"Hey Dad!" Julia said as she walked into her kitchen. Lately the hospital only needed him in the mornings, so it was nice for Julia seeing him right after school. Even though she knew one phone called could change that. Landon, who sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee looked up at his daughter and smiled.

"How was your day a school?" he asked, sipping his drink. Julia turned and pretended to look for something in her pantry before she answered. She was still debating on whether she should mention Nick or not. "Julia?"

"Oh, it was ok," was her reply. Still, no matter how much she wanted her statement to sound casual, it came out rather secretive. She gave a quick look back at her father, praying he didn't notice. What she found, however, was his eyes locking with hers and a 'what are you not telling me?' glance. "Well," Julia began in forfeit, "I met this guy, but it's really nothing."

"Really?" Landon gently placed his coffee on the table and grinned slightly. "What's his name?"

"Nick Brookes," she replied absentmindedly. She just wanted to get him off her mind for once, and right when she was finally starting to, her father catches on!

Landon grew quiet and sipped at his coffee again. Julia looked back at him after a few minutes of silence crept by. She knew he must have been thinking hard; she suddenly began to wonder if he was even thinking about their conversation.

Especially since many times she had caught her father staring off in space, apparently just thinking about her mother. It used to happen quite often, but recently if he had been thinking about her at all, he did it on his own time. "Dad?" Julia whispered, watching her voice bringing him back to the kitchen and their conversation.

"I think he's one of my patients," he replied softly, "Is he a senior too?"

"Yeah," Julia replied, wondering why Nick being one of Landon's patients would really matter. "So, he's one of your patients?"

"If it's the same Nick Brookes I'm thinking of," Landon whispered, "Wow, so how did you two meet?" Julia suddenly widened her eyes in realization, as she just remembered her car was still in the Coffee shop's parking lot. Landon caught her widened eyes and gave her another curious look.

"I met him when my car broke down on the main street just outside of the coffee shop that I meet Cassie at." She sighed heavily, "I need to go get it. Can you give me a lift?" Landon finished his coffee quickly and then placed it in the sink. Within the next few minutes Julia and Landon were in the car and pulling out of the driveway. "Thanks," she mumbled watching her street fly by past the window. "I just can't believe I forgot! Who forgets they left a car in a parking lot?"

"It's alright, honey," Her father soothed, "It happens." Julia shook her head and switched on the radio, not able to bare the silence for very long.

"There's a song that's inside of my soul..." The song that came out of the speakers was soft and beautiful. It was a lot like one of the songs she would listen too when she would listen to the radio. Although she had never heard it before, it rang familiar somehow. "It's the one that I've tried to write over and over aga--."

Julia immediately looked over at her dad surprised he had turned it off. "It's nothing," Landon stammered, saying it all a little too quickly.

"What's wrong? I thought the song was beautiful."

Landon shifted quietly in the driver's seat and focused on the road for a while. Julia didn't bother saying anything, even though she was curious, she thought it was better if he explained on his own time. "It is beautiful," Her father suddenly said in the middle of the silence. "Your mother sang it at the play on the first night I fell in love with her."

She couldn't help but notice the two stray tears that found themselves dripping down his face. She felt herself, like she did when she was younger, hating her mother. Why did she have to die and leave her father the pain of life without her?

Yet, suddenly, a smile spread over his face. One that lit his eyes from just the smile, and for the first time in weeks true happiness seemed to run through him. "She was so beautiful," he said, his voice soft and quiet. "I wish you could have gotten to know her. She was the best person I ever knew." He glanced at Julia and gave her a loving smile, "You look so much like her."

It wasn't the first time she had heard him say that, or heard anyone say it for that matter. "I know, you tell me every time you think of her." Julia tried to hide the edge in her voice, not wanting her father to hear the bitterness that she felt toward her mother.

"I mean it, you know," he added, trying to catch his daughter's eyes when the light was red. Julia grew quiet and didn't answer. She didn't even return Landon's gaze, she knew he would have been able to see right through her.

"Where's my car?" She suddenly whispered when she pulled into the parking lot and finding it nearly empty; her car nowhere in sight. Without much more thought she burst from the car and ran toward the coffee shop, thinking perhaps someone who worked there could give some information.

