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Chapter 2

Wednesday Evening, September 16th

As Lee maneuvered the Jeep through the city streets, he tried to ignore the worry he was feeling regarding their current assignment. Although he loved a challenge, he didn’t like the idea that the biggest piece of the puzzle for this particular case was so hard to uncover, especially when that piece was putting his family in jeopardy. He had checked in with a few of his contacts at the CIA and with T.P. Aquinas but, at the moment he still had no information on Project Christmas other than what they already knew, which was pretty much nothing. He knew that Jack Bristow was in charge of it and that was all. Lee had hoped that he could get more from his CIA contacts but they turned out to be a dead end. T.P. on the other hand, had heard the name and said he would look into it but it may take him a while. T.P. had always been a very reliable source in the past and somehow he always managed to find things hidden under the most remote rock. He could only hope that T.P. would be able to find something for him this time too and, if he was really lucky, T.P. might be able to give him some information before they pick up the Bristows from the airport tomorrow.

As he waited for the light to change, he stole a quick glance at his wife. With nothing more to do at the office, they were heading home to have dinner with the family. God how he loved the sound of that word: family. He was part of a family, even if they didn’t know what his official place was. He knew that Phillip really loved having him around. His eldest stepson had not only told Amanda that on more than one occasion, but had even told him that as well. Jamie, well, his younger stepson was still warming up to the idea of having him around. Jamie may not have accepted him as easily as Phillip had, but at least the younger boy didn’t give him the cold shoulder or angry stares anymore. In fact, on more than one occasion in the last few months, Jamie had teamed up with Phillip for some two-on-one games of basketball.

Amanda saw the familiar dimple on her husband’s cheek and knew all too well that he was wearing one of his famous smiles. “What are you so happy about?”

The traffic light had just changed to green and Lee pushed down on the accelerator to continue the journey towards home. “Honestly? I was thinking about Phillip and Jamie.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see her curious look. “This whole case, if you want to call it that, has me thinking. I mean, maybe this is fate’s way of telling us that our ‘mystery marriage’ is a stupid idea. We've spent the past seven months, since our wedding, trying to hide the fact that we’re married and now…now, we have to come up with a ruse for me to stay at the house, when, in reality, if we hadn’t gone along with my idea to keep all of this a secret, I’d get to sleep upstairs in bed with you, rather than in the living room.”

Amanda reached over and placed her left hand on Lee’s thigh. Squeezing it gently, she sighed. “I know. It really is ironic, isn’t it? After all, the house is technically half yours. You help me pay the mortgage and help me out with some of the other expenses of running the household. Although, as much as I appreciate the assistance, I still think it’s not fair to you. I spend quite a bit of time at your apartment, yet you’re still paying all of the rent.”

“A-man-da. We’ve been over this a dozen times. I’m your husband and I can afford it. I want to help.” Lee’s jaw clenched. He really didn’t want to start this argument all over again. He was well aware of the fact that Joe provided money in the way of child support and he had told Amanda on more than one occasion, now that they were married, he would be damned if she would use any of that money to help with the household bills. Joe’s money should be used for exactly what it was meant for: Phillip and Jamie.

Amanda patted his leg. “I know and I’m not trying to start a whole new discussion about it. I was simply trying to point out that it would be so much easier if everyone knew the truth. I mean mother just thinks I got a really nice raise, which isn’t entirely wrong. I did get a raise once I became a full-time agent but that’s not my point. The point is, maybe this is a test or maybe you’re right,” She started methodically massaging his leg, “and this is fate’s way of saying it’s time to end the charade and live like a real married couple should.”

“That idea does have some major benefits, doesn’t it?” Lee looked at his wife briefly, wiggling his eyebrows up and down before turning his attention back on the road. “Well, Billy is right, having the family know me, at least as your boyfriend, makes it easier to find a reason for me to stay at the house.”

Amanda chuckled. “You know, I don’t think we’ve done a good job of fooling Mr. Melrose. I bet it wouldn’t surprise him one bit if we told him tomorrow that we were, in fact, Mr. and Mrs. Stetson.” As the car turned the corner into her neighborhood, another thought sprang to her mind. “Lee,” she turned to face him, “I think we may have to come up with something other than spraying for roaches at your apartment.”

Lee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Why? I think that’s as good a story as anything.”

