POCKET CHANGE 3: HIDE and SEEK
by Sharon R.

Chapter Eighteen

Turning around to look up at the magnificent house sporting wrap-around balconies on the top two of three levels, Carter smiled.

"Never thought you'd get here."

His smile was broad. Unable to contain the genetically gifted charisma courtesy of Chicago blue blood and mid-western prep schools, Carter nodded and waved politely, though he was anxious to see his friend again after all these years.

"Hey lady," Alex popped off, "do you have a pool too?"

"Alex!" Once again, Sam had to reel in her innocently uncouth, if not over eager, son in order to save face. "I told you, in the morning," she whispered in his ear while smiling up at her hostess-to-be.

"Come on in," she yelled down over the roar of the crashing surf. "Front door is open."

Making their way back down the boardwalk and around the front of the house, the group headed up a staircase that resembled those of the prosperous southern plantations of the 1700's: narrow at the bottom fanning into wide grandeur at the top.

"I've never been to a place like this," Alex said to Amanda as they led the other three adults into the house. "We usually stay in hotels with numbers in their names."

"It's not a hotel, dummy," Amanda chided. "I think it's a real house."

"I know that." He wasn't sure, but Alex wasn't about to let Amanda think that.

The entryway had large mirrors on each of the two side walls, an antique console table and small bench. A staircase led to the lowest level, another to the top two, the ceramic tiled floors all beautifully framed by golden oak woodwork.

"You two kids go all the way downstairs," the hostess told them, "and you can pick any of the three bedrooms. Personally," she hinted to Alex, "I'd go for the one with the foosball table."

Alex and Amanda shared a playful grin before charging down the stairs.

"The second level up here has three more bedrooms, two that are master suites," she said to Sam. "Please help yourself."

"You sure?" Sam asked feeling very self conscious about taking over this stranger's home.

"My bedroom is all the way up top. Really, there's plenty of room. I rarely get company."

Luka followed Sam as she walked onto the second level and stood frozen in the middle where a small library, game area and wet bar led out to the first balcony they had seen from the outside. Like shooting craps, she stepped into the nearest bedroom to the left and marveled at the gorgeous king sized bed with plush bedding and huge bathroom almost completely dressed in marble.

"I'll take whatever bedroom Carter doesn't," Luka meekly said as he backed away from Sam and started to leave.

"No." She barely got to him in time to grab his elbow. "Luka, please. Just…" It was her eyes that did the pleading. "Can't we just try to get back to… ya know…?"

His body language couldn't have been more vague as he left her question unanswered. "I'll go check on Alex."

Carter didn't feel like playing 'Pick Your Bedroom' and went all the way up to the top level. The bank of windows spanning the entire east wall of the open area gave way to a magnificent view of the small dunes covered by waving sea oats that almost hid the crashing surf of the Atlantic Ocean. The full moon cast what almost looked like an artificial light on the water that, had this been a movie of Christ, could have been used as a path from one end to the other. With the exception of the master suite hidden on the side of the staircase, the entire third level was open - the living room, dining room and kitchen, the high ceilings and panoramic views of the ocean giving Carter the feeling that whatever happened in that one spot, was infinite.

"It's not really mine," she said, "completely at least."

"It's still amazing."

"Coming from a Carter, I'll take that as a compliment."

He felt oddly uncomfortable even though they had been sharing phone calls lately. But this wasn't his home. It was hers. It was hers and…

"Hey lady," Alex asked as he bound up the steps into the huge open space, "is that a hot tub outside on the second floor?"

"It sure is, and how about you call me Anna."

"Alex, your mother wants you downstairs," Luka said as he himself reached the top floor as well. "It's time to get to bed."

"Ohhh!"

"It's late," he reminded the boy. "Now get going. There's plenty to discover tomorrow."

"It's already tomorrow," Alex grumbled as he slumped his way down to his bedroom.

Anna smiled and tried to ease Luka's discomfort. "He's sweet."

