Chapter 2

Amanda walked into the kitchen, grabbed a trash bag, and began picking up cups and plates left by the boys. "You know, Mother, I think the boys wanted to stay over at Bobby's, so they didn't have to clean up this mess."

Dotty laughed, "You may be right." Dotty held up two plates with what looked like cake and some other food mashed together. Amanda giggled at the confusion on her mother's face.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it, darling. Someone must have left something at the party." Dotty walked to the door while Amanda continued collecting the remains of the party. She placed another plate in the trash bag, sighed, and yelled back over her shoulder.

"You know, Mother. It looks like a tornado blew through the house."

"Oh, I don't know. It looks pretty good to me."

Amanda froze, not sure she heard what she thought she heard. She slowly turned. "Lee! You're home!" She dropped the trash bag as they both ran towards each other and wrapped themselves around each other in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you. I was so worried about you. Oh, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Amanda! God, you feel so good in my arms." Lee pulled back just enough, so he could gaze into her eyes. He placed his hand on the side of her face and stared deep into her chocolate eyes, then leaned in and kissed her possessively.

After several minutes, the two of them heard behind them. "Ahem!" They jumped back and widely smiled.

"Sorry, Dotty," Lee stated as he released Amanda.

"That's okay, Lee. I was just wondering if I could get in on the action," Dotty spoke with a straight face.

Lee smirked at her with his dimples on full display. "You want me to kiss you like that as well?"

Dotty belly laughed and shook her head. "Yes. No. Um, I just meant I would like a proper hug. I didn't get one when you surprised me at the door." Lee walked over with his arms out wide, reached around Dotty, and fully embraced her. He squeezed so hard, he lifted her off her feet, which caused a squeal from Dotty.

"Okay, Lee. I think that's a proper hug." Lee set her down, and she reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. "Welcome home! We missed you."

"Thank you, Dotty. I missed all of you, as well." Lee's eyes scanned around the house. "What went on here? Where are the boys?"

Amanda strode over to him and put her arm around his waist. "We had a party for the boys' baseball team and coaches. They made the championship tournament."

"Wow, that's fantastic! But where are they?"

"Bobby asked them to spend the night. They'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Oh!" Lee reacted with a little disappointment in his voice.

"Oh my gosh. You must be tired. Come in and sit down. Would you like something to eat?" Amanda rambled on.

The three of them walked into the kitchen. Lee sat down at the kitchen island while Dotty and Amanda started to gather some food. "We have a lot of cold meat sandwiches left from the party. Or I can warm something up for you."

"Amanda, the sandwiches will be fine. Thank you."

They spent the next twenty minutes catching up with everything that had gone on in the last six weeks. Dotty stretched and yawned. "Well, I think I'm going to call it a night. Those boys tired me out. Amanda, leave this mess. It'll still be here tomorrow." Dotty leaned in to kiss Amanda goodnight, then repeated the gesture with Lee. "We will see you this weekend, right, Lee?"

"Most definitely! See you tomorrow."

As soon as Dotty was up the stairs, Amanda got up, grabbed Lee's hand, and pulled him into the den. Lee followed without a word. Amanda stopped by the sofa and put up her finger to Lee, so he wouldn't move. She walked back into the hallway, opened the closet, grabbed some blankets and a couple of pillows, and walked back into the den. He watched as she placed a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, left another blanket on the couch, and tossed the pillows up against the sofa. She sat down and patted the spot beside her. He shook his head in awe and quietly sat down beside her. He leaned his back up against the sofa with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He reached his arm around her shoulder and gently pulled her close. She placed her arm across his chest and snuggled up.

"This is one of my favorite places in the house. It's better with the fire going, but it's too warm for that."

"Any place with you in my arms is my favorite place." Lee leaned in and kissed her hair.

"Mmm, I missed this," Amanda purred.

"I did too. I'm so glad to be home." Amanda smiled, realizing he called her house home. She loved it when he did that. Ever since her mother pointed it out to her, she'd been noticing it a lot.

"Lee? I know you can't talk about your mission, but can you tell when you got home?"

"I got back about three hours before I showed up at your door. I needed to go directly to the office to debrief. Then I stopped by the locker room to shower and shave. I had quite a beard going. I don't know if you would've recognized me."

"I was going to mention your hair was longer." She ran her fingers through his hair and lovingly gazed into his gorgeous hazel eyes. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "Don't move. I'll be right back."

Lee watched as she got up and stepped into the hallway. He heard her walk up the stairs, then couldn't hear anything anymore. He took the time to remove his shoes and socks and set them off to the side. He reveled in the feel of the soft fluffy blanket Amanda put down. A few minutes later, he heard her footsteps head back down the stairs, and soon she was back in the den. She closed both doors, lit the candles on each end table, shut off the lights, and sat back down beside him.

"You look comfy," Lee stated.

"I was going to change right before you got here. I just started cleaning before I made it that far. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. You know I love it when you are in your sweats." He smiled and pulled her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her, slid his hands underneath her t-shirt, and up her smooth braless back. "It makes it much easier to do this."

"It does, doesn't it." She reached up and undid the first button on his shirt and leaned in to kiss the hollow of his throat. She proceeded to the next button until they were all undone. She ran her hands up his muscular chest and pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. Lee gasped with her touches.

"Amanda, your mom is upstairs, an-" She placed her finger on his lips to stop him.

"And she is sound asleep. I shut the doors to the den. We're alone, and you have been gone for almost six weeks. I need to feel you in my arms again."

"Oh, Manda. I need that too. I just didn't want to assume."