“Yeah, but I’ve used that excuse to get my family out of the house more than once, only it was termites not roaches and well that story’s only good to cover you staying at the house for a few days. We have no idea how long Mr. Bristow plans on being out of the country. He could be gone for a few weeks.” She removed her hand from Lee’s leg and began playing with her heart pendant.

Although, normally, his wife’s actions were a sign of nervousness, he also knew that, occasionally, when she was trying to come up with a clue or pattern, playing with the pendant seemed to help her draw some sort of conclusion or come up with the answer she was looking for. “Yeah, I guess we didn’t think about the length of this one.” As he turned into her driveway, an idea sprang to mind. “Amanda, I’ve got it. We’ll just tell them that my apartment got flooded. It’s going to take at least a week to rip up the carpet and repair any damage that was done. That way if Sydney needs to stay with us longer than a week, we can just say that the workman ran into complications. I’ll head over to my place after dinner, pack what I need and then come back to the house tonight.”

As the Jeep came to a complete stop, Amanda unbuckled her seatbelt. “I think that’s a brilliant idea.” She leaned over to kiss her husband on the cheek.

Lee, however, had other ideas and turned his head just at the right time, so that the kiss landed on his lips. Pulling her to him, the kiss intensified, until he accidentally leaned on the horn. The sound startled them both and they pulled apart. Laughing, they both exited the car.

As they met at the front of the car, they entwined their fingers and headed towards the back of the house. “Well, we’ve solved one problem.”

Lee looked over at his wife. “Okay, what’s the second problem?”

Amanda shook her head. “Well, my dear husband, now you get to face your first challenge as a parent. We get to tell our sons that they have to share a room for at least a week. Not to mention the fact that one of them will have to give up their room…”

“…to a girl.” Lee finished with her. “Yeah, I can see how that’s going to be a problem.”

Amanda squeezed his hand. “It’s all part of being a member of a family. Come on. Let’s go tell mother that we have not one, but two houseguests to prepare for.”

SMK a SMK a SMK

“Lee, can you pass the ketchup please?” Jamie asked as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“Sure, thing Champ.” Lee nodded as he handed the condiment to his youngest stepson. “So, Phillip, Jamie, your mom and I have a few things we wanted to discuss with you tonight.”

Both boys looked at each other, then in the direction of their mom. Noticing that she didn’t appear to be extremely excited, they wondered what exactly the news was.

Phillip looked directly at Lee. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

Lee shrugged. “I couldn’t begin to guess what you think this is about.” He heard Amanda clear her throat, and with her hand raised just above the table, she wiggled her fingers. Lee coughed slightly. “Um, no, it’s not.”
Amanda jumped to her husband’s defense. “Actually fellas, Lee’s apartment experienced a significant amount of water damage this morning and well, he needs a place to stay. We were both kind of hoping, that if it would be okay with you, Lee could crash here at the house. We can convert the living room into a temporary bedroom for him.”

Phillip looked at his younger brother, then in Lee’s direction. “I can’t speak for wormbrain, but I think it would be really cool to have you stay at the house.”

Dotty shook her head. “Phillip, don’t call your brother names, especially at the dinner table.” Then, looking pointedly at Lee, she added, “I do have to agree with Phillip that it’ll be nice having you here. Besides, we already consider you one of the family.”

Lee smiled and gazed towards Amanda. He had a very good idea what his mother-in-law was getting at and she was right, he was a member of the family. Once this assignment was over, things were definitely going to change.

Jamie nodded in agreement with his brother and grandmother. “Lee, it’s nice that you want to ask our permission but you’re here almost all the time anyway. We like having you around and it’s not like we use the living room anyway. We spend all of our time in the den. Besides, if you stay here, it means we’ll see more of mom.”

Phillip elbowed his brother. “Plus with you around, we outnumber the females 3-2.”

“Actually,” Amanda chuckled, “that won’t entirely be the case.”

Phillip looked accusingly at Lee, “Just because you’re dating mom, doesn’t mean you get to side with her on everything, does it?”

Before her husband dug himself a hole he would be unable to dig himself out of, Amanda continued, “That wasn’t what I meant, Phillip. A business associate of ours needs to go out of town and since he doesn’t have any family nearby, he asked me if his twelve-year-old daughter, Sydney, could stay here with us for the next week.”

Dotty watched as her youngest grandson’s features scrunched in thought. Taking a bite of her hamburger, she waited for the inevitable.