"Hmm," he answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Hi Luka," she finally said holding her hand out, "I'm Anna DelAmico. John's told me a lot about you."

Luka returned the handshake. "I want to thank you for opening your home up to us. Under the circumstances it's more than generous."

"Not a problem. Glad I could help."

With a bashful nod, and feeling as though he had intruded on a conversation, Luka smiled a polite 'thank you' and started back to the staircase. "I think I'll leave you two and help Sam with the kids. Good night."

"It's not Rosher?" Carter asked once Luka had disappeared around the first landing.

"What?"

"Your last name."

"No. I'm giving everything back to him I possibly can, name included."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, a little hurt might do Max good. Maybe it'll make him grow up. God knows, I tried."

Carter definitely felt awkward after that. "Sorry. I…"

"It's okay. Just waiting for the papers to get through the courts. It's all but over."

"Still see him?"

"Once in a while. He's been staying with a friend down in Rodanthe. Was supposed to move into a house in Nagshead - some dump between the roads - this week."

"Don't see him at work?"

"He's not practicing," she answered evasively. "I share the house and job at the clinic with two other doctor couples through the year. We rotate. I've been kind of floating around lately doing some sub work wherever my license to practice will take me. I'm done here pretty soon."

"Then what?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I hate to leave. It's peaceful. But I can't afford to find a place of my own, at least not on the Outer Banks. Max kind of drained our savings and real estate here is well into the seven figures."

Carter watched as Anna walked around the great-room and turned out all the lights. "How are you?" he asked quite personally. As she paused in front of the open sliding door, Carter marveled at the moonlight that shone through her floor length white cover-up, her long blond hair twisting in the breeze.

"I'm good," she answered with her back to him shutting the door. "Really. So when are you going to tell me about your adventures with foreign relief work? All you told me about was the camp in Uganda and that little girl's father."

The magical feeling the house had given him suddenly evaporated. "I think I'll get to bed too," he said avoiding her question. "Thank you, again."

It always amazed Carter that these vacation homes were decked out in thin white curtains as though getting up with the sun was something one looked forward to doing while away from the stresses of work. Even the pillow over his head couldn't keep out the bright morning light.

"Hey, sleepy head." Anna knocked on the door first before opening it a crack. "Luka tells me that you've been wearing the same clothes since leaving Chicago."

"Mrfhrmf."

"I'll take that as a yes," she giggled. She gave him his privacy and stood to the side of the cracked open door, but the mirror over the bureau gave her an unhindered view of Carter under the covers, pillow held tightly over his face. "I'll leave some of Max's clothes here on the chair outside the door. Maybe you can find a store today." She smiled as he continued to gruff and moan. "Nurses always had a hard time waking you up in the on-call room. Here I thought it was just laziness."

As Carter sat up and threw the pillow jokingly at the door, Anna got a peek at the scars he sported on his chest, and surprised herself at her own amusement of knowing he was sans clothing under the covers. "I have to get to work. I only have appointments 'til three, then I'll be home. Okay?"

"Mrfhrmf." He'd found the other pillow.

"Make yourself at home, Grumpy."

Sam waved from the kitchen window over the sink as Anna left for work. The children had woken up bright and early, despite their late night, and were eating breakfast at the raised counter. Already in their bathing suits, it seemed their day was set with plans down at the beach.

"Anna said that there are all kinds of beach toys and boogie boards down in the carport under the fish cleaning table," Sam said as she finished cleaning the kitchen. "Just one rule - no going down to the beach without a grown-up."

"Cool!" Alex exclaimed. "Boogie boards."

"I can show you how to use them." Luka came up the stairs in his bathing trunks and a t-shirt. "Or maybe you two can show me."

"Sure." Alex was beaming. "Can we go now?"

"Half hour," Sam stalled him, "let your breakfast get a head start before you throw yourself into the waves. And I want another blood sugar before you go out."

"How about you?" Luka sat on the tall bar stool next to Amanda. "What do you want to do today? Interested in boogie boards?"

