Silver Bells

Dan hummed along to the radio as he maneuvered Dixie, Daisy’s white Jeep, up the mountain pass. “Christmas in Dixie” by Alabama was a beautiful country song that he enjoyed. He had steadily become accustomed to hearing a lot of Roseanne Cash, Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Dottie West, George Jones and Alabama in the last year. Waylon Jennings was a Duke family friend, and they listened to his music frequently. While Dan still preferred his Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and a relatively new band called Bon Jovi, Dan often found himself falling under the spell of the soothing guitars of country music.

Daisy was also humming as she looked curiously out the window. . Dan hadn’t told her where they going, insisting it was a surprise.

What he hadn’t told her was he had rented a cabin in the Tennessee mountains. They’d be back in time for the big family Christmas, but he wanted a few days alone with her in a romantic setting. So he had told her to pack warm clothes, there would likely be some snow. She knew that meant they were headed north; Hazzard County almost never got snow. Northern Georgia would get a little dusting, but she had never seen a heavy snow.

The clouds had been gathering all afternoon, and Dan was hoping to get up to the cabin before it started snowing. He was used to snow, but driving in it could be unnerving.

He saw his turnoff from the road and flipped on the blinker. Daisy sat up, looking around eagerly. It was apparent they were heading into a wooded area, where patches of snow were leftover from the prior week. The sun was just setting, casting a warm glow over the woods.

“Where are we going, sugar?” Daisy asked, knowing she wouldn’t get an answer.

“Patience, baby,” he answered with a smile. He loved being able to surprise her. They were saving money for a house after they got married next summer, but he had splurged on this trip for them.

She settled back into the seat, watching the woods thicken and the road narrow, but Dan skillfully guided the Jeep.

She did so and a moment later he brought the Jeep to a stop. Daisy heard him hop out, and after a couple minutes, began to wonder if she should open her eyes. Right as she decided she would, she heard the door open.

“Not just yet.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He smelled of cinnamon and hot chocolate, she thought. Odd.

He put the Jeep in drive and they were on their way. After what seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes, he announced they were at their destination.

Daisy’s big green eyes popped open and she gasped. “Dan, it’s beautiful!”

The remains of setting sun was casting its final golden rays over the land, lighting up the woods as the beams bounced off water drops resting on the trees. The cabin stood in front of them, a true log cabin with a small porch and red gingham curtains in the windows. Smoke was unfurling from the chimney, and she glimpsed what looked to be a frozen lake through some trees.

He pulled their bags from the back of the Jeep while looking to make sure the walkway and steps weren’t slippery. She had yet to regain all of the sexy curves she once had, but she was well on her way. He worried about the fragility of her bones, though Daisy assured him that she had started taking calcium supplements a while back. He still worried about her.

Escorting her up the stairs, he fumbled with the door lock as she sighed happily, staring at the woods.

Having spent so much of his teen years living in the woods, one of his favorite things about Daisy was her appreciation of nature. She could hunt as well as either of her male cousins, but like them, she simply enjoyed being outdoors and was comfortable with it. Dan had dated a couple of prissy girls in the past that didn’t even like picnics, let alone camping. Daisy was always up for an impromptu camping trip. She’d braid her long hair back, throw on her old jeans and boots and off they’d go.

Inside, a fire was crackling merrily away, warming the log cabin. Dan set their bags down as Daisy took in the rustic lodging that they’d occupy for the next few days. There was a loft where they’d sleep, and her hand ran over the banister. This cabin had been built by hand, and lovingly. The stove and refrigerator in the kitchen were small, but serviceable, when she wandered into the bathroom, found it had been remodeled recently. It wasn’t too modern, but the faucets were new and so was the shower tile.

Daisy turned to Dan. “It’s wonderful,” she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Glad you like it.” He smiled down at her, marveling at the fact that she loved him and agreed to be his wife. He slipped his arms around her waist. “I just wanted a couple days alone with you.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he answered, his dark eyes twinkling, “maybe a break from Trixie’s constant chattering, Bo and Luke’s pranks…things like that.”

“I know, and I love them for it,” he answered, tightening his hold on her. “But I love you and think some private time is well deserved.” His lips found her neck and she sighed happily, leaning into him.

Later, as Dan cooked their dinner, Daisy stood at the back door, watching the snow flurries.

Dan peered out the window. “No, not yet. I think we’ll get more tonight, though.”

From the back, Daisy could see more of the lake she had glimpsed earlier. It was iced over, she could see, with just a thin layer of snow. The winding road up the pass was hard, but not snow covered. She watched the tranquil scene in front of her, holding her mug of hot chocolate. She imaged the squirrels were tucked up in their trees, ready for winter, and that the foxes and deer were safely in their caves. In Hazzard, it wasn’t unusual to see them in the middle of winter, so her thoughts turned to the cartoon animals she sometimes watched on Saturday mornings.

