Inspired by Miranda Lambert Song

The idea is your character used to live in the house my character lives in now. He and his 2 year old daughter live in the house that she used to live in. She comes by for like in the video to try and find herself then a(n) very bad snow storm hits and it causes her to have to stay in house with him until it passes. in the meantime the man tries to remain good company while inside is mourning the loss of his wife while trying to raise a 2 year old. He is only 19 and he and his wife married at 16. Anyways his wife was killed in a car accident. He tries to help her heal and allows her to roam his house while trying to fix himself since he is torn up inside and blaming himself for reasons that become revealed later on...


Name: Nathaniel "Nate" Lancer
Age: 19
Occupation: Father and Freelancer (model, art, writing, singing, guitar playing)


Name: Starla Lancer
Age: 2

Nathaniel was waking up. He had a deadline to make but still had to make time to spend with his daughter. If he didn't make this deadline he would have to do double shifts for the next couple of weeks. He shakes his head. He couldn't afford to do that. His little girl's dance recital was next week. He didn't want to miss it for anything. He looks at his daughter who is sleeping. Typing up the next part of the essay he needed to finish. He was done with it around seven in the morning. Going to bed he lay next to his sleeping daughter. Falling asleep and was out until eleven when his daughter woke up and jumped on his stomach. Telling him to get up. He lazily opened one eye. "Morning Starla." he says sleepily. Starla looks at her father. "Daddy I wan pancakes." She says hopefully. Nathaniel nodded his head. Groggily standing up with his daughter in his arms. He made chocolate chip pancakes and put the piled high plate on the table. Picking his daughter up and puts a pancake on a plate. Cutting it into smile bites for her before hand her the kids fork. Sitting down he goes to eat his own pancakes. Pouring syrup over her pancake.

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Expect the Unexpected

Name: Rose
Age:20

Rose sat in her house sitting in the sofa flipping through an old family scrapbook a smile on her face as she closed it and got up to put it away as one picture came out. She bent down to pick it up and turned it over to see an old faded picture of the house. She smiled and let out a faint breath looking at the back as it had the address on it and tapped her cheek, she did have two weeks off. She then looked at the picture again before taking her phone purse and jacket and began to drive to her old house. She loved that house, it was where she built up. She drove and drove out of the city limits as the snowy continued to fall. She didn't want to stop until she got where she was trying to go though the snow was just awful and had no choice to pull into the nearly parking lot and let out a breath. She had no idea where a hotel was so she grabbed the blanket and crawled into the backseat drifting into a somewhat restful sleep.

She awoke the next morning to someone on the highway honking the horn. She rubbed her eyes and stretched and looked at her watch to see it was 6:30 a.m. She climbed back into the front seat took out some gum to freshen her breath and brushed her hair before driving back out into the highway and made her way to the house. She looked at the street sigh and she smiled happily as she entered the city limits.

Not to long after she entered the city limits and smiled happily turning left and driving up to a house... her old house. She turned off her car as the snow continued to fall and she walked up to the house and then knocked on the door shivering a bit as the snow continued to fall and waited for someone to open the door. While she waited she pulled out the old faded picture and smiled.

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Nathaniel and Starla lived in a small town. Just on the outskirts so he had a bigger yard than most did. He was helping his little girl eat when he heard a car pull up into the gravel driveway. That is odd...why would someone pull into my drive? Not anyone I know of knows me that well. Most would just leave their car on the edge of the streets. He hears a knocking on the door and smiles. "Starla eat very slowly." Starla nodded. "Otay daddy." He walked over to the front door and opened the front door. Leaving the screen door locked as he looked at her. "Can I help you?" The nineteen year old father asked. Starla hopped down out of her chair and ran over. "Daddy who is the pwetty lady? Is she fwiend of yours daddy?" He places a hand lovingly on his two year old daughters head. "No Starla. Daddy doesn't know who she is but I am willing to let her tell me." He says softly. Watching Starla eyeing the lady happily. He looked to the lady again. "What brings you to my door?"