Amanda stared coldly into Luka's face, then took her bowl of cereal to the sink before going back downstairs by herself.

"Give her time," Alex said wisely, "she has a lot to figure out." He gave Luka a manly pat on the back. "I'm gonna check out those things in the carport."

Luka sighed and hung his head.

"Bagel or toast?"

"Huh?"

"Bagel or toast?" Sam repeated, but Luka remained in his own world. "Glad I packed the suits. Thought they'd be used for fishing in the river. Never dreamed we'd be in a place like this." She didn't know what to say and was tired of giving him openings to talk. It was almost surreal - being in a grand beach home, having to walk delicately around fractured feelings of children, and a lover who was struggling inside himself, all while wondering where she herself belonged.

By late afternoon the peak heat of the day had passed and everyone enjoyed the low tide at the beach. Anna came home to the empty house and stood on the balcony watching her houseguests down on the beach in front of her. Luka and Alex played with the boogie boards in the surf, then found the fun of the sandbar the low tide had revealed. Amanda sat in the large beach chair by herself watching the two in the water while Carter walked the surf line in rolled up pants and a golf shirt. Anna shed her lab coat and took the boardwalk to the beach, finding Sam at the top of the staircase overlooking the action below.

"Nothing to do and too much time to do it in?" Anna asked as she took a seat next to Sam.

"Something like that."

"How come you're not down there with your kids and your very good looking guy?"

"Let's see… Alex is mildly pissed at me for ruining our vacation. Luka is, well, I don't know what's going on in his head and God forbid he tells me. And I'm not Amanda's mother - can't tell her what to do, she's made that clear. I'm also 'the other woman' to her, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm sleeping with her mother's last boyfriend before she was killed."

"Ooh," Anna winced, "sounds like a mature kid."

Sam nodded and squinted as she looked back out on the beach. "She's had a lot to deal with."

"What about you?" Anna asked. "From what I know, you've had a lot to deal with lately playing Mission Impossible with these guys."

Sam didn't know Anna well enough to want to go there with her, so she didn't answer and just played with the hem of her shirt as she stared down at her feet roasting in the hot sun.

"My last appointment tomorrow is at 2 o'clock," Anna mentioned. "How about the two of us take the kids down to Kitty Hawk? We can check out the Wright Brothers museum, Kitty Hawk Kites and maybe let them run amok at Jockey's Ridge."

"Jockies? As in horses?"

"No," Anna smiled, "as in huge sand dunes."

"That Alex would love." Even Sam liked the idea of getting away. "And maybe it'll give the guys a chance to be alone."

Anna was glad that Sam had agreed to her plan. She had been to these tourist areas every time a friend or relative swung by, but she had never taken kids. "You'd think Carter would at least take his shirt off in this heat," she thought out loud as she shielded her eyes from the sun and watched him stroll in and out of the surf.

"He probably just wants to protect his scars from the sun."

"That happened years ago," Anna said. "Sunscreen should be enough."

"Not those," Sam said as though Anna knew. "The newer ones." Deciding to dive into the deep end, Sam made her way down the staircase and over to Amanda.

"Don't you want to play in the water?"

Amanda shook her head, her long red curly hair swishing across the back of her green one-piece bathing suit nearly covered by the tan vest she wore everywhere.

"There's another one of those boards up at the house. I'll go get it for you."

She shook her head again.

"Want me to walk out to the sand bar with you? They look like they're having a lot of fun."

Amanda pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them remaining speechless.

Sam reached over and played with the girl's hair, pulling it to the side off her shoulder. "Honey, I know you're a long way from home, but maybe if -"

" - When's my dad getting here?"

Sam sat in the sand in front of Amanda and looked up at her face as the ten year old tried to hide it in her knees. "There's a lot we don't know."

"I know my dad, and he would never deviate from the parameter of procedure."

Sam smiled, humoring the girl. "Is that what he told you?"

Without even tilting her head upwards, Amanda moved just her eyes to meet Sam's and seared scorn through them. "I know."

