Page 1 of Justice for Daesha

Chapter 1

He hadto hand it to his little brother?Jack had done a great job of making sure the music selections were good ones. Sure, the bride had a hand in it, Amos knew, but there was just the right balance of hard-driving, fast dance tunes and slow, romantic ones. It was a shame he didn’t have anyone to dance with.

“Having fun?”

Amos nodded. “Sure.”

“Oh, come on. There are plenty of single women here today. Find one and dance, brother,” JackFletcher scolded.

“Jack, I?”

“Don’t start. Just pick out somebody. I mean, look around. There are women all over the place. And I know you know how to dance.”

“Boy, your bride sure doesn’t,” Amos said with a snicker.

Jack chuckled and shrugged. “According to her upbringing, it was a sin, so she never learned. Her parents are over there having a heart attack because there’s dancing and we’ve got liquor. Good thing she doesn’t give a shit what they think or the wedding would’ve been off.”

“Seriously?” Jack nodded to Amos. “Wow. So she never danced?”

“Nope. Never got to go to a prom or homecoming dance. Never. This is all new to her. Considering that, I think she’s doing a pretty good job.”

“You taught her a little before tonight, didn’t you?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. We learned the first dance. I didn’t want her to be embarrassed later when we looked at the videos. And you know I love to dance, so it was fun to teach her.”

“Yeah.” Amos scanned the crowd. Jack was right. There were women everywhere, but he didn’t know which ones were attached and which were single. “Oh, I meant to ask you, the girl who sang?who is she?”

“That’s Matt’s neighbor, Daesha. Last name’s Wilkerson, I think. We were looking for somebody and he mentioned her. She jumped right on it. Wouldn’t let us pay her. Seems like a really nice person. You should go over and introduce yourself.”

Amos took a long look at the young woman. Even though she was a little heavier than he usually liked, she was pretty, her blond hair wavy and shiny. He’d noticed that she had odd light green eyes that were a shade he’d never seen before. Just before she’d started the song, she’d smiled, and he’d noticed she had one crooked tooth, but it was kinda cute.

Girls who weren’t perfect weren’t usually his “thing”. He’d always been the best-looking guy in the room, the one all the women wanted, and he’d always had his picking choice.Yeah, and look what that got you, he told himself. Every last one he’d gotten involved with had ripped him up, either by leaving him for a man who had more money or by cheating on him. Hell, he’d rather they leave than cheat. Leaving him made him sad. Cheating on him just pissed him off.

“Oh, I think I’ll just stand here and?”

“Amos! Go over there and talk to her! Ask her to dance and choose a slow song to dance to.”

“Yeah, all romantic and?”

“No. There’s a reason, but you need to meet her first. Don’t worry about that. Just go do it. I’ve got to get back to Aleta before she has a meltdown. She thinks she’s going to spill something on that dress. I begged her to buy something dark, but she insisted on that weird blush color. I’m not about to tell her, but when you first glance at her, it looks like she’s naked.”

Amos laughed loudly. “Now that you mention it, she does!”

Jack moved away, walking backwards, and mouthed,Go talk to her.Then he spun and headed back to Aleta.

What have I got to lose?Amos asked himself and headed that direction. She was standing there alone, which he thought was particularly rude of Matt, but Jack had told him that Matt’s girlfriend, Tiki, was insanely jealous, so that was probably why he’d made himself scarce. Her champagne glass was almost empty. “Would you like a refill?”

She spun and gasped as she did. “Oh! I didn’t see you there!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Just thought I’d offer to get you a refill. Champagne, right?”

“Yeah, but I can get it.” She wasn’t looking at him, just kind of looking through him, and Amos thought that was odd.

“I don’t mind, really. I’ve got to get myself another beer. Daesha, right?”

At the sound of her name, her head pivoted to face him. “Yeah. Do I know you?”

“No. I’m Jack’s brother, Amos.”

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