Chapter 9

"Wow! Ace, Mrs. King. This is some house. It's even nicer than the pictures," Leatherneck congratulated.

"Thanks. Would you like the grand tour?" Amanda invited.

"I would love one."

For the next hour, Lee and Amanda showed Leatherneck the entire house and property. Leatherneck took notes during their walkthrough on the updates and changes they wanted to make. Lee gave him a key so he could start while they were away on their assignment. They wanted everything done as quickly as possible, so they wouldn't have to live amongst all the construction.

"Well, sweetheart. We should be going. We still have to go to your place to pack and then to my house to say goodbye to Mother and the boys," Amanda stated.

Lee glanced at his watch. "You're right, honey. Leatherneck, do you have any questions?"

"No. I think I've got it all. I'm going to start on the soundproofing first and draw up some blueprints for the office/safe room. We'll need to get the changes approved before we can start."

"Perfect. Then, we will check with you when we get back. And remember, Billy and John are the only other people that know about this," Lee reminded him.

"Yeah, I remember. Your secret is safe with me. And may I say, I'm extremely happy for you both."

"Thank you," they both chorused.

About an hour later, Lee walked through the patio doors at Maplewood Drive, carrying his garment bag. He noticed Dotty sitting on the sofa thumbing through a magazine. "Hey, Mom. Are the boys home?"

Dotty peered over her reading glasses. "Yes. They're upstairs finishing their homework. Where's Amanda?"

"She mumbled something about needing to get a box or bag out of the garage. She'll be in soon."

"Well, if she's looking for the suitcase we used on the last camping trip, I already grabbed it and packed a few things for her. I figured I'd help her, in case you guys were running behind. I don't know what she'll need, but I started on the essentials."

"That was very thoughtful of you. I'm sure Amanda will appreciate it." Lee held his garment bag out, motioned to the stairs, and continued, "I'm going to take this upstairs."

"Amanda has a garment bag, Son. You didn't have to bring yours over," Dotty mentioned.

"I know. We just thought we'd put our good clothes together. One less piece of luggage we'll have to worry about."

"Well, that makes sense. I'll tell Amanda where you're at when she comes in."

"Thanks." Lee took the stairs two at a time. When he reached the top, he headed to check on the boys. He knocked and peeked his head in the door. "Hey, guys. How's it going?"

"Pops, when did you get here?" Philip questioned.

"Just now. I was heading to your mom's room to help her pack. You guys almost done with your homework?"

"I'm already done, but Philip's still working on his," Jamie boasted.

"I'm almost done. You guys aren't leaving yet, are you?"

"No. Your mom still has to finish packing, and we don't have to take off for a little while. We want to spend some time with you guys before we have to leave. Let's get your homework done so we can do that, okay?" Lee suggested.

"Okay, Pops. We'll meet you downstairs when I'm done."

"Perfect. I'm going to help your mom." Lee left the boys' room and headed to Amanda's. Along the way, he bumped into Amanda coming up the stairs. They walked into the bedroom together. He laid the garment bag on the bed and unzipped it. "Did you get the air mattress?"

"Yeah. And Mother gave the perfect excuse why I was in the garage. What were you doing?"

"I was just checking on the boys. Jamie's done with his homework, and Philip is almost done. They're going to meet us downstairs when Philip's finished. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"If you want to grab a few dresses from the closet for me, that would be great. Just let me know which ones, so I can grab shoes to go with them. It's hard to pack when we don't know what we'll be doing. I feel like I'm over-packing."

"I know, but it's better to be prepared for anything."

Lee and Amanda finished packing and spent time with Dotty and the boys before they said their goodbyes.

A short time later, Lee and Amanda pulled into the driveway of their new home. Amanda carried in the bags of food they picked up on their way, while Lee grabbed the box of linens and air mattress. They entered through the side door, which led into the kitchen.

As they entered, Lee stated, "I'm going to take this upstairs. Why don't we eat out on the patio since we have a table and chairs already out there."

"That sounds perfect. See you in a little bit."

Amanda headed through the kitchen and out the french doors off the family room while Lee took the back stairs to set up the air mattress for their first night in their home. He smiled at the thought of him and Amanda owning their own home.

It only took him a few minutes before he joined Amanda, where he found all the food laid out on the table and Amanda relaxing on the loveseat. Lee strolled over to her with blankets in his arm. "Hey, gorgeous. Come here often?"

"No, not really. This is my first time here. You?"

"My first time, too. It's lovely, but you make it beautiful."

"Thank you. Won't you join me?" Amanda patted the cushion of the loveseat beside her.