"Yikes," Sam mumbled to herself. "Okay, I believe you, and… I don't mean to make light of this."

"Aren't you scared of him? Don't you wonder if he could kill you too?"

"Luka? No… no, not at all." She felt as though she were watching a train wreck about to happen and she was the engineer. Time to put on the brakes. "Your shoulders are burning. Why don't you go upstairs to my room and put on one of Luka's big t-shirts."

"Penny for your thoughts."

That's where I picked up that phrase, Carter thought. "Is that all they're worth?" he asked as he turned and walked backwards letting Anna lead them blindly in their walk.

"Oh, they're worth a lot more. I've got the phone bill to prove it."

Far enough from the others to feel a sense of privacy, the two stopped and faced the ocean side by side.

"I get the feeling that five people have walked into my life carrying way too much baggage," she promptly surmised.

"Luka and Sam have a good thing. It's just on hold for the moment. Alex is… well, he's something else," he laughed, "but Luka needs to take care of some issues that are hurting Sam."

"Really? Like what?"

Carter hung his head, watching the bubbles of the surf as they reached his ankles, then retreated back to the sea. He liked the way the under-toe pulled his feet down into the sand and buried his toes. "Like some disturbing things that happened in Africa."

"Like what?" she dug around.

"Like…" Carter shook his head as though losing his train of thought. "You should go to our camp in Uganda. Meet Toomay and the staff. They're all great. Remember Maggie Doyle?" She nodded as he went on. "She's running the clinic. Toomay's kids are there, and…" Sean… he almost said Sean. "…and, well the people there make it all worth it. You can do so much with so little and make a huge difference, and in the end you're the one who comes out feeling as though the refugees have done something miraculous for you. It's really beautiful," he said, overworking the convincing factor.

"Like what?" she asked again, non pulsed by his diversionary tactic.

He knew. "Like…" he raised his head into the wind and seemed to be searching for something with his eyes - out to sea, up the coast, then down. "…like he…" Carter lowered his voice with his eyes, "… like he saved my life for a second time but killed Amanda's mother in the process."

That's as far as he wanted to go on that topic. She got it, wasn't going to root around for more, and instead reached over and gently took his hand in hers. If she was worried about being too forward with him, the warm squeeze he gave her hand certainly reassured her.

"You don't have to tell me," she said quietly, not sure he heard her over the thud of the wave breaking in front of them.

"I will, sometime. I think I owe it to Luka to get some things cleared up with him first before I go telling people about what happened."

"Sam and I are taking the kids out tomorrow afternoon," she said. "Maybe then…"

"Yeah. Maybe." He still held onto her hand and gently stroked her thumb with his. "Amanda has been asking about her father," he said, changing the subject. "We haven't heard anything. I'm beginning to doubt that he got out alive."

"She's tough."

"Too tough. She can hold a grudge," he laughed, "that's for sure. But she just seems… empty."

"Kids need traditions. They need to have hopes realized in order for them to build optimism. That little girl's hopes have been crushed and the only traditions have been going from Grandma's to whatever safe house in the world is unoccupied so she can see her daddy." Letting go of Carter's hand, Anna bent down and scooped up a few water-smoothed purple and white seashells from the surf. "Now she's running away from people who want to kill her and living with the man who killed her mother. She needs photo albums and videos of holidays with her parents, to build memories of happy times, not an occasional e-mail from her father from an undisclosed location."

Carter nodded.

"Didn't you have that, John? Lots of pictures from family and school events?"

"Gamma had a social secretary to take care of those things. And after my brother died they stopped taking pictures."

"That's not true," she countered. "I seem to remember a lovely picture of you sitting on a pretty horse."

"Oh, that one," he laughed. "Ah, Marigold. That was a portrait. I had to sit for that."

"Sit?"

"Yeah, sit. You know - a painter and all that."

"Ooh," she mocked with an uppity voice, "smell me!"

Carter enjoyed the banter and put his arm around her shoulder drawing her in to plant a small kiss on her temple.

