The way he watched her was unnerving, but there was something about his blue eyes that made her feel completely comfortable. And hearing that he was a cop made Melissa feel even more sure that he really was a nice guy, something she'd never had much luck in finding.

Melissa glanced at Ashley and found her intently watching their dinner guest. Her heart sank with a realization that she hadn't included Ashley in the decision to invite him over.

What kind of a mother am I? Dave's the first man to join us for a meal in years. It's no wonder she's been quiet all afternoon. She's probably wondering why I invited him over, after hiding from the world for three years.

xxxxx

Ashley sat watching Starsky as he talked with her mother. When he'd been coloring with her, Ashley had almost felt comfortable with him, but as soon as the three of them had sat down to dinner, memories of the last man to sit at their table came flooding back.

Feeling the tears well up, Ashley dropped her fork on her plate and ran from the room.

xxxxx

Admittedly, Starsky was startled by Ashley's sudden exit. Never claiming to be tactful, he asked Melissa, "There's something you're not telling me, and if we're gonna be friends, I want to know what it is. Now what was that about?"

xxxxx

Melissa closed her eyes as she deeply sighed to calm her nerves. She wanted to check on Ashley, but knew that Starsky deserved some sort of an explanation.

"Her father, to put it kindly, was a jerk. When I first married him, I honestly thought he loved me. But when he would come home drunk, nothing we did was ever good enough. And that happened often. I left three years ago. We stayed with my parents, hoping that he wouldn't come after us. We haven't heard a word out of him. Ashley's extremely reserved around men. Even with my dad, she's been careful not to do anything that she thinks would upset him."

xxxxx

As Starsky listened to what Melissa was telling him, he felt his anger rising. What she and Ashley had been through was an issue for him.

"Melissa, I'm sorry he put you through that. He had no right to do such a thing, and neither you nor Ashley deserved it. You know that, don't you?"

He watched the tears began to fall as Melissa nodded.

"I almost don't want to ask, but if I went to talk to Ashley, do you think she'd listen to me?"

Melissa dabbed her eyes with a napkin. "She probably won't, but you can try."

Starsky left the table and walked through the kitchen door. He didn't see Ashley in the living room, so he followed the adjacent hall to a closed door, behind which he heard crying.

He knocked. "Ashley? Can I come in?"

Sniff. "Go away."

Starsky knocked again. "Can we talk for a second?"

"No."

He sighed as he sat on the floor outside Ashley's bedroom door. "How about if I talk, and you just listen?" No response. "My dad got drunk, too. He never hit me or my brother, but he beat my mom a lot. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't do that, and I haven't. I wanna be your friend, Ashley. I'm not gonna hurt your or your mom. I promise."

"Do you like her?"

Starsky began to nod, then remembered that Ashley couldn't see him. "Yes, but I won't ask her out if you don't want me to."

Ashley was quiet for a moment. "No, I don't."

As he stood, Starsky said, "I still wanna be your friend. Maybe someday you'll let me be."