over?” Not that it mattered a whole lot. They weren’t going anywhere any time soon.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

At the thud, Dan’s eyes also raised to look at the ceiling as a trickle of dust filtered down. He wondered for a minute what had landed above them before he answered her. “I dunno. All depends on the size of the storm that birthed that beast.”

His gaze lowered back to hers and his phone appeared in his hand. Dan flipped it open to get some input on the storm and possibly get them out. “Damn the bad luck. No bars. Storm musta got the tower.” The phone flew over to an easy chair and Dan picked Becca up and kissed her again. “No matter how angry you make me, you can always feel safe with me. I swear it.”

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca nodded grimly at his declaration to the cell phone. She was going to try incredibly hard not to panic at being trapped underground by who knew what. Daniel surprised her when he lifted her up into his arms. Looking at him slightly baffled, her confusion dissolved into a silent appreciation.

“I wasn’t angry with you. Not until you made me feel trapped.” The words were pouring forth before she could stop them. Whether it was from the fear that something could have happened during the storm or that she was in a clearer emotional state than she had been the night before, she didn’t know.

“I was angry at Joe, and my mom, and my dad. Joe could have rescued me from a life I hated, but he didn’t.”

 

[pa1ndru1d]

“I know. I know. It’s ok. The only reason I pushed so hard was… Well, hell it was your uncle’s fault, too.” Dan smiled as he looked down into her hazel eyes. He moved toward the old twin bed. “See, it was two fold. When I first came here, I was pretty withdrawn myself. It was Joe that brought me out of my shell and he did it by not allowing me to run away and hide within myself. The other reason is the letter. He called you stubborn and said you needed a firm hand.” Dan laughed aloud again and began to lay her down into the old mattress as the lights flickered.

“Oh, no.” Dan began as they flickered once again and then went out completely. “I’m right here, love. He said, calming her as he felt her tense against him. “It’s ok. You let me know when it’s ok and I’ll get us a candle lit.”

Soon after a fat white candle was glowing on the table next to them and Danny saw that her eyes were even more beautiful in the candlelight than in the glow of the fire of the main house. “Becca, you do know that Joe probably had his reasons for keeping this from you for all these years. Who knows? I mean really.” Dan went quiet for a minute as he scooted in behind her, leaning against the cold concrete wall with Becca leaning back across his lap. Looking up at him, Dan’s hands played with her hair. “I can tell you this, though. I will never hurt someone I love.”

 

[TabascoKV]

“Whether he had his reasons or not, he should have been my father. He knew how miserable I was when I wasn’t here, and to know that he had every right to change all that. I don’t want to be angry with him.” Sighing, she readjusted on the bed as he settled down near her. Leaning against him, she felt grateful that she had her Daniel back. Her eyes closed as his fingers brushed through her hair, lulling her into contentment. Becca sat upright at his last sentence, looking at him.

“What did you say?” Becca had to be reading too much into what he’d said.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan, suddenly embarrassed and filled with memories of that fateful day in the kitchen nearly half a year prior, said “Maybe I’m making a fool of myself. Again. But, dammit woman, if you don’t make me want to settle down. I have all but stopped drinkin’ and I don’t even go to the bars no more. A pretty woman walks by me on the street an’ I just thank God for creatin’ beautiful things and then find so many faults in her because none even begin to compare with how beautiful you are. I wanna protect you for the rest of my days and keep you safe and show you how a real man treats his woman.”

Dan didn’t even pause for fear of what she might say or do. She was nuts, after all, and had proven it to him time and time again. “So, yes. I’ve fallen in love with you even if you do drive me nuts and push me to do crazed things.” Finally, Dan had to stop to take a breath and he looked at her face, trying to get a reading of how she felt about any of what he had said.

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca just sat there, a look of disbelief etching across her face as he spoke. They had had a by the book love-hate relationship all along, but Becca hadn’t realized that somewhere along those lines love truly had crept in. She surveyed him, the memories of the past couple days infiltrating her mind. Despite her reservations that one day he would alter and a monster would bloom on the other side, her rationale told her otherwise. For the most part, Joe had raised Daniel, and her uncle had shown nothing but deep love and respect for her aunt. Rather, her father had.

Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head, moved to speechlessness. Partially jumping towards him, she pressed her lips against his, her arms wrapping around him tightly. Pulling back, she was still shaking her head, but her eyes sought out his in the partial darkness.

“I love you Daniel Collins.” Resting her forehead against his, she closed her eyes, feeling all of her emotions bubbling up inside of her.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Elation filled him. But disbelief also washed over him. No ranting? No attitude? She wasn’t gonna go crazy? Huh. I guess it’s a damn good thing… It ain’t like there is anyplace for either one of us to go.

Dan smiled and kissed her, his tongue playing against hers as his eyes closed. Dan’s heart was beating a mile a minute and he was getting hot as his hands ran over her body. First, they simply rubbed over her back, but soon worked down to her hips and he picked her up and sat her on his lap, straddling him on her knees.

