Chapter Nine
Sunday Evening, September 20th
Amanda pulled the Corvette into her driveway and, after putting the vehicle in park, turned to look at her son. “Phillip, please try and remember what we discussed. I know most of what you’ve been saying has all been in fun, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t really bother Sydney too much, but it does bother me; so please try your best to lay off the ‘boys are better than girls’ comments.”
Phillip nodded reluctantly as he removed his seatbelt. “I promise.”
Amanda smiled. “Good” She was just removing her own seatbelt when a knock on the passenger window made her jump and almost hit her head on the low ceiling of the car. Glancing in the direction of the noise, she saw one of the neighborhood boys peering in at them.
Phillip quickly opened his car door. “Hey, Andy.” He greeted his friend as he climbed out of the Corvette.
“I thought that was you in the passenger seat.” Andy leaned into the car and waved. “Hey, Mrs. King. Nice wheels. Is this a new car?”
Amanda shook her head, but before she could reply, Phillip answered for her. “Nah, it’s not ours. It’s my mom’s boyfriend’s car. Isn’t it awesome.” He gave the roof a loving tap as he gently shut his car door.
Andy began walking around the car, eyeing it appraisingly and stopped when he reached the front of the car. “Mrs. King, would you mind popping the hood? I’d love to see the engine.”
Amanda gathered her purse and the packages from the floor on the passenger side. As she opened her car door, she shook her head in response to the pleading look on the young boy’s face. “Sorry Andy, but since Lee’s not here, I’d think it’s best if you both stayed away from the car.” Climbing out of the ’Vette, she shot her son a warning look.
Phillip motioned to Andy to follow him to the fence. “Yeah, Lee’s way protective of this car and I don’t blame him one bit. If it were mine, I’d be the same way, although I’d make a few minor adjustments to it, you know, give it more performance power.”
Andy nodded in agreement as he joined Phillip over by the white picket fence. “Yeah, can you imagine what that car could do with the right adjustments?”
Amanda stood beside the car watching the two boys as they admired the car from a distance, and debated what she should do. She was anxious to get inside and start dinner, but was a little hesitant to leave the two boys alone with her husband’s baby. She trusted Phillip, and knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Lee’s car; however, she didn’t entirely trust Andy Kaskill, the boy had a knack for finding trouble.
“So, what’s up?” Phillip asked as he turned to look at his friend.
Andy’s face beamed as he nearly jumped out of his shoes. “My parents just bought me a bullfrog and a snapping turtle. I came over to see if you wanted to come by and see them.”
Phillip pushed off the fence and looked pleadingly over at his mother. “Can I, Mom? Please?”
Amanda nodded reluctantly. “Okay…but be back in half an hour, it’s almost dinner time.”
“Great! Thanks Mom.” Phillip was halfway down the driveway, with Andy at his side. “See you in half an hour.”
Amanda chuckled as she watched them running down the sidewalk. “When will the Kaskills learn? That boy can’t keep a pet alive for more than a week.” Making sure that the car was locked, she headed towards the back yard. As she walked, her mind wandered back to a year ago when Jamie had told her about the live toad Andy had swallowed. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed since that day. One minute she was standing in her kitchen telling her mother and son that federal agents might be coming by to question them, and the next she was climbing out her bedroom window with the man who had just declared his love for her. Now, she was secretly married to that man and they were seriously considering becoming a full-time family; a role that he was getting a good amount of practice in adjusting to this week. She quickened her pace, anxious to find her husband and apologize to him for overreacting the way that she had at the video store. After all, he was a guy, and to him that movie was the perfect guy bonding movie; however, he seemed to forget that her sons weren’t quite old enough for an R rated movie, not to mention the fact that there was a young girl who would most assuredly not enjoy that particular film. She was just getting ready to round the corner when she heard her mother’s voice.
“Close your mouth, Lee. You’ll catch flies with it wide-open like that.” Dotty chuckled softly as she watched her son-in-law quickly close his mouth. “I guess I saved the best question for last, didn’t I?” She said more to herself, than to Lee. Fixing him with a pointed stare, she tapped her fingers on the table. “Now, you’ve been more than gracious answering all the questions I had about your jobs, but I would have thought that this one would have been a lot easier for you to answer. Perhaps I didn’t ask it correctly the first time so let me try again. Just how long have you and Amanda been married?”
Rounding the corner just as Dotty had finished asking her question, Amanda nearly dropped the packages she’d been carrying. “Mother? Lee?” Wondering if she had heard her mother correctly, she looked quizzically from her mother to her husband. The shocked expression on her husband’s face confirmed that she had, indeed, heard correctly. She was now extremely thankful that Andy Kaskill had stopped by. She didn’t relish the thought of her son overhearing his grandmother’s question. It wasn’t that they weren’t planning on telling the boys about the marriage, she just didn’t want to spring it on them.
Both Dotty and Lee looked in her direction simultaneously. While her son-in-law’s expression couldn’t hide the relief he felt at seeing his wife arrive, Dotty’s gaze was fixed on her daughter, extreme interest written all over her face. “Amanda, you’re back just in time. I seem to have rendered your husband speechless…so maybe you can be kind enough to answer my question.”
