This story is the third installment of my "Love at First Sight" series. If you haven't read The Night the Walls Fell in Paris and then Catch My Breath, I suggest you read those first.
As always, I have to thank my BadAss Tribe. Tracey and Karen, without your continuous support, this series would not have happened. Love you both!
Chapter 1
Amanda slumped against her front door after an exhausting day at work, willing her arm to have the strength to raise the key high enough to reach the keyhole. She met Lee at the office at five in the morning to help go over details of the raid he'd planned later in the morning.
Everything involving the raid went flawlessly. However, when all the debriefings were completed, Amanda didn't get out of the office until after eight in the evening, and that was only after Lee made her leave. The only good thing at this moment was that it was Friday, and she could sleep in tomorrow. All she needed to do was get into the house.
Amanda finally got the door opened and lumbered through. She let her purse cascade to the floor as her keys landed on the table across the hall. She then stumbled to the top of the entryway of the living room.
She leaned against the wall and observed her sons as they sat on the couch, watching the latest episode of Inspector Gadget. A slight grin crept onto her tired face as she heard her mother in the kitchen. "Boys, as soon as the show is over, I want you upstairs and into bed."
Both boys acknowledged without taking their eyes off the television. "Okay, Grandma."
Amanda carefully took the two stairs down into the kitchen to find her mother sitting at the island, sipping her hot tea, with her head buried in her latest romance novel. She headed to the cupboard to grab a glass, then to the refrigerator and filled it with some milk. "Hello, Mother," she mumbled.
Dotty, never taking her eyes off her book, responded, "Hello, darling." Amanda plopped down on the other stool and gulped down her milk. She set the glass down a little harder than she intended to. The sound jarred Dotty from her book, and for the first time, she noticed how tired Amanda appeared. "Amanda, you look awful!"
"Gee, thanks, Mother."
"Amanda, I didn't mean it like it sounded. I just meant you look like you could fall asleep right where you are." Dotty took a quick glimpse back towards the door, then back to Amanda. "Is Lee not with you?"
"No, Mother. He's still at the office finishing up our project. He sent me home to get some sleep. He'll stop by in the morning."
"Oh well, it's probably for the best if he's as tired as you are. Are you hungry?"
"No, the office brought in food for us."
"That was nice of them. Why don't you head upstairs and get to bed? I'll make sure the boys aren't too much longer."
"Thank you, Mother. I think I'm going to take you up on your suggestion." Amanda raised off the stool, rinsed her glass out, placed it in the drainer, and strolled over to the boys. "Good night, fellas. I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Mom," both boys responded, again without taking their eyes off the tv. Amanda shrugged her shoulders and made her way up the stairs.
The next morning, Amanda woke up feeling refreshed. She stretched her arms above her head and rolled over to glance at the alarm clock. Startled by the numbers staring back at her, she quickly jumped out of bed and jogged into the bathroom, mumbling to herself.
Amanda showered, dressed, and headed downstairs to get her day started. As she entered the family room, she was shocked to find it empty. "Where is everyone?" She roamed all over the lower level and still nothing. Her last option was the backyard. When she opened the French doors, she found four sets of eyes staring at her.
"Well, good morning, sleepyhead," Lee cheerfully called out.
Amanda walked over to the picnic table and leaned down to welcome Lee with a sweet kiss. "Good morning, sweetheart. You're here earlier than I thought you would be."
Lee grinned at her and responded, "Well, it is almost ten."
"I know. I'm sorry I slept so late. I thought I had set my alarm, but I was just so tired. I must've forgotten. What time did you get home last night?"
"I didn't get home until after ten and went straight to bed. But, unfortunately, I woke up at about six and wasn't able to go back to sleep." Lee placed his arm around her tiny waist, pulled her close, and stared up at her with mischievous eyes. "I don't sleep well anymore without you by my side." Amanda smiled lovingly down at him.
"But I only have a little under four months to worry about that," he finished with a wink. Amanda placed her arm across his shoulders and leaned down to give him another kiss to show him she appreciated his comment.
"Gross! Do you two always have to do that in front of us?" Philip exclaimed.
"Do what? Express how much we love each other? There is nothing wrong with what we are doing," Amanda explained.
"Your mom's right, fellas. Never be embarrassed to show a woman how much you love her," Lee added while he gazed into Amanda's eyes. However, his smile quickly drooped when he noticed her stern look. Lee promptly amended his statement. "Um, just make sure you keep it respectful to your surroundings, as well as your audience."
Amanda, needing to change the subject, inquired, "So what have the four of you been doing this morning?"
Jamie was first to offer. "We've been talking about the house. Pops was just telling us he hasn't heard anything about the offer yet. He thinks it's a good sign since they haven't rejected this offer as fast as they did the first one."
"Yeah, we've also been talking about who gets what room and where we want to put everything," Philip interjected.
"Hmm, that sounds interesting. What have you decided?" Amanda asked as she sat down beside Lee.
Again, Jamie took the lead. "Well, I want the bedroom right over the dining room. I liked the light that came into the room. The other bedrooms have more windows, but the trees block the light."
"That's very logical, Jamie. What about you, Philip?" Amanda responded.
Philip lowered his head, not sure what his mom was going to think about his idea. Lee noticed his hesitation and encouraged him, "Go on, Philip. You'll never know unless you ask."
Philip raised his head and nodded. "Mom, I was thinking I could use the third floor as my bedroom. I know it's a storage room right now, but there's plenty of space in the garage for storage, and there's the room off the tunnel we can use for storage as well. The third floor would be perfect for my bedroom. The windows are big enough I could get out in case of a fire, there's plenty of space for all my things, and I would have the entire floor to myself. Please, Mom?"
Amanda peered into her son's pleading eyes and couldn't say no. "Well, I don't think there's any problem with it. Besides, you had excellent arguing points."
Philip's eyes gleamed with excitement. "You really mean it, Mom?"
"Of course I do. I think you both have made excellent choices."
Lee quickly added, "We may want to think about putting extra soundproofing under his room, now that he's going to be above us." Lee glanced around and noticed the boy's perplexed expressions, as well as Amanda's warning look, as he quickly clarified his statement. "What? I've been told teenage boys can be very loud. We don't want him disturbing everyone else, now do we?"
Everyone laughed at him as Dotty got up from the table. "I'm going to get a refill on my iced tea. Does anyone else want one?" Lee raised his hand, suddenly feeling a little parched. Dotty walked over and picked up his glass as she leaned close to him and whispered, "Teenage boy noises, huh? Nice save, Lee."
Dotty made her way into the kitchen as she listened to the plans being made by her family outside. She set the glasses on the island and reached for the pitcher of tea in the refrigerator. As she finished filling the last one, the phone rang. Dotty yelled, "I'll get it."
She placed the receiver up against her shoulder as she put the pitcher of tea away. She answered, "Hello...yes, this is the King residence...yes, he's here. Let me get him for you." Dotty placed the phone down on the island, picked up the glasses, and went back out to the patio. She set their drinks down and announced, "Lee, darling. The phone is for you."
"For me?" Lee raised an eyebrow at Amanda as they both shrugged their shoulders. Lee stood from the picnic table, strolled into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and answered, "Stetson."