"I will, but do you mind if I start a fire first?"

"Not at all. That'll be lovely."

Lee tossed the items in his arm on the chair to their right and lit a fire in the outdoor fireplace before he took his place beside Amanda. "That should keep us warm, but just in case, I brought a few items from your camping supplies down for us."

"Thank you, sweetheart. That was very thoughtful of you. Are you hungry?"

"Starving. Shall we?" Lee suggested as he motioned towards the food.

Amanda took the first bite and hummed. "Man, I can't believe how good this is. What a great idea for our first meal, sweetheart."

"Thanks. Milo really does make the best chili dog in town." They both shared a laugh as they ate their meal. "I got everything set up in the bedroom. There sure were a lot of blankets in that box."

"It's our camping box. Mother and I always sleep on the air mattress while the boys sleep on the ground. We put the camping mats on the ground and then extra blankets, so it's not so hard."

"That makes sense." Lee leaned back and wiped his mouth. "It hasn't sunk in yet. This is really all ours."

"I know what you mean. I never thought in a million years I would have a home like this." Amanda paused and placed her hand on Lee's knee. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my love." Lee tossed the napkin on his empty plate and reached over to the chair he left the blankets on. He pulled out a boom box and pressed play. Soft Jazz music filled the air.

"Where did that come from?" Amanda questioned.

"I keep it in the back of my car. It also works as a transceiver when we need to listen to bugs we've planted. I threw it in the box when you weren't looking."

Amanda arched an eyebrow. "What other surprises do you have hidden over there?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." Lee raised from his spot and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Amanda smiled and happily answered, "It would be my pleasure."

Lee and Amanda held each other for what seemed like forever, just swaying to the music and enjoying the peace and quiet in each other's arms. Lee looked over Amanda's head that was cradled under his chin, when a mischievous grin formed on his face.

Lee let go of Amanda, grabbed the items out of the chair, and walked away from her towards the pool. It was lit up with beautiful soft blue lights, and the water was clear as crystal. Amanda watched as he made his way to the steps that led into the water and placed the blankets on the ground. He pivoted and continued to the side of the pool, dropped something else that she didn't recognize, and turned back towards her.

Amanda hadn't moved, trying to figure out just what Lee was up to. She watched as the dimples appeared on his face. His left hand went to his right sleeve and undid the button. Then he reversed his actions. He raised his hand towards Amanda and curled his finger for her to join him.

As Amanda sauntered towards him, he continued his task with the buttons down his shirt. "Just what exactly do you think you are doing, Lee?" Amanda inquired.

"I thought I was being obvious. I'm taking off my shirt. I thought, what a beautiful night for a swim."

"But we didn't bring our swimsuits."

"I know." Lee waggled his eyebrows along with a smirk. "We aren't going to need them, anyway."

While staring intensely into her eyes, he slowly slid his shirt off his shoulders, tossed it on the table next to him, then worked on his belt. Soon he lowered his pants, boxers and all, as he toed off his shoes. He pulled his pants free, taking his socks with them, and tossed them where his shirt now laid. He leaned forward, kissed Amanda on the nose, winked, and propositioned, "Care to join me?"

Amanda watched in awe as a very naked Lee jumped in the pool. He tipped his head back to dampen his hair and stared up at Amanda. "Well, are you coming in?"

"Lee! What if someone sees us?"

"Amanda! Nobody is going to see us. We live on the end of a cul-de-sac. Our backyard is surrounded by trees, and we have an eight-foot privacy fence. When are we ever going to get another chance to do this?"

"You do have a great point there." Amanda reached behind her seductively, lowered the zipper of her skirt, and let it fall to the ground. She slipped off her heels as she worked on the buttons of her blouse. Once that was off, she stood in front of Lee in just her silk panties and bra.

She saw Lee lick his lips and swallow hard as she reached around her once more to release the clasp on her bra. She sensually slid it off and lowered her panties. She noticed the camping mat on the concrete that Lee dropped earlier and gently sat on it by the edge of the pool and glided into the water.

Amanda dove under, slowly breaking the surface right in front of Lee. Her hair slicked back, and the water streamed over her soft-tanned skin. They stared into each other's eyes for the longest moment before Amanda broke the silence. "This is nice. The water is warmer than I thought it would be. What made you think of this?"

Lee diminished the space between them and wrapped his arms around her. "Well, I thought, what better place to start."

Amanda chuckled. "Sweetheart, you're not making any sense. Start what?"

Lee smirked at her question and answered, "Christening our new home."