Unable to move, Amanda just stared blankly at her mother. Desperately trying to make sense of the scene in front of her, she narrowed her eyes at her mother as a sudden realization dawned on her. “You were here Friday, weren’t you?” Finding the ability to walk again, she moved closer to the table, her gaze still fixed on her mother. “When Joe came over for lunch Friday, you were eavesdropping on our conversation.”
Dotty refused to be dissuaded so easily. “You didn’t answer my question, Amanda.”
“And you’re avoiding mine, Mother.” Amanda removed her gaze from her mother and glanced at her husband. Noticing how drained he looked, she moved to his side of the table and sat down next to him. “What’s been going on here? I wasn’t gone that long, and you look exhausted.” She then looked back at her mother. “How long ago did you get back?”
Lee spoke for the first time since Dotty had dropped the bombshell on him. “She arrived home not long after you left with Phillip.” His forehead creased in concern as he looked back towards the direction Amanda had appeared. “Where is he, anyway?”
“Andy Kaskill stopped by and wanted to show off his new pets.” Amanda heard her husband let out a brief sigh of relief and knew what he was thinking; it was the same thought that had occurred to her just moments before. She turned her attention back towards her mother. “Now, can someone please tell me why we’re sitting outside on the patio, having this…discussion?”
Dotty reached over and patted Lee’s hand, where it still rested on the table. “Your husband has been kind enough to fill me in on exactly what you’ve been doing the last few years, darling.”
Lee gave his wife an apologetic look as her head snapped in his direction. No words were needed; he could read the question in her eyes. He just shrugged, and shook his head. “What can I say, I let my guard down.”
Amanda took his hand in hers. Her mother had to have been pretty determined to get the great Scarecrow to drop his guard like that. “Oh, boy.”
Dotty watched the exchange with interest and wondered why it had never occurred to her before now just how well these two seemed to know each other. It was almost as if they could read each other’s thoughts with just a look. Knowing that her daughter had actually known Lee Stetson for four years, that idea probably held a lot of merit. “Ahh-hmmm.” Two pairs of eyes turned in her direction. “Now that I have your attention, I think my question deserves an answer, don’t you? When did you two get married?”
Amanda sighed and felt Lee squeeze her hand encouragingly. “We were planning on telling you.” She saw her mother raise an eyebrow. “Honestly, Mother, we were. Lee and I have been discussing coming clean for a while now. We both decided that we would be much happier if we started living like a real family. We’re tired of living apart and lying to everyone. We want to let everyone know just how much we love each other and that we’re husband and wife. We were waiting until a few things were taken care of…well taken care of isn’t really correct. More like waiting until things got back to normal.” She felt Lee squeeze her hand again, and realized she’d been rambling.
Dotty glanced briefly into the house, before turning her attention back on her daughter. “You mean, once Sydney goes home?”
Amanda turned her attention towards her husband. He nodded and she returned her gaze back on her mother. “Just how much of my conversation with Joe did you overhear, Mother?”
Dotty shrugged. “Most of it, but you still haven’t answered my question, Amanda. How long have you two been married?”
Amanda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “We’ve been married since February.”
“February!” Dotty started counting back on her hand. “That was…that was seven months ago. You’ve been married for seven months and you didn’t want to share this exciting chapter of your life with me?” She stared at them both in disbelief. Then suddenly she remembered the horrible event that had taken place during that time and her voice grew more subdued. “Oh my…that was when you were…” Looking sadly at her daughter, she gave her son-in-law’s hand a loving squeeze. “What a horrible way to start your life together.”
Lee looked at his mother-in-law with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He let go of Amanda’s hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. The mere mention of California had him finding any way possible to reassure himself that his wife was alive. “I came close to telling you back in the hospital, Dotty, I really did, but I just didn’t feel comfortable telling you something like that. You didn’t really know me all that well, and under the circumstances I didn’t think it was the right time to tell you that I had just married your daughter.”
Amanda wrapped her arm tightly around her husband. The ghosts of that day still haunted him, almost as much as they haunted her. Every time she looked at the scar on her chest or had another argument with him because he was being overprotective, she was reminded of how precious her life was.
Dotty saw the haunted look in her son-in-law’s eyes and glanced in her daughter’s direction. “Amanda were you…well was what happened to you really just a freak accident or was it because of something related to your jobs?”
Lee placed his hand over Dotty’s and squeezed it lightly. “It’s not what you’re thinking. What happened that day had absolutely nothing to do with Agency business. We really were just in the wrong place at the exact wrong time.”
Dotty watched Amanda nod in agreement before turning her attention on her son-in-law. “Well then why did you disappear from the hospital for such long periods of time? At the time, I never gave it much thought, but with everything I learned today…well I’m really curious, if it had nothing to do with your jobs…”
Lee removed his hand from Dotty’s and ran it through his hair. “It’s kind of complicated.” A feeling of warmth spread through him as his wife moved closer to him and placed her hand on his thigh, gently squeezing it in support. “Let’s just say that I’m not the type of person who can just sit on the sidelines and wait for the answers, I have to be out there, doing something especially when it concerns your daughter.” He felt his wife squeeze his leg again and turning, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He was glad she was here for this part of the conversation. “She’s my life, Dotty. I had to find the person responsible.” Tightening his arm around his wife’s waist, he took a deep breath and tried to get the images of her lying in that hospital bed, fighting for her life out of his head. “Anyway, as I started asking questions, I found out that a friend of Barney’s was trying to uncover a counterfeit gold scheme and we had gotten caught in the cross-fire.”
