Chapter 36 - Reflections
Amanda got home and found her family already in bed. It had been a long day so she didn't mind. She felt like she had learned a lot during this case though. Not only did she now know how to use the agency computers and could do research but she also had been able to connect the dots and find the similar connections and more importantly; she had been right. She couldn't help but smile at that fact. Perhaps now Lee would begin to trust her with the more important aspects of cases. This case had been a little scary but in the end, they had cracked it and gotten the bad guys off the street. It was interesting to see this side of things as she wondered how many times she had been in crowds where something bad was going on and had no idea since these spies did such a good job doing their work without civilians being aware that they were even in any danger.
She entered her kitchen and discovered that her Mother had cleaned everything up and made sure that Amanda wasn't left with anything to do when she got home. She smiled when she saw that the balloon string that Lee had given to Phillip was taped to the Refrigerator as a keepsake. It had truly been a lot of fun playing a clown with Lee. He could really be a lot of fun when he let himself loosen up a bit. She frowned as she realized that maybe that was why women liked him so much and maybe he just didn't show that playful side to her. Well it didn't really matter because she had gotten to see a side of Lee that she hadn't before and found that he continued to intrigue her. She made sure the back door was locked, shut off the lights and headed for bed. Her head was so full of memories of the day that she knew she was going to be awake for a while so she might as well go get comfortable so she could stare at the ceiling. As she entered her bedroom, the first thing she saw was the giant stuffed Panda Bear that Lee had given her a few weeks ago after a case. It still made her smile because it was the first real gift he had given her and it meant a lot to her. She quickly undressed and put on her night gown and then picked up the bear and carried it to bed with her. It was a comfort to snuggle it as she finally drifted off to sleep.
SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK
Lee got home and immediately went to the bar and poured himself a scotch. He was really glad this case was done. He had really been worried about Amanda but once again she had amazed him with her courage and instincts. He sure did hate to admit it but she had definitely been a huge help in this case. He was starting to find it fun to work with her. He loved to make her blush but he also loved her laugh. When Amanda King was happy, the world just seemed right. He also couldn't believe how much he was starting to like her sons. Lee had never really been around kids before but he had begun to notice how well behaved and respectful Amanda's boys were. Oh they loved to tease each other but you could tell that they would stand by each other also. It made him wish again that he had had a brother. Some sadness of things that were never to be crept into his mind a bit but he quickly squashed them out. He had grown up just fine. He hated this time of the year though because the holidays always made him wish that things had turned out differently. There certainly wasn't much to be thankful in his life. Well that wasn't true; he had his job. It was a job that he was very good at and that he enjoyed most of the time. Still, it would be nice to have somewhere to go on Thanksgiving Day. He would never admit that to Amanda especially since it wasn't like she could invite him over but sometimes he did wonder what it would be like to celebrate Thanksgiving like a normal person.
Lee shook his head to clear those thoughts, downed the rest of his drink and then turned on the TV for a bit. He was just tired and he hadn't been out on a date in a long time. He really needed to take a look at one of his black books and see who might be fun to take out on Thanksgiving Eve. The restaurants wouldn't close up until 7pm so he could take her for an early dinner and then they could come back to his place to ring in Thanksgiving day. He would be able to send her on her way before the football games got started. Yes, that might be just the way to get through this holiday. He knew deep down that he likely wouldn't do that though. Celebrating Thanksgiving with a woman made them feel that there was something more happening and Lee wasn't ready to have any woman think that he wanted anything more than a little romp in the sheets and some temporary companionship. Maybe he should go away for some R & R. He hadn't had a vacation in quite a while and it was nearly the end of the year so if he didn't take a week soon, he would lose the vacation time. He would have to bug Billy about letting him take a week off. Hell, maybe he should push for 2 weeks. He could go to Bermuda and really have a good time with all the beautiful, sexy women there. Yes, his mind was made up, he was going to demand some time off right after the holiday. With that being settled, it was time to go to bed.
TBC