"Come on," she said, "I got steaks on the way home. Keep me company while I get dinner going."

"You don't want me to help?"

"No. I've seen you cook. What's worse is I've had your coffee."

"Good to see him find someone," Sam said as she came up behind Luka knee deep in the surf as he watched Alex play around on the sandbar. "They have a history?"

"Don't know. I don't remember him ever mentioning Anna." Luka let a few waves break around their legs before walking back to dry sand stealing glances at Carter and Anna strolling towards the staircase before he let himself open up to Sam. "I don't know how to fix this," he confessed as he let his head fall back and take in the receding late day sunshine. "I have done so many things that -"

" -I can wait. I'll wait for you."

"You shouldn't have to. There's a lot of fixing to do," he said under his breath but loud enough for Sam to hear.

"Thinking about Amanda?"

He nodded. It felt good to talk to Sam again. She knew his thoughts. "I don't know what she needs… what to do…"

"Little girls need to feel special. She's not feeling very special right now. She needs to be loved - wanted to be loved, and I'm not sure what we can do to give that to her."

"Hey Mom!" Alex dragged his legs through the water as fast as he could, the boogie board trailing behind on a rope. "Come on," he shouted, "it's way cool."

Reluctantly, Sam let Alex pull her into the water but hesitated long enough to gently touch Luka's hand and at the same time touch his eyes with hers.

Luka was left alone on shore waiting for the sun to dry his legs before the sand could get a chance to glue itself to his skin and spied the little girl wearing an oversized t-shirt at the top of the stairs being picked up high in the air by Carter, Anna laughing loudly by their side. He couldn't keep from staring at the miniature version of Colleen.

"Put me down," Amanda shouted between giggles.

"Now that's what I like to hear," Carter said giving her a final tickle with his fingers as he lowered her back to the planks of wood. "Tomorrow Sam and Anna are going to take you two kids on an adventure."

"Moving again?"

"No, cutie," Anna jumped in, "I'm going to take you and Alex to some fun places. See where the first flight was, climb a sand dune, watch crazy people hang glide..."

"Cool!" She'd certainly picked that up from Alex.

"How about we get you a camera so you can take pictures," Carter said trying out Anna's idea.

"I have my mom's camera, and I know how to use it."

"I bet you do. You know, Amanda," Carter said calmly as got down on one knee and looked her in the eye, "um… if you want to talk about anything like your mom and dad…"

Amanda pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Or Grover…" Carter stalled to measure her reaction which only came in increments of stonewalling. "Well, I'd be glad to be your friend."

"Me too," said Anna.

"Did you know," the girl whispered loudly switching her attention to Anna, obviously not wanting to talk about Grover, "that he needs a wife?"

"No," Anna said acting curiously surprised, "I had no idea. Are you interested?"

With a refreshing blush, Amanda giggled her way down the stairs where she found Luka waiting for her.

"It's good to see you happy," he said as her face did a 180 and slid downwards. "Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing to the Bulls shirt she was wearing, the ever present vest bulging out underneath. Luka struggled to maintain a positive non-reactive demeanor.

"Sam told me to get a shirt from her stuff."

"That's okay." It was obvious that him staring at her made Amanda uncomfortable. "I just remember your mother wearing it."

"She did?"

"Yep. And you are just as pretty in it as she was." Luka stopped, thinking she would bolt at any minute, but she didn't - surprisingly. "You can have it if you like."

"Okay."

Sam dragged herself out of the water just in time to see Amanda go back to her spot on the beach chair with her backpack. "She talked to you?" she asked.

"Uh-huh."

"What did she say?"

"She said… okay."

Luka didn't see Sam's smile, but felt her reassuring hand on his back. She said okay.

The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in that one word ''Love.'' It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life. -Lydia M. Child 1802-1880, American Abolitionist, Writer, Editor

After Sam and Anna had left the house with the kids the next afternoon, Carter searched out Luka, finding him on the top deck sitting in a chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the water. It's… soothing," he said with a wave of the hand.