The smell of cooking steak caught her attention, and her mouth watered at the scent of the marinade cooking. Dan was a better cook than Trixie or Honey, which Daisy found amusing. She loved cooking for him, but at least once a week he insisted on cooking for her. He had learned to cook at the hand of Mr. Maypenny, who lived off the land, so the meals were simple, but hearty, filling and delicious.

He had even brought along some wine, and when the potatoes to go with the steaks were ready, Dan opened a bottle for dinner.

The frosty air stung her cheeks and made her laugh. Hand in hand, they followed the short trail that led to the lake, and for several moments, they stood, Dan’s arms around Daisy’s waist as they looked out over the frozen lake. It reminded Dan a little bit of Manor House and its lake in the winter. Dan hoped to take her up there sometime in the winter, so she could see the Preserve frozen and snowed over.

“The town nearby rings this old set of church bells every night at nine,” he told her. “Used to be to signal the curfew time back in the sixties, I think. Some folks who were bent on keeping the town’s history alive reinstated it a few years back.”

“How lovely.” Daisy leaned her head back against Dan. “Tell me again about when you and Mart skated and you got your first BWG jacket.”

Afterwards, they headed back to the cabin for hot cocoa, and snuggling on the sofa led to more upstairs. The fire would slowly burn itself out, but there was a small heater upstairs in the loft.

Daisy lay against Dan, her head resting on his chest. His hand rubbed her shoulder absently.

Dan smiled. The glow from the radiant heater gave just enough light they could see each other in the otherwise dark loft.

“Next year,” he answered with a smile. “Next Christmas, we’ll be married, and you Dukes will officially be part of the BWG family.”

“I can’t wait,” Daisy smiled as she kissed his chest. Her finger traced an abstract pattern on his chest.

He chuckled. “We’re going to have awesome kids, Daisy. One of each, at least.”

“As long as they’re healthy, I’ll be happy,” he said. “Preferably look like you, too.”

Dan thought for a moment. “Yeah, I do. You’ve certainly turned out well with just Uncle Jesse to raise you, and I think I’ve turned out all right.”

“Plus, Moms is just a phone call away. You know she’ll treat our kids as her own grandchildren, and I think her advice is usually sound,” Dan added. “She still checks up on me, right along with the girls, every week.”

“She’s a fantastic lady. Uncle Bill would agree, too. She certainly helped him with me over the years.”

Dan murmured an affirmative. “Yep. I know you had the boys growing up, but I didn’t have any siblings. I would have really liked to have one or two. Being an only child kind of sucked.”

Daisy nodded. “You were lucky enough to know your parents, though,” she said. “Between the two of us, I want that for our kids. Siblings and parents. Stability.”

The next morning they woke to a winter wonderland. Daisy peeked out the window and squealed in delight, startling Dan awake. He laughed at her rapturous expression as her eyes took in the white blanket over the woods.

With an impatient Daisy ready to skip breakfast, they showered quickly and dressed warmly, before going outside.

Daisy stood on the porch taking pictures, and then she and Dan went for a short walk. Daisy eyed the snow, wondering if she could make a snowball without Dan seeing.

“Don’t even think about it,” he laughed, catching her expression. He pulled her to him. “Feed me first, then we’ll go play in the snow.”

After a solid breakfast, they tramped through the snow and Dan showed her how to pack the snow firmly for a good snowball. He playfully dodged her throws, letting her hit him on occasion, without retaliating. Had it been Bo or Luke, he would have unleashed a fury of snowball in fun, but he only half heartedly tossed them at his fiancée.

He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her, cheeks glowing, happy grin, eyes lit up as she played in the snow.

Dan showed her how to make a snow angel and get up without destroying it. She slipped a bit of snow down the neck of his jacket, giggling madly when he howled in surprise.

He caught her around the waist before she could escape, and they tumbled into the snow, Daisy landing on Dan. She suspected he twisted his body to make sure he landed first.

She tossed her hair and grinned. Her emerald eyes sparkled under her knitted green hat.

That evening, after a dinner of hearty beef stew and several rounds of poker that Dan realized he didn’t need to intentionally let Daisy win, they went outside for a walk again.

Holding hands, they retraced their path from the night before. The sky was clear and the moon was bright, casting long shadows across the woods and frozen lake.

Daisy snuggled against Dan. From the nearby town, clear, strong bells began to ring.

With a contented sigh, Daisy closed her eyes as she leaned against her husband- to-be.

The sound of silvery bells continued its chimes, with the echo remaining long after it had stopped.

-a big yee-haa to my editors, the fabulous Mary! I wrote this the other day, in about a half hour and she did a super fast edit for me!

-I keep trying to avoid writing holiday stories but Dan and Daisy snuck this in on me when I found the bell graphic while searching for other bell grapics. And yes, the "1980-something" is intentional.

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