“Barney…I remember meeting him at the hospital. He was that really nice man who came by to visit Amanda a couple of times. He’s a friend of your uncle’s, right?” Dotty watched her son-in-law nod in agreement.
“Right. Barney was more like a dad to me than the Colonel ever was. So when I found out that Barney’s friend was in over his head, I decided to help. Besides, it gave me something to keep my mind off of other, more unpleasant, things. I couldn’t just sit around waiting, doing nothing. I’d have gone crazy. Does that make sense?” Lee looked at his mother-in-law questioningly.
“I’ve seen the type of man you are, Lee, and knowing what you really do for a living, it makes perfect sense.” Dotty looked at him, a loving smile on her face. “So, did you end up catching the people responsible for what happened?”
Lee’s face beamed with pride. “You bet I did.”
“Good. Well, then…”Rising from her seat on the bench, Dotty walked around and kissed Lee on the cheek. “With all that I’ve learned today, I know how much you love my daughter and I’m sure it hasn’t been easy sacrificing the true joys of marriage to keep your family safe.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “Thank you for watching over this family, Lee.” She then moved over to Amanda and placed a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “I believe belated congratulations are in order.” She started heading for the door, then paused and looked back at the couple. “Just one more question and then I’ll go start dinner. You are planning on telling the boys, right?”
“Yes, Mother. We were planning on telling you and the boys, together. Now it seems we just have to let Phillip and Jamie know.” Amanda let out a small sigh. “We haven’t even told anyone at work that we’re married, and to be quite honest, neither one of us is looking forward to that.”
“It must be hard keeping your feelings a secret from your co-workers.” Dotty watched as the couple looked at each other knowingly. “Well at least I know I’m not the last one to find out about your little secret.” Putting her hands on her hips, she fixed them both with a pointed stare. “Are you going to tell the boys everything? I mean not just about the marriage, but about your jobs, too, right?”
Amanda nodded. “Yes, everything, well as much as we can. We both feel that they would be safer if they knew the whole truth.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Dotty sighed with relief, and reached for the doorknob. “Oh, just one more question.” Hearing Lee groan, she laughed good-naturedly. “I promise this time.”
Amanda just shook her head. “Go ahead, Mother.”
“You said February. Well what day in February? I want to mark it on my calendar so I can make sure you two get to celebrate your anniversary properly.” Winking, Dotty smiled at them.
“Oh…it was February 13th.” Amanda replied and, as the meaning behind her mother’s words began to register, her expression changed to one of mild embarrassment.
“You really couldn’t wait, could you? One more day and it would have been Valentine’s day.” Dotty laughed as she turned the doorknob and headed inside, closing the door behind her.
Amanda leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder. “Well that certainly explains everything.”
“You were right all along. When will I learn that I should never, ever, doubt my wife’s instincts?” Lee placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I want that in writing.” Amanda chuckled. “Seriously though, I’m kind of glad Mother knows. I just wish she hadn’t found out the way she did.” She pulled back a little so she could look at her husband. “I know we hadn’t really discussed it, or maybe we did, I can’t remember anymore, but I want to tell the boys everything, Lee.”
Lee nodded in understanding. “I figured as much. I agree with what you told your mother, they would be safer if they knew everything. We can arrange for them to take Agency classes in awareness, and I can teach them the finer points of self-defense.”
“I also don’t want them to accidentally find ours gun, Lee.” The worry was evident in her eyes.
“Amanda, I would never…”
Amanda put a finger to his lips. “I know, and we’ll make sure your gun and mine are locked up when we’re home. It really hasn’t been an issue especially since my gun is at your apartment. But once you move in, it’ll be here too and there’s always that one time when something happens and we forget…well I just don’t want them to get curious. If we show the boys our weapons, tell them how dangerous they are, and make sure they’re locked away when we don’t need them…” She glanced briefly at her husband’s side where his gun holster usually was. “Lee? Where’s your gun now? I mean I know you don’t have it on you, well I mean you have your back-up around your ankle, but, well where’s…”
“When it’s not on me, I’ve been locking it away in a strong box that I’ve been hiding under the pull out couch.” Lee pulled his wife closer. “Trust me, I don’t want anything to happen to them either. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that things change just enough, but not so much that the boys’ lives are disrupted too much.” Removing his arm from around her shoulders, he started to stand. “Come on, let’s go in and help your mother with dinner.” He extended his hand to assist her off the bench.
Amanda accepted his hand and stood up. “And I need to call Andy’s house and remind Phillip to come home. Boy, was I glad he wasn’t with me earlier.”
“So was I.” Lee let out a sigh of relief. “I’d had more than my fair share of questions from your mother and if I had to start all over again with another member of this family, I think you’d be checking me into the Agency clinic.”
Amanda laughed affectionately. “I’m sorry you had to go through that by yourself sweetheart. I wonder why my mother didn’t just wait for me to get home.”