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Expect the Unexpected

She looked up at the door that opened the door and looked at the male and smiled about to introduce herself with a little girl came up and spoke. Rose smiled her eyes going back to the male, "Hello, I'm Rose, um, I know you don't know me but this was my old house with I was a little child, my father built it just like my mother wanted....it's where I learned everything and where I did my homework, where friendships happened and long phone calls where made...where my first boyfriend broke my heart...well as you can tell this house means a lot to me and I was wondering if I could walk through it one last time? I wont take anything I promise." She looked at the little girl and knelt down getting to her level "What is your name little Princess? Your about the cutest little girl I have ever seen." She told her and would stand back up whenever the little one gave Rose the reaction and speak to the father again.

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He looked at her. His long blond strands tamed yet flowing wildly sexy and free down the front of his shoulders and down his back. Watching her as she talked. He believed her words as she said them. He listened to her talking. "Alright. Might as well come in out of the building storm anyways. It is only going to get worse." he says. Unlocking the screen door slowly. Starla looks at her when she kneeled down. Giggling cutely and shyly hugging her daddies leg. "Starla." She says after a long moment in a cute and shy little voice. Looking to her daddy. "Daddy she look like angel. Like those who live where mommy is at now." She says. Moving out of the way while staying attached to her father's leg. He looks at her. "She is my little princess." After the woman came in he saw the storm came down ten times as hard as it had. He was smiling. Shutting the door behind her. "I wouldn't recommend trying to leave any time soon. Would you like to join us in eating chocolate chip pancakes?" He offered. She seemed sad somehow. He picked up Starla and held her on his hip.

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Expect the Unexpected

She smiled "Oh thank you! I appropriate this so much! She told him looking up at him an smiled looking at the little girl,"Oh Starla what a lovely name."</i> she told her with a wink that county girl accent coming put more, and walked inside the home once he unlocked the door and looked around her old house and smiled looking at the stair case and looked at him and frowned, she really hoped the storm wouldn't last to long, she had a drive ahead of her and smiled nodding,[i] "Thank sounds very nice. Thank y'all." She told her and tucked her hair behind her ear and walked over into the kitchen. "Oh this room holds a few of my favorite memory." She told them looking around the room a smiled growing before she looked back at Nathaniel, "What can I do to help you make the pancakes?" She asked.

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He looks at her. "You are welcome. My name is Nathaniel. People around these parts call me Nate." he says softly. Listening to her accent. It was a sexy little accent but he was not looking. No he was nursing a broken heart of his own. His wife died a couple of years ago and he still wasn't over it. He nodded his head and lead the way with his little girl on his side. Starla looks at her and waves cutely. He sets his little girl in her chair. Looking at her and smiles. "Pancakes are already ready." he says. Pointing the the large stack of pancakes on a plate in the center of the table. He retrieves a fork and knife set from the kitchen and puts them with a plate in the space in front of Starla. He sits in his own seat and starts eating his pancakes. Looking at her smile. It was a beautiful smile. "Starla isn't much of a talker until she gets to know someone better." He explains as Starla was cutely giggling and smiling yet not saying anything else. The snow outside fell even harder. He blamed himself for that accident. If certain events hadn't happened his wife would still be alive and they would be raising their daughter together. He frowned and started eating to hide his pain that had showed in his expression. He looked at Starla. "Smaller bites and chew sweetie." Watching with a smile as his little angel did as she was told.

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Expect the Unexpected

She would take a seat at the table not taking any,pancakes where her favorite breakfast but she didn't feel right taking any food and she was not very hungry right now. She looked out the window at the piling snow and shook her head, "I'll call a taxi later soon to take me to the nearest hotel." She told him and smiled looking at Starla and smiled,"That does not bother me,I volunteer at the daycare and work the the children there so I'm used to it." She explained her hands in her laps as they ate and she looked at Starla and shook her head a little, she was so cute. Rose wasn't married or dating anyone actually she was a bit over looked where she was from, the guys just did not like her so she had given up on love, in her head, in her heart she was a hopeless romantic and longed for a family with a loving husband a wonderful house and a child running around and one or more on the way, that was her biggest dream. Though no guy woudl ever look at her that way.....right?