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Amanda smiled at her youngest son. Somehow it didn’t surprise her that Jamie would be the first one to figure out the next item for discussion.

Jamie looked at his mother suspiciously. “If we’re going to turn the living room into a temporary room for Lee, where exactly is your friend’s daughter going to be staying?”

“What are you talking about du…Jamie?” Phillip stared at his brother, confusion written on his face. “She can stay…” All of a sudden, the situation became clear to him too. There was no way his mother was going to let this girl stay on the couch in the den for a whole week. “Let me get this straight, you want one of us to give up our room, right?”

Amanda nodded. “I think that would be the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, it’s not like you guys aren’t used to sharing a room. You have to share one when you go to your dad’s.”

“But Mom, it’s not the same thing. I don’t want some strange girl staying in my room.” Phillip whined.

Jamie laughed. “Oh, what, its okay for you to sit really close to Linda at the snack stand at the arcade, but it’s not okay for a girl to stay in your room?”

Phillip punched his brother in the arm. “That’s not what I was getting at and you know it. Fine, if you don’t have a problem with it, I suggest you give up your room.”

Jamie rubbed his arm. “We don’t know anything about this girl and I have too much expensive camera equipment in my room…”

“Phillip, Jamie, that’s enough!” Amanda’s tone challenged her sons. “First off,” she pointed in the direction of her eldest son, “no hitting your brother. Secondly, I was hoping you two would be able to make the decision for me, but since you would rather argue the point, I’ll just decide which one of you is going to up their room.”

“Mom, that’s so unfair.” Both boys complained together.

Sensing the situation was getting way out of hand; Lee decided to add his two cents. “Amanda, can I make a suggestion?” Suddenly all eyes were focused on him. His wife raised her eyebrows and nodded. “What if we arrange some sort of contest, where the loser gives up his room.”

Amanda smiled. “You know, that’s a wonderful idea. It’s definitely not a solution I would’ve ever come up with. What kind of contest were you thinking?”

“Well, it would have to be something that both of you boys,” Lee looked from one stepson to the other, “are evenly matched at. Perhaps a one-on-one basketball game, I’d referee of course. Or perhaps there’s a board game you two are both good at.” He gazed in the direction of his wife, then towards his mother-in-law. “Do you ladies have any suggestions?”

Before either Dotty or Amanda could chime in, Phillip spoke up. “We could go down to the arcade at the mall. I think we’ve both had enough practice playing air-hockey that it might actually be an even match.” He looked over at his brother, who nodded his head enthusiastically.

Amanda looked at her husband then at both her sons. “I don’t know…it is a school night.”

Lee noticed the excited look on both his stepson’s faces. “What if we promise to only play one game and, no matter what the outcome of that game is, it will determine the winner and loser?”

Amanda sighed. Lee was just as excited as her sons. As she looked into her husband’s eyes, she couldn’t help but notice the innocence of the little Lee who longed to break free shining back at her. Not being able to say no, she nodded. “Okay, but just this once.” She smiled as the three males at the table began giving each other high-fives. Shaking her head, she looked from Phillip, to Jamie and then to Lee. “However, you must all promise me,” she gave her husband a pointed stare, “that it will be only one game and you’ll be home before nine o’clock.”

Phillip and Jamie looked at each other, than towards Lee. All three nodded in agreement.

A satisfied smile crept on Lee’s face. It may have been a little thing, but it was the first time he actually felt like a member of the family. “Good, now that that’s settled, how about we all help your mom and grandma clear the table. I need to run over to my apartment and pack a few things, and then when I come back we can head over to the arcade and let the games begin.”

Both Phillip and Jamie nodded and, grabbing their plates, they stood and headed towards the kitchen. Lee rose and gathered his dishes. As he started towards the kitchen, a hand on his arm stopped him. Looking over he saw that the hand belonged to his mother-in-law.

“You know, Lee,” Dotty whispered, “I have to say that you handled yourself quite well tonight. I think those boys could definitely benefit by having you around here as a permanent member of the family, not just as a guest for a short time.” Winking, she let go of his arm and followed her grandsons into the kitchen.

Although Dotty’s comment was not a new one, it definitely added to the theme of the day. Putting his plate down, Lee gently grabbed his wife’s arm as she started to pass him. As she turned and locked eyes with him, he took her dishes from her and put them on the table next to his. Looking over his shoulder to make sure the family was out of earshot, he leaned down and whispered, “You know Mrs. Stetson, your mother is right.”

