Page 22 of Justice for Daesha

She sat there for a minute, the prosthetic lying across her lap, and then she smiled. “The night I watched Heart perform ‘Stairway toHeaven’ to honor LedZeppelin.”

Amos quirked his eyebrows up. “I don’t get it.” That wasn’t the answer he thought he’d get.

She smiled and stared at her hands as they rested on the prosthetic. “I always knew making a living with my music was probably not something that would happen, but I was always a little embarrassed, doing covers with the band. I didn’t feel like a real musician. I thought maybe I had no talent because I didn’t write my own songs, but I was busy and didn’t have the time to devote. Some nights I didn’t want to sing because I felt like such a cop-out. But that night, I watched Ann and NancyWilson perform that song, and that instant when RobertPlant wiped that tear from his eye? I got it. I’m doing something important. I’m making people happy as they listen to me sing, even if it’s in a crappy little bar in a nowhere Kentucky town. Maybe they’ve had a bad day, or they’ve been hurt or abused, or somebody they love is gone. And maybe, just maybe, that song, one they’re familiar with or grew up with, will make them smile for just a second or two.

“And it made me realize something else. That old saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?” Amos nodded. “When I sing those songs, I’m showing my respect for those fantastic artists, people who worked hard to write and record those songs. That’s the only way I have of doing that, and by singing their songs, I’m paying tribute to them, even though they’ll never know.” She lifted her head, her cheeks pink, and gave him a shy smile. “Sappy, I know, but seeing them on TV that night, it changed my mind about myself. Until, of course, I came back less of a person than I was when I left. Then I had to start all over again.”

Amos had never heard anything so honest in his life. This woman… She blew him away. Her every thought was for someone else, and when she was thinking about herself, all she saw were her faults and her shortcomings. The room seemed lighter, the air sweeter, the day better just because she was there, and he longed for a way to show her how he felt without totally freaking her out. He searched for the right words to say. What were they? How could he make her understand? “You came back more of a person. You were compassionate before, but you came back more compassionate, more engaged. Your take on life is… I don’t know how to describe how I see you. But when I look in your eyes, I see everything that’s right about the world. And the idea that I get to sit here with you is… If you decided tomorrow that you never wanted to see me again, I’d be a better person just for knowing you.”

She stared at him. “But why?”

Could she not see herself? Why couldn’t she see the awesome person she was? It hit him square between the eyes, what he had to do and say. “Daesha, I’ve got to tell you something.” She nodded. “Look, I’ve been a shit, or as Jack would say, a dick. I was always the guy who wouldn’t date anybody but the most beautiful woman in the room, and I didn’t give a fuck who she was. I didn’t want to talk to her. I just wanted to fuck her. I didn’t want a relationship, or to know anything about her, or to even have a conversation with her. Women weren’t good for any of that.” He could feel his eyes welling, and he didn’t care. “And my god, I met you, and I wouldn’t care if I never touched you again in my life, if you could just sit and talk to me.” She opened her mouth to say something, but he pressed a finger to her lower lip. “No. I have to say this. You are without a doubt the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. You’re beautiful and funny and smart and kind and loving and giving.”

“I’m a washed-up soldier. I’m an amputee. I’m a?”

Amos wanted to scream. “Stop defining yourself by all the things you think you aren’t and start defining yourself by all the things youare! Daesha, you’re remarkable. I don’t think you realize how remarkable you are.”Put yourself out there, Fletcher, a little voice said inside him. “Look, I want to spend every minute I can with you. I want to get to know you and you to get to know me. Maybe you’ll decide you hate me, I dunno. But I know this.” He cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “When I close my eyes, I see your beautiful face. I want to see your beautiful face every minute of every day. I don’t want a day to go by without seeing your beautiful face, hearing your beautiful voice, touching your beautiful hair. If I could take all the things I’d want in a woman I could fall in love with and put them all together, you’d be the result.”

“But you can’t, so I’m not, right?” she asked, her lower lip trembling.

“You’re that woman, Daesha. I want you with everything I am and have. I know we haven’t known each other even a week, but I can’t think of an honor greater than to be able to wake up every morning and see your gorgeous face.”

A tear rolled down her face. “That has to be the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.”

“If it were a pickup line, it would be the worst. But it’s not. I have never, never,nevertold a woman how I feel, but I’m telling you. I’ve only known you a few days, but my world without you in it is unthinkable.” When his lips touched hers, he could feel a spark, the kind that lit a fire that would burn forever. Breaking the kiss and leaning back, he stared into her eyes. “I want you. I want those green eyes, that blond hair, that firm ass, those lush lips, and I’ll take the hardware too,” he said and patted the prosthetic. That made her giggle. “I want you, Daesha. Just you, all of you, with everything that comes with you. I’m making a commitment to you now. For as long as you’ll let me, I’ll spend every minute I can with you. I’ll do anything you need me to do. I’ll be a better man. Are you interested at all? Does that even appeal to you? Because if it doesn’t, honestly, I guess I’m fucked.” He let out a nervous little chuckle.

“AmosFletcher,” she said in a hoarse whisper, “I’mveryinterested.” Then she leaned in and kissed him.

There was no point in fighting it. With that kiss, Amos gave his heart to Daesha. It was hers to do with as she pleased, and he was pretty sure she knew it. And for the first time, he wasn’t scared, or nervous, or ashamed. He was proud to be with her, and he hoped she knew that. She was the one who broke the kiss, and he smiled. “Can you stay? Tonight? We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want, but waking up next to you would be the greatest gift anybody’s given me in a long time.”

She began to cry in earnest, and Amos wondered if he’d said something wrong. That fear dissolved when she said through her sobs, “I’d love to stay here with you. But I don’t have any clothes. And I have to be up really early tomorrow.”

He gave her what he hoped was a tender smile. “Would you rather I come to your house? I don’t mind at all. I just want you close enough that I can reach out and touch you.” God, he sounded hopelessly needy, and he didn’t care. He needed her. He wasn’t ashamed of it.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until your dishwasher has stopped?”

He laughed. “I rent. If it floods the house, I’ll just put down new flooring!”

“I suppose I should put my pants back on, huh?” she said with a nervous giggle.

With a smile, he stood. “I’d like to give you something, if you’ll let me.” Then he reached for her hand.

“What is it?”

“Do you trust me?”

He could tell she was asking herself the same question before she finally said, “Yes. I do.”

“Good. Come on.”

“I need to put my prosthesis back?”

“Nope. I’ll carry you.” Then he added, “Unless you don’t really trust me and want to be able to get away quickly.”

“No, no. I trust you.”

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