"How very feminine of you."

"I know," he laughed. "Don't tell Amanda. I have an image to protect."

Turning his back to the water, Carter leaned against the railing and faced Luka. "I was wondering if you would mind if I told Anna about what happened."

"About Colleen?"

Carter nodded. "Maybe the rest."

"No. It's okay." Luka leaned his elbows on his knees and looked down at the floor. "I hope that it gives you some sort of peace."

"I don't know what I'm looking for. Not even sure I can tell her."

"I know," Luka agreed. "Look, John, I'm sorry about the things I've said -"

" -No, Luka, don't go there."

"Please," he said pointedly with his hand out silently asking for the chance to speak. "I should have listened to you. I should have figured it out for myself," he said as he thought about that night Colleen and Carter had returned from the trip over the border - the night she wore that shirt. "I let my emotions, maybe my lust get in the way of rational thought."

"Matters of the heart," Carter said as he turned around and gave his attention to the ocean, "always dictate the direction of the mind."

"Who said that?"

"Me."

"How feminine of you."

They hadn't shared a laugh in a long time. It felt good.

"And I'm sorry I didn't come to you about the drug craving thing. I should have told you about going to the meetings in Gulu. Should have been up front about all that."

"I didn't exactly give you good reason to trust me."

"Well, Colleen certainly deserves a share of the blame. She was a good manipulator."

"Did you really think I was going to shoot you?" Luka finally asked, surprising him.

Carter turned back around, pulled a chair up directly across from Luka and sat down. "Not at first. I thought you were going to… you know… Jules' head was right there… and…" The words were hard to come by, but at least Luka could understand. "But, yeah, when you pointed the gun at me… in my direction… I thought I was the only one there. It was only logical that…" Carter cleared his throat of the nerves that had congregated.

"I remember the look in your eyes," Luka added. "I was focused on her and her gun, but I still looked at you. I knew what you were thinking." That look of sheer terror had haunted Luka. "I just hoped that you could trust me not to shoot you."

"I'm sorry…" Both sat quietly for the next several minutes each occasionally stealing looks at the other. "Hell, if I had known you were a sharp shooter…"

Before Luka had a chance to see Carter's face, he took it the wrong way and cringed inside. But Carter's signature smile and playful eyebrows pulled him back. "There's a skill I never thought I'd use."

"I'm here because of you," Carter said very subdued as he reached over and put his hand on top of Luka's. "It sounds corny, but thank you anyway."

Luka let him say it. He so wanted to back Carter up and reach for more self blame, but he let it go. He just let it go.

"Listen," Carter said, leaning back to get his eyes out of the sun, "Sam tells me that you and Amanda had a little talk yesterday."

"Sam talk to you much?"

"She has to talk to someone."

Luka nodded in obvious agreement. "Thank you for being there for her."

"It should be you."

"I know." Luka reached down and grabbed the half empty bottle of beer he had been nursing. "Amanda is so unmoved by things. Her emotions are kind of flat -"

"I know some people who would say that you've been the same way lately."

"Fair enough," he conceded as he finished off the bottle. "Mbuto was the same way."

"The difference being that Amanda at least grew up with love. Anna said that kids need tradition, a keepsake of memories and Amanda hasn't had much of that."

"Those women," Luka chuckled. "Sam said that Amanda needs to feel special."

"And that's what I wanted to talk about." Carter smacked Luka on his knee. "Come on. Get up. I've got an idea.

Luka and Carter spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns going out and running errands. Gift shops, rental stores, groceries… back and forth. When he heard the SUV pull in the driveway for the third time Carter nearly fell down the stairs getting to the front door to meet Luka. Only it wasn't Luka on the other side.

"So now she's giving my clothes away too?" he snarled. "What's the matter Carter? Daddy cut your inheritance to a paltry hundred million?"

Carter tried to close the door on the man but his arm countered, bracing the door open.

"Look, Max, you need to leave."

"No, see, this is my house."