Amanda wrapped her arms around him. “I know. I definitely think someone is trying to tell us something.” She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Feeling him tighten his arms around her, she pulled back. “Come on, let’s get the table cleared so you can run your errand and get home that much sooner.” Her husband responded by bending down and placing another kiss on her lips.

“Ugh! I think I want to change my mind. If you guys are going to do that all week, maybe Lee should stay at a hotel instead.”

Lee let go of Amanda as they both turned to see the teasing look on Phillip’s face.

“Just kidding, guys. But seriously, I thought we were all supposed to be clearing the table?” Phillip gave his mother and Lee an accusatory stare.

Amanda smiled. “We are, but I was just thinking that Lee should leave the clean up to us so that he can get back here that much faster.”

Jamie re-entered the room and nodded. “Go on, Lee, we can manage. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can beat Phillip.”

Lee noticed Phillip opening his mouth to retort and quickly jumped in to diffuse the oncoming battle “Are you guys sure?” Both his stepsons nodded. “Okay, I guess that’s settled then. I’ll be back before you know it.” He grabbed Amanda’s hand and led her towards the front door. “I just realized something.” He smiled at her. “It’s going to be wonderful not to have to say goodnight on the doorstep at night.”

“No, now we get to say goodnight at the bottom of the stairs instead.” Amanda caught the mischievous gleam that sparkled in Lee’s eyes. “Don’t be getting any bright ideas about sneaking up to my room at night either.” Lowering her voice, she added. “At least not while Sydney’s here.” She winked and saw him smile. “Seriously, though, I’ve been thinking about it and it actually makes perfect sense that you’ll be on the ground level, it’ll be easier for you to hear any noises down here.”

Lee knew she was right, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t find a way to enjoy living under the same roof at least a little. Leaning down, he captured her lips again. As the kiss ended, he let go of her hand and opened the door. “I’ll be home before you have a chance to miss me.” As he closed the door behind him, a sudden sense of urgency came over him. He couldn’t wait to pick up the stuff he needed at his place and get back home. Suddenly, the idea of calling Amanda’s house ‘home’ felt so right. This was home, no matter where he would be sleeping.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda looked at her watch and sighed. It was nine-thirty. She wasn’t worried, she trusted Lee with the boys. However, she was concerned that they were running late. It was a school night and it took the boys a good half-hour to forty-five minutes to get ready for bed. She knew that one of her sons would be extremely excited about the outcome of tonight’s competition and would want to share the excitement delaying bedtime even more.

Getting up, she moved to the television in order to change the channel. She had been watching a very boring documentary. Well, she hadn’t really been watching it. After they had gotten the pullout bed in the living room ready for Lee, her mother had gone upstairs to take a bath. Amanda had then gone to her room and made space in her dresser and closet for some of Lee’s clothes. Even though he wasn’t really moving in, it was a small gesture to let him know how much she really did want him there. It might make him feel more at home if he wasn’t living directly out of a suitcase. Once she had finished that task, she had come back downstairs. Since they had to wait until the outcome of the ‘game’ to determine which one of her sons’ rooms to put the cot from the attic in, Amanda had picked a book off the shelf and began reading it. She had merely left the television on for background noise.

Now, as she reached down to change the channel, she heard the sound of car doors slamming. Turning the television off, she quickly rushed back to her seat on the couch and picking up her book again, she pretended to be engrossed in the pages while anxiously awaiting the sound of the back door opening. She didn’t have to wait long before she heard the key in the back door.

“Mom! It was amazing. We know you said we could only play one game, but Jamie and I tied, we had to go into extra innings.” Phillip bounded in ahead of his brother and Lee.

“There are extra innings in air-hockey?” Amanda turned and looked at the faces of her sons. She then put on her best ‘you’re in trouble buster’ look and gazed in her husband’s direction.

Lee caught the look and wasn’t sure if she was really upset or just toying with him. Erring on the side of caution, he smiled sheepishly. “Well, sort of. It’s actually kind of my fault. Once the game began, we started making up new rules and before we knew it, we weren’t sure who had really won. So we had to start over and begin a whole new game playing with the original rules.”

Amanda rose from the couch and moved into the kitchen. “So who ended up winning?”

