Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is the property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's note: I'd like to thank Lanie Sullivan for always being there for me. She is a terrific beta, and an even better friend.
Lee's muscles rippled as he forcefully pushed the old manual lawnmower across his secret wife's backyard. I'm working up quite a sweat here…it's a good thing I always have a change of clothes stowed in the car. As he steered the mower towards the back fence, his agent's instincts told him that he was being watched. He glanced around surreptitiously, expecting to spot a nosey neighbor in his line of sight, but the nearby yards were empty. Turning back towards the house, he spotted Jamie watching him with a circumspect expression on his face. I thought he was finally warming up to the idea of my being around on a regular basis, but he doesn't look too pleased to see me here.
"I expected you to take off after Phillip ditched you to go out with Nicole," Jamie commented warily, while adjusting his glasses.
"Why would I leave? I came over so that I could spend the day with your family." Lee raked a hand through his perspiration soaked hair, and waited to see how the boy would respond. He leaned on the mower, as Jamie slowly walked over to him.
"Plans change…Mom had no way of knowing that Mrs. Porter would need her to drive her to the hospital. She's going to stay with her until her son gets there. He lives in New Jersey; he won't arrive for hours."
"That's why it's important for your mom to stay with Mrs. Porter. One of the things that I love about her is that she cares so much about other people. I'm sorry that our original plan changed, but I'm still glad to spend the day with you guys."
"But it isn't going to be us guys…Phillip didn't think twice about abandoning us so that he could go out with Nicole. Girls, sports and cars are all he cares about lately," he groused. "Maybe, that's why you two get along so well?"
"Are those the only things that you think I'm interested in?" I guess I've been almost as guarded in revealing myself to him as he's been with me.
"Well," the adolescent hemmed, tilting his head as he considered how honestly he should reply. "You must have dated a lot of girls before you settled on Mom."
"I would never describe having your Mom in my life as 'settling'. I'm extremely lucky that she's accepted me…warts and all."
"Alright, you're not as girl-crazy as Phillip is. You two are obsessed with sports, and your choice of car…it speaks for itself."
"I admit that I like sports; watching them as well as engaging in some myself. I've seen you cheering pretty loudly when we watch the Redskins on TV. And I happen to know that you both liked playing with the Bombers."
"Yeah, it was fun back then, but I'm not much of an athlete. Lately, when the guys are choosing up teams I'm the last one picked…that's not fun…it's embarrassing."
"I can understand how you feel. Not all sports are competitive; you might enjoy running, biking or swimming. All three help me stay in shape."
"Really?" He moved closer, as he contemplated Lee's words.
"Sure, I don't advertise it, but I'm getting older…being tackled or run ragged on a basketball court don't hold the same appeal as they used to. I play with Phillip because he enjoys those games…it's a way for us to connect. I suspect that there are things that you and I would enjoy doing together."
"I don't know; we might not have any common interests."
"We'll never find out if we don't spend some one-on-one time talking and getting to know each other. I plan to stick around ," I hope he realizes that I mean that long term, "but I'll give you your space if you want it."
"I'd like to get to know you better. Mom's crazy about you and you've impressed Grandma so you must be pretty special. I think you're going to be around a lot; Phillip is going to have to share you with me. You've spent way more time with him…"
"Only because-"
"You don't have to explain, I know I've been acting like a dork," he confessed with an embarrassed sigh.
"How about if we leave the past where it belongs? We can talk while you give me a hand with this yard work. When we're finished, we can clean ourselves up and if your mom isn't back we could go out."
"Could we go any place that I want to?" The sparkle in his eyes reminded Lee of Amanda's when she was up to something.
"Any place," he reached out and ruffled his hair, "that your Mom would approve of."
"That narrows the possibilities," he laughed, "but I can live with that." He grabbed a rake that was leaning against the fence and good-naturedly gestured for Lee to get back to mowing.