Chapter 14

Francine arrived at the house just as Lee was finishing his second shower of the day. She couldn't believe her eyes at the size of the house and was completely speechless as she stepped inside after Amanda opened the door for her. "It's big, huh?" Amanda summarized for her. Francine simply nodded as she looked around, taking in every detail.

"What's the matter, Francine, you've never seen anything this big before?" Lee teased as he jogged down the steps.

"I've…played backgammon in houses twice this size before," she shot back, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin in defense.

"Yeah, but you didn't own that house," Lee stated with a sharp nod of his head. "Leatherneck should be down in a few minutes. I told him to use our shower instead of the boys'," he explained. "While we wait, would you care for a glass of wine?"

Francine scanned the room once more, reached out and touched Amanda's arm and asked, "Can you show me the rest of the Stetson Palace?"

Amanda laughed, took Francine by the hand and replied, "Follow me. Lee gave Leatherneck the grand tour earlier so now it's my turn."

The two women disappeared into the kitchen where Lee heard Francine loudly exclaim, "Are you kidding me?" Laughing loudly, Lee trailed behind them to start pulling out the ingredients for their dinner.

Jamie, freshly showered with his damp hair hanging over his forehead, appeared in the doorway eager to help. "Can I cut the vegetables?"

"Sure, Chief. Grab the cutting board and a knife," Lee agreed, thankful for another set of hands. His body was sore from their long day of moving the wood and blocks around the backyard, but he was happy they were able to finish the firepit. "You did a good job today," he complimented his youngest stepson.

"Well, it was kinda fun working outside, even though Philip tried to be a jerk," Jamie admitted.

Lee shook his head, "Hey, he was just trying to get under your skin. Ignore him."

"I can't ignore him. He's my brother! Besides, he always thinks he's better at stuff than I am, just because he's older," Jamie stated as he carefully began cutting up the peppers Lee pulled from the refrigerator.

Lee stilled Jamie's hand with his own as he said softly, "Just because he's older, doesn't make him better. You each have your own talents, your own strengths and one day, it's not going to matter who's older or who's taller or who had better grades in school."

"Well said, Sweetheart," Amanda interrupted as she and Francine walked up the stairs from the family room.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lee asked, slightly embarrassed at the look Francine was giving him.

Amanda crossed the room and kissed his cheek as she said, "Long enough to hear you straighten Jamie out a bit." She stepped around Lee and pulled her son into her arms for a hug. "Lee's right, pretty soon, none of that stuff is going to matter because you'll both be in college or grown and moving on with a family of your own."

"Isn't that rushing things? I mean, I'm only in seventh grade," Jamie groaned.

"I had my first real boyfriend in seventh grade," Francine tried to insert herself into the conversation. Lee looked up at her, one eyebrow raised, trying to figure out where she was going with her comment. "I just mean, this is when your life begins to get interesting, that's all."

Lee nodded slowly as he agreed, "I guess you could put it that way, Francine. But for now, let's concentrate on getting dinner ready."

"Agreed," Amanda and Francine stated together. "I'm going to finish showing Francine the rest of the house while you two work," Amanda added. "And I'll send Philip down to set the table."

"Thanks," Lee replied as he began warming oil in a cast iron fry pan on the large stove to start cooking the vegetables.

Amanda and Francine wandered into the office where Amanda sighed loudly. "It doesn't end, does it?" Francine asked.

"What's that?" Amanda asked, confused.

"Telling everyone what to do, when to do it?" Francine chuckled. "If it's not one of the boys, it's Lee."

Amanda shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, "You make it sound like he's one of the boys. Believe me, Francine, Lee knows what to do. He's come a long way in the last year, especially when it comes to the boys."

Francine reached out and touched her arm, "That's not what I mean. I've seen the change in Lee and honestly, I still can't believe it. But I know he has changed. He's a better man than he was when I first met him, that's for sure."

"He's always been a good man, he just didn't know what was inside, waiting to come out," Amanda stated softly. "Let me show you the bedrooms. I think Philip is done showering and I just want to check the bathroom after him."

"Lead the way!" Francine directed with a sweep of her arm dramatically. She was smiling as she followed Amanda through the second floor, commenting on the extra bedroom as well. "So how long do you think this will stay empty?"

Amanda blushed as she closed the door and said, "I don't know. I'm not in my twenties anymore and who knows what's going to happen, but if it does, then it will be a welcome addition and if it doesn't, well, we'll always have a guest room."

They turned to climb the stairs to the master suite just as Leatherneck was descending. "Thanks, Amanda, for letting me use your shower. That's a beautiful piece of plumbing right there," he commented as he nodded at Francine before he continued down the stairs.

Francine and Amanda laughed as they continued upward. Amanda pushed the door open, allowing Francine to enter the bedroom first. "Wow. I don't have any other words, but wow," Francine admitted.

"Lee's only requirements for the house were five bedrooms and a walk-in shower in the master suite," Amanda explained with a smile.

She stayed near the doorway as Francine wandered around the room, nodding when Francine asked if she could open the closet doors. Francine let out a low whistle as she flipped on the light and looked around. Without another word, she slowly crossed the room and opened the bathroom door and whistled again. "I'm speechless," she muttered as she looked around the beautifully tiled floors and wall and ran her hand along the dual sink vanity. "You didn't have to do anything before you moved in, did you?"

"We thought about painting, but Lee thought maybe we should live with it for a while and decide once we're comfortable. After wallpapering the rooms in the old house a few times, painting is a piece of cake," Amanda replied.

"I see you kept Lee's couch and chairs from his living room. Isn't it kind of odd to put them up here though?" Francine asked. She was confused when Amanda's face immediately turned crimson.

"Well, we had an overabundance of furniture and thought these would be best up here," Amanda admitted. She fanned her face several times before asking, "Is it hot in here?"

Francine couldn't fight the smirk on her lips as she replied, "Not now, but I have a feeling there's another reason the couch is up here though and it has nothing to do with space." Amanda crossed the room to leave but Francine stopped her. "Amanda, you can tell me…have you and Lee…you know…on the couch?"

Amanda closed her eyes and steeled herself to give her an answer when Dotty appeared in the doorway, "Amanda, Lee is looking for-" She stopped when she saw the look on Amanda's and asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, Mother, you're not interrupting anything at all. I was just giving Francine a tour of the house while Lee and Jamie were working on dinner that's all. And now that our tour is over, we should go downstairs and see if we can help them, don't you think so? After all, Lee's probably looking for something he can't find, because I put it away in a place he wouldn't think to look so, we should go find whatever it is that he is looking for," Amanda rambled. She began jogging down the steps, leaving Francine and Dotty staring after her.

"Did I miss something?" Dotty asked, confused.

Francine tossed her hands in the air and replied, "I think I did too." Together the two women followed Amanda into the kitchen where she was pulling out the wine bottle opener from one of the many drawers.

"So, Francine, what do you think?" Lee asked, taking the opener from Amanda. He carefully opened the bottle of Chardonnay, pouring drinks for all the adults.

Francine held her glass up in a toast and replied, "I think you did good Scarecrow. I think you did really good." The rest of the adults raised their glasses and responded with "Cheers."