Page 15 of Justice for Daesha

The younger Fletcher had finally settled down. “Yeah, that’s true. So I’m glad you’re helping her. That family, god help ‘em, they deserve some answers.”

Amos eyed Jack carefully. Could he trust his kid brother? He decided to give it a shot. “Look, no joking, okay?” Jack nodded. “Can I talk to you? I mean, really talk? Because I just… Do you… Arrghhhh.” He just dropped his head and stared at the floor. Jack was going to rip him a new one, but it beat trying to talk to their dad. Henry would still be laughing. “So, um, I guess, uh, I think I’d say that I really admire Daesha. She’s fought through some tough situations.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. Literally.”

“Yeah! Exactly. But she doesn’t see her worth. She’s constantly saying no man would want her, and they run when they see her prosthetic, and all that stuff. And I feel bad for her.”

“Sooooo,” Jack said, staring at his hands, “it’s pity. You feel sorry for her.”

“No, no. It’s not like that. It’s like, um, I just feel bad for her. And I think it’s horrible she’s had to go through all this. And I really think it’s horrible that she doesn’t see herself as having any worth to anybody else, and especially to a man.”

“But you think she has that worth?” Jack said, swiveling his head to stare at Amos.

“Yes. I think she does. She’s got beautiful eyes, and beautiful hair, and her body, wow, um…”

Jack nodded. “Whoa, yeah. She’s got some kick-ass curves there. Luscious.”

“Yeah. But mostly, I just have so much respect for her, you know? To fight through everything she’s fought through.”

“Wait.” Jack’s jaw dropped before he said, “Yourespecther? A woman?”

“Yes. A woman. I respect a woman. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Because you’ve been a fucking player for so long that it seems, I dunno,unnaturalsomehow.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“No, seriously, Amos. This is what I’ve been telling you all along. Okay, look. The first time I saw Aleta was on the side of the road, covered in blood. And I mean, she wascovered in blood, man. Totally. I couldn’t tell what she looked like because she was a mess and her arm and leg were all broken and sticking out in ridiculous ways. And I thought, ‘Well, there’s a disaster that somebody’s gonna have to clean up.’ And then I went to the hospital and she thought I was an angel.”

Amos didn’t know whether to make a face or laugh. “Anangel? JackFletcher, an angel?”

“Yeah. Like a guardian angel. She remembered me from the side of the road. Yeah, crazy, I know, but she kept telling me I was her angel, and I thought she was mental.”

“She obviously was if she thought you were an angel.”

“Stop. I’m trying to be serious here,” Jack huffed.

“So am I,” Amos replied.

Jack just smiled. “Anyway, when I finally caught up with her that next time on the side of the road, I was shocked. That woman I’d seen there the first time, the one I’d thought probably wasn’t going to live through the night, was amazing. She’d come through all that, she was working to prove herself independent, she had a little apartment and her own little car, and a job washing dishes at a pancake place. I mean, a dishwasher, Amos. She was really trying.”

Amos hadn’t heard any of that part of the story before. “Yeah, I’ll say. I wouldn’t want to wash dishes.”

“She didn’t know how to do anything else. But look how far she’d come from the time of the accident to the four months later when I met her. And that’s Daesha. She’s like Aleta. She’s managed to carve out a good life for herself in the toughest of circumstances, and she’s done a beautiful job of it. I don’t blame you for respecting her. I respect her too, not to mention that she made a huge sacrifice for us and our country. That alone is worthy of respect.”

“I agree. And I do. Respect her, I mean.”

“Are you at all interested in seeing her? I mean, romantically?”

“I kissed her tonight.”

“Get out!” Jack yelled and punched Amos’s upper arm, but then he sobered. “Sorry. Old Jack. Well, that’s good, right? I mean, did she slap you?”

“No. She cried.”

“Well, I think I can honestly say I’ve never kissed a woman and made her cry,” Jack said with a smile.

“No, she was crying already. Kind of.” His phone beeped. “Oh, I bet that’s her. I told her I’d text her when I got home and I forgot because you were here. Hold still.” Amos held up the phone and leaned toward Jack, then snapped a picture of the two of them together. He sent a quick text.

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