May 26, 2012
David's gaze scanned the street he was on, looking for lot number 13. He wanted to see for himself where Amanda and Olivia lived. A trailer park with next to no yard space. Not the nicest setting for a little girl to grow up in. When he found Amanda and Olivia's particular lot, he froze for two reasons. Amanda was outside, watering the potted plants sitting on the weathered old porch. She smiled and waved uncertainly when she realized that it was him.
He returned the gestures and drove on, pondering the second thing that he had noticed, something on her car that he hadn't noticed the previous night. A vegetarian bumper sticker.
He himself was a self-identified "baconitarian" as Shane had once put it. David had no idea what to do with this revelation. He would definitely have to consult the guys on this one.
Amanda watched David's car as he drove it further down the road. What had he wanted, she wondered. Giving it a mental shrug, she turned when she heard the old screen door squeak open. Olivia stumbled onto the porch, struggling not to spill her own cup filled with water for the plants.
"Who was that?" Olivia asked curiously, following her mother's gaze towards David's car.
Amanda smiled mildly and put a hand around her daughter's shoulders, brushing hair the same shade as David's out of the young girl's eyes. "You'll find out soon enough."
June 1, 2012
"Hey, David," Adam tapped David on the shoulder and he turned to look at the man sitting behind him in the muster room. "I'm gonna be grilling steaks again tomorrow. Are you coming?"
"Nah." David turned back around to face forward.
"Man, come on." Nathan snorted. "We've all ready established that you don't have a life. Don't pretend like you have plans for our benefit."
"It's been a hard week." Adam's gaze wandered to the empty seat beside him.
Shane's arrest yesterday had taken David totally by surprise. And it had taken an irreversible toll on every person in the sheriff's office.
Adam's eyes landed back on David. "We could use the chance to relax."
"Actually, I do have plans, and they will probably be very relaxing."
"Like what?" Adam laughed at the idea that David could have a way to spend Saturday that was preferable to eating grilled meat in his yard.
"A date."
Nathan almost spit out the swallow of coffee he had in his mouth. He managed to choke it down without spitting it on his partner, for which David was extremely grateful. "What?!"
David shrugged. "It's not really a date, just another meeting."
"With Amanda? Man, you've spent every evening this week talking with her!" Nathan protested.
Adam asked, "When is she going to quit interrogating you and let you meet Olivia? She does know that your daughter is yours too, right?"
David bristled, though he hid it well. "Sure. Amanda and I, we're friends. I don't mind at all. She's a good non-deputy outlet for stuff. And," David gestured minutely at Shane's empty chair. "That's what I need right now."
Adam and Nathan let him off the hook.
"All right." Adam replied. "I get that."
Personally, though, David wasn't sure exactly what it was that he felt for the beautiful brunette, Miss Amanda Williams.
Later that night, Amanda slid into one of the chairs at a table for two at one of David's favorite restaurants, Aunt Bea's Diner. According to David, this place was fast replacing Pearly's as the deputies' favorite place to grab a bite to eat, thanks to Nathan.
"The hamburgers here are to die for." David remarked, sitting down in the opposite seat. "Although, I guess that you won't want one of those, being a vegetarian and all."
"A vegetarian?" And then Amanda remembered the bumper sticker. "Oh-"
David kept talking, so she didn't get the chance to explain. "It kinda threw me for a loop, really."
Amanda raised her eyebrows, and leaned against the back of her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, merriment sparkled in her eyes. She decided to go with it for a minute.
"So what did the guys think about it?"
David smiled because she knew that he had discussed it with the guys. "Shane called me a serial killer. Adam, God bless him, kept his mouth shut."
Amanda laughed and asked, "What did Nathan say?"
David took a deep breath as the merriment vanished from his eyes. "He said, um… that we should get married."
Amanda sat straight up. "What?"
David sighed. "Because of Olivia."
Amanda had no idea how to respond to that. "It's been a bad week, huh?" she inquired softly.
David laughed dryly. "One of the not so great ones of my life. But one of the best too. It's been nice having you around, although I wasn't expecting to talk on the phone every night."
Amanda smiled. "Me neither. Hey, listen, I think that this week needs to end on a good note, what do you say? Why don't you come over to my place tomorrow morning? Spend the day with Olivia and me? We'd like to have you. She'd like to meet you, and I've had about all I can stand of 'I wish that I might have my daddy.'" Amanda's eyes widened. She hadn't meant for that last part to slip out.
David's eyebrows drew together. "What?"
Amanda sighed. "She started back on the first Sunday in March. Every Sunday night, Olivia gets out of bed after I turn out the light for her to go to sleep. She will climb onto the top of her toy box - it sits under the window in her room – and looks out at the stars. She says 'Starlight, star bright/ first star I see tonight/ I wish I may/ I wish I might/ have the wish/ I wish tonight. I wish that I might have my daddy.' Every Sunday night, I kid you not. It's been killing me." Amanda confessed tightly.
David sat back slowly in his chair, looking a little awestruck. "Wow."
It was on her way to pick up Olivia that Amanda realized that she had never gotten around to telling David that she wasn't a vegetarian.
This is the second installment in my "Star" series. Please R&R! Thanks!:)