 

[TabascoKV]

A small moan riveted the quietness as she enjoyed the taste and feel of him. It had been a couple of weeks since they had made love. There had just been too much to do and by the time their day came to an end, they were both too exhausted for anything. Most nights, though, she and Dan usually slept together in the same bed. A tiny squeal sounded when he lifted her so effortlessly onto his lap.

Her hands worked to pull his shirt off over his head, breaking their kiss long enough to accomplish her task. Tossing it behind her, she ran her hands over his chest, enjoying the smoothness and tautness of his muscles.

“Do you know how incredibly sexy you are, cowboy?” Nibbling on his neck, she slid her hands upwards through his hair.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

Dan tilted his head back and let loose a moan of his own as she nibbled on his neck; her hot breath and nimble fingers causing goosebumps to rise. “I have no idea. Why don’t you show me?” The look on his face was all serious now as he felt his cock begin to swell to massive proportions in his jeans beneath the growing heat of her crotch.

His hips ground against her involuntarily and he pulled her own blouse up over her head. Dan silently thanked God above for black lace and allowed his tongue to trace a line along the top of her bra until his fingers found the clasp and he set her breasts free. They were perky and bounced in front of his face, her nipples slightly puffy. Dan pulled one into his mouth with a sucking noise while his hand pulled her hair slightly back to expose the cords of her neck.

 

[TabascoKV]

Hearing him moan sent shivers through Becca, something so empowering about being able to elicit such a response from him. Her tongue trailed down his chest, nibbling on his nipple before she pulled back so he could pull off her shirt. When his hips rose to meet hers, obliged him rubbing her crotch against his. Closing her eyes as he followed the border between the top of her breast with his tongue, she tilted her head back slightly. It was amazing how needy she got over Dan after they had fought, and she couldn’t recall the percentage of make-up sex they had. Gasping as his mouth consumed her, she arched her back slightly to give him better access.

Pulling herself out of his grasp she worked at unbuttoning his pants, tugging them down along with his boxers. Without hesitating, she bent her head and took his swollen cock into her mouth, her fingers running along his inner thigh.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

“Oh… my…” Dan’s mouth fell open as she engulfed him. He had not expected that and this was the first time she had ever shown any interest in having oral sex with him. Dan had never pushed the issue and just assumed that she would experiment with other things if and when she ever got ready.

His voice was husky “I swear I’ll never complain about you getting your nails done…” Dan couldn’t stand to be inactive during sex, even though he loved the feel of her mouth on him. He reached beneath her and lifted her hips a little as he worked the snap on her jeans until it popped open. It was an effort to even remain focused on his task, but he managed with a little bit of help from a wriggling Becca.

It was amazing to him that she managed to keep his dick in her mouth the entire time, but manage she did. As soon as her jeans and panties were flung to the floor, Dan leaned over and maneuvered beneath her; lifting her so that her dripping pussy was planted over his waiting lips.

Dan’s tongue snaked out and teased her lips backwards toward her clit relishing the musky taste of her, drinking her in. Her body quivered over his causing his member to twitch in the warmth of her mouth and Dan groaned again.

 

[TabascoKV]

Becca smiled with him in her mouth, a giddiness filling her at how she could incapacitate him. She’d never had such power over herself, nonetheless somebody else. His words were, for the most part, lost on her, but the deep way his voice came out thrilled her. Adjusting enough so that he could finish undressing her, she felt weightless in his arms as he adjusted her.

Feeling his tongue embrace her womanhood, she moaned, pulling her mouth up slightly. Closing her eyes, her skin was lit on fire at the passion he evoked in her. Lowering her head once more, she sucked on him with a renewed fervor. She felt herself growing close, so she slid off of him. She wanted to orgasm with him buried deep inside of her. Turning around, she kissed her way up his chest before straddling over him. Moving slowly, she guided his dick into her, her body arching over his as she moaned.

The storm was now completely forgotten as she threw herself into the rage and passion of making love to her man. There was no feeling in the world like being wrapped up in Daniel.

 

[pa1ndru1d]

He felt her squirm and quiver against his lips and when she pulled off his face, his first inclination was to grip her ass with both hands and hold her there against him. His dick pulsed within her mouth and another exalted sensation ran through him. Dan did some squirming of his own as she kissed her way up him and had a difficult time lying still when she slipped over his pole. What started out to be long and slow strokes soon built to insane levels.

Danny had never felt anything like Becca’s frenzied attack against his cock. It was as if she wanted to kill herself by impalement. They were lost in the moment, lost within each other. Nothing else existed except the thrusting, the grunting. The passion was so real and again Danny felt at home within her.

He didn’t want to be anywhere else or with anyone else. Just deep within her. Dan felt her nails rake his skin and his own calloused hands pulled at her hair and gripped the swell of her hip. He did his best to buck her, but she was a true cowgirl. Her knees gripped his hips and Danny could almost hear an announcer’s voice bellow and a crowd cheer.