Landon turned off the car and eased his way out the driver's seat, watching his daughter go rushing in.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" she hurried to the ordering counter and called for assistance. An elderly lady stepped from a backroom and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, walking so slow Julia was beginning to grow impatient. "Look, I'm not here to order anything," she said, hearing her voice replay a rude line.

"Oh, well then I shouldn't even bother!" the lady retorted, slamming the pad of paper on the counter.

"I'm sorry, but do you by chance know where my car is?"

"Oh, so it's your car that the young man was talking about. The one that you almost had towed." The lady slowly made way around the counter, taking a piece of paper with her. "Here, someone named Nick Brookes picked it up for you. He left his number and address. Good day."

"Thank you,"

"I said Good day!"

Julia took the paper and backed out of the shop in guilt. Why had she been so desperate for her car that she had to be as rude as she did? She sighed, and made way back to her father's car, finding Landon leaning against the hood of the car with his door open. "So?"

"I guess it was almost towed," Julia said, distantly. Landon just shook his head toward the news.

"Almost towed?"

"Well, Nick picked it up for me. He must have noticed I didn't come back for it and picked it up before it was towed." When she saw her father's look of confusion she explained the best she could. "It broke down, like I said. He must have---," her eyes widened at the sudden thought, "My God, he must have pushed it all the way to his house!"

"That was sure nice of him," Her dad replied, "We better go pick it up then, don't you think?"

Without a second thought, she jumped into the car and read out the directions to her father. She was thankful she had left her cell phone the previous two days before in Landon's car, so she picked it up and pushed in the number.

The rings seemed to come in slow motion, like one lasted at least a minute at a time. She supposed it was because she didn't know how she was going to call him, tell him she was coming and even see him after she had turned him down for the date he had asked her out on.

"Hello?" a women's voice answered first.

But then just after, another deeper voice came on, "Hello?"

"Uhh---," Julia stuttered, slightly confused by the fact that more then one person had answered at the same time. "Is Nick there?"

"Mom, you can hang up the phone, it's for me," Nick said. Julia heard the sound of another phone being replaced on the phone stand, knowing it was just her and Nick on the same line. "Who is this?" he asked, and Julia had to actually gather her thoughts before she could say her name.

"Julia,"

"Oh! Hey!" his voice seemed to come out slightly higher then it should have, since his voice was already so deep. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your car. It's just the lady had already sent for a tow truck, and I didn't know your number. So I figured the best way was to leave a message and take it to my house." He paused a moment, and then added, "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, thank you."

"It's really not a problem. By the way, I fixed it for you."

"Wha—what?" she stuttered, "You didn't have too, I mean, I'm very grateful and all, but would you like me to pay you?"

"No, don't worry about it." There was a silence on the other end of the line, and then, "Would you like to stay for dinner?" Julia glanced at Landon as soon as the question was asked. Even though her father had not heard the question she hoped he would answer for her.

"Well, my dad is the one who is coming with me,"

"Oh, well he's welcome to stay too."

"Umm, Dad, Nick's offering us dinner, what do you think?"

Landon checked his watch and nodded, "Yeah, that sounds great. Today's my day off." Julia sighed heavily at the response, wondering how her day had come down to this.

"Yeah, we'd like that a lot," Julia finally answered.

"Great, I'll see you when you get here! Bye!"

Julia ended the call and leaned back in the seat. So much had happened in one day, it was hard to believe it at all. She didn't even know Nick and she knew she was falling for him; however, romances can't happen in a day. Even she knew that. All the movies or friends of hers who had fallen for a guy in one day had always come out with a harsh ending. She wasn't ready to risk that. Why she was even questioning about taking the chance was beyond her.

When they drove up his street, Nick was out on his front porch waiting, and Julia's breath was almost taken from her. He looked darkly handsome as he made way down his front steps and toward her dad's parked car. She couldn't help but watch his green eyes through his dark hair that fell slightly over them. The way his body moved with his stride.

What the night held for her now, Julia could never guess. It was the beginning of something new.

A/N plz review! And tell me what you think... thanks! .