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He looks at her. When she didn't take any food he put a pancake on her plate. "My wife, when she was around (not dead), used to tell me eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." He says softly. He was caring about her in his own broken hearted sort of way. He shakes his head. "No taxi's are going to be out in this storm. It has gotten worse. Your best luck is to stay in one of the open rooms. You should find a room with woman clothing in it. I never got around to getting ready to let go of Lucia's clothing." He says softly. Watching the little girl eating. Starla looks at Rose. "Please eat. Daddy cakes are da best." She says cutely. Looking at her hopefully. He chuckles a bit. "They aren't that good Star." he says softly. Star was his nickname for his little angel. He looked at her and wondered why she didn't have someone with her. She was beyond beautiful. Appeared to be naturally so. He sighs a bit. "Miss her still. Been two years and I haven't gotten over losing her." He says softly more to himself than anyone else. His blame for his wife's death was two fold. His wife had turned out to be pregnant with another baby. Only a couple of weeks along but Starla had been six months at the time. He felt the guilt that he, in his mind, caused the deaths of two people. He sighs a bit. Looking at her. "Why aren't you here with someone? If I was dating someone like you, sweet natured and beautiful, I wouldn't let them out of my sight. Would want to be with them as much as possible." He shakes his head. Starla looks at Rose. "Daddy cries. Mommy went to live with the angels and daddy misses mommy." The little girl said innocently He, however, said nothing to that comment. He was a broken toy which could not be fixed...right? He looks at Rose. "I am glad you came by though. Maybe you could help me with Starla while you are here Rose. You are going to be stuck here at least until the storm ends. Your car is already buried in snow." He points to the window.

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Expect the Unexpected

She listened to them both talk and bit her bottom lip, maybe this was a bad idea. She took the next pancake on the stack and put some butter on it and took a small bite,"These are really good but you know you can make them better if you use a few less chocolate chips and sprinkle a touch of cinnamon in there and add some powder sugar on top.....they are divine that way or if you don't like cinnamon you can always add peanut putter on top on you pancake. That is how my dad ate them." She said with a light laugh and looked out at her car and sighed, "Oh no, I need to get my bag out of there.....I keep an extra bag of things in my car in case things like this happen but if my car is covered in snow I can't get it out.I at least need to get my laptop and e-mail my assistant manager and tell him he will nee to cover the daycare for me since I'm not in town and I'm snowed in." She said taking a bit her her pancakes and took a sip of her drink wrinkling her nose a bite, it was store bought orange juice, she wasn't used to that but she did not let it show.

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He watched her bite her lower lip. Frowning as she did. Returning to normal and smiles. "Thank you. Less chocolate chips, touch of cinnamon and powdered sugar. Thank you. Starla will extremely love them then." He smiles a bit. "My dad drowned them in tons of syrup." He says with a small laugh. Though it sounded foreign to his ears. It was a true laugh. He frowns and shakes his head. "I will go get them." He says. Standing up and ruffles Starla's head. "Stay here with the nice lady. If she tells you something you are to listen to her okay Star?" he says. Watching her nod hish ead. He looks to Rose. "I'll be right back in. I am taller and thus won't be eaten by the snow as badly." He wrapped himself up in snow wear and yet still somehow looked sexy as hell. He walked outside in his shoes and shut the door. Making his way to her car. He checks the front door. Front passenger. Right back passenger. All locked. He lucked out on the last door. He opens it and pulls out the laptop bag and the big bag of things that was clearly clothing. Throws both over his shoulders and makes his way slowly back towards the house. Ten minutes later he is inside and shuts the door. Shrugging out of the clothing and everything. Back to his shirt and takes off the snow covered shoes. Brushing off his pants and heads over to her. Putting her bags on the far end of the beautiful table. Walking back over and eats the rest of his pancakes. Saying nothing as he resumed brushing the snow from his pants.

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Expect the Unexpected

She smiled "Thank you. She said and finished her one pancake and finished her orange juice and got up and washed her plate and dried it and turned to look at Nate, "Where do you keep the plates?" She asked blushing a bite and looked down, looking really pretty and would but it where it goes and would go and sit back down, "How long have you lived here? I left and moved to college at eighteen but I did not think that mom and dad sold the house." She told her with a smile and bushed her hair out of her face and looked out the window at the snow as it came down faster and harder. "Will you excuse me? I need to make a call to my work." She said and smiled getting up and took her phone and slipped onto the back porch and quickly called her assistant manager and explained the situation to him and hung up seeing a swing set that was hand made with rope and a wooden board. She looked at him and let out a breath walking over to it and touched the rope and saw a carving in the tree. She knelt down brushing the snow off the tree and saw the initials and BFF and shook her head letting out a breath a smile on her face and looked back at the swing set and sat on it remembering a few things getting lost in a memory.