Lee didn’t want to tell his wife that her mother didn’t think she’d get a straight answer from her daughter, so he stretched the truth just a little. “I guess she really wanted answers and couldn’t wait. She did mentioned something about wanting to know the truth from the source.” He caught the quizzical look his wife was giving him. “She guessed that I was the reason you got involved in the spy business and said something about going directly to the source.”
“Ah…so she really did have an ulterior motive. She wanted to corner the less experienced member of the family.” Amanda smiled knowingly. “I guess it’s safe to say you survived your first official West interrogation.”
Lee chuckled as he turned to face her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “The Agency could use someone like your mother, Amanda.”
Amanda swatted his arm. “Don’t you even think about it, Stetson!”
“Trust me when I tell you that I’m only joking. One West woman working for the Agency is more than enough.” Lee flashed her his famous Stetson smile. “But seriously, when your mother wants to know something, there’s just no denying her the information. Now I know where you get it from.”
“Ha, ha, very funny, Scarecrow.” Before Amanda could say anything else, her husband bent down and captured her lips with his own.
As they broke apart, Lee smiled again. “We better head inside before I forget where we are.” He winked at his wife.
Amanda rolled her eyes and began moving towards the door. Suddenly remembering their earlier argument, she grabbed Lee’s hand and stopped walking. Her action had the desired affect, and her husband stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her questioningly. “Lee, we need to talk about what happened earlier at the video store.”
Lee’s shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath. “Haven’t I been through enough today?”
“I know that love, but I think we should have this discussion before we go back in there.” Still holding onto his hand, Amanda led him back over to the picnic table. Sitting down, she leaned her back against the tabletop and, never letting go of her hand, her husband sat down beside her. “Remember, after that list fiasco, we promised each other that we’d get things out and into the open rather than let them fester. If we take the time, now, to discuss what happened earlier, then we can keep things from getting blown out of proportion when it comes back up later.” She smiled at her husband’s puzzled expression. “Trust me, the boys will bring it back up again, you'll see, especially since they'll want to share the experience with their grandmother.” Reluctantly she let go of his hand and shifting her position, she straddled the bench so she could look at her husband. “Anyway, I took the time, while running that errand with Phillip, to really think about what happened and I realized that you weren’t entirely to blame for the whole situation.”
Lee practically jumped from his seat and turned so that he was staring down at his wife with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean ‘entirely to blame’? If I remember correctly, you’re the one whose voice rose three octaves the minute I said yes to Phillip when he asked if we could rent that movie.”
“It did not rise three octaves.” Amanda folded her arms across her chest defiantly and then, at the sight of her husband’s raised eyebrow, she sighed and relaxed her posture. “Okay, so maybe I did overreact just a little.”
“A little? Amanda we’re lucky the manager didn’t kick us out. I finally backed down because I saw the look of embarrassment on the boys’ faces and was afraid Sydney was going to go running from the store.” Lee sat back down on the bench mirroring his wife’s position. “You would have thought we were arguing over a case the way we started trying to one-up each other.” He reached over and took one of her hands in his. “Look, I admit that looking back on it, Predator wasn’t the best choice in movies, but the boys’ seemed so excited about wanting to see it, and I remembered how much I liked it, I guess I responded without really thinking.”
“I’ll agree with you there, you really weren’t thinking. I saw the movie with you, remember?” Amanda smiled lovingly at him and gently squeezed one of the hands holding hers. “I’m sure things were a lot different for you when you were living with your uncle; you had a lot of rules and regulations, but I know from the stories you’ve told me that you got away with a lot of things that most teenagers don’t. I do my best to monitor the type of things that the boys watch, and that movie was definitely not appropriate for them or for Sydney.”
“And you’re a wonderful mother. I guess that’s part of the problem. I don’t know where I really fit in. All this parenting stuff is new to me. The Colonel acted more like my guardian than a parent. Sure he set down rules, which I usually broke, but he didn’t really look after me the way a mom or dad would.” Lee let go of his wife’s hands and slung his right leg back over the bench. Leaning back against the tabletop, he stretched his legs out in front of him, and closing his eyes, took a deep breath. “These past few days…living here, well I finally started feeling like a real member of the family. Maybe I let it go to my head, and for once I thought I was making a decision as part of the family rather than just trying to be the cool boyfriend. I guess I’m still trying to figure out just where I belong in this family.”
Amanda placed a loving hand on his shoulder. “You’re right, you are a member of this family and you have just as much of a right to make decisions as I do.” With her other hand, she took one of his hands in hers and linked their fingers. “I have a confession to make,” she looked down at their entwined fingers, “I think I overreacted because I’m so used to being the one who makes the decisions where the boys are concerned, I forgot that you have a say in their lives too. I also know that you’re torn between being the boys’ friend and being their stepfather, especially since they aren’t aware of that last part. It’s going to take time, and I plan on being there to help you every step of the way.” She squeezed his hand and gazed into his eyes. “However, it might be useful to remember that you need to think before responding the next time the boys ask you for something. One thing I’ve learned in my many years of experience,” she smiled and winked at him, “is that it helps to ask yourself if what they’re asking to do is a good thing for them or not. If you had stopped to think about the contents of the movie, you probably would have realized that in a few years they’d be mature enough to watch it, but right now, it’s not really all that appropriate.”
