Disclaimer: I only own the Kent kids
Dave looked down at his shoes. He was nervous. He'd been in this same spot for years, but this time it was different. This time Clark was different.
"So where are you planning on taking my daughter?" Clark asked towering over Dave as he did most people.
"Well, they just changed up the movies at the theater and if she doesn't like'm we could go get dinner or something."
"And you're driving?"
"Yessir" Dave looked up very quickly at Clark and then went back to staring at his shoes.
"Dave, from what I know of you, you're a good kid." Somehow this calm chatty voice scared Dave more than anything. "But everyone makes mistakes, don't they?"
Dave was confused. " Yessir. I mean I guess so."
" Well I need you to make sure that NONE of those mistakes happen with my daughter. Because if they did happen, I would know."
"Mr. Kent I'm would never…"
"Oh Dave, understand, I'm not saying YOU would slip-up around my daughter. I just think you should know that if you did, I would know." Dave swallowed hard. Luckily Casey had had enough of waiting inside and came out onto the porch.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" She asked tapping her foot impatiently.
Clark suddenly stepped out of the role of scary interrogating father, back into his normal persona.
"Nothing baby," he smiled "have fun. Don't stay out too late."
Casey practically had to push Clark back in the house. Once he was inside she looked at Dave who was staring at her. "Hey." She smiled.
"Hi." He returned the smile. They walked over to his truck and he opened the door for her. Clark watched from the window. "She'll be fine." Jonathan said putting his hand on Clarks shoulder.
"For Dave's sake, she'd better be." Ryan said turning to Will.
The date was going as well as Casey could have hoped. They'd gone to check out the new movies showing. Two horror movies, a cartoon and a documentary on the spawning of salmon. Dave suggested they get dinner and check out another movie theatre 20 minutes from town that showed classic movies. Although they ate at a very cute French restaurant, neither of them ordered anything fancy. They really enjoyed talking to each other more than the food.
Will and Ryan watched tv on the couch. "Dude," Will sighed "this is SO lame. Our little sister is out on a date, while we sit here waiting up FOR HER on the farm watching cartoons. We should be out. You know, doing something."
"Do you have any ideas of that 'something' we could do?" When Ryan's question was met with silence he leaned back into the couch. "Well if you think of something let me know."
Will sat up. "We could go into town and try that X-ray vision Dad was talking about on hot girls."
"Okay, let me rephrase that. If you come up with something that's NOT completely retarded and/or something that will get us strangled by dad, then you let me know."
"Did you just call me retarded?" Will asked.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Shut up Will."
"You shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"Make me!" Will dared his older brother.
"You are such a child. If I fight you, I'll just end up kicking your ass and making you cry AGAIN, and guess who'll get in trouble then?"
"Kicking my ass?" Will scoffed.
"Oh don't act like it hasn't happened before."
"Okay, but that was like maybe two times and only one of those times I cried. Besides I was just a kid." He defended, pouting ever so slightly.
Ryan laughed at his brother. He knew he had beaten him up way more than that. However, he decided to spare his brother and end the argument there before Will actually did get his feelings hurt.
It turned out the classic movie theater had been closed down for months. Drawing a blank on anything else to do, Dave and Casey drove around town and talked about school, holidays, family, politics, books, embarrassing moments and much more. As Dave drove past the Kent farm path, he stopped the car and turned to Casey. "Listen, I had a whole plan about us going on this date and then somehow it got all jumbled and I'm sorry if you were disappointed and I understand if you never wanna go out with me aga…" Casey interrupted his babbling by planting him with a kiss.
"I had fun." She said. "didn't you have fun?"
"Well of course I did, but I just thought that… well you're a city girl. I thought you'd be dissatisfied in a date driving around with me all night. I dunno." He shrugged.
"I liked talking to you. If we had to fill time with movies and had nothing to say to each other, THEN I'd never go on a date with you again. But this, this was nice. Especially that last thing we just did." She smiled.
"What, you mean this?" Dave asked and pulled her into another kiss, this one longer and more passionate. They stayed parked in the middle of that dirt path for fifteen more minutes. When they finally did pull up to the house, Casey had to fix her hair. Dave went around and opened the door for her and walked her to her front porch. She thought about doing one more stereotypical end of first date at the door kisses, but then remembered that her entire family was probably watching. She opted for a hug and said "tonight was wonderful."
When Casey walked in the house, she found her brothers, grandparents and her father asleep on the couch in front of cartoons. "You guys are so bad at faking." She said. A smile crept on to Martha's face and both the boys tried to stifle laughing. They all sat up, Clark looking a bit sheepish.
"So how was it?" Martha asked.
"A lady never kisses and tells." Casey smiled heading up to her room.
"He kissed you?" Clark, Ryan, Will and Jonathan all said at the same time.
The next day was Sunday. Casey was happy it was one of the two days Dave didn't work at the kent farm. She knew he'd be uncomfortable, the kent men would make sure of that. Casey was also excited because she remembered Dave mentioning something about pre-season soccer starting up in a week. She was nervous about starting school without really knowing anyone and, like most sports, she was always really good at soccer. This could be a way to make friends and do something she really liked. She came down to breakfast and greeted her siblings with a huge smile on her face.