“Phillip did, but only by one point.” Jamie admitted as he shuffled his feet. “I guess it won’t be so bad, Lee was telling us that Sydney’s really smart, so maybe she’ll enjoy staying in my room better than Phillip’s anyway. Since I have all those books, she might feel more at home there than in Phillip’s room with all the sports stuff.”

Amanda approached her youngest son. Reaching out, she mussed his hair. “That’s a very grown up attitude, Jamie. I’m very proud of you.” Placing her hands on his shoulders, she turned him in the direction of the stairs. “All right, you two, time to head upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll be up to check on you in a few minutes.”

“Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Lee.” Both boys chorused as they dashed towards the stairs.

Just as Phillip reached the landing, he poked his head back around the corner. “Thanks, Lee. We had a great time tonight.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it too.” Lee waited till he heard his eldest stepson’s footsteps on the stairs before turning his attention on his wife. “So, how much trouble am I really in?”

Amanda walked up to her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Aw, you were never really in trouble. A phone call from the arcade telling me you were running late would have been nice, but I wasn’t worried.”

Lee put his arms around Amanda. Looking her in the eye, he bent down and kissed her nose. “I really enjoyed that. I need to spend more time with just the boys but, next time, I promise not to take them out on a school night.”

Amanda returned the embrace. “I couldn’t agree more. Having a strong male role model is exactly what Phillip and Jamie need. I mean Joe is a loving and attentive dad, but I’ve realized more and more over the last seven months just how much the boys are losing out from our ‘mystery marriage’. At the time it made sense, even if we told ourselves that the real reason was because of their safety. I think you being their secret stepfather has given you the confidence that you needed to feel like you truly belonged. Plus, these past few months have given Phillip and Jamie more time to get to know you and for you to grow comfortable around them. I don’t think we can use their safety as an excuse to keep living apart any more. I think they would…that we all would be safer, and happier, if you were here on a permanent basis.”

Lee bent down and placed a kiss on her lips. His reasoning for doing so was partly to end her Amandaramble, but mostly because her lips were so inviting. As the kiss deepened, he moved his left hand up and down her back. As he felt Amanda’s hand move to play with the hair on the back of his neck, he reluctantly broke the kiss. Since the boys were still getting ready for bed and Dotty had yet to make an appearance, he didn’t want to let things get too out of hand. Touching his forehead to hers, he tried to get his breathing under control. He smiled, as he noticed Amanda having the same problem. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be for me to fall asleep tonight?” He felt Amanda nod her head against his. “It’s hard enough saying goodnight to you and heading home to my apartment every night. However, knowing that you’re going to be right upstairs, rather than across the river…Amanda it’s going to take all my willpower to keep myself from sneaking upstairs and making love to you all night long.”

Amanda moved back a little and looked into his eyes. “I know, sweetheart, I know. We’re just going to have to do our best.” Leaning in, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I have a surprise for you.”

Lee raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. “Really?”

Amanda shook her head and laughed. “Not that kind of surprise. While you were gone, I made some room in my dresser and closet for you. I figure you might enjoy not having to live out of your suitcase while you’re here and this way you can use my room to get changed in.”

Lee tightened his arms around her. “Too bad I can’t sleep in your room as well.” He gave her a mischievous smile.

“I promise, sweetheart, we’ll make it happen, just as soon as this assignment is over.” Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Amanda reluctantly broke their embrace. Taking Lee’s hand in hers, she led him to the couch. “Let’s see if we can find anything on TV to take our minds off of our current predicament.”

Lee let go of her hand and went to turn on the television. Finding a local news channel, he moved back to sit on the couch beside Amanda. Preparing to place his arm around her, he stopped and turned his head when he heard clattering in the kitchen.

Dotty was moving around the kitchen preparing herself a glass of warm milk. “Lee, I don’t know how you did it but you wore those boys out. They were so exhausted, they didn’t even argue with each other as they shared the sink getting ready for bed.” She grabbed the bottle of Galliano from the cabinet above the fridge.

“We had a really good time.” Lee admitted as he wrapped his arm around Amanda’s shoulders.

Amanda cuddled closer to her husband. “I guess we’ll have to wait till tomorrow to move the cot into Phillip’s room.”

“Yes, you definitely can’t do that now. They must have fallen asleep the minute their heads hit their pillows.” Adding the Galliano to her milk, Dotty closed the bottle and put it back on its shelf. “Well, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, Amanda. Goodnight, Lee.”