Amanda moved her other hand to his face and gently caressed his cheek. “I also don’t want you to feel like you have to check with me on everything, either.” She smiled when he turned and placed a kiss on her palm. “However, if you want to check with me before giving a definitive answer, no one can say you’re taking the wimpy way out. It provides a more united front and ensures that the old ‘but mom said I could’ or ‘but that’s not what dad said’ aren’t tossed around. Besides, I don't think Phillip and Jamie can get mad at you if you say something like it's ‘okay with me, but I want to make sure its okay with your mom’. Until they know that you’re their stepdad, they shouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
Lee leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Do you have any idea of how much I love you?”
Amanda rose and, stepping over the bench, reached out her hand to invite him to stand as well. “I have a pretty good idea.” As her husband wrapped his arms around her waist, she smiled at him. “You realize that once you move in, and officially become a member of the family, scenes like the one that happened earlier will happen more and more often. Hopefully, though, it won’t happen in a public place like it did today. I guess things were going just a bit too smoothly and something was bound to go wrong. Between mother’s sudden disappearance, the house being a little more crowded than usual, the issues surrounding Sydney, and the fact that we’re under the same roof and still can’t sleep together, well…something had to give.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I guess we didn’t realize just how stressful this whole situation was going to be. Ever since Billy dropped this case into our laps...” Lee bent his head and leaned his forehead against hers. “Between the number of lies we’ve had to tell, the lack of communication from Jack and this whole Project Christmas thing, everything just started adding up. We’ve been so focused on keeping Sydney and the boys safe that we’ve been suppressing a lot of the stress, trying to keep up the façade of things being normal, that I guess it crept up on us and hit us full force.”
“It sure did. I guess we need to figure out a way to release some of that stress.” Amanda shook her head slightly when she caught the mischievous glint in her husband’s eyes. “As much fun as that would be, I don’t see how we can get away with it. Even if mother does know we’re married, it’s not like we can just sneak off for a secret rendezvous, there’s too much at stake right now. But we’ll think of something. In the meantime, I promise to try and be a little more flexible when it comes to the boys, and not jump down your throat just because you agree to something that I wouldn’t normally agree to.”
Lee smiled endearingly. “Really? Can I have that in writing, because I don’t want you to turn around and throw it back in my face one day when I remind you of what you just said?” His smile turned into a grin.
“We’ll see. Now,” Amanda stepped out of his embrace, “as you suggested earlier, we should probably go help mother with dinner. Not to mention that if Phillip still hasn’t come home yet, I need to call over there and remind him of the importance of keeping one’s word.”
“That should be an interesting conversation. Is that anything like staying in the car? Because if it is, I might want to tape record the conversation.” Lee grinned as he jumped back, successfully avoiding the swatting arm of his wife.
Shaking her head, Amanda glared at him. “You’re incorrigible, you know that.”
Lee winked as he swept past her and headed for the door. “Yes, but you love me, and you know it.” He quickly opened the door and stepped inside.
Amanda just shook her head and chuckled. There were many things she loved about that man and many things that drove her crazy, but she wouldn’t trade him for anything. Fate had brought them together and their bond was so strong that only death would part them. Entering the house, she closed the door behind her and went to join her family.
SMK a SMK a SMK
Lee leaned back against the couch and, resting his arm comfortably behind Amanda’s shoulders, sighed contentedly. Rubbing his stomach, he turned his head towards the kitchen. “Dotty that was probably the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.”
Dotty placed the dishtowel over the drain board and shook her head. “Oh, Lee, you say that every time I make meatloaf for dinner.”
Lee chuckled and gave her his most charming smile. “Well, it’s the truth.”
Dotty smiled in return as she walked towards the couple. “Well, thank you.” Reaching the couch, she bent down and placed a kiss on Lee’s cheek. “I think I’ll head outside and keep an eye on the crew.”
Amanda nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, Mother. I’m not so sure we want to leave Jamie alone out there to referee.”
“Jamie’s probably too busy taking pictures of his brother getting beat by a girl to be an effective referee anyway.” Lee laughed heartily.
Amanda glanced over at her husband. “I was pretty surprised when he challenged Sydney to a rematch.”
Lee shook his head. “I’m not. I think he’s extremely impressed with how well she played yesterday. He probably just wants a good old game of one-on-one so he can figure out just how good she really is.”
Amanda smiled knowingly. “You and Sydney made a pretty good team, but I don’t think Phillip was too happy about being beaten by, how did he put it again, oh yeah ‘an old dude and a girl’.” She laughed as her husband glared at her. “Seriously though, I don’t think he wants to see how good Sydney is, I think he wants to prove how good he is.”
Dotty moved over to the counter and retrieved her book. “I think Sydney might have a small crush on Phillip.”
Amanda turned her head to stare at her mother. “Really, I would think Jamie would be more her type, besides the way she acts around them, I think she considers Phillip and Jamie more like brothers.”
Dotty laughed and shook her head slightly. “Oh, I think you’re wrong. I think she sees Jamie simply as a friend, someone she has a lot in common with. Phillip is the unattainable boy; you remember the type, the one who really doesn’t pay much attention to her. I remember a few boys you would talk about non-stop, and how you complained about the fact that they never paid any attention to you. I think it made them all the more appealing.”