"God," Will said. "Is Dave really that good?"
Casey sat down. "Unlike you, Will, not every bit of my happiness is about the opposite sex."
"What about sex?" Clark asked rushing into the room.
"Nothing Daddy." Casey said hugging her father.
"Well then if it isn't Dave, what's got you so excited?" Ryan asked. Martha and Jonathan entered from the barn.
"I'm gunna try out for soccer next week." She said.
Jonathan cleared his throat. "Soccer?"
"Yeah. I mean I haven't played in a while, but I can still give it a shot."
"I don't know Casey…" Jonathan began.
"I think it's a great idea." Clark cut in. Jonathan gave him a stern look that only he, his son and his wife saw. "Dad, can I talk to you in the living room."
"Son you know as well as I do that she can't play team sports like the other kids." Jonathan whispered.
"Dad, I don't want her to have to miss out on the things I did." Clark said. " I appreciate everything you've done for me. I-I really do. It's just…I have to give y kids the chance." He clapped his father on the back and headed back into the kitchen. Jonathan didn't like it, but what could he do?
Casey worked on her ball handling skills for hours. She had speed down, even without her abilities she could outrun most kids her age. She didn't even come in for lunch.
"It's not right for a growing girl to miss a meal." Martha said as she stopped watching Casey out of the window and sat down with the rest of the family.
"She said that she isn't hungry." Ryan said. "I could go tell her to come in again Grandma."
"It wouldn't matter how many times you tell her and you know it." Will smiled. "Once Case gets something into her mind, she wont stop for anything."
"She's like her mother that way." Clark said.
They were right. Casey trained all the way until dinner. She went over techniques in her head while she did the dishes. She talked for ten minutes on the phone with Dave, before she went back to it. When she went in her room she looked up and studied stats about the Crows past games and the current coach.
As relieved as she was that Dave didn't work on Sundays, she was just as joyful to see his truck pull up bright and early Monday morning. When they talked on the phone the night before, Casey talked him in to coming a whole half hour early for wok so that they could have breakfast and spend sometime together. Dave was a little uneasy about the idea at first. Spending more time with Casey would be great. It was the time spent with her family that made him nervous.
Will and Ryan were already sitting when Dave and Casey sat down. Martha came in and called down Clark and Jonathan. When they all sat down Jonathan said grace and they began to eat. There wasn't much talking at first. In fact, aside from the occasional request to pass something this normally talkative table had no talking at all
Finally Jonathan said "You think you might wanna tinker with the tractor, Dave?"
"Sir?" Dave asked confused.
"The tractor's been acting up lately. You think you can take a look at it?" He cleared up.
"Oh. Yes sir." Dave complied.
"I'll help too." Will volunteered.
After breakfast Martha and Casey went to do some deliveries, Jonathan Clark and Ryan did some work in the barn and Will and Dave went to work on the tractor. As soon as the ladies returned Casey found Dave waiting for her on the front porch. "There she is." He smiled. "How were the deliveries?"
"Okay. Mr. Dolkins complained that his apple pies were bigger last week, even though they weren't. How was life on the farm? Did you and Will find out what was with the tractor?" Casey asked.
"Yeah. That wasn't all I found out." Dave chuckled.
"What does that mean?"
"Will told me some really cute stories about you when you were little and he showed me the funniest pictures." Casey didn't know if she was more embarrassed or more upset.
"Will!" she screamed storming into his room after Dave had gone home.
"What?" Will asked, but the smile on his face gave him away.
"Baby pictures Will? You showed him my baby pictures? And you told him I used to run around naked!"
"Well you did" He laughed.
"Well those stories and pictures and stories are officially off limits when it comes to Dave."
"God Case its not that big of a deal. I'm sorry okay." His apology only mildly calmed her anger, but Casey didn't freak out (that much). She went into her room and wrote in her diary and listened to loud music and tried to keep herself from killing her brother. When she finally did decide to get some rest and hit the hay, she felt the light from the barn shine in from her window. She looked at her clock. 1:30 AM. Who was up at 1:30? She crept out of bed and opened the door and went over to the barn.
When Casey got to the barn she began to hear whispering coming from he loft. There she found Will and a girl with blue streaked hair pawing at each other like animals. She let out a little gasp. It wasn't little enough, because I caused Will to spin around and look at her.
"Casey!" Will said.
"What are you doing?" She asked her brother.
"Um…Case this is Linda." Will explained.
"Lisa." The dyed girl corrected.
"Lisa! Case this is Lisa. We met the other night at the Talon and I invited her over to hangout tonight. Um…" he turned to Lisa who had lit up a cigarette. "Don't smoke that around my kid sister."
"So-RRY" Lisa said sarcastically.
Will turned his attention back to Casey "Promise not to tell on me, Case?"
"Promise not to pick on me ever again?" Casey negotiated.
"Not likely." He sighed
"Well... What can you offer me?"
"Well, I wont show Dave any of your baby pictures."
"Or tell him any embarrassing stories?"
"Uhhhhh… Deal." Will caved.
"Deal."
"Promise me."
"I promise." She said heading back down the stairs. Then she turned around and said to Lisa "Oh and by the way, Will peed on himself until the third grade."