“Goodnight, Mother.” “Goodnight, Dotty.” The couple said in unison.

As Dotty reached the bottom of the stairs she paused. Peering back around the corner, she added, “Oh and Lee, I just wanted to let you know how much better I’m going to sleep knowing that you’re here in the house. I always feel so much safer when there’s a man around.” Winking, she headed upstairs to her bedroom, hoping the couple would take advantage of the quiet household.

Amanda laughed at her mother’s lack of subtlety. “You do realize that isn’t going to be the last we hear about that, right? With you staying at the house overnight, the comments are going to keep on coming.”

Lee nodded. “I know.” Turning his head towards her, he realized, not for the first time this night, exactly how right this felt. “Your mother’s right, it is much safer with me here, even if they are unaware of the real reasons.”

Amanda turned and noticed the sincerity in his eyes. “I agree with her, too. I feel so much safer knowing you’re here. Not just for our safety, but because I know you’re safe too. I worry about you, just as much as you worry about us. Probably more so. I hate the fact that you have to go home to an empty apartment. I know that sometimes it’s nice to have your own space, especially after a full day with the boys and my mother and me.” Seeing Lee open his mouth to comment, she placed a gentle finger on his lips. “I love you, Lee. I also know you. I know how hard it’s going to be for you not to have a place to escape to. Even if there is really nothing wrong with your apartment, I think you need to act like it really is unavailable. Besides, I have a confession to make.” She smiled when he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “When you first suggested the idea of our mystery marriage and you said it was because we needed to think about the boys’ safety, I knew that wasn’t the whole reason.”

“Amanda…”

Amanda shook her head, “Lee, let me finish. We hadn’t even announced our engagement to anyone and yet you were jumping head first into plans for the future. You wanted to buy a big house with a place to raise horses and play baseball in the backyard. However, Khai’s situation made you realize that you weren’t ready to be a full-time part of the family. You knew that you couldn’t uproot the boys like that, especially since they hardly knew you. They had no idea you’d been watching them from afar for four years. I realized all of that, so I agreed with you. I wanted to marry you, to prove to you how much I loved you. I wanted you to know that I knew you were ready to commit to one person forever.” Placing her hand gently on his cheek, she looked lovingly into his eyes. “I think this case may be a blessing in disguise. We’ve been saying all day how the signs are telling us it’s time to end the charade, well now is our chance to find out how right they are. It’ll be good practice. I think this next week or so is going to give you the chance to experience first hand what it’s like to be a full-time member of this family.”

He nodded and, taking the hand that was on his cheek in his own, he brought it to his lips and placed a feather light kiss on her palm. It never ceased to amaze him how his wife was able to understand him, sometimes better than he understood himself. He hadn’t even really thought about the idea of ‘escaping’ if things got too tough, at least not consciously. Now that he let himself think about that fact, he knew she was right. He intently studied his wife as he processed what she had just said. Her confession just now, only confirmed what he had suspected all along, that she had agreed with his idea because for his sake. Back when he had suggested the idea of the mystery marriage, he was surprised she had gone along with it so willingly. Yes, it was true, the boys’ safety had played a huge role in his decision, but truth be told he’d been scared. He had been scared of being part of a family again and afraid of what he could lose. He realized he was missing out on so much by not being a permanent member of his family. Now, however, he was more than ready to let go of his fears and he was going to prove that, not only to himself, but to Amanda and the boys as well. The Agency was giving them the perfect opportunity to be a real family.

“Just when I think I couldn’t love you anymore than I already do, you do something that makes me do just that. I love you so much, Amanda Stetson.” Lee whispered huskily as he leaned over and captured her lips with his own. He pulled her closer to him and placed his free hand on her waist. His wife swung her legs over his and wrapped her arms around him.

As the kiss deepened, Lee knew there was no way he was letting go of her tonight. Moving his arm between Amanda and the couch, he maneuvered himself so that he could easily lift her up. Reluctantly he broke contact with her lips as he carefully rose from the couch with his wife in his arms. Before she had a chance to protest he kissed her again as he carried her towards his makeshift bedroom in the living room. Entering the room, he closed the door between the den and the living room with his foot and said a silent prayer of thanks when it didn’t slam shut. As he laid her on the bed, he saw the passion in her eyes and knew that it would be well into the morning before his wife made it to her own bed.
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