"Not any more. Does Anna know you're here?"

"What, are you her keeper?"

Carter didn't want any part of this, but looking at the guy he could tell that he wasn't the same man that he had met in Chicago years earlier. "Why are you here?"

"None of your damn business. Now get the fuck out of my way."

As Max used his hands to pushed both the door open and Carter backwards, a strong hand came from behind and threw the unwelcome visitor back out onto the porch firmly on his ass.

"Friend of yours?" Luka asked Carter.

"Hardly. Anna's ex."

"Yeah? Some pimp mobile." As the two watched Max scramble to his tricked out Escalade, Luka picked up what packages he had dropped and went into the house, the door locked securely behind them.

"I had to drive down into Goose to get the clothes," he said giving Carter one of the bags.

"Duck."

"I thought we were having hot dogs."

"No," Carter laughed, "the town is called Duck, not Goose."

"Details, details. Storm is headed our way. Have you seen the sky over the water?"

"Yep," Carter answered, "even more reason to do this. The kids will be disappointed if they can't go sand crabbing on the beach after dark. This should take their mind off it. Come on," he said with a hint of mischief in his voice, "let's get the show on the road."

Gusts of wind slapped against the car doors as the two women and kids returned from their outing. The storm gave way to a premature dusk, darkening the house that sat with no lights on.

"Aren't Luka and Dr. Carter here?" Alex asked, his curiosity driving his legs quickly up the stairs.

"Car is here," Sam remarked.

As soon as they were in the door, they saw the candles lining each side of the staircase inviting them up to the top level where, with all but a couple kitchen lights dimmed, the entire area was illuminated by candles of all sizes surrounded by an assortment of flowers and sea shells. Soft jazz music played in the background and two very handsome, well dressed gentlemen stood by the dining room table topped with fine china, silver, linens and rose petals.

"This is unbelievable," Anna said as she covered her mouth in awe. "How did you do this?"

Carter shrugged his shoulders. "We tapped into our feminine side."

"Sorry," Luka said to Sam as she walked over to look at the table, "couldn't find tuxedos."

The two men were dressed in fine white button down silk shirts and camel colored slacks. Their new tans made the white pop out but it was their smiles that the women noticed the most.

"This is mushy," Alex complained.

"No, Alex," Luka corrected him, "this is for all of us. There is a place set for everyone. We even cooked dinner."

"Uh-oh," Anna said out loud.

"Even I can cook hot dogs on the grill." Carter pulled something from a chair. "And open a bag of chips."

"Where do I sit?" Amanda asked meekly.

Carter poked his elbow out and looped her hand through it escorting her to the head of the table. "This is your seat. A fine seat for a fine lady."

Amanda took in the sight of the table and then the whole room, rotating her head from one spot to the next, the crack of thunder not even phasing her. "And I know what this is," she said with a big smile as she spotted something next to her water glass. Carter had put it there just for her. "Anything I want?"

"Anything," he said.

She picked up the small silver bell and gave it a good ring, then took Carter by the hand and led him to the center of the living room floor. Leaving him momentarily, she giddily skipped over to Anna and, taking her hand, led her to the same spot. "Okay, now you two can have a dance."

They felt as though they had been paired up at the prom and all eyes were on them, but it was good to have an excuse to put their arms around each other, touch hands, the small of her back, his shoulder, and feel the warmth between them grow.

"Oh, brother," Alex moaned.

Amanda shot him a look. "You're such a baby."

Luka stood in the background watching the dance and enjoying the two kids being kids again. And as Sam shuffled to his side and put her arms around his waist, he didn't push her away.

The rain came down all at once, pounding the deck outside the bank of windows and smacking the house as the howling wind pushed the moisture sideways. As the song came to an end, Amanda rang the bell again and giggled at her attempt to play matchmaker. But before Carter and Anna could give her her wish, a huge clap of thunder erupted at the same time that a bright flash of lightening drew their attention to the windows and the outline of a man standing at the sliding door, his raised hand holding something out of view.