Covering distance small daughter beamed (6)
I believe the answer is:
smiled
'beamed' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'covering distance small daughter' is the wordplay.
'covering' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (on top of in down clue).
'distance' becomes 'mile' (mile is a unit of distance).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'daughter' becomes 'd' (genealogical abbreviation).
'mile' after 's' is 'smile'.
'smile'+'d'='SMILED'
(Other definitions for smiled that I've seen before include "drank whisky" , "Showed pleasure" , "Looked happy" , "Beamed" , "Assumed facial expression indicating pleasure" .)