Amanda’s cheeks started turning a little pink, her gaze still on her mother. “Mother…” Knowing how the mere mention of any man from her past, tended to make her husband see several shades of green, she glanced nervously at Lee. The hint of humor in his eyes, however, took her slightly by surprise.
When his wife’s expression changed from slightly embarrassed to one of curiosity, Lee leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I can’t imagine any guy not wanting to give you the time of day.”
Amanda elbowed him in the side. “Ha, look who’s talking. I remember a time when you would rather I was half way around the world, rather than sitting beside you.”
Lee shook his head vigorously. “That’s not true, I never minded your company. I just wanted to keep you at a safe distance for your own good. Can I help it if I was concerned about your safety?” Placing a kiss on her nose, he grinned devilishly at her. “You have to admit you have an uncanny knack for finding trouble.”
Glaring with mock anger, Amanda turned to face him. “Well it’s not always my fault, I blame most of it on you. You’re the one who brought trouble to my door in the first place.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault now is it?” Finding a very ticklish spot, Lee attacked his wife.
Squirming and laughing, Amanda moved back on the couch, attempting to evade her husband’s fingers. “You don’t play fair, Stetson.” Blocking one of his hands, she reached over and found a very ticklish spot on her husband.
Laughing, Dotty shook her head at the pair. If she didn’t already know they were married, she would have found this a perfect time to bring up that topic. “Uh, hmm.” Not getting a response, she cleared her throat again. “I realize the children are otherwise occupied, but you might want to put an end to this before it gets out of hand.” As if suddenly remembering that there was someone else in the room, both adults turned to look in her direction.
Still laughing, Amanda nodded towards her mother. “You’re right.” She then turned her attention on her husband, pointing a finger at him. “You keep your hands to yourself mister.” She took a calming breath. “Now, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, trouble. Speaking of trouble, have you talked to Mr. Melrose about a different cover for the babysitters.” Looking in her mother’s direction, she breathed a contented sigh. It felt good to be able to speak openly in front of her.
Dotty nodded enthusiastically. “Now that I know that they aren’t really from the phone company, I understand why that van is still sitting there; but you have to admit, in this neighborhood the fact that a crew from the phone company has been sitting in the same spot for more than a day, and doesn’t appear to be doing any work, is going to raise a lot of questions. Couldn’t they at least move to a different location, or have someone look like they’re actually doing something, anything, to the phone lines? Then again, maybe they are maintaining their cover, isn’t that what you spies like to say? Anyway maybe they are doing some kind of work during the day, when no one’s home to actually witness them doing something. You know the more I think about it, I suddenly recall a lot of different workman and crews setting up around this house. Just how many times have you had, what did you call them, babysitters, parked down the street?” She put up a hand and shook her head. “You know what, I don’t know if I really want to know. What I am curious about though, is what’s so special about the Cooperman house?”
“I don’t think there’s anything special about the Cooperman’s house, Mother.” Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose the Agency vehicles do sit in front of that house a lot, but it’s only because it’s usually vacant.”
“Well that’s another thing I’ve always wondered, why don’t the Coopermans just sell the place. They’ve had trouble renting that place for years. It must be hard to find renters who want to live in an established neighborhood where most of families have lived here for quite a few years.” Dotty studied her son-in-law curiously, as recognition suddenly dawned on her. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Sampson?”
Lee looked from Amanda, whose eyes had grown a little wide, to his mother-in-law. “Um…who?”
“Oh don’t try and deny it. From the look on both of your faces I can tell that my hunch was right.” Dotty laughed, humor dancing in her eyes. “I did a lot of thinking while I was making dinner and I realized just how many of the odd things that have occurred over the last few years suddenly began to make a lot more sense. Then, just now, when I was staring at your profile, I realized how similar it was to the one I remembered from the quick glimpse that I got of Mr. Sampson. So I took a chance that maybe, just maybe, that had been you. Certainly explains why you only stayed a few days. What kind of case could you have been working on that had you renting a house in this neighborhood, or did you just want to be closer to my daughter.” Her grin grew a little wider.
Positive that her husband was growing uncomfortable with the direction their conversation had taken, especially since she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it herself, Amanda cleared her throat. “I don’t know how, but we managed to get off topic.” She looked towards her husband, who had suddenly found the pattern on the back of the couch extremely interesting. “Getting back to the babysitters, Lee, mother’s right, the neighbors are starting to get curious. Mrs. Gilstrap stopped by yesterday and wasn’t exactly pleased that the phone company was still working, especially since she wasn’t even sure what work they were actually supposed to be doing. ”
Lee gave his wife a brief smile of thanks for the change in topics. He didn’t want to admit it, but Dotty probably wasn’t too far off base. He wasn’t sure when his feelings for his wife had changed from simple friendship to something more, but he had to admit that when he had rented the Cooperman house, he had felt a little closer to Amanda. Shaking his head slightly, he caught his wife staring at him expectantly. “I’ll mention it to Billy. Maybe he can come up with something else for the babysitters to do, something that won’t have the neighbors asking too many questions.”