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He stands up and picks up his now sticky daughter. Taking her over to the kitchen sink and sits her on the couter. "Cabinet by the sink." He says. The place they had been when she lived in the house. "My parents got the house from a friend of theirs. So I left things pretty similar to how they had been. Expecially in the kitchen." he says softly. Looking at her. "About two years...I think." He says softly. Taking her plate and puts it away. Listening to her and smiles a bit. He nodded his head and watched her. Washing Starla's hands and face. Playing the mr soap and ms. water game with her. Laughing with her he sets her on the ground again. He walked over to the back door. Calling out. "Might want to come in. Weather is getting worse." He was standing on the back porch.

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Expect the Unexpected

She closed he eyes and smiled.

"Daddy! Daddy push me higher!" A three year old Rose laughed as her father pushed her on the swing. She laughed and giggled and smiled seeing her mother come out with a tray of sandwiches and glasses and a pitcher of lemonade and she giggled,"Mommy! Look how high I'm going!"

She heard a voice and bushed the few tears away that rolled down her cheeks and looked up and nodded, "Okay." She said and got up looking back at the sing and walked inside "Be right back,clothing is wet and I don't want to get sick." She told him and let out a faint breath taking her bags and took them up to her room. She took off her clothing and up on skinny jeans and a blue shirt that showed just a tiny bit of her stomach if she bent over or reached up to far. She walked back down stairs and into the room with Nate and Star, "So now what are you two going to do?" She asked feeling a bit out of place being here and not in the family even if it was her old house. She looked at Nate noticing for the first time now down right sexy he looked and blushed at the thought and quickly pushing it out of her mind knowing it would only end in heartache for her and she did not need more of that in her life.

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Nathaniel watched her brushing away a couple of tears that had made their way down her cheeks. Watching her go inside after looking at the swing. He followed her inside. Seeing his daughter Starla playing house with her baby dolls he looked back at Rose. Nodding his head. "Alright." He waited and was playing house with his daughter. Long strands of hair pooling on the floor. He stoood up when he heard Rose returning. He looked at her and realized just how sexy she really was. He had already seen how beautiful she was but now he noticed her sexiness. He quickly adverted his gaze. A faint blush on his cheeks. It had been so long since he found interest in a woman. He was far from a virgin but it had been two years...maybe three...since he last paid attention to the looks of a woman. He smiles at her. "Invite you to play house with us." He says softly. "Starla is the mommy. I will probably end up wearing her dolls bib again since she'll dub me the baby." He says with a laugh. Starla giggles and looks at Rose. "Pway house wif us?" She asks cutely and hopefully. Nathaniel was not the type to hurt a woman in any way but he was not whole. It was his fault...they argued and the result was she was no longer in his life. His baby girl had no mommy and that was his fault. He was happy that Rose was here. Give his daughter some female interactions. He rubs the back of his head. "If you want to I mean. After all you don't really know us but we like to make people feel at home. Since you are gonna be here for a while due to the snow storm we wanted to treat you like family." He was embarressed and feeling ackward yet was genuinely wanting to include her.

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Expect the Unexpected

She looked at him and smiled,"Okay I'll play." She said with a smile sit next to Starla pulling her shirt down only to have it come up again. She looked at Starla, "Who will I play sweetie?"[i] She asked with a smile and sat with her legs tucked under her and looked at Starla she looked at Nate and giggled at what he said,[i] "I never have played hose before....I don't have any kids or a boyfriend....I am pretty overlooked back home so I dunno, I don't ever think I'll ever have a family....no matter now much I want one." She shared the last part was said very low but Nate may have heard she didn't know. She would smiled to Starla and try her hardest to hide the sadness and pain that was building up for years.

