"Amanda! Where have you been? And what is that all over your shirt?"
Just as they'd suspected, Dotty was waiting up for Amanda, napping on the family room sofa since it was now the wee hours of the morning.
"I'm sorry, Mother – I tried to call but there's something wrong with the phone line, I think. I just couldn't get through!"
"Yes, it's been acting up all day, but you know, I don't think the repairman was trying very hard to fix it – I swear he spent most of his day just sitting in his van and when I marched over there to ask him when it was going to be fixed, he just shrug and say they were running tests down the cables or that he was waiting for his supervisor to bring supplies! But that doesn't explain where you've been all day – you left this morning on a simple run to the vet and it's been 17 hours! Seventeen, Amanda! I don't care how hungover that dog was, it had to have sobered up hours ago. And how exactly did a dog get a hangover anyway? And just how much liquor does a Saint Bernard have to drink to get drunk? And why didn't I hear the car pull into the driveway?"
From his vantage point below the kitchen window, Lee listened with a grin as Dotty's relief at seeing Amanda walk in the door came through behind the annoyed ramble. He and Amanda had spent the drive home working on a story her mother might believe and he strained to hear her deliver it.
"Oh no, I'm sure the hangover is long gone, Mother, but you see, while he was still drunk, he was staggering around and fell on something sharp, and that's how I got the blood on me, because the vet we went to first didn't have enough anaesthesia for such a big dog because, well you can imagine how much a dog that size would need to knock him out, even if he was already drunk, so we had to, you know, pick him up and load him back in the wagon and would you believe we had to take him clear up to Gaithersburg to a horse doctor to get stitched up? You would think there'd be a vet somewhere around here that could have done it, wouldn't you but I guess with a dog as big as a horse, you have to go to a horse doctor! And so we had to drive all the way up there and of course, I couldn't just leave my friend there, so I waited with him during the surgery and I did try to call but I guess the phone line wasn't working then and then I took him home and he insisted on keeping the wagon so that he could get it detailed to get the bloodstains out of the back seat and so he drove me home but it was so late that I didn't bring him in to meet you because I didn't think you'd still be up! And I'm so sorry you were worried! Forgive me?"
Lee couldn't resist any longer and snuck a peek, barely able to hold in his laughter at the sight of Dotty's dumbfounded expression at Amanda's rapid-fire explanation that managed to completely derail any questions she might have.
"Well, of course I do, Darling," she finally said, weakly. "I'm just happy you're home. And that the dog is alright too, of course."
"Oh yes, he's fine," said Amanda seriously. "He'll be back lumbering around with his little whiskey barrel in no time."
"Oh good." Dotty blinked, trying to process that image in her head. She walked forward and kissed Amanda on the cheek. "Well, I'm glad you're home safe and sound, but I'm sure I'm going to have a crick in my neck from falling asleep down here," she added as she headed for the stairs. "Good night, Darling."
"I'm sorry about your neck, Mother. I'm sure a good night's sleep will help. I love you."
"Love you too, Darling," said Dotty with a soft smile over her shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning."
Amanda waited until she'd heard her mother's steps fade away down the upstairs hall before turning to the window. "I can't believe she fell for that!"
Lee stood up and stretched, leaning on the window sill, grinning. "Well, like W.C. Fields used to say, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."
"Lee!" Amanda dissolved with laughter as she leaned on the island. "It was supposed to just be a tiny white lie!"
"Amanda, if you have to shovel as hard as you just did, it's not so tiny!" Seeing her laughing, safe at home, with her mother and boys upstairs, Lee's heart felt lighter than it had in hours. He knew he was going to have to deal with a whole other barrow full of bull tomorrow, but for now, he was content knowing he'd done the right thing.
"Thank you, Lee." Amanda said quietly, almost as if she could read his mind, and he was beginning to think she could. "I know you're going to be in a bit of trouble with Mr. Melrose, but thank you for not leaving me there."
"That was never going to happen, Kid," he answered, seriously. "No man gets left behind on my watch."
Amanda ducked her head and nodded. "Well, thank you anyway."
"My pleasure. Do you want me to pick you up in the morning since your car is at my place?"
"Oh no! Don't do that – one look at the Porsche and I'd be answering a million other questions. I'll just grab a cab to your neighborhood and pick it up, don't worry."
"Okay." He cast one last look around her cheerful kitchen, knowing he had no one waiting to give him a similar welcome back at the apartment. He realized her warm brown eyes were studying him with a slightly worried expression. "Good night, Kid," he said, forcing a smile. "See you in the morning."
His smile might have been a bit fake but it seemed to relieve her a little. "Yeah, see you then, Butch."
Lee snuck back around the side of the house, heading for his car parked down the block. He would have been a lot less relieved if he had seen Amanda wait for his footsteps to die away down the driveway before walking over to sink down on the sofa, face in her hands and finally give in to the sobs of relief.