“Especially since we don’t know how long we’ll need them.” Amanda then turned her attention on her mother. “You know, Mother, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” She caught the curious look on her mother’s face. “Now that you know the truth about everything, can you promise me that you won’t do any more eavesdropping? I don’t want you to overhear something you really shouldn’t.”
Lee nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Dotty. In the future, if you have any questions, please come to us. I promise we’ll do our best to give you a straight answer.”
Dotty looked from her son-in-law to her daughter. “I promise to do my best. I just wish you would have trusted me sooner, dear.”
Amanda lowered her head and sighed. “Oh, Mother. It’s not that I didn’t trust you,” she looked back up at her mother, “I just wasn’t allowed….”
Dotty raised a hand to stop her daughter’s explanation. “Amanda, Lee already explained it to me.”
The ringing of the telephone interrupted any further comment she was going to make. Moving over to the phone, she put her book down on the counter and picked up the receiver. “Hello? … Yes, he’s here. Is this Mr. Melrose? … I thought you sounded familiar … You know I never did get a chance to thank you for helping Harry Barrigan out, I realize I probably didn’t seem all that grateful at the time, but given our encounter the first time we met, I’m sure you can understand my hesitancy to accept your assistance … Yes, I’m sure it was all part of you doing your job. Oh, here’s Lee now … Same here, Mr. Melrose.”
Upon hearing his boss’ name, Lee had stood up from the couch and had begun heading towards the kitchen. Having heard Dotty’s side of the conversation, he knew that he was going to have a lot of explaining to do. As he approached his mother-in-law, he accepted the phone from her outstretched hand. “Hey, Billy, what’s up? … Well that’s a very long story and not one that I really want to get into right now. So is this a social call or is there something new we need to know about?”
Dotty picked her book back up and walked back towards the den. “You know it just occurred to me that Mr. Melrose has called here before. I wonder why I never made the connection between him and your job, especially after he invaded the house last year.”
Amanda took her gaze off her husband and turned her focus on her mother. “I don’t know how to answer that for you. Perhaps you just chose not to think about it to closely? You know, Mother, Mr. Melrose is really a very sweet man. He’s been a very good friend to Lee and to me as well.”
“Yes dear, I know.” Dotty nodded and glanced briefly at her son-in-law. “Lee already told me that I should meet him again under better circumstances. He seems to think that we would really hit it off. I’d like to believe that.”
Amanda smiled at the thought of her mother and Mr. Melrose in the same room when Agency business wasn’t involved. “I agree with Lee. I think you two would get along wonderfully, especially now that you know the truth.”
Dotty tilted her head as she thought about that prospect. Her brief conversation with Mr. Melrose just now had been very pleasant, still she didn’t know if she was ready to forge a lasting friendship with the man. “Considering the fact that he’s the one who ordered you to keep all of this a secret from your own mother, it may take me awhile.” She glanced back over at her son-in-law on the phone. “You know, I’ve been thinking about something…every time you would get a phone call and then run out of the house, dropping everything like the world was going to end if you didn’t leave right away, you were going to meet Lee weren’t you? I mean, now that I’ve gotten to know Lee, who can blame you.”
Amanda sighed, a tinge of pink creeping into her cheeks. “Mother, it wasn’t like that, at least not in the beginning. When I first starting working with Lee, I believed I was doing something important, so I was eager to get out there and help him. I will admit that it wasn’t just because I was excited about helping to make the world a safer place, I also knew how much Lee needed me, whether he wanted to admit it or not, which in most cases he refused to admit. But yes, it was usually Lee calling me and asking me to help him with some assignment.”
A knowing smile spread across Dotty’s face. “I always knew you were having a clandestine affair.”
“Mother!” Amanda began to protest. “I was not having an affair with Lee, and I believe I told you as much every time you suggested such a ludicrous idea like that.”
Dotty moved closer and patted her daughter’s arm gently. “You may not have been having a physical affair, dear, but you were having an affair of the heart, whether you want to admit it or not. The connection you and Lee share wasn’t built overnight. From what Lee’s told me, you two have been forging a relationship together for the past four years, and it’s clear that the foundation you’ve built is what’s going to make your marriage last a lifetime.” Turning, she headed towards the back door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I was going to go out and read, and see how badly Sydney is beating Phillip in that basketball game.” Grinning wickedly, she opened the door and disappeared outside.
Amanda shook her head and, laying her chin on her arm, she watched her husband talking on the phone. Maybe her mother was right. There had been some connection between her and Lee, even from that first day, and she had read her fair share of romance novels to know that affairs didn’t have to be physical. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her husband hanging up the phone. “Interesting conversation?”
Lee rolled his eyes. “I’m going to meet with Billy in the morning. I can drop Phillip off at school again and then head into the office. I’ll meet you at the middle school afterwards and fill you in.” He walked back into the den and sat back on the couch next to his wife. “He’s very curious to find out just what Dotty knows, and how she found out.”
“I don’t envy you that conversation. Speaking of my mother, she’s beginning to put two and two together. I think we should be prepared for a lot more of the Mr. Sampson type comments.” Amanda turned and, resting her head on the corner of the couch, she laid her legs across his lap.