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Nathaniel smiles and adverted his gaze respectfully but had mentally noted how soft her skin looked. She looked soft and warm. He wished he could hug her just to feel her softness and warmth. Quickly squashing the thought as he had no right to be thinking such thoughts. She wouldn't want to stay with a single father and his daughter...right? She might have a life back home. Starla looks at her. Getting up and walks over to the hat rack. A cowboy hat lay on the ground. She picks it up and walks over to Rose. Putting it on her head. "You get to be daddy. I get to be baby. Daddy is mommy." She says with bubbly giggles. Hugging Rose. "Tanks for pwaying wif us." She was happy. Nathaniel was a bit flustered but laughs. "Okay. I shall go get some dress up clothes." He says with a laugh.

Leaving the room and returns with a large nightgown over his clothing. It was made for sexy off the shoulderness. On him it was a bit like a dress. He had a head band in his hair. Laughing. "How do I look Starla?" Laughing as Starla thumbs upped him. He kneels down next to Rose. "Hope I don't look too silly to you. For my little girl I will dress up any way to make her happy." he whispers to her. His face a bit pink. He just hoped she didn't think him weird.

He listened to Rose as she talked. "You are playing house now...you don't?" He looks at her quizzically. "The guys back home must be blind. You seem like the best catch a guy could ever hope to get. Kind, sexy, honest, genuine, warm...amongst many other positive things. If I was a guy someone would want to date....if I was whole...I would want a girl like you. I mean...I would as a girl like you out...if I wasn't so broken inside." He whispered the if I wasn't broken inside part but it was still able to be hear. He frowns at her next words. "You will have a family one day. If I could get up the courage for someone of such beauty inside and out...I would snatch you up and never let you go." He realized what he said and turned bright red.

Starla giggles. "Daddy looks funny..." she says. Laughing hard but smiles. "House time now." She puts on the babies hat that was a tie under the chin type, the bib, and some socks that went all the halfway up her legs because her daddy used them for booties on his feet.

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Expect the Unexpected

She looked at Starla as she said she was the father and she looked at her before realizing shes was serious."Oh uh okay doll." She told her and looked at Nate and listened to him looking down and slightly away as he spoke and caught every word and looked at him putting her finger under her chin and had him look at her if he didn't fight it and she smiled."Maybe this female wants to help put you back together again.And for the record I think your a loving father and I think it's sweet that you will do that is very nice." She told her and looked at Starla, "Okay doll, what do you want us to do first?" She asked with a smile that country accent coming out again as she bent over the shirt showing off a little more of the sun kissed skin not that she minded or meant for that to happen.

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Nathaniel chuckled a bit. His daughter Starla just saw things from a different perspective. She liked to play where people saw things from a different point of view. She was a creative little kid and was probably trying to make a point but he rarely ever understood his little girl's meanings. She never chose to explain them if he didn't understand them. She touched his chin with her finger and felt his head moved to look at her. He blinks and looks at her. Seeing her smile and felt something rush through him too fast to recognize. All he recognized was that it felt good. He blinked a bit again as her words registered. She wanted to help fix his broken toyness inside? He was a toy which could not be repaired or fixed...or so he lead himself to believe. He was a toy that didn't deserve to be repaired or fixed. He looks at her. Flushing a bit at her words. "I love my little girl." He says in agreement. Rubbing the back of his head in embarressment. Glad she didn't think him a weird man for it. A smile on his face though. Starla looks at them both. Smiling and claps her hands together. Jumping up and down in excitement. Running over to the toy box and pulls out a babies puzzle and some blocks. "We build the garden wif puzzle. Then we build the walls wif the blocks. Make tiny house." She says cutely. Running over to them with the stuff. Setting it down between them. "Then we play wif my kitchen." She points to the toy kitchen and toy food and stuff in the left corner of the room. Nate smiles as he noticed her accent and the skin. He felt a flutter of something before he adverted his gaze. "This male wants to help you heal. To make it so your smiles never fade." he says softly after a long pause of silence.

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Expect the Unexpected

She listened to Starla her eyes a bit bigger as she heard the whole list of the things she wanted to do and laughed nodding, "Then lets get started honey." She asked with another giggle and followed her before stopping and looking at Nate and her bottom lip quivered a bit, "W...what did you say?" She asked turning around fully to him clearly taken back by what he said to her. "P...please excuse me...." She said and running up the stairs and shutting the door sitting on the floor on the other side of the door tears rolling down her cheeks. Nobody was ever that nice to her....or that interested in her and she didn't know how to handle it.

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