Lee chuckled. “I’m not sure if your mother’s newfound memory is a good thing or not. If her earlier comment is any indication of what’s to come, I think I’m going to miss her not-so-subtle hints about marriage. Even though they usually caught me a little off guard, at least I was a little more prepared for those comments because we half expected them, and they were all focused on the same topic; but now we have absolutely no idea what she’s going to spring on us next.”
“I know, I think we’re just going to have to prepare ourselves for the unexpected.” Amanda sighed. “Did you ask Mr. Melrose about Jack?”
“Yes, and he hasn’t heard anything from Jack.” Lee began massaging her leg. “He said he would call over to Langley and see if he can find out if Jack has at least made his check-ins. He agrees with you, he thinks it’s very strange that Jack hasn’t called here to talk to his daughter, but he also said the same thing I did, that he’s probably working a contact zero scenario; however, if he was going deep undercover, it might have been nice of him to at least mention it during our meeting with Billy. Then again, after spending just half a day with Jack, he isn’t the type to divulge information willingly. And before you ask, I also mentioned to Billy the neighbors’ growing concerns about the phone company van. He said he’ll talk to Beaman tomorrow and they’ll try and come up with a less obvious cover for the babysitters.”
Suddenly the back door swung open and Jamie came bounding into the house. “Mom, did you remember to pick up some more film for me when you were at the store, earlier?”
Amanda nodded. “Yes, I did. It’s in the bag on the counter next to the fridge.” She watched her youngest son walk excitedly into the kitchen. “Oh, and Jamie, please try and remember not to slam the door open.”
Jamie had reached his destination and, picking up the bag, he reached inside and took out a new roll of film. “Okay.” Placing his camera on the counter, he began changing the rolls. “Mom, I’ve been thinking about the chess tournament. Sydney would really like to go, and I wouldn’t mind going either. All we want to do is watch, and maybe pick up a few tips from the pros. Do you really think it’ll be a problem for us to attend? I mean, if they didn’t want anyone to attend, why would they hold it at the school or allow students to sign up?”
Amanda exchanged a knowing look with her husband before focusing her attention back on her first born. “Jamie, your argument makes perfect sense, but I still want to talk to Principal Dennis and make sure it’s okay. Besides, we should probably wait and see how much homework you and Sydney receive tomorrow.”
Having completed the task of loading the new film into the camera, Jamie slung the strap back around his neck. “You’ll let us know what you find out?”
Amanda nodded. “I promise.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Jamie rushed towards the still open door. “Gotta go, don’t want to miss anymore of this game, Phillip and Sydney are tied.” Grabbing the doorknob he pulled the door shut.
“What are we going to do about the tournament, Lee?” Amanda returned her gaze onto her husband.
Lee sighed and patted his wife’s leg gently. “That’s one of the things I’m going to be talking to Billy about in the morning. I asked him to check into it. Nothing’s come across his desk yet, but if this prodigy is of any importance to Russia, you know the KGB is going to be involved.” Leaning his head against the back of the couch, he ran his hand through his hair. “Why do these things always happen to us, Amanda? Do we have bad Karma or something? The one place Sydney should be absolutely safe from recognition is Jamie’s school, and the damn KGB has a free pass to walk right through the front door.”
“I know, but there’s no reason to believe that the KGB planned this.” Amanda reached out and touched Lee’s shoulder, squeezing it tenderly. “Look, I’ll talk to Principal Dennis tomorrow and find out how long this tournament has been on the books, and how long they’ve known about their ‘guest player’. I’ll also try and find a clever way to ask if she knows if the Russian boy will have any bodyguards or not. I’d like to believe this is all just a mere coincidence, I mean there’s no way the KGB could know where Sydney is. Even if…” she closed her eyes, not wanting to think the worst, “even if there’s another reason Jack hasn’t called. I think he’d rather die than give up her location.”
Lee wrapped his hand over hers where it rested on his shoulder and patted it affectionately. “Hey, I’m sure Jack is fine, he may not want to admit it to the world, but he really does love his daughter; I could tell by the way he talked about her. Besides, he knows Sydney is counting on his return and, if he’s anything like me, he’ll do everything he can to keep from letting her down. Look, let’s wait and see what Billy can find out, and what you learn from Principal Dennis. If it turns out the bodyguards are going to be any of the KGB agents who work for Kholokov we’ll just arrange to have more of our own inside the school. It might not be a bad idea to increase security anyway. Either way, we’ll have to find away to keep Sydney far away from that tournament.” A devilish smile spread across his face. “I think Francine would make a great gym instructor don’t you?”
Amanda nudged his stomach with her knee. “Oh sure, if that does happen, and Francine finds out that it was your idea, she’ll find a way to get even with you, big time.”
Lee chuckled. “Well I for one don’t plan on telling her, do you?” As his wife shook her head, he gently removed her legs from his lap and standing, he offered his hand to her. “What do you say we go outside and watch the game? I’m really curious to see who wins this one.”
Amanda accepted his hand and pulled herself off the couch. “Sounds like a plan to me. I don’t know which will be worse, if Phillip loses to Sydney, or if he beats her. We may never hear the end of it no matter what the outcome.” Laughing, she walked hand-in-hand with her husband towards the door.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.